Advent 1, Year B
The Rev. Mark B. Pendleton
Christ Church of Exeter
There is a lot to like about the Advent season. As the days shorten and darkness invades our
lives, this time of year draws us in through messages of hope, peace, joy and
love. The children in Sunday School today made Advent wreaths and will light
candles to mark these days. There is a nice counter-culture go against the flow
rhythm to these four weeks: its messages run counter to so much of what hear
and see in the world around us. During a
time of the year that can seem especially fast-paced and hectic, where it can
be easy to get a little stressed while wearing a pre-holiday smile, Advent
urges us to show down and wait. In a
culture that begins to play Christmas music in stores at Halloween, Advent
reminds us each year: not yet. There is work to be done.
At the same time, Advent is tricky and edgy. We have turned
back from the church’s past practice of making these weeks a mini-penitential
Lent, but like expecting parents waiting for a baby to be born, there is
hope-filled uncertainty in the air. Add into the mix that Episcopal clergy
cannot help ourselves in not failing to mention the liturgical color change of
the seasons: we of course do church in Technicolor: green, purple, white, red,
and for these four weeks before Christmas: blue.
From an early age, “what is your favorite color” is one of
those questions asked of us to draw out our unique identity. It is not unusual
to find children dedicated almost exclusively to one color as their own
signature style. I remember filling an entire living room in pink bunting and
streamers and napkins for a particular 5 year old’s birthday tea party with her
friends – that same girl not so little anymore driving as we speak back to
college after her holiday break. Time
marches on.
There are times when we even speak in the language of
color. I for one stayed away from the
stores on the so-called Black Friday – the all important shopping day after
Thanksgiving – yet what I know from reading spreadsheets that at the bottom of
columns its better to see black numbers than red. Dr. Isaac H. Godlove was a color scientist who
worked in the early 20th century and died in the 1950’s. His take on
American’s views on color still resonate as he wrote about the period after
tough economic times.
"In recent years, these
troublous times have made some of us chronically blue. Our business was in the
red. We were going home with a dark brown taste in the mouth. We were unable to
look through the old rose-tinted glasses to see the yellow-golden flood again
flowing our way. The purple depression had us contemplating black mourning for
dying business, departed bank accounts and profits. But we took a hitch in our
belts and carried on, waiting for the rosy dawn, for we lacked the yellow
streak. We toned up our product, gave it a more healthy complexion, made it
more attractive; put more color spice into our sales appeal."
In our Bible study last Sunday, we tackled today’s dense
passage from Mark’s gospel. We joked how
David mentioned in his sermon last week that after a year of living with Matthew’s
gospel, he was a bit tired of Matthew and ready for Mark’s turn. Yet after
today’s lesson, I’m wondering if David is having second thoughts? I am!
Chapter 13 of Mark is called the Little Apocalypse -- apocalypse
being a very ominous sounding word that basically means lifting of the veil or revealing
something was hidden. It is not the end
of days, but rather a turning point. The images of suffering, suns darkening,
moons not giving light and stars falling from heaven are clear and undeniable. Old
Testament prophets spoke about the Son of Man -- a super human being -- coming
in clouds to save the people from oppression. What is the lesson behind these
many images and warnings – for those who first heard them and us today?
Jesus was telling those who were willing to hear that soon, very soon, something was going to happen in their lives that would usher in a new way of living and looking at the world. What they had once known was to change forever.
For faithful Jews who heard these words, in a mere 40 years before they would see their Temple destroyed and Jerusalem laid waste by the Romans. People used to hearing preachers preach may ask why mention the destruction of the Temple as often as we do. It is cited as often as it is because the event looms over the Gospels themselves. It is hard for you and I to imagine how bad that moment was in history: it was 9/11, Pearl Harbor, the battle of Gettysburg, the Siege of Stalingrad all rolled into one. Jesus was preparing the people for something almost otherworldly bad. And at the same time, what would be so very bad would not be the end. It was the beginning of something new. And God would continue to be at the center even when all is different and changed and even damaged beyond recognition. So they should not lose hope, even when it seems like the world is collapsing around them.
There is no shortage of life events that cause us to feel,
think and believe that our lives are changed forever. They happen more often than we might like.
And this is not always a bad thing.
Buddist nun Pema Chodon writes in When Things Fall Apart “that
the only time we ever know what’s really going on is when the rug’s been pulled
out and we can’t find anywhere to land. They use these situations either to
wake themselves up or put themselves to sleep.” That is the risk of these days
when it all seems “too much” – so we shut down or turn off.
Worldly and cosmic events to make us believe that the end is
near. Have you noticed how the nightly
nations news shows more weather than hard news these days? Droughts and forest
fires, torrential rain and mudslides, tornados and storm chasers, 24/7
hurricane coverage. The pictures from the snow south of Buffalo were eye-popping.
Some called the storm: snow-maggedon, borrowing the Biblical term Armageddon to
make the point. Nothing like natural
events to get our attention!
How can we know when a moment in time is a turning point – an ushering in of something new? Surely terrible weather is not the only sign?
Jesus pretty much tells his followers that it’s no use trying to guess when the time will come. Which leads to the main message of today: beware, keep alert, keep awake. Look and see what God is calling you to do -- now. Listen to those who are bringing messages that we most need to hear.
For some, what they have been called to do is to speak out and protest. This past week our nation and the world have again seen rioting, protests, and looting in the streets of a suburban St. Louis.
There is no shortage of opinions or commentaries about what
happened in that fateful day in August with the shooting death of Michael Brown
by police officer Darren Wilson. Ferguson
has become both a Rorschach and litmus test on the issue of race in
America. It is a symbol, right or wrong,
of something larger than the individuals or the actual event that began the
protests. Many clergy and churches have been at the center of the aftermath on
the ground: holding candlelight vigils, marching in peaceful protests and
speaking out for justice. I shared some
of my thoughts about Ferguson on my blog which you can access on the website.
For you and me this morning, the events unfolding in
Missouri can seem light years away from Exeter and New Hampshire’s
Seacoast. Yet when people are protesting
in the streets somewhere, I believe we should take note. If ever we might be
tempted to dismiss the grievances of those who shout the loudest, maybe that is
the time to lean in and listen more. What
is it like to walk in another person’s shoes?
How are their struggles ours, their fears, likely our own? Their hopes
should be our hopes.
Christians have been waiting for 2000 years for Christ to
return and my hunch is that we will have to wait some more. We do not know the
hour or the time.
The message of Christ – the one we wait for – is a message
that is universal and enduring. The good news is that our lives will not
collapse around us when we set them in the center of God’s eye. Now is the time -- not later or soon -- to
really open our eyes to our beautiful and conflicted world. To reach out, give,
connect, lift up, speak out, encourage, and to love and be loved.
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