Ready, Set……Wait. That’s what Advent is in three simple words. Those of us who grew up in liturgical churches have some familiarity with Advent. It’s the season of the church year that starts after Thanksgiving and runs until Christmas. When I was young, the color for vestments and liturgical accessories was purple, like Lent. We were taught that it was a season of repentance, a time of making ourselves worthy of having God to be born among us. It was a moderately dreary time, the apocalyptic readings, the reminders that we were base, selfish creatures who cared more about decorations, parties and gifts than about cleaning ourselves up for Jesus. Years have gone by and we are still hearing about the Apocalypse on Sundays and we are still torn between the business and commercialization of Christmas and taking time to honor and experience a sacred and holy waiting period.
Some things have changed. Many churches, like ours, use blue for the liturgical color of Advent. Blue, not purple, blue ,like the color most often associated with Mary. Blue, to show us that Advent is not Lent, and it is not Lent light. We focus not on repentance, but on expecting, waiting, hoping and praying.
I feel as though I know something new and powerful about waiting, a way of waiting that is different for me than in the past. These past 2 weeks and 2 days of walking through serious illness with Cathy and her mom, Elaine have opened my mind and heart to how serious, how powerful, how holy waiting can be. There has been a lot of waiting: waiting to see if Cathy would arrive in Chicago in time to see her mom alive, waiting to get x-ray results, waiting for biopsies and scans, waiting for surgery to be scheduled, waiting for surgery to actually begin, waiting for reports from the operating room, waiting for surgery to be over, waiting for Elaine to move from recovery to ICU, waiting for her to move from ICU to a step down room, waiting for her difficult recovery to progress to the point where she could be discharged and now, waiting for her to be strong enough for Cathy to come home. That feels like a lot of waiting, and waiting is not my strong suit.
I’ve learned some things about Advent from all this waiting. Advent is clearly a “now” and a “not yet time”. And our readings reflect this curious phenomenon. Mark’s gospel should really come with a big sign saying “Hang on, don’t panic”. We don’t read the beginning of this chapter that starts with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem then proceeds to images of war, earthquake, famine, and family betrayal. Jesus was spot on in saying “this generation will not pass away until all of these things have taken place”. Mark is writing to people who have already seen faith community in horrible straits. After all, Jesus went around with the sorts of people that were best ignored, the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the unclean, the lost and the lonely. And now his followers are trying to do the same. They refer to Jesus as Lord, not something easily accepted by the local authorities, and something often unacceptable to their own families. Mark writes this chapter to acknowledge the pain, grief and great difficulties that they are going through. But, he states, The Son of Man is coming”, no one knows the day or the hour, we are to “keep alert”, “keep awake”. Mark is reminding his listeners and us that the kingdom of God is not delayed or cancelled. It isn’t quite “don’t worry, be happy”, but the Gospel clearly tells us that waiting is expected, necessary and part of our call as followers of Jesus. Waiting is holy.
What are we waiting for? We are waiting for nothing less than God to enter our world, we are waiting for God to break into our lives, we are waiting for God to join us in all moments, all places, all times, past, present and future. We are waiting for God with us, Emmanuel.
One of the things I learned about waiting these past few days is that holy waiting is not passive. Holy waiting is accompanied by preparation. For me that meant trying to take care of some things here in Buffalo that needed doing-bulletins, sermons, taking care of our homes and our critters, checking airline flights and making hotel reservations. Most importantly it meant praying fiercely that all would be well, whatever that “well” might mean.
Imagine how joyous, sacred and powerful Christmas will be when we get in touch with Holy Waiting. Imagine how fresh and new the incarnation, God taking on human flesh, will be if we spend these next four weeks doing our part to form and reconcile God’s realm here on earth, if we get in touch with our need for a Savior and acknowledge that we are called to work as the hands and feet of God here on earth.
Let us remember not to be content with the way things are. Let us be inspired by a curiosity about what is possible. What dreams of community and spiritual growth can we dream? While we wait and prepare for the birth of Christ, can we also wait and prepare for Jesus coming again? Most of us wait in a modicum of safety and comfort. We have the time and the means to hope for the day God’s peace and justice will rule the earth. Can we use this hope to fuel our willingness to actively participate in creating the kingdom of God? Will we use this time of waiting and hope to reach out and share life with those who are most in need God’s loving touch? Will we use this time to acknowledge and care for people in need- for the hungry, the homeless, for victims of violence and injustice, for those who are sick and sad? While we wait for Jesus to be born and for Jesus to come again will we do the preparation necessary to make our here and now world look more like the kingdom of heaven?
When we are able to do this, to wait and to do the work of preparing for Jesus to come at Christmas and at a time no one knows, when we are willing to live in the now and the not yet, we will experience a holy Advent. And when our Advent is holy, how much more meaningful, joyous, and sacred will our Christmas be? Amen.
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