Advent 4A / Matthew 24:36-44
Sermon Preached December 1, 2019
Sermon Preached December 1, 2019
Now
that Thanksgiving is behind us, Christmas planning is in full swing. If you are
like me, your tree is now up – or will be soon – the wreath hung, gift shopping
begun (maybe finished?), parties planned, schedule filled with concerts, and
whatever else goes into making your Christmas merry and bright! Of course if this is how you spent this
weekend after Thanksgiving you are already behind schedule because Target,
Kohl’s, and every other big box or department store has been ready for
Christmas since before Halloween! 93.9
began playing Christmas music 24/7 on November 5th at 4 p.m. (yes, I
had it on my calendar) . . . It can be
exhausting just thinking about it all! And, of course, you don’t need me to
tell you, that none of this is even what Christmas is about. So, in these final
Sundays of Advent, leading up to our celebration of True Christmas – the
celebration of the incarnation of God – let’s take time to breathe together,
pause together, wait together, and remember together what this season of Advent
is all about. This isn’t just another “thing” to add to your pre-Christmas
checklist; it is the heart of what we do as Christians. In many ways our life is an Advent life; marking this season
of Advent simply marks for us that which is already true.
Advent
is about waiting – waiting for the new ways Christ will be revealed. Our Gospel passage tells us the time is
coming. We don’t know when. We may be out in the field harvesting the wheat or
perhaps we will be grinding meal. Or, more likely, we’ll be in our office, at
school, in our homes, at the grocery store or laundromat or in a myriad of
places where ordinary life happens when the Lord will come. And when will the Lord come? “About that day
and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.”[1] And because we do not know we are
invited into a practice of holy waiting, or mindful waiting, what Jesus refers
to as “keeping awake” and what the desert fathers and mothers referred to as
watchfulness.[2]
Amy
Oden, in her book Right Here Right Now, describes watchfulness as a “posture
alert to the knowing of the heart. . . it listens for God’s speaking into our
lives” helping us to become “less vulnerable to the stupor of robotic busy-ness
and bombarding sensory input.”[3] In the midst of
our ordinary life (preparing
dinner, participating in a conference call, or taking out the trash), listening
for God’s speaking into our lives – eyes wide open for where Christ is being
revealed in the here and now – that is the watchfulness of Advent.
Jess
Johnston, the author behind the Wonderoak
blog, shared a post this week which, for me, summarizes what watchfulness amidst
the ordinary days of life can look like. She writes:
One time in the Target line a mom with a brand new infant and two
littles who were crying and clinging to her legs asked if I might hold her baby
for a minute. I took that baby and rocked her in my arms until she stopped
fussing.
I bet that mom remembers that day, I know I do.
When my toddler was somewhere between threenager and fournado she
threw I giant tantrum in a shopping center. I held her on a park bench while
she screamed like I was her kidnapper. A couple older ladies stopped and said,
"You're doing an AMAZING job mama, hang in there!!"
I will never ever forget them or their words that day.
In a train depot in France we were lost and confused trying to
figure out where to go. An older man sitting near us accidentally dropped some
cash on the ground. My daughter who was six found it and returned it to him. He
and his friend loaded us up with snacks from their bags and then in broken English
asked if we needed help. They ended up walking us all the way to our next train
and riding it with us for a while just to make sure we didn't get lost.
We won't ever forget those two men.[4]
In the midst of our
ordinary life (preparing
dinner, participating in a conference call, or taking out the trash), listening
for God’s speaking into our lives – eyes wide open for where Christ is being
revealed in the here and now – that is the watchfulness of Advent. Christ may
appear as a mother at Target, two strangers in a shopping mall or on a train,
or in the face of the person sitting next to you this day. “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on
what day your Lord is coming.”[5]
For
many of us the temptation in Advent is to think of it as a time of waiting for
the reenactment of that first Christmas when an infant was born in a lowly
manger and revealed to be the Christ.
And it is that. But it is so much more. Because the fact is that infant
was born and grew up and lived a life, died and was resurrected. And today –
and every day – we remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection and we
await his coming in glory. It is both / and, not either / or. Christ was and is
and will be. This is an Advent
proclamation as in Advent time is suspended or – if you prefer, all of time is brought
together - in this single season. So even as we go about our busy preparations
for Christmas, we are called to breathe together, pause together, wait
together, and remember together. So that in each and every moment we might be caught
aware - aware of God with us – Emmanuel.
[1]
Matthew 24:36.
[2]
Matthew 24:42.
[3]
Amy G. Oden, Right Here Right Now: ThePractice of Christian Mindfulness (Abingdon Press, 2017).
[4]
Jess Johnston, Wonderoak, November
21, 2019, 8 p.m., https://www.facebook.com/wonderoak,
accessed November 26, 2019.
[5]
Matthew 24:42.
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