Advent is (nearly) upon us. At Luther Seminary where I serve, we lean into the upcoming Sunday for weekday worship. This means that Advent came to us a few days early on Wednesday, November 28. I figured that's okay since in our North American culture, Christmas has already come for many. I partially blame Santa and the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving, though there is plenty of blame to be shared.
In any event, I preached Advent (maybe even a tish of Christmas?!) a good four days before the official beginning of the Advent Season. Below is my sermon on Luke 21:25-36. The sermon culminated with the assembly singing the haunting hymn, "Lost in the Night." Here is a congregational version of the hymn from the 2010 Augsburg University (College) Advent Vespers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpptet7Cu2U
If you want, you can take a look/listen to the sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMPHoI-LXzw&list=PLUU0xBzg1AjTYaDH-PIC_DiGvAiE94o9U .
And finally, here's the Gospel text:
Luke 21:26-35
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. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’
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Sermon Title: “Soon”
It was 6:38 am, the morning of Nov 1st: All Saints Day to some, the morning after Halloween to many. Daylight Savings had not yet shifted the morning light’s schedule, so it was still dark. Hyped on the trick-or-treat-energy of the previous night with sugar no doubt still coursing in their veins, my three kids had already stirred. After greeting my four-year-old already bouncing in his bed, I strolled over to his window and opened the shade. And there it was, twinkling in the pre-dawn nightscape. The neighbors behind our house had their Christmas tree up and decorated in their window. I felt like a Halloween vampire who had just confronted the rising Sun—it burns, it burns…the horror!
Too soon!
In my humble-though-100%-correct-opinion, the bedazzled Christmas tree on the morning of November 1st was altogether too soon! I still had Halloween candy stuck in my teeth, for crying-out-loud! In an attempt to instill my distain for this too-soon-Christmas blunder, I shut the shade and called my three kids over to the window. It was a teachable moment. “What day was it yesterday?” I asked them. “Halloween!” they replied excitedly. “Yes, today is the day after Halloween. I need to show you something. But be ready: it is very, very sad.”
I opened the the shade up to reveal the blue-red-green-yellow lit Christmas tree radiating from our neighbor’s house onto our backyard. “Agghhh…. Can you believe it? Agh!” And my kids, mostly wanting to appease me I think, all reacted in a similar way. “Aghh. Dad! It’s not Christmas! Aghh. It was just Halloween! Aghh.”
Too, too soon.
For a moment, I’m going to suspend my liturgical awareness as well as my deep and abiding allegiance to the Advent season and wonder a bit with you this morning. Maybe…maybe it wasn’t too soon to see those lights sparkling in the neighbors window. (gasp!) I know…I can’t believe I’m saying this…but bear with me for a moment. This Christmas tree experience has tripped-up my reading of Luke 21 and Jesus’ words of an apocalyptic Advent.
See, I don’t have a ton of experience with fig trees, so in my contextual imagination I considered a few tweaks to Jesus’ parabol and words about trees in verse 29. I imagine Jesus saying, “Look at the Christmas trees and all the evergreens; as soon as they garner lights you can see for yourselves and know that Christmas is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the Advent of God is near.” It kind of works! Sure, it may be irresponsible bible interpretation—eisgesis for you bible nerds out there—but still, it sort of works. In this North American context, the arrival of Christmas lights and the trees that hold them means the Advent season (not Christmas!) is upon us; and, with Advent, comes the message of waiting for God’s reign of justice and mercy.
Though this Christmas tree imagery inserted into this Lukan passage may be a bit of stretch, it is no stretch at all for us to hear Jesus’ word of distress and disorientation, fear and foreboding, and for us to know of what signs he speaks. Signs that all is not right in the world:
creation languishing,
people sighing,
nations anguishing,
children crying.
As we experience these jarring signs in what seems to be a long night of suffering and sorrow in our world, we offer up our collective cry: “Will not day come soon?”
This Black Friday—of all days—with our nation fully engrossed in capitalist consumption, the Federal Government released the Fourth National Climate Assessment (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/1/). I haven’t read all of it, but enough to know (yet again!) that our human behaviors impact our climate. And the climate is crying out: wild fires and hurricanes of massive scale, declining snow-packs, smog-covered cities, rising sea levels, loss of animal and plant habitat, mass human migration, that is, caravans of people on the move on account of changing landscapes and declining food sources, and an increasing average temperature. Signs are among us. This newly released Climate Assessment declares, that not enough is being done regionally and globally to “approach the scales needed to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. (and global) economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades.”
Or as Jesus said: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth distress among the nations confused by the roaring of sea and waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” The signs are all around us; Soon and soon.
It feels like humanity is lost…like we are lost in the night of sorrow amid systems of our own sin hell-bent on the destruction of God’s good creation. It is enough to bring one to their knees in despair to wait and wonder and watch for a whiff of hope on the horizon. Will not day come soon? Will not earth’s restoration come soon? Will not creation’s salvation come…soon? Jesus said: “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is drawing near.” A word of promise, a beacon of promise. Raise your heads, and see: light…the Christ-light, that shines through the darkness. The light of God that reveals glimpses of God’s goodness even in our wounded world.
It is this light, this promise of the Radiant One, that shines for the world to see…for the world to recognize…for the world to behold the power and great glory of God who will never abandon us. Our God who by us and through us and even despite us brings about the redemption of the whole world. This is the Advent of our God: whose light is our Christ and whose generative power through the Holy Spirit makes us beacons of light in the world. For we are called to stand, raise our heads, and shine out the light of Christ’s redemption for our climate and God’s creation. We have a part in God’s Advent, believe it or not. We are to witness to each other and to the world that light shines. And the light sparks and ignites and grows and glows!
I don’t necessarily endorse Christmas trees on All Saints Day. But light…the need for a little more light in the world, that I understand! That is what we need…what our world needs. The light of the Christ shining in the predawn light, a sign of redemption? Maybe that neighbor’s Christmas tree wasn’t too soon…but just soon enough. Light begets light.
At 6:42 am on the All Saints Day, my four-year was still staring at the glow of neighbors’ Christmas tree, his body a black silhouette in the window. “Come on buddy,” I said, “Time for breakfast.” There was a long pause, and then I heard him mutter, “I want to put up our Christmas tree too.”
Soon enough.
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