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| Photo by Tina Francis Mutungu |
Happy New Year! I opened the Gospel book this morning and it’s a blank page on the left and the big words “Year C” on the right. There’s always some excitement at starting a new year. We know what’s coming, whether it’s the months of our Gregorian calendar or the seasons of the church year. We have four Sundays of Advent, then 12 Days of Christmas, which end with the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Of course, knowing what’s ahead, there’s a lot to do as we prepare for God’s arrival in the world, but it’s something we anticipate with hope rather than fear.
Fear is all around us, as it was in Jesus’ time, such that, “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world” (Luke 21:26). Today’s Gospel reading is one of three apocalyptic readings in a row, foretelling the end of the world. Or at least the end of the world as we know it and find comfort in it. We’ll know the apocalypse by signs in the heavens and on the earth, roaring of the sea and the waves, earthquakes.
The same kinds of disruptions will extend to human interactions. Human civility will cease, there will be atrocities of human against human, governments will no longer protect basic human rights, and we will live in constant fear of war, famine, and global destruction. Fear, and its cousins Hate and Scarcity, will dominate.
Are we talking about Jesus’ world or ours? Let me be clear, I am NOT saying this is the end-times. I am naming that fear is real. Manifest as discrimination and hate against people for the color of their skin, or their birth country, their gender identity, or who they love. Fear that looks like scarcity thinking - that there won’t be ‘enough’ of something so that we have to hoard what we have and prevent new and other people from sharing in the abundance.
Did you know that Detroit, Syracuse, and St. Louis all have more than 100 empty housing units per homeless individual?[1] That 38% of food, about $473B worth, goes to landfills in the US annually?[2,3] What are we worried will run out, besides our generosity and compassion for basic human needs for safety, housing and food?
Some of you know how I love words. Apokalupsis means ‘uncovering’ or ‘revealing.’ It turns out that apocalypse doesn’t mean the crumbling of the world in on itself. There are apocalyptic narratives in the ancient prophets of the Hebrew scripture as well as three of the four gospels. Narratives and poetry that use evocative language, signs in the heavens, trials followed by triumph - as a way of proclaiming extravagant hope when all hope seems lost. What if this apocalyptic reading in Luke is a way of describing God’s good news being revealed to the world in a new and unexpected way?
In Advent, we are preparing for the coming of God into the world. Part of our Advent anticipation is to remember Jesus who was, and is, and is to come. With Baby Jesus in the manger, we remember Jesus who was - who grew up and walked this earth teaching his imperfect and often-faltering friends about God’s love for all humanity. We also celebrate Jesus who IS - in the form of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit of God, who continues to inspire and encourage us to walk and speak courageously in faith. AND we look forward to Jesus coming again, with power and great glory, to God’s commonwealth of love and justice for all people, a realm we are active partners in building here and now.
Advent promises that holy light will shine in the darkness, that God’s kingdom is coming near.
As the days get darker and colder, we find reasons to gather, to share food and warmth, to comfort and rejoice together. These are the things we do when we wait together, in good times. In times of crisis, we do the very same things - we gather, we break bread and comfort one another while holding back anxiety about the unknowns of the future. When we gather, we are living Advent, living the revealing of God’s kingdom.
Our Advent purpose is to stay alert, to live these next few weeks with hope and love. Hope and love are verbs. Not passive, sit-back-and-let-it- wash-over-me words - though some of that is necessary and good in the midst of a busy holiday season. I mean hope that makes room for Jesus, that watches and waits as God is revealed in chaos and disruption. Love that remains ready for action, welcoming the stranger.
Find an Advent practice that nourishes your soul, that helps you remember God’s promise in Jesus, to shake the world’s foundations of fear and hate and replace them with boundless love. That practice could be anything that helps you take a few minutes every day to be quiet, to reflect on God breaking into your life and our world, to read a little scripture, to give thanks, to pray and talk with God about what weighs on your heart. We are preparing our hearts to receive God, again, anew.
Advent is a time for practicing love, for welcoming strangers and neighbors alike. Whether that is helping feed hungry neighbors, sharing in creating and distributing a holiday outreach effort, or joining a social action to show our marginalized siblings that we stand with them and support them. Writing about Hanukkah, which begins on December 25, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says, "For though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we each are free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world."[3] Sharing light, practicing love, welcoming strangers are all ways we resist fear and scarcity, and unveil God’s kingdom here and now.
This Advent, we dare to wait with hope, that God will break open our hearts and transform our lives and the world in which we live.
Let us pray.
Urgent God, breaking through the static to speak to our hearts: disarm our love of control and shake the silent heavens to reveal your dawning glory, judging all in the light of love; through Jesus Christ, the one who is to come. Amen. [4]
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[1] https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/vacant-homes-vs-homelessness-by-city/, accessed 01 December 2024.
[2] https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs and https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste, accessed 01 December 2024.
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/06/why-hanukkah-is-the-perfect-festival-for-religious-freedom/, accessed 02 December 2018.
[4] Steven Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church (New York: Church Publishing, 2009), Collect for Advent 1, Year C.
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