I managed to sit through the Downton Abbey movie the other day. It brought to mind a conversation I had with my English teacher at school. I told him that Jane Austen was ‘not my scene.’ Through a pained expression he said: ‘Not your scene? You mean it is not your cup of tea?’ I may say that I changed my mind about Miss Austen. A few rough edges knocked off my sensibilities and I realised she was actually pretty good. But I’ve still got a way to go with Downton Abbey. Whether ‘scene’ or ‘cup of tea’, it’s not mine.
You probably know the basic plot. King George V and Queen Mary are to visit the Crawley family and while the preparations reach fever pitch various sub-plots simmer away. Everything has to be as near perfect as possible for the coming of the King.
It’s still that way with a Royal visit. My two years at Glasgow Cathedral saw the visit of the Queen Mother to present new colours to the St John’s Ambulance Association. Security preparations started weeks in advance and were tight on the day itself. My earliest experience of a Royal visit, however, was in 1962 when King Olav V of Norway made a state visit to Scotland. On his way to the Fairfield Shipyard he was to pass through Pollok so plans were made for my school to line part of the route down Braidcraft Road. We spent a whole morning learning interesting facts about Norway and making Norwegian flags to wave. In the event the KIng’s motorcade just flashed by us. I caught a brief glimpse of a bemedalled chest and that was that!
In the apostolic mindset the Christian life was a preparation for the coming of the King. And that Day would not be a fleeting experience:
‘Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him ; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.’ (Revelation 1: 7)
This would be the climax of God’s plan for the whole of human history, the birth-pangs of the present having given way to a glorious New Creation. It would be a Day of Judgement when everything that has ever cast a shadow on human experience would be removed and goodness, justice and love would be established for all eternity. There are some breathtaking descriptions in the visions of the prophets and apostles:
‘The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. ‘ (Isaiah 35: 1-6)
‘Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’’ (Revelation 21: 1-5)
This places the Church in between times, a waiting people. We wait in confidence that the world will not end with a whimper but in the celebration of glorious climax which Paul seeks to convey:
‘Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.’ (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17)
It is for this great completion that we wait as the people of God. In the meantime, however, we are called to live as people who already inhabit the Kingdom of God, to give the world glimpses of what it means to live in harmony with the Father’s values, with the Spirit in our hearts, living in Christ. We prepare for the coming of the King not just by waiting in faith but by living as His subjects now.
