Awaiting in Darkness

B Advent1 2014

November 30, 2014

Isaiah 64:1–9 Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19 1 Corinthians 1:3–9

Mark 13:24–37

24But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27Then 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. 28From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.34It 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. 35Therefore, 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, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Awaiting in Darkness

Please Pray with me: Christ, our light, open our eyes and our hearts to your word in the darkness of this world.  We give to you this time as sacred space in our lives for your work on us.  Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ok, it’s confession time (again).  J Who here has already put up Christmas decorations, found yourself singing along to Christmas songs or decided to bake a favorite holiday recipe?

There is a particular burden in the church to be careful not to celebrate Christmas too early.  It’s ok if you don’t know about it, it’s probably mostly a pastor thing.  We try to be careful to choose Advent, not Christmas hymns, we are conscious of displaying the Advent blue instead of white and gold, or red and green, as the culture has chosen for Christmas. 

See, the thing is, we pastors, and me specifically, as your pastor, do not want you to miss out on the opportunity, the faith-life-is-real-life in Advent, where the anticipation of the coming of our Lord is so intense, it will make your heart break over its beauty. 

Today, the first week of Advent, is the first Sunday of the church year.  Every year we mark the beginning of our lives with waiting.  Waiting for the star to point us to a tiny human in a manger.  Waiting for the angelic announcement that God has shown up in the same skin we wear.  Waiting for God’s promises to shine in a baby.  Waiting for that flicker of light amidst the darkness of our world.

The Lord knows the world has been pretty dark this week. 

Jesus is speaking into this darkness.  And as we listen in to today’s gospel story it may feel a bit like standing in a wrinkle, or warp in the space-time continuum.  Because in Mark’s gospel, in this 13th chapter of end-times speeches, we go back and forth between the urgent and imminent “get ready, the end is coming!” and the bracing message, “this could take a while, so stay strong, disciple, keep the faith.”

It’s like my daughter daydreaming of Christmas excitement one minute, and realizing that “25 sleeps” is an unimaginably long time to wait. 

It’s like living through hospice with someone; knowing death is getting nearer, but never knowing how long that trip will take; knowing how death will come too soon, no matter when but how blessed the relief from suffering will be for all of you.

It’s like waiting for the college acceptance letters or job offers that seem to hold the key to every possible good future.

It’s like knowing that God isn’t happy with the racism in this world.  And wondering how to get our hands and heads into dismantling it, when talk of skin color and all things related, seem so scary and big and violent right now.

These are the moments.  The moments where we know that ultimately a light must come into this darkness, and trust that it will, but boy is the waiting hard. 

That’s Advent.

And so I am offering you an invitation to participate. 

Advent is your chance to own the darkness of the world, the darkness we never want to think about, but denying its realness only hurts more.  To allow the darkness to be… and because we who know Jesus - we know something about the darkness, “What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:3b-5).

The darkness did not overcome it.

The light is coming. 

Isaiah and Mark testify to the light’s ability to overcome the darkness. This light that we are waiting for is so incredibly powerful that that it tears open the heavens, the mountains quake, the fire kindles and causes water to boil, the nations tremble!  The sun and moon themselves darken in the bright overwhelm of this light, the stars begin to fall and every power on earth and in heaven will be shaken. 

For when we have been delivered into our own iniquity, as Isaiah reads today.  That is, when our own sin and brokenness has overcome us.  When we have lost our ability to resist the tempting belief that evil and death will win.  This is the deepest darkness.  The darkness of violence of words and action.  The darkness of violation of property and community.  The darkness of racism and white privilege.  The darkness of succumbing to silence and deafness.  

This is the painful darkness that Christ comes for. 

That Christ comes into.

The darkness of very real evil that makes Christ’s coming “so very necessary, so very loving, and so very heroic.”[i]

To shine into. To overwhelm with rightness and love.  The light of reorientation and reconciliation. 

Which is why we live as people of this promise.  Our God has named and claimed us, has spoken promises into us – that God is coming.  Coming to shine the darkness right out of the world.  Christ is coming, has come and will come again - under, in and through the darkness, until the darkness has vanished like it does at dawn. 

So for now, as we live in the time warp between what is, and what is promised, we live as people of the light.  People who witness to the light with their whole lives.  So let your Christmas caroling and gift wrapping and home decorating and party-throwing be just one more opportunity to live as a witness to the light.  Maybe you choose to wash dishes instead of throw away disposables as your witness.  Maybe you choose to say a prayer with your guests before dinner, inviting the light in to your time and space.  Maybe you choose to sing carols about Jesus from your office.  Maybe you remind yourself the light came with a little joyful expression- coloring as an advent devotional!  Maybe you buy a fair-trade advent calendar this year and then talk with your family about what fair trade is and why we need it.  Maybe you skip the extra toys and instead give a piglet from God’s global barnyard.  Whatever you want it to be.  You are children of the light, it won’t be hard to be creative with the Holy Spirit working through you!

As we let those little burst of Christ’s light shine through this Advent season, let us remember, that Advent is a time to wait.  To wait in the midst of the darkness, “for against the dark is when the light shows most brightly.”[ii]  To delve, to be quiet, and to await that loving light of Christ that shines right into it.

Amen.

[i] Christine Cleveland

[ii]Ibid