Sunday, November 28, 2021

First Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36

May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you, to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” As we look at this passage with post resurrection eyes, we wonder how it might be that we would fall faint. After all, we have nothing to fear since we have Christ our Lord.

Yet, I have known fear, we all have. We live in a time of fear. The pandemic has many worried about their health and it seems that so many other diseases are affecting people we love. Our streets have erupted in violence, not only as gangs fight gangs, but as neighbors fight neighbors. There is still terrorism and war in the world, some which strike too close to home. Natural disasters affect our neighbors domestic and foreign. We fear economic collapse and what might happen to our jobs, our homes, and our children’s future. How easy it is to let our hearts become “loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life.” We turn to the ways of the world to get us through the days. We will set aside, or even hide, our faith in Christ out of concern for offending our neighbor or causing us to face persecution. We are even discouraged to say “Merry Christmas” so that we won’t appear intolerant of other people’s faiths.

It might seem odd for us to begin Advent with scriptures that bring to mind the end of the world. After all, the world is just beginning to look bright and festive with all the Christmas decorations popping up all over the neighborhood. The long, dark winter nights are brightly shining with twinkling lights and fun displays. Things are hustling and bustling at the malls and stores. The retailers do not even wait for Thanksgiving to begin their Black Friday sales, and the trucks are everywhere in our neighborhood delivering packages. On top of everything, we have projects to complete, parties to plan, cookies to bake. It is a busy, festive season.

Perhaps that’s why it seems so odd for us to hear Jesus speaking these words that He gave to His disciples on His way into Jerusalem to be arrested. He was talking about the end of time. Isn’t Advent a time for looking toward the birth of a Savior? It is, but it is also about preparing our hearts for the time when He will come again. We know Jesus has been born. We know He ministered in our world for a time. We know He died and rose again. Though we do spend Advent preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ in the manger, we are reminded that Christmas is a past event, it is a commemoration of what has already happened. Though we enjoy the festiveness of Christmas and the joy that comes with the Nativity, we do not live in the past. Advent is also a time for looking toward the future, to that day when Christ will come again. We can enjoy remembering, but never to the detriment of what is to come. The promise has been fulfilled, but it will still be fulfilled. It is also being fulfilled as we go through our days. We live in the already but not yet.

I suppose it is hard for us to take some of the things Jesus says with the seriousness needed, particularly when we hear it at a time such as this. After all, Jesus was taking about “this generation.” What does this mean? We think in terms of our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers that have passed when we think of generations. Yet, Luke is taking about a different idea. He is referring to a type of people, rather than a specific group belonging to a specific time or place. The type of people that will not pass are those who do not heed the words of Christ: unbelievers. We can take seriously what Jesus says when we realize that every generation of man - those who belong to a specific time or place - have dealt with the generation of unbelievers. There are unbelievers today, and they seek to make us doubt our faith. They seek to make us feel like fools so we will abandon Christ. They seek to keep our eyes off Christ.

Why does Jesus warn us about men fainting with terror when our hearts are filled with the sounds of jingle bells? How are these words relevant to us? After all, they were spoken to the disciples before they knew the complete work of Christ. We live after the cross and resurrection, we know the entire story. How could we be faint with fear? However, it is at this very time when we are most easily deceived. It is in this state when we can fall to the temptations of the world the hardest. It is when we are most comfortable that disaster can make us tremble with fear. That fear can take us down dangerous roads, where we try to lose ourselves, as Luke tells us to be careful because, “your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly. Those of us remembering the birth of Christ this Advent need to heed the warning as much as those disciples who still had to survive the Passion of Christ.

I have always been a cat lover. When I was young, my father brought home junk yard cats to be my pets. Those cats always had the freedom to come and go as they pleased, though they tended to stay around the house for the easy meal. Too many of them were pregnant females, but they provide many funny stories, most of which you’ve probably read in this devotional over the years. The unfortunate part of giving the cats the freedom to roam is that they didn’t live very long. The outside world is dangerous. They could be hit by a car, get lost or become infested with fleas or ticks. Any of these could lead to death. As I became an independent adult, my cats lived indoor exclusively for their protection and my state of mind.

Most of our cats have been ok with this state of existence. Oh, they are usually curious. One cat got out one day and was lost for three days. When he returned home, battered and bruised, he was happy to stay indoors forever. Our current kitty Samson never tries to escape, but the other day we had the door open and he wandered much farther outside than was comfortable for us. Tigger would have loved to chase the birds, but he was just as happy watching them from the window. Felix was another story.

Over the years Felix discovered ways to escape. He pushed out the screens in windows, figured out how to open the door handles, and even managed to push a second story window open enough to jump to the ground. He tried to slip unseen beneath our feet as we entered or left through the door. We had a screen door in the front so whenever the weather was pleasant, we kept the front door open. At first Felix was good about not trying to get out, but then he figured out that he could push the screen door open and slip through without much notice. We had to put a hook on the door to keep him from escaping.

