Creatively Waiting in Hope (Advent 1)

Isaiah 2:1-5 & Matthew 24:36-44

Roger Lynn

December 1, 2019

1st Sunday in Advent

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

As we enter this season of Advent we are reminded once again that the life of faith is a journey. As people of faith we are sojourners – folks who are on a journey with both traveling companions and those whom we encounter along the way. And we need to remember that the journey itself is at least as important as the destination. Advent is a time for us to renew our identity as a wayfaring people who are on a life-long journey following the God whom we find revealed in Jesus Christ. 

One of the things about journeying is that you can never be quite certain where you will end up or how you will get there. It is impossible to predict ahead of time every conceivable situation, circumstance, blessing, or calamity which might come to pass along the way. There is simply no way to predict when the memorable or life changing moments will occur. Nor would I would want to, even if I could. The important thing to remember about journeying is to be prepared and have a good guide. And that is ultimately the lesson of Advent. It is about waiting and watching and being prepared, because we cannot know what lies ahead. But it is also about anticipation and looking ahead with hope, because the One who calls us forth on the journey can be trusted. It is not about knowing, it is about trusting.

As far back as the prophets, folks understood God to be calling them forward to a world they could not fully see or even comprehend. The vision of Isaiah regarding a time when all people everywhere would seek out God and God’s ways was certainly beyond the scope of their experience. And to even hope for a day when the implements of war would be turned into tools of peace was possible only by stepping out on faith. But that is the great gift of faith. Through it we are empowered to envision a world beyond the present circumstances and move with hope towards a life which will be dramatically different from that which we are now experiencing. It requires risk, because we sometimes have to let go of the security of the present before we can begin to discover the path which awaits us. In the movie “Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade” there is a scene where he is trying to get across a deep chasm. He is standing on a ledge, with a doorway to his back and the other doorway directly across from him on the other side. He knows from his notes that there is a way across, but the notes also make it clear that the path requires a leap of faith. So he finally works up his nerve and steps off the ledge, only to discover a bridge spanning the chasm which had been camouflaged so that it could not be seen from the ledge. He had to take the step before he could make the discovery.

So as we journey through this Advent season we would do well to remember that we have to step out on faith before we can make the discoveries which await us. But we also need to remember that even stepping out on faith does not guarantee immediate or controllable results. God will continue to be who God will be, and God’s timing is not our timing. Isaiah promises the people of Judah and Jerusalem that the day is coming when peace will define the human experience, but he does not promise when. Instead he simply invites them to follow God towards that promised day. Jesus promises that the day of God’s justice will surely come, but he makes no assurances regarding the timing of such an event. Indeed, he goes out of his way to declare that such concerns very much miss the point. 

I remember as a kid going on car trips with my family. In the days before compact cars and seat belt laws my siblings and I would all pile in the back of the station wagon and head out for destinations many miles down the road. There was lots to see between beginning and end, but one of the most popular refrains to be heard on such trips was, “Are we there yet?” or “When are we going to get there?” We tend to do the same thing with our faith. We want to know when it’s all going to work out, or when God is going to break through this mess we find ourselves in and do something. Even during Advent we tend to be more concerned about getting to Christmas than with what we can experience along the way. But Jesus makes it very clear that our time and energy would be better spent asking what rather than when. What can I do now to live more faithfully? What does the Church need to focus on now to better fulfill its mission? What will make us better prepared to recognize divine encounters when they do break into our lives? 

On our journeys of faith, including our journey through Advent, we may be on the move, but there is still much for which we must simply wait. We are not in control of the times and the seasons. We are not in control of the encounters we will have along the way. We are not in control of God. But we are in control of our own openness. We are in control of our own willingness to encounter God on God’s terms. We might have to watch and wait for God, but it can be creative waiting. We can spend our time and our energy being ready for the unexpected. The message of Jesus to his disciples is the message of Advent and the message for faithful living – “Keep awake!” We just never know when you might encounter God’s presence in our midst. If it can happen in a backwater place like Bethlehem, in a stable behind an overcrowded inn, then it can happen anywhere and anywhen. The question is not whether God will act in our world or be present in our lives. The question is whether we will be awake enough to experience it. This Advent season may we practice watching and waiting for God. May we practice staying awake.