Advent is a season of many themes. These are recounted in our scripture readings and include justice and righteousness; love for one another; holiness in our hearts; redemption from whatever separates us from God; anticipation and alertness for God’s kingdom; and prayer for strength for whatever may come.
The prophet Jeremiah tells us that Israel was captured and held in exile. This Advent many people around the world are in exile and sit in lonely places. Many are refugees, fearful of violence, war, hunger, and vengeance. They wait as Jeremiah said, for justice and righteousness. They wait in hopeful anticipation for a future of peace and fulfillment.
Advent, regardless of the conditions in our world, presents us with the knowledge of a compassionate God that arises from the dark night of the soul and the anguish of real events. It is an anguish brought about by diseases, disasters and terrible suffering. Advent is more than our preparation for the Christmas holiday season; it is more than making our lists of things to do and shopping for presents. It is a reminder that God is the God of history, and the events that happen whether internationally, nationally, or locally, concern God as much as what goes on in your life and mine. Advent announces that God is coming with power that can shake the foundations of the earth. It is a power of judgment and hope for peace, justice and new life.
The challenge that Advent presents to Christians is to tear down all that separates the sacred from the secular. Our places of employment, schools, government, social communities, and neighborhoods are all perceived as secular environments. Science and climate change are also understood as secular. But Advent says these are all part of God's creation and we should treat them as sacred relationships.
The work and ministry of compassion and justice is universal. Sacred spaces are for the purpose of renewing our spirits and giving us strength to go out and repair all of creation to the glory of God. We are to pray with open eyes so we may see the complexities of institutions, societies and the world, and then pray and work for justice and peace among all people.
An example of praying and working for justice is told by the Jesuit Priest, Walter Burghardt. He wrote this story several years ago: "The cab driver in New York was in his 30s and had shoulder-length hair tied in a ponytail. He had 'prayed to God for guidance on how to help the forgotten people of the streets who exist in life's shadows.' He recalled that God replied, "Make eight pounds of spaghetti, throw it in a pot, give it out on 103rd Street and Broadway with no conditions, and people will come.' He did, they came, and now he goes from door to door giving people food to eat. The cab driver prayed to God who was there; he listened; he gave the simple gift God asked of him; he gave "with no conditions"; and people responded. Here is our Advent: Make the Christ who comes among us a reality, a living light, in your life and in some other life. Give of yourself…to one dark soul…with no conditions." (From "Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus," in An Advent Sourcebook, ed., Thomas J. O'Gorman, p.9)
In the midst of all the hunger, destruction and death throughout the world, Advent is a wake-up call to hope. Paul states this well in his letter to the Thessalonians: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." What more could one ask for? It is hope arising from the depths of human suffering that leads the way to God and gives energy, patience, persistence, and courage for living through whatever happens.
Advent is also about love and the glory of God's goodness. Jesus said, "there will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory…. When you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near."
Our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori issued a statement for this year’s Advent season: She offers two questions for prayer and reflection: “What is it that you are most waiting for? And, how are you going to wait this year?” Then she writes, “I’m struck this particular season by the waiting of several women in Christian history. Mary obviously, waiting for the birth of the Promised One in her part of the world, a child born for the whole world.
“Also Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptizer, who comes before Jesus. Elizabeth has been promised a child in her old age, these are both very unexpected births, they are waiting.
“And I’m struck particularly this year by Elizabeth of Hungary, a saint of the Church who lived in the thirteenth century, who was betrothed as a child herself, married at 14, a mother of three by the time her husband died when she was 20. She spent her life giving it away, giving it away both physically through her means and through her presence and her healing. She was an icon of generosity.
“What is it you wait for this year? Is it an opportunity to meet the surprising around you? Is it an opportunity to reflect on what is most needed in your heart and in the world around you? How are you going to wait for that gift? Are you going to wait actively? Engaged? Honing your desire? Stoking the passion within you for that dream? Are you going to wait for a dream that will bless the whole world?
“That’s what Christians wait for in the season of Advent -- the coming of the Prince of Peace, the one who will reign with justice over this world. I believe that’s what the world most needs, this year and every year.
“May your season of waiting be fruitful and blessed. May it be filled with surprise and a willingness to engage that surprise.”
And so, good friends, may all the themes of Advent help us to watch and wait with anticipation and great hope for the coming of the Prince of Peace, the Holy Child of God. Amen.
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