First Sunday of Advent - 2024

The countdown begins.

Macy's parade is over, and Thanksgiving leftovers have been eaten. Can I get a witness on some turkey sandwiches, Church?

Black Friday is over (thanks be to God). Cyber Monday is coming, though. Giving Tuesday, Back to the Store Wednesday, and Let's Hit Those Amazon Deals Thursday are coming. There will undoubtedly be a host of other special shopping days.

Some of us are excited, so we ask, "Why don't we just get on with it? Let's go already!" The Christmas decorations have been up in the stores for a month already, so it stands to reason that we should move right along and get to the heart of the season.

More than a few of us probably wish the whole thing was over. Perhaps it's too much—all the shopping, busyness, street traffic, commercials, email advertising, expenses, and the like.

And for those of us who do the church-y thing, we also ask, "What's with all of this Advent?  What is Advent?  Why do we celebrate Advent?  I don't even know what Advent means!"

Advent essentially means "expectation." This is a season of anticipating, expecting, and remembering.

I know I didn't grow up celebrating the season of Advent.  It wasn't part of our church experience. So many of us here today are asking those questions, feeling the same pinch to move along, and all of the rest.

Our church celebrates Advent simply to help us remember our story well. These readings and celebrations help us remember all God has done, is doing, and will do to redeem all Creation.

And recall that God is with us. The title of this sermon series is one of the names given to Jesus from the Scriptures:  Emmanuel, which means God with us.

We are doing this because we value what we remember well. Throughout this Advent, we'll keep returning to it repeatedly.  

Let's talk about Neuroscience for a moment. I'm not a doctor, and I don't even play one on TV, but certain things pique my interest in how we are—as the Bible indicates—"fearfully and wonderfully made."

We are created to remember the moments that matter---especially the hopeless ones. 

We remember those moments vividly when something happens in our lives, a momentous occasion, a huge life event, tragedy, hardship, etc..  

It's why you can remember exactly where you were when 9/11 happened, but you can't remember where you put your car keys this morning.  It's why you can tell in detail the story of that time your child got deathly ill or that time you almost died in a car crash, but you can't remember what you had for lunch yesterday.

When we experience something momentous, our body releases dopamine, norepinephrine, and other stress hormones into our brains. This enables us to carve deep memory paths that aren't easily erased.  

It takes far less time for us to retain negative memories or moments and commit them to deep memory than when those memories are positive, which is why we must actively remember the good things well.  

So when we see an object like a Christmas ornament, for example, that reminds us of that event, we not only remember it well but also value it well because the memory of that feeling returns.

Sometimes, people will call this "nostalgia."  But it's so much deeper than mere nostalgia.  Nostalgia can be completely unproductive and not helpful.  We can become so enamored with the past that we become dissatisfied with the present and less hopeful about the future.

No, this isn't nostalgia--it's something deeper.

We value what we remember well. When we can push through the deep scars in our heads that negative moments bring, we often find God at work or present on the other side when we get past the pain and the loss. Those deep grooves are even harder to shake than the nasty stuff. 

This is why, during the season of Advent, we read these Lectionary texts—scriptures that help us reconnect with the Greatest Story Ever Told: the story of how God saved the world.

We remember well that because of Jesus, we can believe in the good news that God is with us.  

Today, we will embrace the truth that because of Jesus, we can know God is with us even when things are not going well—maybe even downright awful. 

In fact, the one thing that I want us to hold on to as we move forward today is this:  

God is with us when all seems lost. 

In Luke 21:25-36 we have these strange, incredible words from Jesus himself:

25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 

29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 

32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Okay, this passage of Scripture seems like a messed-up one to read before Christmas. But let's dig a bit deeper to find out how these words of Jesus help us remember the Christmas story well.

First, when Jesus refers to himself as the "Son of Man," this is a huge sign and symbol that what we are dealing with here is not just another hero. 

This is the hero—the Messiah, the Cosmic Savior, the One who will set all things to right. This interesting term comes from the prophet Daniel and means a worldly/otherworldly figure.  

Which fits Jesus to a "T."

