1 Advent/Year C
December 1, 2024
Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36
Opening Prayer: (Christine Sine)
Lord Jesus Christ, we await your coming,
We wait filled with hope,
Knowing your light will shine in the darkness.
We wait anticipating your peace,
Believing that one day it will fill our world.
We wait with joy,
Bubbling us in expectation of your birth.
We wait embracing your love,
May we reach out to share it with our neighbours.
Lord we wait, Come soon and fill us with your life. Amen.
Lord, it seems as though we are always waiting for something, someone, some sign that all will be well in our personal lives, our community, our world.
Especially, now…when there seems to be so many stories filling our news feeds that speak of so much division, darkness, uncertainties, and worries about what our future days will look like…
Yet, it’s not only looking to our news feeds that causes us to worry endlessly about what the future will look like, but even as we look closely at our own personal lives, and in our churches and neighborhoods, that we, too have been impacted by so much loss, and rapid changes in our personal and communal lives over the past several years.
So, yes, Lord, it seems as though we are always waiting for something, someone, some sign that all will be well in our personal lives, our community, our world…some signs of light and hope…in the midst of these sometimes chaotic, troublesome, dark and weary days…
I wonder, if this new beginning of the church year, we might begin again with a fresh approach to how we might journey through this advent season…as we wait and watch, as we listen to the stories in the scriptures and in the songs of the season, as we slow down and pray, and as we look with awe and wonder at the world around us…with a child-like faith, with a renewed trust in the One who is compassionate and loving, good and gracious…the One who can lead us in truth, the One who can teach us and show us the path of hope, peace, joy and love that is before us, the One, whose path we can trust in, with a foundation built upon love and faithfulness…the One whose coming we await, once again, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I wonder if we can open up our eyes, ears, hearts and minds anew this advent season…with a renewed commitment and practice of meditating on the words that Jesus speaks to us in the gospel readings that can help us to be more aware and alert to the signs of light and hope all around us, even in the midst of all that is clamoring for our attention, and threatening to lead us down paths of despair…with no glimmers of hope for the future…
In the gospels, Jesus lays out the whole scenario…the signs of destruction, darkness, the fear of all those things that will threaten to destabilize the earth we tread upon… But, he tells us, not to lower our heads and our gaze in despair, but to stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 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.
Jesus’ words are worth meditating on, holding onto. For these are the promises, these are the words of hope, that help us to envision a hope that we can hold fast to in those long stretches of time, when it seems as though we are always waiting for something, someone, some sign that all will be well in our personal lives, our community, our world…some signs of light and hope…in the midst of these sometimes chaotic, troublesome, dark and weary days…
Yes, meditating and praying on these scriptures…is a good practice for us to engage in regularly, assuring us that we have these words and a vision of hope to hold onto, and to allow for these words to be grafted in our hearts…
But the other practice that can help us come to a deeper understanding of all that the scriptures can teach us and how they can transform us and our worldview, is to engage in conversations with others about them through group discussions, book studies, etc…or just by sitting down with someone else for a 1:1 conversation…so that you can share stories with one another of those times you experienced seeing signs of hope when in the midst of some long stretches of dark times; And, sometimes, in one of those conversations, you might be the one at that moment in time, who can help someone else see that there are signs of light and hope around them that are worth holding onto…
Our sequence hymn today…and the instrumental/different musical setting I will play again in just a moment…gives us a simple template of how a conversation might flow between two such persons…One who is asking the question, who is waiting for something, someone, some sign that all will be well in their personal lives, community, or world…and the one who is offering the words that will help the other hold fast to the vision of Hope, that we await for in the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer/Hymn: (H) 640 - Watchman, tell us of the night
1 Watchman, tell us of the night, what its signs of promise are.
Traveler, o’er yon mountain’s height, see that glory-beaming star.
Watchman, does its beauteous ray aught of joy or hope foretell?
Traveler, yes; it brings the day, promised day of Israel.
2 Watchman, tell us of the night; higher yet that star ascends.
Traveler, blessedness and light, peace and truth its course portends.
Watchman, will its beams alone gild the spot that gave them birth?
Traveler, ages are its own; see, it bursts o’er all the earth.
3 Watchman, tell us of the night, for the morning seems to dawn.
Traveler, darkness takes its flight, doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, let thy wanderings cease; hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveler, lo! the Prince of Peace, lo! the Son of God is come!
Rev Julie Platson, St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church