NUCC
November 27, 2005
Advent 1
Isaiah 64:1-9
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37
Watch …. Wait …. Hope ….
These are Advent words. Like the prophet Isaiah and the people of Mark’s community we also watch, wait, and hope for God’s power and presence among us. As we begin our four-week journey to
Isaiah:
“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!”
Paul in 1 Corinthians:
“You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Mark:
“Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”
Through these lessons we learn to watch, wait, and hope. Let us see:
WATCH
“Keep awake.” “Be alert.” These are the “watch words” for people of faith. Isaiah hoped that God would come like a bolt of lightening. People in Mark’s day were looking for signs from the skies. But the bolt and the signs didn’t seem to come like that. Instead of a warrior king there came a prince of peace. Instead of a conforming law giver there came a confounding law breaker. Instead of answers, often came questions.
God surprises us. How are we to recognize God? Last Sunday we learned with some surprised people that God can come to us in the form of hungry, thirsty, unclothed strangers. This Sunday we learn that God can come to us when we least expect it.
Some folks have become obsessed with “reading the tea leaves” and telling us when and how Christ will come into our world. As you know those people have generally wasted their time. But this does not excuse us from watchful living.
William Loader, an Australian Bible scholar, tells us that watchful living has less to do with speculation about the end of the world than being ready for life. Hungering and thirsting for justice, righteousness, and fairness are much more important that figuring out who will be left behind.
Sometimes we would like God to intervene in this world and make everything right. The truth is, God has intervened in this world. God did that on Christmas about 2,000 years ago. Some people were alert enough to recognize it. Others were not. The trouble is most of us still haven’t recognized how God is nudging and pushing and sometimes kicking us through that one who came as an infant named Jesus. We still need to be watchful and alert to signs of the holy.
This brings us to the second word for this day:
WAIT
The people living in those first years of the Christian church were looking for Christ to return soon. They didn’t think they had much time left. Today people are still waiting. At least a couple of men have made a lot of money selling books with titles like Left Behind. But it appears that the only ones left behind right now are the folks that forked over money to buy those books.
If you are looking for some sort of dramatic, cataclysmic end of the earth scenario you may be waiting a long time. If you are expecting peace to come on this earth you may be waiting a long time. If you are looking for people to really follow Jesus, you may be waiting a long time. Do you give up?
Perhaps we should take our cue from the bird-watcher. What makes bird watchers the kind of people they are is not just spotting birds. It is also the preparation --- getting the right clothes and equipment, being in good shape, trekking out into the woods, developing keen sight, watching, staying awake and alert, being ready. And when the moment comes, it makes sense of all the preparation and waiting, the conversations about birds, reading the books, getting up early, being bit by mosquitoes, sitting in the rain.
Watching and waiting with purpose. Keeping the faith. Having patience. Not giving up. Keeping your skills honed. Not being too concerned about time. Qualities for a deer hunter or bird watcher. Qualities for a Christian.
This brings me to the final word for today.
HOPE
If we watch and wait in such a manner there is hope. Today we have brought out the blue paraments. For me these blue pieces of cloth represent hope. The patch of blue. The light at the end of the tunnel. The affirmation that God is there, even when the sky is cloudy.
Isaiah had visions of a God doing awesome deeds. In a couple weeks the movie theaters are supposed to feature a remake of the monster movie King Kong. Monsters like King Kong come with violence and cause fear. The one whom Isaiah expected and whom we expect is not one whom we need fear. This one is not a monster in a horror film. This one is the Lord of Life, the giver of peace, and the righter of wrongs. In him we find hope.
The challenge for us in this Advent season is to watch and wait with a sense of hope. To live in this moment with trust. To care more for God’s present people than God’s future glory.
I like the words of R.S. Thomas:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
the treasure hid in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, not hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
