November 27, 2022 – First Sunday of Advent

How many of you have seen the movie Sister Act? For some reason, this reading from Romans always reminds me of the scene where the sisters give Sister Mary Clarence, played by Whoopi Goldberg, an alarm clock because she is having trouble getting out of bed on time. The alarm clock, which is the shape of a daisy, has a rousing alarm of, “Out of bed, you daisy head.”

But in truth, I think that today’s message is that it is time to get up. It is time to slough off the old life. It is time to wake up and live into the reality of the new age about to dawn. It is a wakeup call for Advent. For Paul, this time is the time when the fullness of God’s kingdom will be realized. The end times are drawing ever nearer, so do not delay. Do not procrastinate. Tomorrow is too late. We hear this echoed in the words of Matthew (v 42): “Keep awake… for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

We are to awaken from the darkness of sin into the new dawn brought about by Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection. We are to peel off our pajamas of selfishness and ignorance and put on the new clothes of Christ.

The theology of Paul rests on the reality that a new world is being born. The new person belongs to this new world, not the old world.

During the season of Advent, the church prepares for the coming of Christ. Even as we make ready for the baby to be born in Bethlehem, this first Sunday of Advent’s readings take us beyond the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to a new moment of expectancy as the Day of Christ approaches and the reign of God becomes whole.  On this first Sunday of Advent, we express HOPE… This may be a hope in the promised Messiah, it may be a hope for the world that peace may prosper, or a hope that God’s kingdom may be more fully visible, vivid in our actions. The promise to which our texts point us is a promise not only of a savior who will come, but of a savior who will come again.

As we live into this new world, we may now live and act towards one another in a state of love, as God has loved us. Now that a new day has come, now that we know how the story ends, why would we want to cling to the old ways? To use Paul’s words, we can “lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light” (v. 12). Because the Day of Christ lies ahead, more is expected of us.

I think that one of the most troubling characteristics of our culture today is that few people act as if character matters. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to be told that it does not matter what I do, what choices I make, or how I treat other people. People justify the most outrageous behavior and disregard for the well-being of others simply because they do not believe that anything is expected of them.

I once read an Advent devotional (Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA) which had the following story (from Robert S. Jones):

When I was an elementary school principal, I often walked the halls and visited the classrooms…. One day, outside one of the first grade rooms sat a troubled little boy. He had clearly been sent to the hallway by an irate teacher. As the child saw me approaching, it was obvious that he was really working hard at figuring out what to say.

Before I could speak, he stood up and hugged me around the waist and said, “Mr. Jones, I love you.” I was disarmed but recovered sufficiently to tell the boy that good behavior was expected, and I asked him to return to the classroom and apologize to the teacher. My expression of love was to guide him into accepting responsibility.

The child settled down and had a good year. Each time he saw me in the cafeteria or on my rounds, he would smile and wave, and say, “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

Friends, that is love. Just as much as saying I love you.

December 1 is World AIDS Day – a day when we remember all those living with HIV or AIDS, those who care for them, and for their families and friends. If you are living with HIV or AIDS, or with a long-term illness, I wonder what it looks like to “live in hope”? In her book, Apprenticed to Hope: a sourcebook for difficult times (Augsburg Books, 2009), Julie Neraas talks about the difference between optimism and hope. As someone who lives with chronic illness, she has learned that while optimism can offer necessary energy boosts at critical moments, it is hope that sustains in the longer run. For within hope there is the possibility also to acknowledge despair. Hope is rooted in the reality of everyday life, with all its joys, and with its pain, uncertainty, horror and hurt. “No understanding of hope is honest unless it deals with the absence of hope and those seasons when nothing comforts or reassures” (p. 5). “Hope is an essence that goes to the core of our common humanity; optimism is an attitude” (p. 7).

Daily, as we live our lives, we draw on the hope of the Gospel. This is a hope inspired by and rooted in the ministry of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, whose arrival we celebrate in Advent. It is also a hope rooted in the permission to grieve, the necessity to wait, and the freedom to celebrate – a three-fold movement captured in essence in the passion and crucifixion of Good Friday, the waiting of the Disciples on Holy Saturday, and the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday.

Iain Goring, a Scottish priest, once wrote of hope: “Hope is a journey we take, supported by the presence of God, when we navigate through difficult, confusing or uncertain times, believing that there is a destination which is going to leave us in a better place than when we started. At those times of life when we run the risk of being overwhelmed by problems and trouble and worry, hope allows us to hold on to the promise of a blessing of God on us – even when we cannot imagine that any kind of blessing might be possible.” Elisabeth Spence, another Scottish minister, said, “Hope is not something you can touch or see or smell or hear, rather it is felt deep in your soul. Its absence is life-draining, its presence is life-giving.”

Friends, the promise to which our texts point us is a promise not only of a savior who will come, but of a savior who will come again. And it is for this second coming that we must prepare ourselves during Advent. At this time of Advent, as we prepare for the coming of our Lord, what does HOPE mean to you? What is your hope for this Advent? [pause] My hope for you is that whatever it is that you choose, encompassing darkness or light, leads to compassionate and courageous action.