Belmont University Advent GuideMfano

Summer is my favorite season; it always has been. While I appreciate the structure of the academic year, summer provides a certain kind of freedom that I don’t find in the other seasons. It’s a time when the rhythm of life slows a bit for me, and I can let my guard down. Thus, this parable from the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus uses the summer season to illustrate a need for watchfulness, seems counterintuitive to me. Jesus tells this parable in a context of expectation. In the Gospel of Luke, the reader is told to expect the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem, and to also expect the coming of the Son of Man. Here we are offered a warning alongside a word of hope. Luke warns of dire consequences on the horizon, while offering hope with a challenge to be transformed. With the coming of the Son of Man, the world begins to evidence the presence of the kingdom of God in a new way, just as the sprouting leaves of a fig tree provide evidence of the coming of summer. The evangelist directs the reader to remain aware and to be always on alert, as the kingdom of God is near. The idea is that one could miss something. Scholar Huston Smith, in his study of religion, noted that there exists a focus on the significance of history within Abrahamic religions that is unique. History is the field of opportunity where humanity interacts with Divine. Opportunities may be missed and missed forever, so the significance and importance of history cannot be overstated. In Luke, history also provides the context in which a follower of Jesus may be changed, even should be changed. Following Jesus demands a radical reframing of one’s perspective on life. This parable commands us to pay attention, and if we do, we will be forever changed. It is then that the promise of hope overshadows the warning of impending destruction. In this season of Advent, we reflect on how the world waited, with a sense of expectation, for the birth of Jesus. There were signs, as angels sang and a star led the way for wise men. Those who paid attention, those who were alert, found Christ. This year during Advent, may we also pay attention and be open to transformation as we wait and work for the kingdom. Sally Holt Professor of Religion