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I'm thinking that there is a problem right there. Jesus is supposed to come back. As the Nicene Creed puts it "and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead;". But it has been a long time, two thousand years. I don't think any-one expected having to wait that long.
Christianity got a big boost in its early days from the sense of urgency. Nobody knows when the second coming will happen. Don't dilly-dally about converting to Christianity, you might leave it too late! But there is a price to pay. It gives Christianity a soft expiry date. As the century tick by, it gets awkward.
Continuing to talk about the second coming sounds odd. People keep looking forward to it; and keep getting disappointed. When will they learn that it isn't going to happen?
But quietly dropping it also comes across as odd. It was a big deal. And the faith is a one-off, final revelation; you cannot drop bits that age badly.
Perhaps the problem is me. I am "not thoroughly at home with ecclesiastical language and thought". But Ratzinger sees it as a "clown costume" kind of problem, rather than an "its been too long" kind of problem. That is missing the time dimension; the problem is getting worse as the years tick by, in a way the "clown costume" problems don't.
I was raised Christian and I recall discussing the second coming with my mom sometime when I was younger. For context, I had already declared myself christian and had gone through rituals. I said that obviously I would die before any second coming. And she said "not to be so sure." At the time I didn't know the word "Bayesian" or anything like that, of course, so I didn't really press the issue.
In retrospect, what she said seems even more ridiculous to me now if I try to look at it from a lense of truth or reality. My guess is the reaction is more about applause lights vs boo lights?
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