If I ask the question, “Who shot J.R.?” I’m sure that many of you would know what I’m referring to. In 1980, the soap opera, Dallas, ended its third season with an as sassination attempt on the arch vil lain, J.R. Ewing. It wasn’t until eight months later, during the fourth episode of the next season, that the viewing public learned who the assassin was. Eighty three million people tuned in for that broadcast, ranking it one of the most highly viewed episodes of a television series. Of course, the M.A.S.H. “Goodbye” episode eclipsed it at 106 million viewers, and the last Superbowl between the Chiefs and the 49ers dwarfed them both at 124 million. I’m sure the advertising costs were astronomical for any of these broadcasts. But it is estimated that around 600 million people tuned in worldwide in 1969 to listen to Walter Cronkite and watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon.
Some things are done in very public ways, with everyone watch ing. Some things are done as great spectacles with much fanfare, like the coronation of a king, or the swearing in of a new president. Some things are done quietly, and behind the scenes, not drawing a lot of attention, even though they carry great weight, like the birth of God as a man in a feed trough to a young virgin in a back-water village in a little country in the mid dle of the night. This most pro found event took place, and only a handful of people knew about it:
Joseph, Mary, a few poor shep herds, some star-gazers from the east. No television coverage. No Walter Cronkite. No trumpets blaring or leaflets dropping or re verse 911 call to the neighborhood. And when is there any recogni tion or confirmation of this history changing, earth shattering event? Thirty years later, when His cousin, John the Baptist, says to those with him at the river, “Be hold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Few knew at the time that the baby in Mary’s arms would grow up to be anyone special. And yet, today, He is the most famous per son who ever lived. It is estimated that over two billion people in the world today claim to be Christian. Why is that? It’s because the tomb was empty! Jesus was made to be sin for us, took our sins on Himself and bore that burden to the cross. There the Son of God suffered our punishment, shed His atoning blood, and gave up His life for us. He was placed in a tomb that was sealed and guarded by a squad of soldiers, and yet, three days later, the tomb was empty! Jesus had risen from the dead! He showed His crucified and risen body to his disciples and to many believers over the period of forty days be fore He ascended into heaven. The proof of His resurrection was absolute and undeniable. So much so, in fact, that the witnesses of His resurrection were willing to go to their deaths proclaiming that He had, indeed, risen from the dead!
The good news of the Gospel is being preached throughout the world. Today there are many who call Jesus their Lord and Savior. Many Christians in the world cannot openly profess their faith. The crosses in their homes cannot be displayed publicly.
We are blessed to live in a country where we are free to worship Jesus. In our homes, we openly display crosses and perhaps even artists’ renderings of Jesus as a shepherd, or His kind face, or of
Jesus blessing the children. Throughout the Christian era, followers of Jesus have created images of Christ. Often, these im ages have been displayed promi nently in churches. One common themed multiple image that is found in antiquity is called a “Deesis”. This is a painting, carv ing or mosaic depicting Christ the King on His throne holding a book, with Mary and (often) John the Baptist standing on either side of Him.
Here is a Deesis carved in ivory that was created in the 10th century. It now resides in the Louvre in Paris.
An intricate mosaic of a “Deesis” was created on a wall in the Hagia Sophia, a church built in 537AD in Istanbul, Turkey. The Hagia Sophia was an architectural master piece and the largest Christian ca thedral for a thousand years. To day it remains one of the largest tourist attractions in Turkey. Over the centuries the Hagia Sophia fell into disrepair and the Deesis mo saic was created in 1261 during major renovation.
The size of the Deesis mosaic is deceiving. The figures are actually two-and-a-half times larger than life!
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and until 1935 the site served as a mosque. It is likely that the lower part of the mosaic was destroyed during these years. In 1935 the Hagia Sophia became a museum, but in 2020 the site once again became a mosque.
Perhaps if you look closely, the Jesus figure in the mosaic will look familiar to you. We actually have a print of it hanging in the entry way of our church!
Christ’s first coming was quiet and unassuming. His second com ing will not be. Paul writes in 1 Thess. 4:16-17, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Because of his atoning work on the cross, all who believe in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life (John 3:16). John 5:24 says, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” We who follow Christ do not fear His coming to sit on His throne and judge the world. Ra ther, we long to see that day. Our names are written in the book, and we live our lives in confident hope of His return to take us to Himself. I pray that this Advent season will be a time of reflection and preparation for you as you prepare your hearts for the return of Christ, even as you prepare to remember and to celebrate his quiet coming to Mary and Joseph and the world so long ago.
God bless your Advent and Christmas seasons!
Pastor