Reading With the People of God #13 Nicene CreedSample

Focus of the month: Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

How to Prepare for the End of the World

Today, we will be reading Matthew 24:3-51. This chapter of Matthew is a large portion of a speech Jesus gives, which is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse (because it takes place on the Mount of Olives). It is a notoriously difficult passage to interpret, and different commentators over the centuries have come to interpret it in different ways. In the first two verses of chapter 24, Jesus prophesies that the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. The disciples then ask him this question:

“Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Following the interpretation of this passage found in R.T. France’s commentary on Matthew, which I have found persuasive, it looks like the disciples here may be conflating the destruction of the temple that Jesus just prophesied about with the end of the age when God will make all things right. Jesus responds to this in a way that distinguishes these events, answering each part of their question in turn. The first 35 verses are about the coming destruction of the temple. In verse 34, Jesus says, “This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened," And it did happen about 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion. In A.D. 70, Jerusalem was sacked by Titus, the future emperor of Rome, and the Temple was destroyed. That 40 years is significant because, in the Jewish tradition of Jesus’ day, 40 years was often considered to be the length of a generation. This confirms that Jesus’ prophecy about the destruction of the temple came to pass as predicted.

In verse 36 Jesus shifts focus and answers the second question about his second coming at the end of the age and says of it, “But about that day and hour no one knows” and encourages his disciples to be ready at all times for it.

But how are we to become ready?

If we’ve learned anything from post-apocalyptic movies, it’s that we are supposed to get ready by building bomb shelters, collecting a small armory, and hoarding fuel and toilet paper. Right?

But this is not Jesus’ way. In verses 45-50, Jesus tells a parable of a servant who uses his master’s time away to mistreat the other servants and live in sin. And when the master returns and finds that he has done this, he is destroyed.

So, how do we get ready for Jesus’ second coming? It is not by following vain predictions of the end times or buying everything you need for the world to fall apart, but by loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself and living as a Christian.

* Primer contributed by Wesley Viau, Data Analyst, Member of Cornerstone Church of Chowchilla.