“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father… Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Matthew 24:36-44

In these verses from Matthew 24, Jesus speaks about the end of times, also known as The Day of the Lord. As he is preparing to meet the final conflict of his earthly ministry, with this exhortation, he is instructing his followers to be ready for his return at a time when they don’t expect it. He spoke a message about the things that would come in the last days and said: I am coming at a time you don’t expect, so get ready.

This subject, “the end,” has been a source of fear to many, however, what it really means is new beginnings. For example, journeys out of slavery (Exodus) have brought new freedom, lives desolated (Nehemiah) have been returned anew, and a horrific death upon a cross has brought glorious resurrection into eternal life. It is not in God’s nature to abandon and destroy Creation but to care for and sustain it—which in this case means making all things new. In this regard, the end of this world is the beginning of a new one, an uncorrupted one, free from sin, death, and evil.

So, Jesus’ intention and message here are clear: don’t lose hope, I am coming back, anticipate my return because when I do, I am making everything right.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Christmas is the beginning of the end. It is precisely the first coming of Christ -his birth, life, and resurrection- that marks the beginning of the end of times, but his second coming fulfills this hope forever. Christmas is a time when we are reminded of this: Jesus first came as a baby but will return as the King of kings to make things right forever.

This gives me hope as nothing else does. I don’t want death to prevail. I don’t want oppression to be perpetual. I don’t want illnesses to determine how we live and for how long. I don’t want hate to continue to tear us apart. I don’t want evil to remain unjudged. What I want is to be in the presence of my God and Savior, and say: thank you, I am yours.

Now, we must work for our hope to be fulfilled. Our hope is not the contemplative kind but an eager one. As Christians, our faith walk is a calling to live an “end of times” life, that is, an expectant life of what is to come, full of hope and confidence eagerly working for its fulfillment as we pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” What I mean by that is that we don’t see eternal life as a reward but as a continuation of God’s good work in us while in this broken world. In our Wesleyan theology, for example, we understand this as the process of sanctification, which means to grow and be perfected in love with actions and behaviors that represent the hope we proclaim.

Therefore, Christmas reminds us that Jesus came once and will come again. That he creates, gives life, and make all things new, and that we ought to be expectant of Jesus’ coming so that we might be found doing what he has called us to do.

My friends, Jesus came once and he will do it again. Let’s celebrate life with an everlasting hope all yearlong, whether on Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and any day in between. Jesus came, Jesus is coming back.