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Sermon
Living Between the Advents
Preaching Advent in Year B
Mark 13 speaks to those who expect too much and to those who expect too little. It is especially pertinent for those who have forgotten to expect anything at all.1
The season of Advent is the season of expectancy. With the passing of Thanksgiving things start churning just beneath the surface and soon now they'll burst out all over the place. "Hurry, Christmas, hurry fast," the Chipmunks sing, and we know what they mean. At least we used to know what they mean. I guess that this is one of those times when we can learn something from our children. They can't wait for Christmas to get here and they feed off that energy in such a way that it inspires those of us who are around them. The anticipation of children regarding Christmas is contagious.
How expectant are we of the coming of Jesus? Do we have an anticipation that is so real that it is contagious? The season of Advent is the season of expectancy and that expectancy can and should branch off in three tributaries. First, we expectantly await the celebration of the coming of the Christ Child to Bethlehem's manger. Second, we expectantly await the coming of Christ into our lives in new and unexpected ways. Third, we expectantly await the coming again of Christ when he comes "in clouds with great power and glory" to "gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" (Mark 13:26-27). The third expectation is what I want us to focus on. My, what a difference such expectation should make.
The fact is that Jesus will return some day. The further fact is that we can't know when that will be. Logic dictates that his return is closer now than it has ever been. The Bible dictates that we are always to be watching for and expecting his return. Our expectation, however, is not to be characterized by inactive waiting. Jesus' little parable makes that clear. He said that the coming of the Son of Man is like a man leaving his home to go on a trip. When he goes, he leaves his servants in charge and gives each one his work to do. He furthermore tells the doorkeeper to be on the watch. He then ends with those powerful words: "What I say to you I say to all: Watch" (13:37). What should characterize our watching for the return of our Lord?
We Watch In Hope
We forget sometimes that the New Testament's words about the return of Christ are words of good news for Christians. The return of Christ is our "blessed hope," it is something that we long for and look forward to. Why? Because in his return everything will be made as it ought to be. God's creation will finally fulfill its potential. Our lives will finally be whole and full. God's purposes will finally be fulfilled. The loving, peaceful, and gracious ways of Christ will finally be vindicated. Everything will be fulfilled and God himself will fulfill it. Hungers will be fulfilled, longings will be satisfied, questions will be answered, frustrations will be ended, and conflicts will be resolved.
We often say that we live in an age that needs hope and that is certainly the case. Even in the strongest and richest nation in the world we live with threats of terror and prospects of war hanging over our heads. Within this strongest and richest nation on earth live many who don't have enough food to eat or decent clothes to wear or access to a decent education. People need hope and we are to be taking that hope to them. But it is incorrect to say that we who are Christians need hope. We have hope. We have the greatest hope in the world. Maybe we forget sometimes or maybe we let circumstances push it way down deep inside us, but we are the carriers of hope. We watch in hope, not in futility. We know that Christ is going to return.
We Watch In Faithfulness
We are the servants who have been left behind while our Master is away. There is much work to be done in the meantime. It is our calling to share the love of Christ with all the people around us. It is our calling to live Christlike lives in the world, lives characterized by obedience, by love, by grace, and by faith. We have a tremendous calling to which we are to be faithful, and the only time we have to be faithful is right now. Today is all we have and we must be faithful in it. We are to be faithful in the disciplines of the faith and faithful in the work of the Lord.
Sometimes, though, we err on the side of caution. We are so aware of the dangers that we face in the world that we spend all our energy guarding against them and wishing that Jesus would come back and get us out of this mess. Other times we err on the side of a lack of caution. That is, we are so involved in doing what we do for the Lord that we don't take adequate care of our own spirits and we get blindsided by temptation or we let ourselves dry up.
A good model for how we are to live in the world while we wait is offered in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was governor of Judah during the years after the return from Babylonian Exile. His main priority was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. It was hard work but it had to be done. To make matters worse, the people were under constant threat from enemies. What did Nehemiah lead them to do? He assigned half the people to work and half to stand guard. The builders always wore a sword. Some worked with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. The point is that they were defensive and offensive at the same time; they guarded themselves and did their work at the same time. So it should be with us. Let's watch for our Lord by guarding our souls but also by doing the work that is before us to do.
We Watch In Dependence
We do none of what I have talked about in our own strength or in our own ability. As Paul reminded the Corinthians at the beginning of his letter to them, God has given us all we need to be what he has called us to be. He said to them, "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). So we are dependent on his empowerment of us to do the work to which he has called us. We depend not on our own resources but rather on his.
We are also dependent on his sustenance; Paul said that Jesus Christ "will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). We are not to anticipate the coming of Christ and the judgment to follow with fear and anxiety, not if we are his children. And, we are not to live in fear of failure or of falling. Rather we are to depend on the sustaining power of the Lord to enable us to persevere until the end. Then we will stand before him and be declared blameless not because of what we have done but because of what Christ has done. In his strength we really can become more and more like he intends for us to be. He will help us to become more mature and he will sustain us to the end.
