Emmanuel, God With Us
Keep Alert!
Mark 13: 24-37
There is a story about a certain preacher, who was a very large man, and he served a church with one of those high pulpits that he had to enter by a stairway. Trying to dramatize the sudden, unexpected return of Christ, he began his sermon thundering the words, "Behold, I am coming soon!" A second time, he lunged forward in his pulpit and bellowed, "BEHOLD, I am coming soon!" As he shouted the third time, "BEHOLD, I am coming soon!!" he lunged forward again and the old pulpit gave way. He went crashing to the floor and landed practically in the lap of an elderly matron who was seated in the front pew. Very red-faced, the preacher stood up, straightened his robe, and began a profuse apology to the woman, who was really quite composed. "Think nothing of it, pastor," she began. "After all, you warned me three times.”
Emmanuel, God with us. The Christmas season is now underway.
Emmanuel, God with us. Advent has arrived. Keep watch and keep alert!
All of a sudden, out of the blue, it is time to prepare for Christmas. It isn’t as if we hadn’t been warned. Christmas decorations have been up in Macy’s or Home Depot or Target since the day after Halloween. The Christmas trees arrived at the farm stands a week or two before Thanksgiving. The TV ads and the commercials have either been entertaining us or giving us a workout on our TV remote. And who amongst us could possibly not know that Wrentham Village outlets opened at midnight on Thanksgiving? Who could possibly not know that lines of cars would reach all the way back onto Route 495 and that people would actually shop from midnight until dawn? Christmas is only 26 days away.
Emmanuel, God with us. The Christmas season is now underway.
Some of us have not yet become to think of Christmas – but we will. We will make our lists. We will buy Christmas cards. We will try to cut back on what we spend this year. We might make travel plans. We will get out the decorations, put up lights, and trim a tree. Some of us will look to the back of our closets for those bright red Christmas sweaters with snowflakes on them or those bold red and green Christmas ties with Ho-Ho-Ho on them – all of which just invite us to smile or laugh. It’s wonderful to see all the lights outside which reminds us that Christ is the light of the world. The lights remind me of peace and give me a twinge of hope every time I see them that God is at work shedding light in all the dark, war-torn places of the world. We each have practices and traditions that help us express the joy and hope of the Christmas season. Most of us express Christmas very outwardly and visibly.
It is also time to embark on the Advent journey. The Advent journey is an inner journey of our spirit and our soul as we journey towards the cradle. It is time for some interior decorating – care of our spirits and souls. It is extremely important that we take the same amount of tender care with our hearts and our souls, to make sure that our interior decorations are in place as well.
Advent is the season of anticipation, of wonderment and of the unexpected. On this first Sunday of Advent we begin a journey towards the cradle. Advent is one of the church seasons where the “journey” language that we use to talk about our faith as a process - rings true for all of us who are continually seeking the presence of the Holy in the expected and unexpected moments of our life. Keep watch – keep alert because the Holy Spirit will touch us and speak to us in unexpected moments.
Advent is a time of preparation. Advent means “coming” - but that doesn’t mean that Christ is not already here. Jesus Christ is the one who has come, is here and will come again. We must embrace and celebrate all three aspects of this God - our Emmanuel – God who is with us. These three things give us hope.
We remember during Advent the story of Christ’s birth in the past
We celebrate that Jesus is with us now, lives within our hearts and knows us personally.
And we believe that someday – when we don’t expect it – He will come again and at that time mountains will be brought low and valleys will be raised up, righteousness and justice will reign and there will be peace that will extend farther than the night wind.
All three of those give us a tremendous and an infinite amount of hope. We cannot ever run out of hope because it reaches into the darkest places of our hearts and our tears and our fears and brings rays of light and strength to carry on.
The passage from Mark first appears to be out of place in the lectionary readings. It is so ominous – as the first readings in Advent always are. They speak about the return of Christ and the signs that we will see:
'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
"At that time all will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'
This is a word of warning and caution – but also words of hope. Be alert, be prepared – the kingdom of God is near. Take care of your heart and your soul and begin the work of interior decorating.
Hal Brady was telling a story about the wonderful memories he had of the day his family always decorated their Christmas tree. And then he comments…"But, you know, God has a different way of decorating trees. Think about it. How does God decorate a tree? God decorates a tree by providing the sunshine and rain, and by placing food in the earth. Then the tree itself partakes of these blessings of God and thus develops a strong, healthy, vigorous life. First thing you know, some leaves or fruit appear on the limbs. But here's the key. God decorates the tree on the inside."[1]
The example of the fig tree from Mark is helpful for our interior decorating. A tree gets its water and it’s nutrients from roots that sink deep down into the soil. Its source of life comes from inside. And our source of life and our source of hope comes from Christ who dwells within us.
This is hope – this is why we light the candle of hope. Our insert today for Advent is on Hope. The writer offers this prayer on hope; “when we feel dry and desolate, send new growth through the dead stumps in our lives and push forth green branches. We pray for places in our lives and in our world that seem to be hopeless. Grant us a green and living faith. Make us instruments of your hope, so that through us others may glimpse your promised fulfilled. Hear us, O God, for our hope rests in you. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” [2]
I don’t know about you – but I could use a dose of hope. This first Sunday in Advent reminds us to keep watch, to be alert and to look for signs of God’s hope in the world and in our lives. We do that by embarking on an intentional interior spiritual journey towards the cradle. And we do that by staying alert and keeping watch for the unexpected and surprising moments in our lives when God shows up or is revealed to us.
We are to abound in to hope this Advent season. Abound in Hope. What does it mean to “abound in hope?” The word “abound” means to be present in large numbers or to be copiously supplied. Abundant hope is over and above the measure that we might expect. It is hope that surpasses our expectations. When things look the most hopeless – there is yet more hope to come. Keep alert and look all around you for it! Abounding hope means there is hope in whatever circumstances we are in and a realization that no matter what - there is even hope more ahead. Hope is surprising and moves in mysterious ways. Hope can just pop up in your heart one day - like a popcorn kernel that explodes - and change your moment or your day or your life.
And so as we begin the Advent journey – may we all keep watch and be alert for abounding hope and the presence of God who is with us. Emmanuel, God with us.
Amy Grant sings and reminds us this way.
Emmanuel, God with us,
Emmanuel!
Emmanuel, God with us,
The son of Israel.
And still he calls
Through the night,
Beyond the days of old.
A voice of peace
To the weary ones,
Who struggle with the human soul.
Emmanuel, God with us,
Emmanuel!
Emmanuel, God with us,
The son of Israel.
May God so fill our hearts with hope and the knowledge that God is with us as we begin the journey to the cradle with intentional and tender times of caring for our soul.
Amen.
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