Advent 1: Sermon by Seminarian Evan Mayhew

Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV)25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

I always smile when I meet people who love to host holidays at their house.  Some people thrive on that sort of thing and are even excited about it.  I smile because if you were at my house before company came over, you'd probably think the world was ending.  My mother is a preschool director and teacher, and holidays are always a race to the finish line for her.  Between holiday programs, gifts for volunteers and students, shopping, cleaning, cooking, decorating, and just the normal flow of schoolwork, my mother is lucky if she can go to bed on Christmas Eve before 2 AM.  Add the extra responsibility of hosting Christmas for the 20+ members of her extended family, and the house turns into a mess of pounding feet, accidentally messed up recipes, and endless to-do lists.  For my mother, Advent is often anything but a happy time.  It's a stressful time.  Sure, she enjoys Christmas day... but by the time she gets there she's ready to pass out.  I remember, when we were kids we used to have dinner every Sunday night during Advent.  We'd light the candle on the wreath and read a short devotional about Advent.  That peaceful, idyllic image almost seems silly to me now that I see the world as more of an adult.  I honestly don't know how we made time for that and a daily advent calendar.I'm sure many of you can relate to that experience.  Just like anything in life, beauty and ritual cannot happen without work.  But maybe Advent is stressful for you for other reasons... political differences with family members, travel anxiety, financial strain, pain over the loss of a loved one... It seems like for many people Advent is always surrounded by a maelstrom of pain, stress, and confusion...  There's a reason why hospital visits increase around the holidays.  On top of this, the world often doesn't quite line up with the tone of Christmas either.  We're living in that reality right now.  After learning about the murder of Laquan McDonald or the 5 protestors shot in Minneapolis, it seems foolish to sing Jingle Bells or even Joy to the World.  In fact the world seems at odds with Advent. The realities of the holidays, the broken world surrounding us, our broken hearts within us... Advent has the potential to be and often is a time where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong.This is difficult, because it seems like it shouldn't be that way.  Like all this pain and suffering is unnatural, opposed to the true nature of this season.  Like there is something we could do, that if only we did it, Advent could be the idyllic experience that it should be and has been.  But is that really true?  Has Advent ever really been idyllic?  Is it meant to be?  Maybe not.  Maybe the chaos we heard about in the gospel text is closer to Advent than we think.Imagine the world of Advent.  The world of early Israel was chaotic at best, and miserable at it's worst.  Israel was an island in-between powerful empires... empires who often were looking for one slip up or sign of revolution to crush.  Empires who oppressed the poor and taxed average people to support the luxury of the rich.  Prophets warning against corruption and pointing to the ushering of a new age.  John the Baptist in the wilderness calling for all to repent and be baptized.  It's very easy to see that this world was just as confused, stressed, and afraid as the one we live in now if not more.  Without the guiding word of God, the whole enterprise could have devolved into chaos, much as it often does in our world.Okay, so the world of Advent is a world full of confusion, fear, fainting, and desperation.  Where does that leave us?  Not in a very satisfying place, I'll admit.  There's conflict, and I think the question is this: why does society imagine and hope for Advent to be idyllic when we know perfectly well it won't be?  I think it comes back to the same reason that I struggled with this text.  Humans are not big fans of chaos, fear, or confusion.  I think somewhere in our childhood we all develop a sense that the world should not be as it is, or that there is a better reality that is not the one we live in.  Maybe it's a faint divine memory of God, but whatever it is, it seems like it is in all of us, this desire for pain and suffering to be absent from the world and our minds.  Usually, Jesus is an antidote to the world's struggle.  But hearing these words from Jesus causes many of us to shudder.  "There's so much conflict already, Jesus.  Why should there be more?"It's confusing.  This text is confusing.  The world is confusing.  Jesus is confusing.  My favorite line in this text is the first verse. "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves."  It paints such a vivid picture of the human condition, and the world we live in.  With everything that is happening, with the world the way it is, with the systems that we are born into... how can we make sense of all of this?  We are all confused, Jesus.But Jesus, in an attempt to explain the nature of the world to us, does not compare the world to an earthquake, or flood, or some chaotic, disastrous event out of control and doomed to destruction... He compares it to a tree sprouting leaves.Jesus points to the suffering and chaos, both present and future, and compares it to something inherently natural.  It's a difficult thought, because these things seem unnatural.  But in a world that is broken, a world that often rejects God's promise for us, a world that prioritizes comfort over equality and justice... is it any wonder that there is suffering and chaos?  Our world is fertile soil... what we plant will grow.  If we plant the seeds of inequality, economic disparity will grow.  If we plant our faith in worldly things, our connection to God will suffer.  If God is beyond our understanding, it makes sense that we would be confused.  It's the struggle that has been with Humanity since the very beginning.  But yet, it's a tree that Jesus paints as it's image.  Not something wretched, but something beautiful... even useful.  Made by God, and therefore still worthwhile.  It's such a peaceful image in the midst of the foreboding language that it almost comes as a shock to the system. Jesus is telling us that this confusion and fear in our world is natural and even okay.  Instead of yelling at us to perceive or stop being afraid, Jesus tells us that our reaction to our reality is understandable, to be expected.  He's not calling us to understand or even to be emotionally balanced.  He's calling us to listen, watch, and love... to stand up and raise our heads...  to be alert and to pray.So why is there a desire Advent to be idyllic?  Because that's what Advent is all about.  Living in a confusing and hurtful world, hoping against hope, watching carefully, and waiting for the idyllic reign of God.  The confusion and hurt are part of our world, but it has always been a part of the world.  Though it may not be easy to sing Joy to the World, we also sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel to welcome Jesus into this world where Christmas and Advent never seem to work out perfectly, gospel readings are confusing, and everything can and often does go horribly wrong.  We invite Jesus to transform this world, and we believe that he will.  Joy in the midst of sorrow.Despite all the stress and business of the season that I spoke to you about, my Mother has one Christmas ritual that she always makes time for.  Even if it's 2AM on Christmas Eve, my mother will turn off all the lights in the family room, lay down in front of the Crèche set that her father made and just reflect on who Jesus is and what happened in Bethlehem.  It is a moment outside of time, outside of the chaos in the world, a moment where, in the setting of the nativity, my mother is able to glimpse the divine idea that "everything will one day be okay" just as she did as a child, even if she didn't understand.As we venture into Advent, I pray that you too are able to glimpse that divine hope for our world and for our time, even if it's only for a moment.