Advent 1 2007

Isaiah 2:1-5

Psalm 122

Romans 13:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

Wow! What a great Sunday for preaching fire and brimstone! After all, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Violence is pervasive…on tv and on the streets. We are geared up to shop until we drop. Yet homelessness, war, hunger abound. And then I get these texts!

He shall judge between the nations! You know what time it is! Wake from sleep! Do not be out reveling, practicing debauchery and licentiousness! (That is self-indulgence and wastefulness!)

Ooh, and then Jesus says to be aware even though we don’t know the hour! Because you’ll be going about your business and whoosh! Someone will be taken away and someone will be left….

So be ready! Be on red alert! Because the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour! So put aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light!!

Aren’t you glad we don’t get these texts every week? Because being on high alert is exhausting. Being awake all the time can make the mind play crazy tricks on you.

And then we would really have to puzzle if we should want to be left behind or whisked away…depends on whether you read those popular, albeit poorly written books or you realize that the folks Jesus was talking to lived under Roman rule. And the Romans were brutal. They could just come along and grab a person and make them a slave, or hey, crucify. So you would want to be the one left behind!

But really, what do we do with these texts? Sound the alarm? Live fearfully, looking under every rock and around every corner for signs of the end? Look to see who is reveling? Who is extravagant?

It is Advent, a time to get ready, a time to be ready for Christ to come again. And yes, we can do that fearfully. Afraid that God is coming and boy is God angry! Because we aren’t towing the line. And we certainly aren’t beating any swords into plowshares.

Or we can look at the texts differently, read the hope that is in them. And live in faith. Because the coming of God is a joyous occasion. One that promises to make all things new, to gather all people together, to be a time of renewal and joy. For we have seen how God judges folks, with more mercy and compassion and forgiveness that all of us put together.

So maybe we should step back, take a deep breath, and loose the fear factor.

And find the hopeful parts of the today’s lessons. The parts that seek peace, promise prosperity (that is, not wealth and big cars but goodness and security)., the parts that encourage talk about the light, “let us walk in the light of the Lord.” “let us put on the armor of light.”

You know, the armor of light. Sounds strange, doesn’t it. A little scary. Because if you want to hide, you don’t shine a spotlight on yourself. And if you want to stay safe in a war you turn off the lights and pull the blinds. And if you want to avoid the reality of wrinkles and gray hair, trust me, stay away from that fluorescent light in the bathroom by my office!

Seriously, walking around bathed in light doesn’t sound like much protection in a world that hides in the shadows, that makes deals behind closed doors, that keeps secrets.

Yet there it is, the end is coming, salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.

And now is the moment. We put on the armor of light. One candle to start with, it’s okay to ease into it. To wear it a while to get comfortable. To try it out and see that God doesn’t hurt.

And then next we light two candles and hear more words of hope and breath a little more. And leave a little lighter. Then three…

So getting ready during this Advent season doesn’t mean so much God isn’t here, Jesus isn’t among us yet….but that he is already among us, and growing towards fulfillment. Eugene Peterson says “…waiting does not diminish us; any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see that it is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become and the more joyful our expectancy.”

Having been, 3 times, a pregnant mother during Advent, I like that analogy. We are in the season of waiting, already being enlarged.

If I were to preach the fire and brimstone, the terrible judgment, if I were to play on your fear of being left behind, it would diminish all of us.

For what does fear do? It makes us small, curved in for safety; it makes us want to hide in the dark so we can’t be found.

Fear sends us looking for safety that is all too often “found” in false promises, big wars, lines that divide us from one another.

But the light, oh the light, the light can make us see past the fear, through the lies, it makes the divisions between us disappear.

The light shows us the way…the way of peace and true prosperity (remember…in Hebrew that means “goodness” or “security”.)

The light shows us the world as it is, letting us in on where our gifts can be best used to make a difference, here and now.

The light brings comfort, healing, promise, hope.

The Son of Man will come again. And we will be busy living our lives. But will they be lives of fear or of hope?

Will we be living small or living large? In the dark or in the light?

This month we practice waiting, active waiting…we sweep away the darkness and light the candles. We breathe out the fear and breathe in the sweet hope of Jesus.

We get ready again…in our armor of light…so that we may see the places Christ is already at. And sweep away the shadows to make room for Christ to come in. And spread the light so others may find the goodness and security of this part of the body of Christ.

You are not going to get fire and brimstone here. There is enough fear in the world already.

This is a place and a time for peace. For light. For Christ to be seen and tasted and heard.

And so we gather at the light. Come Lord Jesus.