Sermon - First Sunday of Advent
Sermon
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 11/30/2008
1st Sunday of Advent – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 13:24-37, Psalm 80:19
A chicken walks into the library, and she walks up to the librarian and she says: "Book." The librarian says: "You want a book?" "Book." "Any book?" "Book." So the librarian gives the chicken a novel and off she goes and an hour later the chicken comes back and she says, "Book-book" The librarian says: "Now you want two books?" "Book-book." So she gives the chicken two more novels and she leaves but she comes back later. "Book-book-book." "Three books?" "Book-book-book." So the librarian gives the chicken three books, but she decides she'll follow the chicken and find out what's going on, and chicken goes down the alley, and out of town and towards the woods, into the woods and down to the river, down to the swamp, and there is a bullfrog. The chicken sets the books down by him and he looks at them and he says: "Reddit...Reddit...Reddit."
How many of you are like this bullfrog? I know I can be, When I start reading a book a second time I want to skip ahead to the good parts. But, when I do this I miss two things. I miss the build-up to that good moment. I miss all of the intrigue, pacing, plot development, and staging. And so when I get to that good part, it does not have the same impact that it would have. The second thing that I miss is just the simple task of rereading. Whenever I reread a book, I catch little bits that I otherwise would have missed.
This is something that happens all too often for me during the Christmas season, and I am sure it happens to many of you as well. We get ourselves caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and we skip Advent. Too often, we get distracted by the Christmas lights already up, the Christmas tunes playing on the radio, and Christmas displays up in stores. It is tempting to forget about Advent and the period of waiting and preparing and skip to the coming of Christ.
Not that Christmas lights, tunes, and store displays are wrong, they aren’t, but we should work to see them as a part of the Advent season. When we hear our favorite carol on the radio, use it to remind yourself of Christ’s coming. Prepare your heart and mind as you prepare your house for festivities. Say a prayer for those who you miss as you set up your decorations, pray for those who helped to produce the food that you will set on your table as you shop, and with thanksgiving just behind us, continue to give thanks to God for providing the beautiful tree that you are decorating.
This is also not saying that any celebration or festivities should be contained until Christmas day. We will have our Christmas parties, get-togethers, open-houses and box-socials at many different times during this season. The point is to not forget Advent, not to not celebrate Christmas. Celebrate Christmas, but also celebrate Advent. The idea of Advent should not be contained to this specific time of year. We should be preparing ourselves for Christ’s coming throughout the year, both for his birth at Christmas, but also his return. And just as we should always hold Advent in our hearts, we should as well hold Lent in our hearts.
Our text today speaks of that precisely. Last week on Christ the King, we heard the Jesus’ last discourse before the passion from the Gospel of Matthew, today we hear it from Mark. It seems to be ironic in a way, the first Sunday of Advent, we hear a passage from near the end of Christ’s life. And not only a passage from near the end, but one that talks of dark things, and end times. Dr. Paul Berge in his commentary about this lesson says:
People want to hear "Silver Bells" and anticipate that "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," not about the opening verses of our text: "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (13:24-25).
In Advent, we want to hear of Christ coming and about how we are loved. It is hard to hear of difficult times filled with suffering and darkness. However, it is exactly because of the darkness and suffering in this world that Christ comes to us. It is through his birth, death and resurrection that we are saved from that suffering and darkness. This text tells us that despite the cheery nature of mainstream consumerism, this is often a difficult time for many people. We remember loved ones who have died, people who are not able to return home to family gatherings, and those who hurt us during this season. It is to that which Christ comes. Christ comes to gather all, “from the ends of earth to the ends of heaven.”
God comes to the darkness of this world, to answer the cries of Psalm 80.
Restore us, O God, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
This refrain is repeated in the psalm, and just like our continued readings of a well loved book, more is found each time.
Restore us, O God of Hosts, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
And again, it is repeated. And again added to.
Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
This refrain echoes in this Advent season. We are continually calling for God to restore us, each week our cries grow louder. We anticipate the Lords face shining, destroying the darkness of this world; we look toward Christ’s death and resurrection.
Our Lutheran minds hold many different complex ideas, sinner and saint, the wondrousness of God’s grace and the freedom to help others that it gives us. I think we should hold another, the idea that we should every day prepare as if it were advent, and lent, Christmas and Easter. Everyday we should remember our baptism and prepare ourselves for Christ’s death, birth, coming again, and resurrection. We should each day prepare ourselves to receive the grace that has already been given us.
Let us pray,
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts, come to us in this dark filled world of pain and suffering, let your light shine upon us, and keep us in your arms protecting us from death. Come to us in our preparation, our celebrating, and cleaning up. Come to those who we will miss, and those we have lost. Keep us in your arms, knowing that through your Son, Jesus Christ and through the Power of the Holy Spirit, we are saved.
