Nov. 30, 2008 Isaiah 64:1-9
Mark 13:24-37
“When will Christmas come this year?”
Once again, we are in one of those fascinating times when our biblical stories and our American culture blend into a mix of tradition, expectations, stresses and joys. The week of Thanksgiving is over and we are now into the month of Christmas. Some preachers will argue that, no, this is the season of Advent, but I contend the month of Christmas is already upon us. Everybody who shops at Macy’s know that as well as anyone who listens to OCEAN 104. There’s something just so inspiring about walking around the aisles of Walmart listening to 101 strings playing the “Hallelujah” music from Handel’s “Messiah.” Only Bing Crosby crooning “White Christmas” could be better!
Some preachers will insist on talking about messianic expectations and ponder why Mark of all people should be the featured word of the day when, in fact, he fails to mention anything in his gospel about the shepherds, kings, manger and all the other crucial details of Jesus’ birth. In that respect, Mark is a bit of a “humbug” since he has no birth narrative whatsoever.
Some preachers will want to talk about the political realities of the day when Mark wrote his gospel. You will remember that Jerusalem lay in ruins thanks to the Romans. Jewish prophecy said that the messiah was on the way, so what were early Christians supposed to make of the utter destruction of the Holy City? Such are the questions many preachers are posing around the world today as we enter advent.
Some preachers today are going to get all worked up over predictions of the final day. We’ve already talked about that. As one preaching resource says so wisely: “In fact the day of the Lord is not to be tied to any political condition or religious institution. The weals and woes of any nation, even a nation claiming to have a central place in the purposes of God, do not dictate the time or place or form of God’s advent.” (Preaching Through the Christian Year. Craddock, Hayes, Holladay, Tucker. Trinity Press, International, Harrisbury, PA. p. 6 ) So, as convinced as some preachers are that the final days are here, we welcome them to the club of fools of every generation, every group of believers who are convinced that God is coming for the final act in their time. My preaching resource wraps this whole argument up pretty well: “God survives all human structures and institutions, sometime having to shatter and re-create the communities that exist for God’s work in the world. In other words, true hope is trust in the faithfulness of God, constant amid the rise and fall of the worst and the best of human achievement.” (Ibid. p. 6)
So, let’s ignore all those heady arguments and convincing, but wrong, pronouncements of all those preachers out there and take a more modest approach to the day, the first day in the month of Christmas. Let’s be pragmatists. Thus the question: When will Christmas come this year? While we are “keeping awake” at the behest of Mark, can we know when Christmas will come this year?
Many of us work very hard to organize the season so that we will know when Christmas will arrive. We plan parties, attend concerts, attend candlelight services, and, of course, look for just the right presents for loved ones. We often get into a “control mode” if you will and try to determine just when everything will all fall into place and we can say definitively that Christmas has come.
Is it surprising that we do this? Of course not! It’s only human nature to repeat those experiences that have worked in the past. Certainly many of us have been touched by the singing of “Silent Night” during a candlelight service, but that does not mean it brings an automatic Christmas moment. It might and it might not. Many of us have memories around the Christmas evening dinner table and can point to a year when that was the defining “Christmas moment.” What about the time you went caroling at the nursing home? Or what about that year you delivered meals on wheels Christmas afternoon? We can reconstruct past Christmas moments but that does not dictate when Christmas will come for you this year.
The preachers I referred to earlier who are busy today talking about the final days and us may actually be facing the same issue: while they are trying to take control of God’s calendar, we are trying to create the right conditions that will guarantee when Christmas will arrive. Both the preachers of the day of vindication and those who would be trying to make Christmas happen are suffering from the same delusion: that we are in control.
Here’s the breaking news. God is in control. God will bring about the end in God’s time and God will lead us to our Christmas moments most likely when we least expect it! Again, my preaching resource makes the point: “Christ will come and with signs that no one can miss. In the meantime, appropriate Christian behavior is enduring, without trying to guess when…” (Ibid. p. 7)
So, this year we “keep awake” which means that we know God is steering the ship, but by the same token we open our hearts to moments when the Holy Spirit might touch us. This is the season for living in the hope that something wonderful is going to happen. We don’t know when and we don’t know where, we just know that it will happen. We will stay awake to the possibilities so that when the moments come, we will be able to recognize them as the true gifts of the season.
The moment could be something like a simple flashback to a childhood memory of sneaking down the stairs early in the morning to see if the cookies and milk that you left for Santa were still there or not.
The moment could be singing in the church choir on Christmas eve one of your favorite songs like “Still, Still, Still” or “O Holy Night.”
The moment could be watching the face of a child as she sings “Silent Night” at an outdoor service with the light of her candle reflecting off her face.
Christmas could come for you as you sit down to the dinner table and pause to offer a prayer, only to find yourself articulating your love for every one in the room.
God might touch your heart this year when you somehow experience a deep insight into the meaning of your life and you realize that it is time to do something that have been talking about for years - -taking a trip with a loved one, signing up for an art class, running for an town office, or tackling that community project to benefit the homeless.
Because of the heightened sense of anticipation during Christmas, we open windows and doors that are typically closed. We open our minds and our hearts to the magic and the joy of life, we are “watchful.” We expect nice things to happen. We are open to something different coming along that could even change our lives.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is something we can do year ‘round.
It’s about being open to the Holy Spirit and about expecting the joy of our faith to
prevail over all the hardships and pain that might come our way. It’s about
knowing that God is with us every step of the journe, that there is nothing that can
ever separate us from God’s love, and that in the end, all will be well—God will
bring healing, hope, joy, peace and love and for all that we stand firm and remain
watchful. AMEN
