A sermon by Dr. Steven Bishop, Lecturer in Old Testament, given on December 7, 2006, in Christ Chapel

First Sunday of Advent

The texts from Zechariah and Luke seem incongruous to the season of Advent when we think of this season in secular terms. I associate the season with Rankin and Bass animation specials. The stop action animation of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman are all joy and happiness. Films like It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas bring about feelings of contentment and hope that all things turn out well. I have my own Christmas tradition of watching Return of the Jedi with my son. We started when he was very young and it continues to be an important tradition for the both of us even though it has nothing to do with Christmas though you might be able to make some sort of analogous connection with good triumphing over evil. But we don’t, we just enjoy doing it for its own sake.

Though these biblical texts initially seem to be out of place to me on further reflection I see why these texts are chosen for this season. Advent is a season of expectation, reflection and preparation for the inbreaking of God into the world through Jesus. Yet the language of Zechariah and Luke is not what one normally expects. It is the language of judgment, of cataclysmic earth shaking, and of a new world order. It is the language of new beginning and of righting wrongs. Violent imagery proclaims an end to violence.

Zechariah’s context is one of war. Chapter fourteen describes an all out assault on Jerusalem . The city is sacked, homes are looted, women are raped and half the city goes into exile. Then the Lord appears in order to fight against the nations arrayed against Jerusalem and defeats them. The mount of Olives is split in two to form a valley highway for people to return. The seasons come to an end, the bifurcation of day and night comes to an end and there is only light. Living waters flow from Jerusalem bringing fertility and life. Yahweh is recognized as king over the earth. Jerusalem is physically exalted while the rest of the landscape literally recedes. Though it is not a completely utopian vision, it does hold great promise for the future of the people of Jerusalem .

Jesus’ words of warning are just as cataclysmic. Signs appear in heaven and on earth, general anxiety permeates the nations of the world because of these ominous signs. People will faint from the anticipation of what the signs portend and the heavens themselves will be shaken. These images are far from a baby in a manger or herald angels singing. It describes an event that I don’t want to experience. Unless the point is that these events will not pose as grave a threat to those who are alert, to those who live in anticipation of the rule of God.

I suspect that we were all in the first grade at some point. Did it ever happen to you that your teacher would leave the room with the promise to return shortly? At first there is a heightened readiness for the return of the teacher. Everyone stays in their chair, there is no talking, everyone keeps practicing writing their letters. As the minute hand of the classroom clock moves ever so slowly, marking the time of the teacher’s absence that heightened readiness begins to relax. The whispers in the room get louder, the pencils are used to poke one another rather than write and someone even risks getting out of their chair. The longer the teacher is away the less concerned the class is about being prepared. Other things have gotten their attention. They are interested in talking to their friends, playing a game or going outside.

Jesus warns us that we too can lose our alertness. It doesn’t take much to draw our attention away. Recklessness, drunkenness and worries can weigh us down. When we are weighed down we can’t stand up and raise our heads as we are advised to do. Not letting the worries of this life weigh us down is a tough thing to do. We worry about our future, our family, our relationships, the upturn of violence in the world, the fact that so many people are starving, that disease runs unchecked through vast populations, that we are destroying our environment, that the poor are getting poorer, that we have poverty and need all around us here in Austin. These matters press upon us daily and we watch the minute hand of the classroom clock continue to mark time and we wait.

The seasons of our church calendar are an effective means of keeping us alert and ready. Since I am new to observing a liturgical calendar I am growing to appreciate the intelligence of various seasons. I find they keep me intentionally engaged in being alert. They warn me and exhort me to reflect on and act out my faith. They help me to be aware of my own tendency to lose my sense of expectation and to be weighed down by the worries of my own life.

Jesus warned that the kingdom was near. One synoptic account augments the expression by adding at the gate. Luke uses the word ‘near’ only three times, and it is used 31 other times in the entire New Testament. Most uses of the word have to do with physical proximity. Mt. Olivet is near Jerusalem , Jesus told a parable because he was near Jerusalem , and Lydda is near Joppa. The word is also used, though rarely, with reference to time. The passages which use it this way are all synoptic parallels with our Luke passage. We can understand this to mean that the kingdom is near, close in proximity, to us. Like our first grade teacher standing just outside the door. Attentiveness makes her presence known just as our attentiveness to the season makes the presence of Jesus known to us.

What Jesus says about the summer is especially helpful. When you see the sprouting of the crops you know that summer is near. The expression ‘just around the corner’ also includes the twin meanings of proximity and time. When something literally is around the corner it is near and encountering it is assured. When you see signs of summer you know that the changing season is inevitable. In fact, you can say that it has already arrived, it is present. The kingdom of God is not just near for us, it is present, it is here. With the arrival of that kingdom comes our participation in its unfolding in the world. That unfolding is earth shattering and cataclysmic. It is a harbinger of a new world order, a day with no night in which the one God reigns supreme. We are living in that expectation. The kingdom is not near, it is here.