July 2009

She’s a good mom.  Traveling with a crew of four little boys, the minivan is as close as she comes to “getting away from it all.”  Surprisingly, she is seldom late for a service which speaks both of her commitment and loneliness.  Craving for adult conversation is a need for every mom on earth, especially those who raise children alone.

Conversation turns quickly from topics of kids and weather and to the reason that the military dog tags swing from her neck.  Her husband, a warrior, is returning.  She feels everything more… fear, joy, excitement, apprehension… but mostly impatience.  She longs to see his face.

There is an Aramaic phrase in a Greek letter written by a Jewish Christian to a church positioned on the boot heel of the Gulf of Corinth. It is only recorded once in the Scriptures yet was obviously a familiar phrase to the church of the first century.  In other words, no translation necessary.

Much later during the Jesus Movement the phrase became popular again and found its way onto bible covers, keychains, even tooled onto leather belts.  There was never a need for translation among those who loved Jesus and those who didn’t were bound to know within a few minutes … if they had the nerve to ask.

The word?  Maranatha.  The translation? The Lord Comes!

At the end of the letter to the Corinthian church Paul inserts the phrase. Why would he transcribe the entire letter in one language and say goodbye in another?  The reason was that the word had become “a watchword and a password” among the early church.  Maranatha described the burning hope of the believers.  They believed emphatically that the Lord would return sooner and not later.

“Maranatha” became code to the early Christians, both the greeting and the goodbye that only the church could understand.  In the midst of a heathen culture bent on hedonistic idolatry and a Jewish culture bent on violent legalism, Christians would encourage one another with a “what did he say?” phrase.  More than one smile would grace the face when “maranatha” was heard.

But the passion for Jesus’ return has waned in the past decades.  One of the obvious signs of revival is the talk of the Lord’s return yet in today’s church you hear about everything before the talk of “the clouds will roll away.”  You can’t just stir it up either.  The heart that passionately looks to the sky is a gift from God.  A lover’s gaze that longs for those still far away cannot be stirred with words or from the pages of a book.  It is a seed that hurts the heart with longing and draws one’s gaze away from this world to search the heavens.

Honestly, for many there are too many trinkets to care.  Too many distractions to keep a focus.  Like a fickle lover whose infatuation needs to be continually stroked, many lose interest in the coming of Christ until the right song plays on the radio.  But talk to the wife of the soldier who is continents away.  She will demonstrate the longing of a lover.    The tears flow often… she hurts to see the one she loves.

“Marantha” captures it all.  It was the word through history… the secret code… the watchword of the church that excited the imagination to dream of the Day.

The three words bears three truths.

• “The Lord comes.”

“There is one Lord,” Paul said, only One who has met the standard of Messiah and Savior. The word designates the single and only true One.  Singular, stand alone, extraordinary, exceptional, unprecedented.  I know it’s corny but Jesus is THE One and THE Only. He is the One and Only Way.

• “The Lord comes.”

We do not embrace the notion that someone can dictate behavior and rule our every motive.  Lord means master, superior, sovereign and demands that all others are slaves, servants, bondsman, minions, maids, stewards, and followers.  It is not a title of affection but a title that dictates all other positions as being below and subservient.

• “The Lord comes.“

Every generation that has experienced revival has looked to the sky in hopes of seeing the Lord “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” Have you forgotten His promise?
“I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Her desire to see her husband is infectious.  I confess that I have not longed for his return but simply noted his absence on occasion and inquired about his home coming.  But recently, her longing has begun to affect my heart.  I’ve thought about him because her face gives way to her passionate desire to see her lover.

And so it should be with the Lord’s church.  My desire to see my Lord should be so intense that others catch my passion.  The very last words of the New Testament capture the “last word” that our conversations should end with:

“I, Jesus… I am the Root and the Offspring of David,
the Bright and Morning Star… Surely I am coming quickly.”  Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Yes, Lord, come.

Maranatha!

For further study:
I Corinthians 16:22
1 Thessalonians 4:17
1 Corinthians 8:6
1 Thessalonians 4:16
John 14:3
Revelation 22:16-21

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