Advent: Last Sunday's Sermon

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The Readings

Old Testament

Isaiah 64:1-9

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence--

as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil--

to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!

When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.

You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.

But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.

We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.

We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.

The Gospel

Mark 13:24-37

Jesus said, “In those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,

and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

The Sermon

Waiting is hard for me. I remember as a child sitting with my annoying brother in the back seat of our Pontiac while the family drove to Illinois to visit my Aunt Mary and Uncle Ralph. It was a six hour trip and painfully boring. The only excitement was when we crossed the Mississippi at Burlington, Iowa. It was an exciting crossing because the bridge was old and considered dangerous and my mother practically went into a panic whenever we crossed.

So except for those two minutes of excitement we were bored. We never stopped for lunch because mom always packed sandwiches for us. The most frequently asked question from the back seat of the car was, “how much longer.”

Advent is a time of waiting. It is a time to prepare as well as wait. Unlike the trip to Aunt Mary's we have no idea how long the wait will be. We all know the physical end will come for us in one form or another. Maybe it will be 'the Son of Man coming in clouds.' It might also be when we finally just wear out and we are released from our physical bodies.

When that end does come we must be prepared. So, how do we do that? Packing sandwiches for the long journey makes no sense. Neither does storing up as much money and material things as we can. In the Charles Dickens story “A Christmas Carol” Ebeneezer Scrooge finally gets it right. His grim existence of acquiring wealth ended with a visit from three spirits. According to the story, Scrooge's last years on earth were filled with the joy of giving and loving those around him.

My advice is not to worry about when the end will come but to follow the map that Jesus has charted for you and you will reach the joy of God's kingdom.

The other side of Advent is looking forward to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We do all kinds of things to prepare. We light the advent candle. We decorate. We buy presents. We ring bells for Salvation Army. We say Merry Christmas a lot. It is good that we look forward to Jesus birth. Jesus created a major shift in our world two thousand years ago and he is still changing lives today.

I ask that you spend some time this advent season reflecting on not only the advent of the second coming of Christ but also on how that child born in ancient times has made a difference in us today.

Amen