The 1st Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020
Prayer of the Day: Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. By your merciful protection awaken us to the threatening dangers of our sins, and keep us blameless until the coming of your new day, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
MARK 13: 24-37
The Coming of the Son of Man
‘But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The Necessity for Watchfulness
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’
Some thoughts from Pastor Phil:
Well, friends, do you realize that there are only 25 shopping days left before Christmas? The mere reminder of that fact sends most children into instant orbit and most adults into paralyzed panic. Grownups just naturally think of all the things they have got to buy, all the things they have got to get out of the way before they can collapse on Christmas Day with a case of sheer exhaustion. My guess is that many people come close to have a nervous breakdown simply calculating what is yet to be accomplished before December 25.
Is it just me, or is the season of Christmas starting earlier and earlier each year? After all, the turkey is still warm; there are still a couple pieces of pumpkin pie left in the fridge; we haven’t had time to catch our breath; and wham! Here comes jolly Old St. Nick reminding us that he takes Visa, Mastercard and American Express!
I suspect that if I asked what your aims for Advent were about now, you might respond by saying, “I just don’t know. This pandemic has things so messed up! I don’t know if I will see my family at Christmas, I don’t know if any of my important Christmas traditions will happen.”
Well, now that I have gotten you all worried and depressed, I want you to try, for a few minutes today, to set aside all of your Christmas lists, all of your physical wants and wishes, all of your unfinished deeds and details, and concentrate on two basic messages about Advent that will help us prepare for the coming of Christ.
First of all, Advent reminds us that we are a “God-invaded planet.” After all, that is the basic message of the Christian Faith, that the God of all creation has come into our universe in the form of a tiny baby.
What if you were a resident of Judea 2,000 years ago and someone told you that the King of Kings had been born in a stable in Bethlehem? Would you have believed them? Probably not. That claim us scarcely credible today. And yet our faith is based on the fact that God left God’s majestic throne to enter into our world. And so, as we begin our Advent journey we are once again reminded that when we could not climb to God, God came to us. After all, the word “Advent” literally means to “come to.” God came to our world. And so we live in a God-invaded planet.
But there is also a second message we must hear concerning Advent, and it is this: the future is wonderful because the future is in God’s hands. You see, Advent is not only a preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, it is also preparation for that day when God’s perfect Kingdom will come.
In our Gospel lesson for today Jesus encourages his followers to look forward to the day when he returns in power and glory to end all suffering. It reminds me of the oft-used phrase: “I don’t know what my future holds, but I know that one who holds my future.”
In his book, “Dare to Believe,” Dan Baumann compares God’s Kingdom to opening a present on Christmas morning. He explains in his book that when he was younger, he would always do a lot of snooping on Christmas time. He would examine wrapped presents and try to figure out what was in them. Well one year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was not way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation: “When Mom wasn’t around, I would go and feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course.” “The point is,” he says, “I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event, namely, the unveiling of my golf clubs. It had my name on it. I knew what it was.”
And you see, friends in Christ, that is exactly what Advent is all about. Advent gives us a “foretaste of the Kingdom of God.” And we know that our name is part of that Kingdom.
So, Advent reminds us that we live in a God-invaded planet and that the future is wonderful because the future is in God’s hands. So let’s make it a point this Advent to wake up and realize what a wonderful gift is given to us: the gift, then, of a tiny baby born in a stable, and the gift, now, of being part of the Kingdom of God.
Take that gift and see your name on it; share it and play with it. That is what Advent is all about. Thanks be to God. Amen.