And in a blink of an eye, it's Advent!
People always ask if you're ready for Christmas. But I have to admit, when I woke up Sunday morning, I couldn't say for certain that I was ready for Advent, this season of waiting. Worse: Advent this year is shortened because the 4th Sunday of Advent falls on December 24th...so the church has to do a quick switcheroo from purple to white altar hangings, green the church, and go from anticipation and waiting to: Merry Christmas within a matter of hours!
I'm also very aware that things for many people in my congregation are less than cheery. The hurricane has taken a mental toll on folks in Valdosta, and the war in Gaza has meant that some of our service members have been deployed.
So to have apocalyptic readings on Advent 1 was both appropriate and chilling. But as the late Harvey Milk said, "You gotta give them hope!" And so here's what I had to say. See what you think.
Texts: Psalm 80: 1-7, 16-18 and Mark 13:24-37
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Happy Church New Year!
And welcome to beginning of Advent…a time of waiting and exciting
anticipation of the new thing that is on the horizon.
That “new thing” of course being Jesus.
I find that the Advent season that we observe in the Episcopal
Church is both a beautiful and difficult time of year.
I love the purple candles and the altar hangings.
I enjoy the music which speaks to a longing for God’s presence to
come closer to us.
And yet… this is also a tough time of year for many…especially this
year.
While we keep singing and praying for the coming of Jesus…the music
in every department and grocery store has been heralding the birth of Jesus
since Halloween.
And they want to make sure we know that we can use his birthday as
an opportunity to stock up on all those extra things we don’t really need…”low-financing
available!”
We’re expected to be joyful…but some folks just aren’t right now.
And then our new Church Year gives us a Gospel lesson from Mark that
sounds ominous.
Those who put together the lectionary couldn’t anticipate that many
in our area would still be picking up the pieces from a hurricane.
Or that we would be witnessing two very brutal wars—the one in
Ukraine and what is happening now in Gaza and the Holy Land.
We hear from this 13th Chapter of Mark…
The sun is darkened.
The moon gives no light.
Stars are falling from heaven.
The times were scary when Mark wrote down this Gospel.
The Jews had revolted against the mighty Roman Empire of First
Century Palestine…and the Roman Empire had completely crushed that rebellion
and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem… pummeled it so that “no stone was left
on top of another stone.” (Mark 13:2c)
All
that is left of that structure today is the Western or Wailing Wall.
Mark’s Jesus warns the disciples to
beware of false prophets. Prepare for painful divisions in families. Get ready
for hardship.
Sheesh!
Sometimes…it might feel as though these words put down on papyrus
so many thousands of years ago sound as if they could be talking about our
lives right now.
The words of our psalmist…” Restore us O God of hosts; show the
light of your countenance and we shall be saved” sounds like it could be a good
mantra for 2023.
And yet… Jesus reminds us not to fall asleep but to stay awake.
Because all the “things” happening around us are just distractions
from the important thing we are preparing to welcome.
The Light that is coming into this sometimes chaotic, messy, and
gloomy world.
This Light is coming…and it
will not let anything snuff it out. No
matter what is happening beyond the red doors of our sanctuary… this Light will
be the light of the world.
The question for us is: How do we stay centered on God amid the
whirlwind of things going on around us?
We can start with lighting a candle of Hope on our Advent wreath.
That first flame which burns inside us and helps to keep us going.
Hope…which is the grounding of Love…the “sure and steadfast anchor
of our souls.” (Heb.6:19)
This hopeful flickering light serves as the reminder that all is
not lost.
Last Sunday… a group sat around a table in the parish hall and with
the help of Deacon Karyl they put together Advent wreaths to take home. They
even made a couple of extra ones.
Keeping the vigil of lighting the Advent wreath at your own dinner
table or some other special place in the home is a way to have that tangible
reminder that we are in a season of waiting.
If you don’t have an Advent wreath…get four candles…purple or blue maybe
one pink one…and of course the white Christmas one in the center.
Arrange them in a circle.
And each week…every night… light one candle for Hope.
The next week Hope will be joined by peace.
Then joy….hope and peace
And finally Love….becomes the final word for Advent.
Take some time to sit before the light and imagine it as the light
of Christ meeting us in our homes and our lives.
We can use these candles as a means of keeping Hope alive in our
hearts and minds during the week.
Take the bulletin and insert home and make use of the prayers and
the scriptures as you keep watch and wait for Christ’s return.
There’s a lovely prayer for mission that’s in our Book of Common
Prayer. I invite you to pull out your red books…
It’s on found on the bottom of page 124.
This prayer for mission is one that we often use when we think of
those who must work overnight shifts in hospitals or other emergency jobs as
well as people who find themselves in dire straits…people who could stand to
see that Hopeful light of Christ coming to them in times of distress during the
night.
And even though it’s morning here…go ahead and join with me in
sending more hope into the world as we pray:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over
those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord
Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the
afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
May
your light of hope burn brightly this Advent season.
In
the name of God…F/S/HS.
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