November 30 - The First Sunday in
Advent
Advent is the season when the church prepares for
Christmas. But today’s lessons seem
to have little to do with the Christmas story. The one theme that runs through all of the
lessons is Christ’s second coming - His
final Advent.
The first line of
the first lesson sounded the theme:
“O that you would tear open
the heavens
and come down.”
A theme that is developed by Jesus in today’s gospel:
“Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels and gather
his elect. .... Be on watch, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will
come.”
What does this
have to do with getting ready for Christmas?
The child born in
We are not celebrating the birth of a baby back then, but the beginning of this age
in which God is not far away, but is
Emmanuel, “God who is with us.”
Our present life is lived in-between two advents -
The first advent was Christ’s appearance 2,000 years ago.
And Christ’s second advent His second coming,
when He will return in power and glory.
It’s easy to forget the focus of the season. That’s the
challenge we face as begin our march through the wild weeks of decorating and
shopping and entertaining that lie ahead. The danger is that we will miss what
really matters, distracted by the many assorted demands and details of the
holiday season. So Jesus says, “Keep
awake” - awake for the coming of the Lord.
Because Jesus is going to be coming to us soon -
maybe not in an earth shaking second coming; rather in a personal arrival to
each one of us. He’ll be
coming to us in words of scripture that have eternal
power: heaven and earth may pass away, but my words will not pass away. Mark 13:31
How to we stay ready for the advent of Jesus to us?
We begin by listening carefully to the word of Jesus -
words that can be hard to hear in the middle of the noise of the holiday
season.
In a season when we look forward to good meals with family
and friends and holiday parties, to gifts given and gifts received, Jesus says If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their
cross and follow me. 8:34
That’s certainly counter cultural at this festive time -
self denial rather than self indulgence.
Yet that is one of the reasons for Advent, the ‘winter Lent”. Simply a reminder that our
celebration of the holiday season may have to be different from our neighbors. Our focus will be shifted away from
commercialism, and shopping, and more credit card debt, so we can stay focused
the true meaning of the season.
We are to be of the world but not in the world. Sort of like a submarine. It is in the water but not of the water. If it is out of the water in a dry dock it is
of no use - it is not accomplishing its mission. But when it is in the water, it must be
insulated from the water. If the water
starts rushing into the submarine, then there is cause for alarm. So we must be insulated from the world. If we let the world rush into our hearts and
minds, it could sink us spiritually.
Don’t get swept away by the consumer Christmas all around us..
So these four weeks before Christmas are a winter Lent - a
season of self-denial and reflection
Advent reminds us that we are in an
“in-between-time”. God is not done with
us yet - we are a work in progress. We
live in between sin and holiness - guilt and blameless-ness. If we’re honest about ourselves, we can admit
that we fall short of God’s intention for us.
It is difficult, maybe impossible, to transcend who we are and how we
continue to mess up.
A husband had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife
placed before him at family meals. Then
he would ask the blessing, thanking God for the food.
After his usual combination - complaint and prayer - his
little girl asked: “Does God hear us when we pray?”
“Of course...”
“Does he hear everything we say the rest of the time?”
“Yes, every word.”
“Then which does
God believe?”
There are inconsistencies in our behavior. We are not yet what we shall become, with
God’s help. Our lesson reassures us:
God is
faithful; by Him you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus... He
will also strengthen you to the end... 1 Cor. 1:9,8
God’s forbearance, His patience, gives us time to discover
we are on the wrong path, and then to turn again to following Christ’s way. You
are here because God has called you, and with that calling comes
a promise that He will strengthen you to
the end. God can be trusted. The
plans God has for us are good.
This is the season for giving and receiving gifts - and of
good times with family and friends. And
the Lord invites us to broaden our definition of family. Remember Jesus said Just as you
did it to the least of these - members of my family - you did it to me. Matthew 25:40
So think of others outside your circle of family and
friends.
Glory and power are to be found in service to others, even
as we focus on the fun and festivity of the holiday.
Last Tuesday at Daily Bread we gave out 50 thanksgiving
food baskets to those in need in our community.
While some of the food is donated, the cost of filling those baskets was
an additional $700.
As we’ve done in the past, we want to give out another 50
food Christmas baskets later this month.
Your generosity in the past has made this possible, and we are counting
on your generous spirit next week when we take our monthly collection for Daily
Bread.
When Jesus spoke about His second coming in the gospel, he
said:
Then He
will send His angels, and gather Hs elect from the ends of the earth to the
ends of heaven. v. 37
The goal is to gather all His followers into
community. You have taken a step toward
His goal by being gathered into this community - this church
. One of the reasons we sing hymns from
So it’s important for us to remain connected to the
community that Jesus intends to gather when he returns - His church. Christian faith is a team sport, not an
individual activity, so it’s important to continue to get together for worship
and service, fellowship and fun..
In an over-scheduled holiday season it’s tempting to skip
worship and head to the mall - or get the house ready for guests - or
whatever. But Jesus wants us to stay
connected in community, where we will be kept alert and ready for his
advent.
You do
not know when the master of the house will come, Jesus
predicts, in the evening, or at midnight,
or at dawn. v. 35
So be alert and ready for his arrival - his advent, living
in a way that is in line with Christ’s teaching.
Thus, be alert to Christ’s will, living watch day with
faith and love and a spirit of service.
Fact is, we don’t know when our
lives will end, just as we don’t know the timing of Christ’s second coming.
Tim Mcgraw’s song “Live like you
were dying”
(the musical version of the
Bucket List)
... and he said, I went sky diving
I went
Rocky Mountain climbing
And I
loved deeper and spoke sweeter
and I gave
forgiveness I’d been denying
and I hope
some day you get the chance
to live
like you are dying
Good advice for Advent - live like you’ll meet Jesus
tomorrow:
Love deeper - speak sweeter -
- give forgiveness generously
Think of others beefier yourself;
Remain connected, in our church community. That’s the best
place to be if you want to meet Jesus Christ.
And most of all remember, it’s
all about Jesus.