This week’s sermon for the first Sunday of Advent is largely a repeat of my Advent 1 sermon from December 1, 2019, although of course without the reflections on the imminent arrival of our first child!
In writing it in 2019, I found helpful this reflection by Michael J. Chan at WorkingPreacher, as well as Jim Somerville’s sermon (PDF) at A Sermon For Every Sunday. This week’s Gospel text is Matthew 24:36-44
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Here’s the sermon audio and video from Christ the King.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our coming King, Jesus Christ. Amen
Happy Advent!
[1 minute of silence]
Waiting is hard, isn’t it? Especially when you don’t know what you’re waiting for, even just a minute of waiting can feel like a really long time.
I don’t know about you, but I have a lot going on right now. There’s a lot on my to-do list. I actually ran out of sticky notes in one office! We just got through the Thanksgiving service, and visiting with family, and now it’s Advent, so there’s been lots to do putting this liturgy together, Bible study is starting this week, it’s nearly time for annual reports, and I’m very much still learning how to navigate and balance serving in two congregations.
I’m not complaining—most jobs have times that are busier than others, and I love this season. Still much better than being an accountant in tax season!
I’m just saying, it feels like we’re rushing towards Christmas, and there’s a lot going on, lots to do, and here we are in Advent, the season of waiting and watching, anticipating and preparing, getting ready for Jesus’ arrival.
The color for Advent is blue. Specifically, it’s intended to be the color of twilight, the deep blue color of the sky in the moments before the sun comes up in the morning. Advent is the time right before the dawn of the light. It’s the moment of anticipation before the light breaks into the world, before Jesus is born at Christmas. It’s a color of waiting.
Most of you don’t work in church offices, but you still have a lot going, right? This time of the year is busy for everyone. Our world doesn’t see Advent as a twilight pause before dawn; it sees this season as a brief window to rush and prepare everything for Christmas. Especially in this year when there’s so much pressure to “get back to normal,” lots of it is good stuff, parties and concerts and fundraisers.
But in general, the focus in these weeks before Christmas isn’t so much preparing to welcome the Son of God into the world as it is trying to sell as much as possible.
Micah and I watched a good part of the Thanksgiving parade on Thursday and it was not about waiting and preparing – it was about commerce.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with sales and giving presents at Christmas. I love trying to find good prices on things, but it gets to be overwhelming.
I wonder, what’s on your to-do list? What are you thinking about right now that you need to do? Maybe it’s reading your book before Bible study starts, maybe it’s wrapping up the month at work. Maybe it’s marking off people on a Christmas shopping list.
For some in our church, it’s trying to find a new normal with a loved one missing, figuring out how to navigate a holiday season where’s there’s going to be an empty seat at the table. That’s a whole new kind of waiting and preparing.
The fascinating thing is Advent is not just about getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ first coming 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem; it’s also about preparing for Christ’s second coming in glory, preparing for the realization of God’s kingdom.
We live in an in-between time, waiting for Jesus to return, waiting for God’s kingdom to be realized. And it’s hard to wait, especially when we don’t know how long we’re waiting for, or exactly what it will look like.
In the Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus tells the disciples no one knows the day or the hour of his return.
How do you plan without a deadline? How do you know if your to-do list is on track if you don’t know how long you have to get through it?
It would be nice to know, wouldn’t it? As Jesus says, if you know the hour when a thief is coming to break into your house, you’ll stay awake and not let your house be broken into.
But we don’t get to know. We only get to wait. And Jesus tells us to be ready.
Which brings up the question, what does it mean to be ready? How do you prepare for Jesus to break into your life, to meet him face to face? How do you get ready for the end of the world?
As I was preparing for this service, I thought about handing out paper and asking you to write down your Advent to-do list; having you write down your priorities for getting ready for Jesus’ coming, the things you need to do before Christmas and the things you need to do to be prepared in case Jesus comes back tomorrow.
But I don’t think this season is about adding to a to-do list. I don’t think this is about us trying to work harder or be better people as if perhaps by our doing more to get ready we’ll be in better shape when Jesus shows up.
It’s true; we do not know what day our Lord is coming. We do not know how long we’ll be waiting, and it’s hard to wait. It is hard to trust, instead of trying to prove ourselves.
It’s hard to be, rather than to do. Too often, waiting feels like enduring, just trying to survive this world.
But remember who we’re waiting for. We await the coming of our Savior, our Redeemer, the One who loves us enough to give his own life for us. Remember that this season is a season of hope. We’re preparing for something better.
The coming of our Lord is not something to be dreaded, but anticipated. We long for the coming of God’s kingdom, because we have already been claimed as children of God. We have been given new life. We are citizens of God’s kingdom.
“Salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers,” writes Paul. And that is good news. That is hopeful news.
We look forward to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision, when swords will be beaten into plowshares, when we’ll no longer wake up to news of shootings in schools and stores.
We look forward to God’s light dawning, illuminating the shadows of this world.
In this season of Advent, as you wait and prepare for the coming of the Lord, remember it is Christ who makes you ready. The light is coming into this dim world.
Ready or not, the Lord is coming. The night is far gone, and the day is near. And be at peace, for the Lord’s coming is good news for us and for all of creation.
May God bless you as you wait. Amen