Jesus tells his followers that things are going to get crazy. There will be all kinds of anxiety, fear, violence, and the like. He further says that along with all of those things, there will also be signs all around them that redemption is coming—cosmic, epic, big signs that they can't miss.

Jesus further states, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will last forever." In other words, "You can take this to the bank."

Why is Jesus laying all of this heavy stuff on his followers?  Because he knows that the world is going to be full of strife, things aren't always going to be certain, and that they will be tempted to succumb to fear and anxiety.  But he tells them to be watchful, alert, prayerful, and humble.  He wants them to trust that He will redeem the broken systems of this world and set it all to right.

Jesus proclaims that the One we meet at the end of history is not a vengeful, angry God but the very One who loved and gave himself for us. We do not meet a stranger at the end of everything; we meet a Savior.

Jesus also throws this into the mix when he references the fig tree.  He says, "You don't need some guy predicting all of this. You don't need someone who claims they have the interpretation of the prophecy.  You don't need any of these guys with the end times signs all figured out.  Because they don't.  All you need is common sense and belief in the One who loves you beyond all love."

Jesus reminds his followers in this passage that anything can happen at any moment.  We know this deep inside--we don't need prophecy to figure it out.  We have to live every single moment like the world could come to a screeching halt in the next.  But we don't live in fear, we don't live in anxiety---we live in confidence, peace, joy, and hope.  Jesus reminded his followers elsewhere, "I have overcome the world."

Jesus echoes the words of the ancient prophet Jeremiah, who spoke the same thing.  It's as if Jesus is saying: This has been the plan all along... There is no plan B... You are seeing it happen.  

Like I said, this isn't nostalgia.  This isn't a tidy little Nativity scene on our mantle.  This is real redemption--real hope---real love from a real Savior.

We would remember this and hold it tightly to our hearts.

Because we value what we remember well.   And brothers and sisters, right about now, we need to value this story because it's this story that will change the world.  Because what Jesus wanted his followers to know, deep down in the very soul... in the deep grooves of their minds... smack dab in the middle of their hearts, was this... 

Jesus wanted his followers to know God was with us when all seemed lost. When it feels like the world is falling apart and like everything has gone crazy (and it does, Amen?), God is with you. I am living, breathing, and walking around proof.  

Christian discipleship is a living in-between time.  We live between the arrival of Jesus in the form of a tiny baby and the time that we expect Jesus to return in glory to redeem all of Creation.

We are aware of Jesus, we wait for Jesus, and we come to know Jesus in these in-between times. Because of the state of our world, it's easy sometimes to want to rush to the next thing—to want Jesus to show up now and make everything right immediately. This is why many Christians spend so much energy figuring out when Jesus will return and what that might look like.

I don't blame them at all. It's so easy to want to rush to the next thing, just like we often want to rush through Advent and get to Christmas.

But what do we lose when we do that?

One of my favorite works of art is Van Gogh's "Starry Night."

The colors and images in this painting reflect a cosmic event--redemption, perhaps. Amazing things are going on all around this little village. The signs and the symbols are everywhere.  There is light, life, and transformation everywhere except for one place.  Can you see it?  The only place where there is no light, no life, no acknowledgment of everything happening...

That's right.  The Church.

Van Gogh's critique of the Church is far from subtle here.  He had reasons for seeing the Church as a place of darkness.  But the truth is, far too many people today see it that way, too.

When Christians---when we--forget our own story.... When we rush through to the next thing... When we succumb to anxiety, to fear... When we allow ourselves to be consumed by materialism, busyness, and the secularization of Christmas and our lives...

We are the ones who are guilty of taking Christ out of Christmas.  We are the ones who dwell on the negative and forget the best part of the story.  We are the ones who lose sight of the fact that God is with us no matter what--even when things are terrible and all seems lost.  

So, let us remember our story.  Let us reconnect with the real love, redemption, and Savior who has overcome the world for our sake and the sake of all Creation.  Let us remember all of this well and lift it up as valuable and vital to our existence because it is.

When it feels like your world is crumbling around you...  Say the name, and speak the word, Emmanuel. 

Because God is with us, even when it feels like all is lost.