At times I wonder if we shouldn’t just let him escape so that he can see how harsh it is out there in the world. I don’t because I know it could lead to something horrible. He has no claws, so a fight with another cat could have been deadly. What if he got lost? Hit by a car? We would be devastated to lose our friend. He could end up with ticks and fleas and bring them into the house. We play his games with him, but ultimately we will always win because we know it is in his best interest to stay indoors where it is safe.

We are much like Felix when it comes to our relationship with our Father in heaven. We want to be safe in His arms, but we also want to know what is happening out in the world. We do whatever we can to escape, thinking that those small acts of disobedience don’t seem too bad. After all, there are people who do things that are far worse. We are certainly more righteous than the murderer or thief, right. We think we are probably more righteous than our neighbor.

Yet, we have to ask, “What is righteousness?” Is it doing what is right versus wrong in this world? No, righteousness is not a moral attitude, but rather it is a right relationship with God. It means having faith that God is true and faithful to His promises. It is trusting that God knows what is best for us and believing that He will keep us well. All the promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ Jesus, our Lord. He has done all that is necessary to restore our relationship with God. All too many ask, what did we do to need salvation? The question is not what we did, but rather what we are. We are sinners in need of a Savior.

This Savior was promised from the very beginning, and we now begin the journey through Advent to the birth of the Christ. He would come out of Israel, just as we hear in this passage from Jeremiah. Israel would be called “Jehovah our righteousness,” and God’s people would be identified with their Savior, they would be part of His Kingdom and reign with Him. As the relationship between God and his people was restored, they would become one with Him in heart, soul, and spirit.

Why did we need to be restored?

In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden with God. They walked together and talked. They had a personal, intimate relationship with one another and with their Creator. They were naked and it did not matter. When the serpent deceived them and they ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good an evil, things changed dramatically. The Bible tells us that their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked so they covered themselves with fig leaves and hid in the garden. They were afraid to be seen by God.

They were physically naked since God had not given them clothing to wear and their response showed that they were ashamed of their physical nakedness. Yet, that was just a symptom of the greater problem that they faced. When their eyes were opened, they could see that their disobedient actions were disrespectful to their Creator and that they were not worthy to be in His presence. Their shame was not only about their naked bodies, but also about their fear to be in the presence of God. What would He do in response to their disobedience? He had warned them that eating the tree would mean death and they ignored His warning. No wonder they were afraid and hid from His presence.

That’s what shame does to us. We know that the deep secrets of our souls are exposed, and we fear the recompense that will come. So, we hide. We hide behind emotion, arrogance, or pride. We hide behind blame by passing the fault to others. We hide physically by breaking relationships or separating from society. We cover ourselves with clothes like the fig leaves - self-righteousness and excuses - clothes that don’t last or cover the reason for our shame.

The truth that is hidden in our hearts and our souls is often revealed and exposed to the world. It is easy for our enemies to use our imperfection against us. They take our sin and put it on display in order to attack our credibility. I did a web search on the word “shame”, and I came up with a number of “Hall of Shame” listings. These are sites where people have taken the stupidity, arrogance, or sin of others and put them on display. This is done in the hope that it will cause the recipient of such an “award” to slink away in shame and never be seen again. Fortunately, in Christ there is a better way to deal with our shame. We face it, repent of our sin, ask forgiveness, and trust that God will be faithful to His promises.

Life in Christ does not mean that the hidden things of our hearts and souls will never be revealed. As a matter of fact, in Christ is it especially important that they are exposed and dealt with through mercy and grace. Though our sins are exposed, we will not be put to shame because we know that through Jesus Christ our imperfection is forgiven, and our infirmity is healed. We do not have to go into hiding as they did in the Garden of Eden, we need only speak the truth of our hearts before God and ask Him to be gracious to pardon our sin. In this way our enemies will never be able to use our faults to bring us down, for in them we see the mercy of God and turn to Him for forgiveness. We are called to share the Gospel with them so that in us they will see His mercy and seek His salvation, too.

The Advent season is not just about watching for Christ to come in the manger and as Christ the King. Our life as we wait is meant to be one of action. There is a bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming. Look busy.” Jesus is coming. What are we busy doing? We tend to give generously at this time of year, sharing our worldly goods with those in need. Angel trees, food banks, and other charities give us an opportunity to share what we have with the poor and the sick. Sadly, we often forget that we have an even greater gift we can give to the world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The fears we face keep us quiet as we encounter the world during this time. We are willing to give our stuff, but are we willing to give them Jesus?

We are often so concerned about the feelings of those we encounter that we ignore the very thing that could bring them peace. Though it is good and right for us to serve those in need we need to be careful that we do not take our eyes off Christ. Jesus said, “Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

We are like my cat Felix, although we aren’t just trying to get out of a house by slipping through a screen door. The glitz and glitter of the holidays is so much more fun than the end times. Our charitable work makes us feel good, but sharing the Gospel makes us uncomfortable. So, we try to “escape” by celebrating this time focused on the cute stories and the baby in the manger, ignoring the reality that we are waiting for the coming of the One who will judge the whole world. We think we will find something better beyond our faith. Unlike Felix, we know there are dangers, but we continue to chase the things of this world because the risk seems so worthwhile.

