Abound in Love

The first Sunday in Advent is the beginning of a new year in the Christian calendar.  It is a time of hope and anticipation, a time for reflection about the Advent themes of darkness and light.  It is a time of judgment, hope, and love.  In Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians we heard, “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.”

The dark days of the coming winter season are all around us.  So is the darkness of violence and fear that is gripping the lives of so many people around the world.  Advent, regardless of our worldly conditions at any given time presents us with the knowledge of God that arises from the dark night of the soul and the anguish of real events.  It is an anguish brought about by 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 internationally, nationally, and politically concern God as much or more than what goes on in your life or mine.  Advent announces that God is coming with power that can shake the foundations of the earth.  It is a power of judgment just as much as it is a power of hope for peace, justice and new life.

Think for a moment about our national fear of Syrian refugees.  A large majority of our states have said they would not support refugees from Syria.  What is the response of the Christian Churches? 

The National Council of Churches issued a statement:  "From the very beginning, the Church has identified itself with refugees. Our ancestors in faith were themselves refugees when they fled the chariots of Pharaoh after escaping from slavery. Jesus himself was a refugee when his family fled to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod.  Whenever early Christians were persecuted, they were made refugees.  Since the first century, when people have fled violence and other calamities, and sought refuge in other places, often the welcome they received in these foreign societies was symbolized, and indeed motivated, by the open embrace of churches providing sanctuary and material assistance.”

Bishop Knisely, in a statement about the Episcopal Church said, “The Episcopal Church has been resettling refugees for over 75 years and we will be active in welcoming Syrian refugees to America.  It is wrong to discriminate against those fleeing violence, oppression or certain death merely because of where they come from or because of their religion.  In the Book of Leviticus, God says to the people of Israel, ‘the foreigner who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the foreigner as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.’  We are, therefore, called to welcome the stranger and aid our brothers and sisters in their time of need.”

An emphasis during Advent is to tear down the walls we have erected that divide us.  This includes the walls that separate what is sacred from what is secular.  The challenge that Advent presents to Christians is to make sacred what we have labeled secular.  Our places of employment, our institutions of education and government, our social communities, our neighborhoods are all perceived as secular environments.  Advent says that 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 and is to be spread everywhere.  The purpose of sacred spaces is to renew our spirits and give us strength to go out and repair all of creation to the glory of God.  We are to pray with open eyes so we might see the complexities and injustices of institutions, societies and the world, and then pray and work for justice and peace.

An example of praying and working for justice is told by the late Jesuit Priest, Walter Burghardt.   He wrote about a story that happened in New York on the day following Thanksgiving:  "The cab driver… 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 103^rd 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 has come a reality, a living light in your life and in some other life.  Give of yourself…to one dark soul…with no conditions."  ("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 that occurs daily throughout the world, Advent is a wake-up call to hope.  I repeat what Paul states so 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 will 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 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."

Let us watch, wait and work with anticipation and great hope for justice and peace, and for the coming day of the Lord.  Amen.