3 Advent/Year A - December 11, 2022
(Sermon by Rev Julie Platson)
Isaiah 35:1-10; Canticle 15; Matthew 11:2-11
3rd advent candle: JOY
We light three candles on our advent wreath today… one for HOPE and one for PEACE…and today we lit the third candle, the rose/pink candle of JOY. On this 3rd Sunday of Advent, the church invites us to rejoice -, we can rejoice now because we know that God is faithful to God’s promises. Jesus is coming soon…(Living well through Advent 2022)…The Hope, Peace, Joy, and love of Christ…is coming again soon…
Expectations…that’s the word that’s been on my mind this week…
The opening words from today’s gospel certainly got me thinking about expectations…
“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
In today’s forward day by day devotion, for this 3rd Sunday of Advent, Sallie Schisler…reflected a bit on this verse…and it gave me some food for thought all week, as I thought about how I manage expectations of myself, others, what I’m looking for in life, what I’m expecting in my life and the world around me, as I anticipate, prayerfully wait and watch, and ponder the meaning, once again, of the 1st and 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Let’s listen to what she writes:
The Roman ruler Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist because he publicly challenged Herod’s divorce and remarriage. As John languishes in prison, his faith in the powerful predictions he has made about the one who is to come may be wavering. So, John sends messengers to ask Jesus if he is the one.
Jesus says: Yes, John was right. The blind now see, the lame walk, and good news is proclaimed to the poor. These are all signs of how God’s kingdom would come into the world. But John was expecting a bigger splash. He assumed the Messiah would seize power and trounce the enemies of God. Blinded by his own expectations, he almost missed the significance of Jesus’s ministry.
I wonder when my expectations are viewed through the lens of my own desires. When might I have missed the point? (end of her reflection)
I love this time of year...this season of advent… and particularly this 3rd Sunday in Advent…because it invites us to slow down, ask questions, wonder aloud, and think about the lens through which we view our expectations…
Are we missing the signs of God kingdom breaking into our world already? Are we missing the signs of God’s hope, peace, joy, and love all around us now because we are looking through the lens of our own desires, our doubts, and in our weariness and unbelief, that nothing could ever change, nothing new is possible? Are we missing signs of the One we’ve been waiting for, who is indeed already here with us, in the many ways God’s people are proclaiming the good news to the poor, lifting up the lowly, feeding the hungry, in our communities?
Setting aside time to do this wondering and discernment, is a gift given to us, in this season of advent… it can help us identify those areas in our lives, where we might need to re-align our views and our expectations with God, and through the lens of God, rooted in the hope, peace, joy and love of the One, who is promised…will come again…Jesus Christ…
I wonder how our views and expectations would be changed and transformed in this time of slowing down a bit, this time of reflecting further on the scriptures, the music of advent, this intentional time spent in quiet and prayer, time set aside for worship and fellowship with others each week…I wonder, if we would begin to notice more around us…to notice God already at work in the world…to notice where the work of peace and justice is being advocated for and enacted in our communities… to notice where new relationships are being formed…to notice where healing is beginning… to notice where unexpected songs of joy and laughter are breaking through all the disappointment and discouragement we experience in our daily lives when our expectations are continually viewed through the lens of our own desires, our doubts, and in our weariness and unbelief…
Jesus poses another set of questions in today’s gospel when speaking to the crowds about John the Baptist…Another set of questions that invites us to think more about our expectations… “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see?”
What about you? What are you looking for? What then did you go out to see?
As we journey through these final weeks of Advent - What are your expectations? What are you hoping for? What are you longing for?
Take some time to think more about your own expectations…
Are your expectations viewed through the lens of your own desires, doubts, weariness and unbelief…or through the lens of God, rooted in the hope, peace, joy and love of the One, who is promised…will come again…Jesus Christ…
And take some time this week… to notice and pay attention to the unexpected songs of joy and laughter all around you…
Rejoice with Mary…today…and according to our advent calendar it’s a day to stir up something sweet for dessert…so let’s celebrate together...the long-expected Jesus is coming again soon!
Let us pray: HYMN after sermon: Come, thou long-expected Jesus (vs 1 & 2)