November 28, 2021 – First Sunday of Advent

Advent originated as a penitential observance, focused on God’s call as redeemer and judge of all time. Today begins the church’s new year. It seems counterintuitive to the way in which we usher in our new year on January 1 with all the hype and celebration. Advent, though, sets our celebration of the coming of God into the world as a human into this framework of anticipation of this redemption and gracious judgment.

The tone for Advent’s penitence is slightly different than that of Lent. You’ll notice that today – and every Sunday during Advent – our penitence is first and foremost. We begin the service not with our usual jubilation as we say the Gloria together, but with confessing our sins and kneeling before God. Our worship puts into sharp contrast the distance between the world we seek and create and the world that God brings in. The penitence is filtered through confidence and eagerness that God is coming, and the call to make ready is a cause for joy! Because God came to the world as a human and defeated death, we are excited, and we are to remember God’s gift to us through the waters of baptism. So next to the Advent wreath, we also see the baptismal font, with the holy waters of baptism. 

We use blue or purple cloth and candles, and we start to have evergreen wreaths and garland. We sing an extra meditative song here or there. Advent is a time of expectation, or looking forward to something. As we are reminded in our Gradual hymn, we look forward to the birth of Jesus. During this season, we read about things that happened before the birth of Jesus, and we are meant to imagine what it would have been like to be living before Jesus was born, looking forward to when Jesus would come.

In the reading from the prophet Jeremiah, we hear that God’s people in Judah a long, long time ago had a lot of scary things happen to them. Armies and kings from other countries invaded their land and took over. The people were scared, but God promised to send a savior to rescue them. God gave the people called prophets, like Jeremiah, messages to instill hope in the people of the land. The prophets said, “Do not give up hope. A savior is coming.” God promised them, and they told the people that God does not break promises.

To make their point, the prophets often used stories that the people already knew, to help them watch for the savior. They said that when the savior comes, it would be like the great king David were still on the throne, back when the people were safe and no armies or kings from other countries were taking over. It would be – for the people – like when Moses parted the Red Sea to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt, into the promised land. It would be like the very special prophet Elijah, coming back to make the people righteous again. 

The people knew about David and Moses and Elijah. David and Moses and Elijah were heroes to the people, so they knew that if the savior would be like these heroes – or even better than them – then this savior must be truly special. So they kept watching and hoping for when God would send the savior.

“In those days…” writes Jeremiah. On Christmas Eve, Luke will turn us back to a historical context of Jesus’ birth, anchoring the event in time with persons and places, in a world of Caesar and census: “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered” (Lk 2:1). But today, Jeremiah turns us forward to the future: “In those days and at that time…” In these days before Christmas, the future is not where our culture encourages us to go; it fosters a holiday experience that is nostalgic and immediate. “In those days and at that time” God will decree justice and righteousness. “The days are surely coming” when God will fulfill the promise. We are sure that our culture will deliver our fulfillment. The church is instead called to hear the prophets in this season, not for background music, but for the overture; not as back-up singers, but as the lead vocalist.

As Jeremiah states, “The days are surely coming…” (Jr 33:14). There will be a future in God’s time and fulfillment on God’s terms. Today’s text envisions not a day to come at Advent’s end, but days to come that will start a new beginning. Come Lord Jesus, come.