Trinity Episcopal Church
Towson, MD
Year C - Advent 1 - November 29, 2015
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Here we are again at the beginning of another church year.
There is a feeling of freshness about today as we break out the advent wreath
and the blue vestments and as we start counting down the days of our Lord’s
return in great glory to renew the face of the earth. The world is on the
threshold of salvation and God is fulfilling God’s promises, not only to
Israel, but to us.
One of the most thought provoking things that I have seen as this
season begins is a picture that is floating around on social media that says, “You
cannot spell adventure unless you begin with advent.” - and I would go further to say that you cannot have an Adventure unless you start with an Advent! Brothers and sisters, we are
all on a grand adventure of living out God’s promise to restore the world and
bring forth the kingdom of justice and righteousness and this is a celebration
of the beginning. This is our Advent.
Advent is the beginning of our grand adventure… and it’s a bit scary if we stop and think
about it. The unknown lurks in the shadows of Advent. What is --- is yet to be
revealed. Some of you have heard me say before that Advent is living in that thin
‘tween space of the already and the not yet… between what has happened and the
beginning of what is yet to happen.
It’s sort of ironic that this is the time of year when folks
break out the Christmas greeting cards and reconnect with friends and family
over the miles. For me, it’s always a joy to get a card from someone that lives
far away. I remember a friend in the family that lived in Ireland, Nellie, who
would send me a Christmas card every year without fail. Each year, the card
would have a different kind of image of a Christmas scene and words of well
wishes and prayers for the New Year. It warms my heart to this day to even
think about it. To think about the way I felt encouraged and together with her even
though an ocean and many miles separated us… Even though I was far away.
Cards and letters have a special way of connecting us and
helping us, especially through hard times… the dark times in our life when we
feel forgotten and alone. Cards and letters can make us feel supported and
remembered, and they can help us feel encouraged and appreciated.
At Timothy’s request, Paul sent a letter to the church in
Thessalonica… The Thessalonians were struggling with persecution because they
had started to follow the ways of a person named Jesus. In this new way, they had
given up the ways of their pagan idols. This was a radical shift from what was
socially, politically, economically, and religiously acceptable… it put stresses
on families and on friendships, it caused turmoil in the workplace and in the
marketplace.
The one thing that I think the Thessalonians got right – is
that they knew that the world was on the threshold of salvation and they
invested their whole selves, everything that they had and were in preparing for
the kingdom of God to come. They let the teachings of Jesus take over every
aspect of their lives as they were in the advent of their adventure.
But times for the Thessalonians were hard, and they felt
like they were in the dark, struggling with their newly kindled faith. And Paul
is removed and not able to return to them… and he so desperately wants to be
there with them and help them endure their hardships, but the only thing that
he can do is write to them and give them a letter of encouragement and hope.
That is the portion of Paul’s letter that we read today.
Paul longs to be there with them face to face to help them withstand everything
that is being thrown at them. To help them endure and hold fast to the faith
that is in them.
How then shall we live, in a world so desperate to rush into
store and beat people over the head for sale items just one day after being
thankful for everything that they already have? How do we live counter-culturally
in a time when gluttony and greed is rewarded and is a socially acceptable
display of strength and power? We’re not too far off from having to live like
the Thessalonians did when they were persecuted for being different, who had to
remain drastically counter-cultural in order to keep the faith.
It sounds a bit like what Jeremiah did for the people of
Israel in our Old Testament lesson, reminding them of God’s promises. Giving
them encouragement and hope… At this time, Israel was in exile and the prophet
Jeremiah points them in the direction and calls them to wait on the Lord for a
time of equity and virtue… A time when things that were cast down are being
raised up… a time when the old things are being made new… a time when the
darkness, pain, hunger, war, and famine will be no more… the things we need to engage
and participate in to help usher in the Kingdom of God… things that are of the
Kingdom of God.
The community that Jeremiah is speaking to has been defeated
and is in darkness, they have been cut down and are in a foreign land with
foreign rules, and foreign rulers – in an area that doesn’t know the God of
Israel. Jeremiah is sending word from his prison cell to the others in exile, who
also feel forgotten and lonely in the darkness of their life.
But, Jeremiah tells them not to worry, that everything will
be o.k. – that God has the ability to raise up a righteous branch… a new leader
that will rule justly… and he says, “in those days Judah will be saved”… in
those days, we will be saved.
We are in the advent of our adventure and we are in a time
of uncertainty and darkness. Regardless of how many Advents we have celebrated
as a church, we are only still right at the beginning…
There is so much hate and evil in this world, we long for a
time when a great leader will rise up and govern us… a righteous leader that
will help lead the way - to assure us of God’s love and care for us, to show us
the plan of salvation.
Jesus is that leader… and Christ Jesus is that leader who
encourages us and teaches us that if we stay alert, and we don’t get all tied
up in the worries of this world, then we will begin to develop whatever we need
in order to endure the hardships of our adventure.
But we don’t want to have to endure the hardships… We want
to avoid them and just skip to the end where everything is perfect and
restored. It’s only natural for us to want to get to the end before we ever get
started. If you have ever traveled with a small child on a long journey, you
have probably heard the phrase, “are we there yet?” “Are we there yet?” is our
juvenile way of not being able to wait and anticipate what’s coming.
Jesus says that there will be signs along the way. I know
that road signs always help me on long trips. They helps me to count down the
miles that I have left to go. Sort of like the advent wreath here helps us mark
time during the season… Road signs ease something inside of me as they helps me
to visualize the destination, which allows me to enjoy the adventure even more.
“Are we there yet?” The Kingdom of God is breaking forth
into the world, and we get to be the midwife. It’s an exciting adventure as we
help others understand with words of encouragement and hope that if we remain
faithful we will experience God’s plan of salvation… the plan that God has
prepared for the whole world.
It’s the dawn of a new church year; a new era, a new and
fresh beginning, and we are at our advent, waiting to begin the great adventure
of ushering in the kingdom of God.
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