God knows what is best for us, He does not keep us trapped inside. He lets us escape His grasp for a moment as we seek out our way in life. But He is never far from us, He seeks us out, and finds us to bring us home. He knows what is best for us; He has a plan for our lives. Through Jeremiah, He promised that He would send a Savior. Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise, and He came exactly as God intended: through the line of David and Levi even though they failed to live as God expected. In the past two thousand years, the number of those saved by His mercy and grace is beyond our ability to measure. He is truly faithful to keep His promises for those who trust in Him despite our foolish disobedience.

Have you ever noticed that a lamp appears brighter at night than it does during the day? It isn’t that the lamp is brighter, but that the light from that lamp is diminished by the light that surrounds it. The lamp overcomes darkness much better than other light.

I suppose that's why faith and the Gospel stand out so much more clearly when the world is in chaos than it does when everything is peaceful. See, we don’t really think about God so much when things are going well around us. We might pray and worship and offer thanks, but we don’t fall on our knees in hopeful expectation of God’s grace because we are comfortable. We don’t need God and so He is set aside as we live our happy life. When we face a crisis, however, we see our need for Him ever more strongly and turn to Him in desperate prayer and expectation. It is not that Christ is a softer light in those good times of our life, but His light does not seem quite as bright for us as it does in those times when we need Him most.

Last week we celebrated Christ the King Sunday, and we looked forward to the time when there will be no need for the sun or for the moon or for the stars because Jesus Christ will be the eternal lamp that will provide all the light we need. There will also be no darkness because the victory over death and darkness will be complete. This week we begin a new church year, and we return to the reality: our world is filled with darkness.

The darkness has certainly existed through the history of the world; the world is constantly in flux and goes from bright moments of hope and peace to times filled with hatred and war. There was even a period of time specifically called the Dark Ages. That was an age when the great civilizations were in the decline and were replaced by cultures that were less refined. In England the Roman culture was replaced by the Saxons. Stone houses and advanced technology were replaced by grass huts and barbaric practices. It is called the dark ages also because the history is dark. The great civilizations had forms of writing, education, art which depicted life in that day. You can still visit the Roman baths and see the great mosaics they laid, but the Saxon huts are little more than an outline in the dust and a theory of a historian. There are those who fear we are headed toward a similar age today.

The Dark Ages was also a time of darkness in faith. The Romans had begun the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, but much was lost during those dark ages. The powerful worshipped other gods, believed in magic and superstition. And yet it was through the darkness of those days that the Light of Christ began to burn more brightly. Some of the greatest saints, like Boniface in the Frankish empire shaped Christianity which grew into greatness for a time. It peaks and it wanes because we become apathetic at the peaks and are humbled into desperate need when it wanes. That's when the Light shines brightest. Those who fear what tomorrow holds are reminded by Advent that Christ is coming just as He came, and that He is here now. The Light will shine so brightly in our darkness that the world won’t be able to miss Him.

So, we begin Advent in darkness as a reminder of our life without Christ. We have a tradition in my church and in my family of an Advent wreath. This is a wreath made with five candles, one for each Sunday of Advent and then for Christmas. We light a candle each Sunday and as we move through the season of preparation the light becomes brighter and brighter. That's how it is in our texts, too. We begin with a promise, watch as God prepares the world for the coming of our Lord and then end with the fulfillment of the promise: Jesus Christ is born. The true Light comes into the world.

God knew how to take care of the problem of our sin and planned for our salvation long before we were born. In the beginning He was already voicing the promise that one day He would restore our relationship with Him. The patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets all pointed toward the day when that would be fulfilled. When God’s people lost sight of Him because they were too comfortable or apathetic, He reminded them that He would send a Messiah. He shined the light to prepare them for the Light that would save them forever.

The passage from Jeremiah is repeated from earlier in Jeremiah. In chapter 23, Jeremiah talks specifically of the One who will come. He will be the King; He will be called “Jehovah our righteousness.” In this passage, however, Jeremiah refers to the people of God. Israel will be called “Jehovah our righteousness.” His people will be identified with the One who will be their Savior, they will become part of His Kingdom, and they will reign with Him. As the relationship between God and His people is restored, they will become one with Him in heart, soul, and spirit. They, and we, will no longer want to escape from the frightening signs that seem to indicate the end. We will look forward with joy and thanksgiving for the coming of Christ our King and Savior, who is, was, and will be yesterday, today, and forever.

As we enter into this season of waiting and wonder, let us keep our hearts and minds on the One for whom we wait, looking to His faithfulness, mercy and grace for all we need. We do not have to ignore the joys of the season, the parties, presents, decorations, food, and fellowship. Let us not lose sight in our busyness of the reason why we do all these things. Jesus is coming! as the child in the manger and the King in the clouds. Take time for prayer and do not worry about all there has to be done. Do not fear the darkness that would have you hide your faith. Keep close to God in the coming days and darkness will disappear. Then you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when the Lord Jesus comes in glory.