Did you ever wonder how our calendar was established? When The First Church Council met in 325 A.D. at Nicea (nai see uh), they not only made decisions about the Church beliefs as established in the Nicene Creed, they also set the dates for holy celebrations. One was the decision that Easter would fall on the Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox, that is when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. Using that reference, a calendar for the Christian church was established called the Easter tables.

200 years later, in 525 A.D., an administrating monk (abbot) who was a well known theologian/mathmatician named Dionysius (dai uh nai (nigh) suhs) introduced the A.D. system. A.D. actually stands for the Latin phrase anno domini, (an oh daa muh knee) which means “in the year of our Lord.”  Dionysius counted years based on the Nicean Easter tables, connecting to the birth of Christ. So that B.C. stands for Before Christ.

Interestingly enough, Dionysius never said how he determined the date of Jesus' birth, but it seems apparent that he was linking it to the winter solstice, when the earth is tilted furthest from the sun, thus giving the longest night.

Using that system, Dionysius attempted to set 1 A.D. as the year of Jesus Christ’s birth, but he was off in his estimation by a few years, which is why most modern scholars estimate Christ’s birth at 4 B.C.

The B.C./A.D. system gained in popularity in the ninth century after the Roman Emperor Charlemagne adopted the system for dating acts of government throughout Europe. By the 16th century the Gregorian calendar was established, that held to the B.C./A.D. timeline. And that is what we continue to hold to today in our culture.

Now saying that, there has been the development of a secular calendar offering an alternative to the Christian statements of AD and BC. Instead of BC it’s Before the Common Era and instead of AD it’s Common Era. I’m not offended by that development, because it is more open to all timelines. Besides, it is still showing a calendar based on what I want to get at today, and that is  our time is measured by the birth of Christ.

In today’s scripture lesson we hear of another event God has in store for us, so that as we begin the season of Advent, we should be aware of this timeline, honor it, and find hope in it too.

In the passage we heard from Luke this morning, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, but he is also preparing them for his return. Now most of the disciples knew their Scriptures about the coming Messiah, which Jesus fulfilled. But they also knew of the texts referencing the Second Coming, when God would make things right again on earth. Such Scriptures point beyond the Messianic texts to set things right. Like Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” Notice, this is to take place after the Messiah has been pierced.

Another text in Haggai 2:6, we read, ⁶For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; ⁷and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. ⁸The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. ⁹The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts. In this passage, God is talking about reclaiming the land, reclaiming the people, setting things right. This is not just second coming talk, this is kingdom talk, when God’s reign will be over heaven and earth.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus talks about the kingdom and second coming. In Luke 12:40 Jesus warns about a thief coming in the night, and says,  ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’ Now what I want you to understand is, when Jesus speaks of the second coming, he is not trying to scare us. The question he is getting at is: When the second coming happens, will God find faith on earth?

Jesus says it like this in our lesson today “²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Will there be people who can hold out, trust and believe that their redemption is real with God? If so, then they can get through anything.

That’s why Jesus then goes into the parable of the fig tree. “Look at the fig tree and all the trees;³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Jesus is saying in this use of the fig tree that as time goes on, we should not let our hearts get weighed down, nor let the worries of life prevent us from living our faith out. Rather, ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”, meaning, we are to watch and pray and find meaning each day by contributing to the will of God for us.

Again, as Jesus speaks of the second coming, these words are not to scare us, but rather encourage us, because these words give us direction and hope of a God who is at work to redeem the world. That’s what we mean when we talk about hope in advent, it is a trust, a confidence in  what God has promised, based on the certainty that God is faithful. Just as God fulfilled the promise of a Messiah, in Jesus, God’s promise to redeem us, that is help us, be there for us, will never falter.

Going back to the calendar of BC and AD., we as Christians should celebrate the fact that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so impacted history that he is the turning point in history, either before Jesus Christ was born (BC) or BCE or after His birth (AD) and CE. But may we not miss the correlation to each of us. That is before we were born again, we were without Christ. After our conversion, our new birth, we became new creations in Christ with hope. Hope that sees us through and redeems us.

  Max Lucado writes in his book Because of Bethlehem, “Advent is a time-traveling season and hope is a time traveler it has seen us through Christmases where we hoped for certain gifts, to a Christmas we hoped to survive due to financial problems, to a hope that comforts us when we wish a loved one was still with us.

It is a constant of God’s goodness….There is hope in remembering God’s gift in the babe, who is with us now, despite death, and who leads us forward to the second coming of heaven on earth.” (pp 98-99)

Regardless of what calendar we use, our timelines are marked by Jesus, and as we prepare to receive him again as the Christ child, may we always trust in the hope of God, revealed each and every day.

Let us pray: Lord, in the weeks to come, our attention to the blessed and holy event of the birth of your Son, will continually be distracted. Help us to distinguish between the secular and the sacred, and to remember the true meaning of our joy and excitement. Help us to refocus our minds and hearts on your loving and most precious gift to us, the hope of the world revealed in your Son, our Lord and Savior who taught us to pray…