Our focus this morning on our Advent Journey is God in the World …
What do our scriptural texts bring to bear on such an idea?
The prophet Isaiah proclaims a message of comfort in the midst of very difficult times and urges preparation for a new age. The Gospel of Mark begins the Good News by telling us the story of John the Baptist preaching repentance and forgiveness in preparation for the coming of Jesus who will bring the Holy Spirit into human lives.
Several of the Advent lections (particularly last week's) cause us to reflect on the Second Coming of Jesus … and that's a favorite of Hollywood and many others … that often is depicted as a cataclysmic event that ushers in a new heaven and a new earth. But this morning I want us to be clear about the "Coming" of Jesus that we already know about … you know … the one about the baby who came to earth in the flesh to live among us … the One who came to teach us how to live and love in our time and place the way God intended from the beginning of time … and the new heaven and earth that was promised to those who were faithful and obedient. I have a friend who says, "How or why should we worry about the second coming when we haven't really gotten what the first coming was all about?!! " When we get that right, we won't have to worry about the second coming … we'll be ready for it!!
In Advent we highlight the coming of the divine into our world. As we hear the story of God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus, we acknowledge that Mary accepted the invitation of the divine, willingly carrying the savior of the world in her womb, and as a result Jesus came to be and God was in the world in a NEW way from that time on. In like manner from then on the everyday coming of the Lord is linked to the believers' response. God's loyal love comes to encounter the faithfulness of the believers. It grows as the faithfulness from the ground meets the deliverance that comes from above, which in turn bestows blessings that fertilize the land.
Today's lections issue an invitation for human beings to repent and be faithful to God, believing that what prevents God from acting in the world sometimes is our unfaithfulness, not the world's evil nature. This invitation to faithfulness offers the greatest hope as we wait for and continue to experience God's constant advents. God can work and transform us and the structures of this world when we live faithfully, when we live God's advent as an experience of interdependency. Our lives on earth reflect our relationship of mutuality with God. As we live our daily encounter with the divine, we are reminded that all creation must live interdependently with the Creator.
Let me tell you a story I read recently: A father of four abandoned his wife and children after neglecting and abusing them. The young mother didn't know where to turn … no job … no money … no particular skills … lots of bills. She was determined, however, to survive and make a new life for her family. She packed the four little children into the old battered car and started making the rounds looking for a job. Her shabby appearance and that of her little ones did not make a great impression on employers that interviewed her. After many days of this, she finally landed a job as an all-night waitress at a truck stop … . not much money, but the promise of decent tips for good service. She went home ecstatic! She could be at home taking care of her children all day. She engaged a teenager in her apartment complex to come and sleep over with the kids. She would put them to bed before going to work each evening and would be home before the older two and the teen had to get up and go to school. She would pay the teen $10 a night. She'd catch some sleep when her littlest ones napped. All went well for quite a spell. She managed to pay the rent and keep them fed … . but there was nothing left over for any extras. She had some problems with the car, but managed to keep going because some of the friends she made at the truck stop tinkered with it occasionally. The balding tires were a concern, but she drove very carefully. One early morning as she left work and opened the driver's side door of the car, she was shocked by the sight of four brand new tires in the back seat! No note … no nothing … just four gorgeous miraculous circles! Warm tears fell as she drove home.
The Advent Season that year brought her nothing but sadness, however. She had absolutely no resources to provide Christmas gifts or a festive holiday meal for her precious babes. They were so excited about the upcoming holidays and their talk about Santa and surprises deepened her depression and feelings of failure, futility, and exhaustion. On Christmas Eve as she put them to bed before going to work she tried to prepare them for disappointment, but their innocent exuberance could not be extinguished. She went to the diner that night crying bitterly. As dawn began to break, she dragged herself to her battered old car with a heaviness in her heart that was palpable. But what was this???? The car was stuffed with shopping bags and a huge box of groceries … ham … potatoes … veggies … rolls … a pie … fruit … candy canes … all kinds of treats. As she looked with disbelieving eyes into the shopping bags there were four pairs of jeans with matching shirts … snow jackets … boots … hats … gloves … underwear … and most exciting of all, three huge shiny trucks and a beautiful doll, and a variety of books. There were more tears on the ride home … but of a very different variety than the ones she had shed the night before. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! All the way home she blessed the unknown angels who had blessed her with glad tidings of great joy on that Christmas morn. She breathed prayers of gratitude to God for the compassion and caring that had been planted, nurtured, and lived in the hearts of her benefactors. God was surely in the world!!
"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." That's a great theme for the second Sunday in Advent. Comfort. Not everyone is full of cheer at Christmas. In fact, this is a season when depression is at a peak for some.
My friends, here is God's word for your life right now. If you are in pain this Advent season, God is here to comfort you. Perhaps you are in grief, perhaps the economic situation has dealt you some devastating financial blows, perhaps you have received a bad medical prognosis for yourself or someone in your family, perhaps your marriage or family relationships are in trouble. Whatever your heartbreak this day, God wants to offer you comfort.
Advent says, first of all, that God cares about a broken world. Isaiah was speaking to a broken nation. Much of the nation of Israel had been carried away into exile. They longed for a return to their homeland. Isaiah assures them that God has not forgotten them. Their suffering is almost over. God will buiId a vast highway over which they can travel through the wilderness. In the New Testament John the Baptist cries that soon God will build an even more important highway linking humanity and God. The message is the same. God cares about a broken world. God cares about broken people in every age and time. That's why humanity needed Christmas!
At this time in our own national and personal history we are very much aware that the global community faces difficult problems. We have just come through a lengthy political campaign that has emphasized CHANGE … and that message came from BOTH political parties. Most of us, whether we are sympathetic with the party that won or the party that lost, hold in our heart of hearts, a longing for healing, for peace, for solutions to the tragedies of war and poverty. And we also hold HOPE that whatever CHANGE comes, it will bring about the new day for which the whole creation groans. Advent reminds us that creative and constructive change will come when our lives reflect our relationship of mutuality with God. One of the ways we KNOW God is alive in the world … . GOD LIVES IN YOU AND ME! As we live our daily encounter with the divine and welcome GOD IN OUR WORLD, we experience a new heaven and new earth here and now.
JESUS CAME INTO OUR WORLD TO IDENTIFY WITH THE WORLD'S SUFFERING. That's the whole point of the Advent season. Jesus came into our world that he might walk in our shoes. We ALL need a Savior! (Not a White Christmas or Jingle Bells).
My sisters and brothers, God has walked in your shoes. God knows our pain. This is the Gospel. This is the Good News. God cares about a broken world. Jesus came into our world to identify with the world's realities … even and especially when all is not "merry and bright."
This brings us to the last thing to be said: THE MANGER OF BETHLEHEM IS AS MUCH A PART OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AS THE CROSS OF CALVARY. I love the way Isaiah puts it in verse nine: "You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns (of Judah), ‘Here is your God!'"
We affirm that as we come to the Lord's Table this morning. We internalize it and make it part of who we are as we receive the Bread and Juice. We take it into the world as we leave this place as faithful and obedient servants and share it this Advent Season. God IS in our world. God is HERE!! Amen!!