Advent 1: Awaken to Hope
* * *
Isaiah 64:1-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down that the mountains might quake at your presence—2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. 5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in[c] the hand of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 13:24-37 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And 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.
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore, stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
* * *
In the critically acclaimed musical Hamilton, “Wait For It” is a song about Aaron Burr, who sit in wait while his rival Alexander Hamilton seems to rise quickly in influence and power. It is one of the most well known songs from the musical, because while I may know next to nothing about American history… I believe the picture the song paints for us is a very human experience that we can all resonate with. While many will want to rise up to fame and fortune quickly, the songs speaks of the tension of wanting to gain power or wealth while choosing, or being force, to wait for the right opportunity and the right moment. One line reads “If there is a reason I’m still alive, when so many have died, then I’m willing to wait for it”. This is kind of the dream that society and media has planted in may people; That we are just a serendipitous meeting away from becoming “someone”, a celebrity or overnight sensation. And it speaks to the human experience of feeling like there is always something more. We hear: “The Best is Yet to Come.”, “The Grass is greener on the other side.” And “The night is the darkest just before the dawn.” And the key to this human experience is that you must not be asleep, but rather ready and poised to claim the opportunity when it comes. Aaron Burr sings in defiance “I’m not falling behind or running late… I’m not standing still… I am lying in wait”. Like a lion waiting to pounce upon its prey… Waiting is made purposeful, when you are awake to every opportunity that comes your way.
In my conversations with people throughout this pandemic, it seems that one of the greatest lessons we are learning in faith is a lesson of patience. We are learning that we are not really in control of our lives and we are learning that we can not always do what we want to do. It has been a humbling lesson for many of us. A lesson that has caused, and continues to cause for many a rise in fear, and anxiety, exhaustion, and grief. Many have been left feeling alone, and isolated, frustrated and bitter. And yet in the midst of all this, there is very little we can do… except wait.
And learning to wait is one of the hardest lessons we can learn is it not? These days all three of my boys have grown to be quite vocal about their needs. There was a time that when they cried it meant one of three things “I’m tired, I’m hungry, or I need a diaper change”. But now… it is constantly “dad this dad that dad dad dad…” And when you have three different voices asking for three different things while you’re trying to do one thing, it is easy to get frustrated. And so I am constantly having to tell them to wait. Be patient. Wait your turn. Wait until I’m done this. And then find that I am the one losing patience and turning around to yell at them when they aren’t picking up their toys fast enough! Patience… learning to wait well… seems to be a lifelong lesson.
But waiting is nothing new. We are always waiting for something.
Waiting for some news by the phone.
Waiting for a package in the mail.
Waiting for the weather to warm.
Waiting for the birth of a child…
We are waiting for so much
We are waiting for the COVID numbers to go down.
We are waiting for a vaccine.
We are waiting for a time when we might need to worry about wearing masks
And hand sanitizing.
We are waiting for a time when we can gather again in church
We are waiting for a time when we can see our friends and families.
We are waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting…
For the Scriptures have revealed to us the reality of all Creation that cries out in anguish over sin and death. The reality that we have always been waiting for relief… for peace… for an end to all suffering… We have always been waiting for the end of fear and death. We have always been waiting for salvation. And as we enter into the advent Season, brothers and sisters may we be reminded today, perhaps more vitally than ever, that you, that we have always been waiting.
And we are called to be reminded of this truth. We are reminded to be shaken from our sleepless slumber of simply coasting through life day by day as if this is all that life is about. We are called to be reminded that we have always been waiting because we have always had… not a sense of, or an inclining of, or even an optimistic outlook of… We have always had, a greater and most glorious hope. And that is Christ Jesus.
From the moment that sin had entered into the heart of humanity, God had never left us without a hope for redemption. Time and time again His mercy, and steadfast love, His grace had been revealed in how He throughout history stooped down to meet with us and to save us… from evil, from sin, from death and from ourselves. This is why we as people seem to never be satisfied when we have hoped for so long for that job, or home, or car, or degree. Because the yearning of our hearts have been clouded by our worldly desires. And we have had our eyes closed to that which we are truly longing for.
So then it is by the grace of God that we have found the reason for this yearning. It is by the grace of God that we have been awakened by the Gospel to the Eternal hope we have in Christ.
Mark 13:24-27
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And 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 Scriptures tells us of many things that will happen as we near the return of Christ. And while it is easy to get lost in how much of what we read is meant to be literal or symbolic… we must never lose sight of the most important point of it all. When there is tribulation… When the sun is darkened and the moon gives no light… When the stars fall from the heavens… When there is war and famine… When there is sickness and death… When there is oppression and injustice…
Jesus says it is… “THEN, they will see the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
The lesson of the fig tree is that there are signs that point to the return of Christ. Time and time again we read throughout the Bible that in the midst of war, oppression, slavery, exiles, plagues, death, and calamity… There is a Messiah, a Saviour that is coming. That every moment of suffering, every grief and sorrow, points to a time where they will be no more. It is pointing to HIM. And we are called then, to not be asleep to this reality. We are called then to not simply be dreaming of a better time. No, by faith we are called to be awakened and waiting in hope… We are called to be anticipating with the hope that is found in Christ and His return. By faith we look at all that the world is, and to feel the sorrow and heartbreak that God has for this world.
So that we must hope in the One and only one who is strong to save.
Our prayer becomes then that the Lord would come swiftly to redeem and free us from this world. Praying: Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—
To free us from pain, and sickness, from war and oppression, from our selfishness and greed. To let us finally enter into His embrace, fully and completely. To see to completion the promise He made. That He will return, and will return soon.
Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
And it is in that that we lay our hope. Not in our comforts. Not in our politicians or countries. Not in our wealth and health. Not even in our friends and families. Not in the things of this world. But we lay our hope in, and only in Jesus Christ, He who will sustain us to the very, very, very end.
For no eye has seen and no ear has heard how Great Our God is. He who acts for those who wait for him.
So brothers and sisters, let us awake to this hope. A hope that is echoed throughout the Scriptures, the Gospels, throughout history and all of creation. It is the hope that the Israelites carried for generations as they awaited a king and it is the same hope that we carry onwards until His return.
But even Jesus says:
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
While the world, like Aaron Burr may be waiting for luck and looking for chance to give them the opportunities that they believe will answer all the woes of their hearts in this life… Jesus Christ warns us to be on guard, doing the work He has set out before us, faithfully, diligently, joyfully. For we do not know when He will return. But until then…
37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Let us awaken to the Hope that pointed to the birth of Christ, who was born, to die, so that we may live in His life. Let us awaken to the Hope
That Christ has not only come.
That Christ has not only died.
That Christ has not only risen.
And in this season of Advent, be the ones who awake with the full and trustworthy knowledge and hope… Not falling behind, not running late, not standing still, but lying in wait
For Christ to come again.
Amen.