Amen
Location Faith Lutheran – Date 11/30/2008
1st Sunday of Advent – Year B
Primary Text: Mark 13:24-37, Psalm 80:19
A chicken walks into the library, and she walks up to the librarian and she says: "Book." The librarian says: "You want a book?" "Book." "Any book?" "Book." So the librarian gives the chicken a novel and off she goes and an hour later the chicken comes back and she says, "Book-book" The librarian says: "Now you want two books?" "Book-book." So she gives the chicken two more novels and she leaves but she comes back later. "Book-book-book." "Three books?" "Book-book-book." So the librarian gives the chicken three books, but she decides she'll follow the chicken and find out what's going on, and chicken goes down the alley, and out of town and towards the woods, into the woods and down to the river, down to the swamp, and there is a bullfrog. The chicken sets the books down by him and he looks at them and he says: "Reddit...Reddit...Reddit."
How many of you are like this bullfrog? I know I can be, When I start reading a book a second time I want to skip ahead to the good parts. But, when I do this I miss two things. I miss the build-up to that good moment. I miss all of the intrigue, pacing, plot development, and staging. And so when I get to that good part, it does not have the same impact that it would have. The second thing that I miss is just the simple task of rereading. Whenever I reread a book, I catch little bits that I otherwise would have missed.
This is something that happens all too often for me during the Christmas season, and I am sure it happens to many of you as well. We get ourselves caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and we skip Advent. Too often, we get distracted by the Christmas lights already up, the Christmas tunes playing on the radio, and Christmas displays up in stores. It is tempting to forget about Advent and the period of waiting and preparing and skip to the coming of Christ.
Not that Christmas lights, tunes, and store displays are wrong, they aren’t, but we should work to see them as a part of the Advent season. When we hear our favorite carol on the radio, use it to remind yourself of Christ’s coming. Prepare your heart and mind as you prepare your house for festivities. Say a prayer for those who you miss as you set up your decorations, pray for those who helped to produce the food that you will set on your table as you shop, and with thanksgiving just behind us, continue to give thanks to God for providing the beautiful tree that you are decorating.
This is also not saying that any celebration or festivities should be contained until Christmas day. We will have our Christmas parties, get-togethers, open-houses and box-socials at many different times during this season. The point is to not forget Advent, not to not celebrate Christmas. Celebrate Christmas, but also celebrate Advent. The idea of Advent should not be contained to this specific time of year. We should be preparing ourselves for Christ’s coming throughout the year, both for his birth at Christmas, but also his return. And just as we should always hold Advent in our hearts, we should as well hold Lent in our hearts.
Our text today speaks of that precisely. Last week on Christ the King, we heard the Jesus’ last discourse before the passion from the Gospel of Matthew, today we hear it from Mark. It seems to be ironic in a way, the first Sunday of Advent, we hear a passage from near the end of Christ’s life. And not only a passage from near the end, but one that talks of dark things, and end times. Dr. Paul Berge in his commentary about this lesson says:
People want to hear "Silver Bells" and anticipate that "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," not about the opening verses of our text: "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (13:24-25).
In Advent, we want to hear of Christ coming and about how we are loved. It is hard to hear of difficult times filled with suffering and darkness. However, it is exactly because of the darkness and suffering in this world that Christ comes to us. It is through his birth, death and resurrection that we are saved from that suffering and darkness. This text tells us that despite the cheery nature of mainstream consumerism, this is often a difficult time for many people. We remember loved ones who have died, people who are not able to return home to family gatherings, and those who hurt us during this season. It is to that which Christ comes. Christ comes to gather all, “from the ends of earth to the ends of heaven.”
God comes to the darkness of this world, to answer the cries of Psalm 80.
Restore us, O God, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
This refrain is repeated in the psalm, and just like our continued readings of a well loved book, more is found each time.
Restore us, O God of Hosts, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
And again, it is repeated. And again added to.
Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts, let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.
This refrain echoes in this Advent season. We are continually calling for God to restore us, each week our cries grow louder. We anticipate the Lords face shining, destroying the darkness of this world; we look toward Christ’s death and resurrection.
Our Lutheran minds hold many different complex ideas, sinner and saint, the wondrousness of God’s grace and the freedom to help others that it gives us. I think we should hold another, the idea that we should every day prepare as if it were advent, and lent, Christmas and Easter. Everyday we should remember our baptism and prepare ourselves for Christ’s death, birth, coming again, and resurrection. We should each day prepare ourselves to receive the grace that has already been given us.
Let us pray,
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts, come to us in this dark filled world of pain and suffering, let your light shine upon us, and keep us in your arms protecting us from death. Come to us in our preparation, our celebrating, and cleaning up. Come to those who we will miss, and those we have lost. Keep us in your arms, knowing that through your Son, Jesus Christ and through the Power of the Holy Spirit, we are saved.
Amen
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