Year C

Luke 21:25-36

The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn

The Advent of Hope

The season of Advent is upon us, and on this first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of this new year of the Lord, the candle of hope was lit. Very appropriate I believe for the start of this season, because hope may be almost as necessary to life as food and drink. For it is sometimes said that where there is life, there is hope. It may be that the opposite is also true: where there is hope, there is life. We always need a reason to hope because without it we are people without a purpose, and our texts today point to a hope that ultimately makes all the difference for our lives.

Our hope and joy is known in what God did not only in the birth of Jesus, God’s own son, the first Advent but what God is about to do when this same Jesus, now risen Lord and Savior, returns to claim the world that is his. The texts today, while they help us to look to the past, the emphasis is clearly on “Advent again” the future, when Christ will return to rule with compassion and power. We are invited to remain faithful, hopeful and be ready, be alert as we look forward to the coming promised action of God when Jesus will return with power and glory to set up his kingdom.

Jeremiah offers a vision of hope today to the people of Israel. Sometimes referred to as the prophet of doom, he offers the hope of redemption to his people who are about to be enslaved and he turns us forward to the future by using prophetic language to make an important statement about God’s grace to come. “The days are surly coming” he says when God will fulfill the promise made to the house of David. A righteous branch will spring forth and will execute justice and righteousness in the land. Instead of a time of sadness and judgement, there is redemption and joy as God will raise a righteous leader and the people will be saved.

God’s promise is a source of comfort and a source of hope to all people through the ages who are waiting. Jeremiah, who had spent his entire life telling Israel things they did not want to hear, was filled with hope as pushed his people to see a future, God’s future. He tells them that if they wait, watch, endure and try to see the hand of God at work, they will be preparing themselves for the time when Jerusalem will live in safety. He assures the people that what is coming is of God.

God will provide the people a safe, just and peaceful future under a justly appointed and righteous ruler. The “day of wrath” pictured by Jeremiah has become a time of restoration and of salvation. It’s no wonder, Jeremiah ushers the church into Advent and gives us a wake-up call today. Next week, he will pick up the theme of righteousness and peace. We, the church, in this time before Christmas, are called to hear Jeremiah and the other prophets for our own time ushering in the themes of justice and righteousness, peace and security. 

Paul tells us today that there is a world to come and we are to be ready when it breaks in. His prayer for the Thessalonians is that they will use their time to prepare for their final meeting with God and he encourages them to “lead a life worthy of God.” There is no time for complacency, every minute is vital. To be ready for the “coming of our Lord Jesus” is a faithful way of living. This means restoring whatever is lacking in our faith, increasing and abounding in love and mercy, and paying attention to the signs.

Jesus warns his disciples today of the terrifying signs that will precede the coming of “the Son of Man.” He urges them to watch for the signs of his coming, to be alert, and not allow self-indulgence or worldly worries to keep them off guard. His speech from the temple in Jerusalem is full of frightening images and confusing metaphors. It seems to take on Jeremiah’s tone but despite some frightening images, Jesus is challenging us, as he did his original hearers, to look up, pay attention, and be ready for that day. Just as we know how to watch for the signs that mark the changing of the seasons, so we are to recognize the signs of the coming of our redemption.

Jesus’ words are not words of fear and damnation, but rather give us the true meaning and purpose of Advent, hope and expectation. God in Christ is coming because God loves us and wants to save us. We cannot allow ourselves to be full of dread and fear for that time or drawn into speculation of when it might be, what it will be like or what will happen afterwards. Christ has promised to be with us, whatever may come. Faith is living in the now by virtue of the promise that God has made to God’s people all through the ages.

Luke wrote his gospel with a deep and growing sense that our lives as disciples of Jesus are a kind of living in the in-between-aware of Jesus, waiting for Jesus, and coming to know this Jesus for whom we wait in the midst of an eventful, unpredictable, even tumultuous world. So how do we wait noting the signs, yet also prepare ourselves to wait it out? Our texts suggest that the key is to know what and for whom we are preparing for. We are waiting for Jesus’ arrival again, so our task is to make sure we will recognize him when he comes.

Nurturing our faith by studying the scriptures, through prayer and worship, the Holy Spirit remains in and among us, opening our eyes to see Jesus and the work of God in the world, work that has been done and still needs doing. Until he returns, we have work to do. Assured of our salvation and with the help of the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ compels us into the world, turning us toward our neighbors with the hope that that there is still time to change the world.

So we begin a new year, yearning for a promise worth living for. The promise that Christ is coming so be ready! It’s time to deepen love and strengthen holiness because when that new world comes, Paul tells us we want to be ready for it. It is time to lift our heads, preparing again to celebrate the coming of our Lord. Summer is near, Christ is coming and this vision gives us hope, regardless of how or when it occurs.