We are also dependent on his faithfulness. That is, God is faithful to us. We are called to be faithful to him and sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don't. But always God is faithful to us. He saved us and he will be faithful to us. He has established his covenant with us and he will be faithful to it. His love will never end and his care for us will never die.
Conclusion
We are watching for Christ this Advent. We are watching for him to come to our lives in new and unexpected ways. We are watching for his arrival in Bethlehem's manger, but we are also watching for him to return in power and glory, and we watch knowing that will make all the difference. Knowing that will make all the difference now. Let us watch in hope, in faithfulness, and in dependence. Our waiting will not be in vain. Our Lord will come. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
__________
1. Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark, Interpretation Commentary (Louisville: John Knox, 1983), p. 243.
The season of Advent is the season of expectancy. With the passing of Thanksgiving things start churning just beneath the surface and soon now they'll burst out all over the place. "Hurry, Christmas, hurry fast," the Chipmunks sing, and we know what they mean. At least we used to know what they mean. I guess that this is one of those times when we can learn something from our children. They can't wait for Christmas to get here and they feed off that energy in such a way that it inspires those of us who are around them. The anticipation of children regarding Christmas is contagious.
How expectant are we of the coming of Jesus? Do we have an anticipation that is so real that it is contagious? The season of Advent is the season of expectancy and that expectancy can and should branch off in three tributaries. First, we expectantly await the celebration of the coming of the Christ Child to Bethlehem's manger. Second, we expectantly await the coming of Christ into our lives in new and unexpected ways. Third, we expectantly await the coming again of Christ when he comes "in clouds with great power and glory" to "gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" (Mark 13:26-27). The third expectation is what I want us to focus on. My, what a difference such expectation should make.
The fact is that Jesus will return some day. The further fact is that we can't know when that will be. Logic dictates that his return is closer now than it has ever been. The Bible dictates that we are always to be watching for and expecting his return. Our expectation, however, is not to be characterized by inactive waiting. Jesus' little parable makes that clear. He said that the coming of the Son of Man is like a man leaving his home to go on a trip. When he goes, he leaves his servants in charge and gives each one his work to do. He furthermore tells the doorkeeper to be on the watch. He then ends with those powerful words: "What I say to you I say to all: Watch" (13:37). What should characterize our watching for the return of our Lord?
We Watch In Hope
We forget sometimes that the New Testament's words about the return of Christ are words of good news for Christians. The return of Christ is our "blessed hope," it is something that we long for and look forward to. Why? Because in his return everything will be made as it ought to be. God's creation will finally fulfill its potential. Our lives will finally be whole and full. God's purposes will finally be fulfilled. The loving, peaceful, and gracious ways of Christ will finally be vindicated. Everything will be fulfilled and God himself will fulfill it. Hungers will be fulfilled, longings will be satisfied, questions will be answered, frustrations will be ended, and conflicts will be resolved.
We often say that we live in an age that needs hope and that is certainly the case. Even in the strongest and richest nation in the world we live with threats of terror and prospects of war hanging over our heads. Within this strongest and richest nation on earth live many who don't have enough food to eat or decent clothes to wear or access to a decent education. People need hope and we are to be taking that hope to them. But it is incorrect to say that we who are Christians need hope. We have hope. We have the greatest hope in the world. Maybe we forget sometimes or maybe we let circumstances push it way down deep inside us, but we are the carriers of hope. We watch in hope, not in futility. We know that Christ is going to return.
We Watch In Faithfulness
We are the servants who have been left behind while our Master is away. There is much work to be done in the meantime. It is our calling to share the love of Christ with all the people around us. It is our calling to live Christlike lives in the world, lives characterized by obedience, by love, by grace, and by faith. We have a tremendous calling to which we are to be faithful, and the only time we have to be faithful is right now. Today is all we have and we must be faithful in it. We are to be faithful in the disciplines of the faith and faithful in the work of the Lord.
Sometimes, though, we err on the side of caution. We are so aware of the dangers that we face in the world that we spend all our energy guarding against them and wishing that Jesus would come back and get us out of this mess. Other times we err on the side of a lack of caution. That is, we are so involved in doing what we do for the Lord that we don't take adequate care of our own spirits and we get blindsided by temptation or we let ourselves dry up.
A good model for how we are to live in the world while we wait is offered in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was governor of Judah during the years after the return from Babylonian Exile. His main priority was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. It was hard work but it had to be done. To make matters worse, the people were under constant threat from enemies. What did Nehemiah lead them to do? He assigned half the people to work and half to stand guard. The builders always wore a sword. Some worked with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. The point is that they were defensive and offensive at the same time; they guarded themselves and did their work at the same time. So it should be with us. Let's watch for our Lord by guarding our souls but also by doing the work that is before us to do.
We Watch In Dependence
We do none of what I have talked about in our own strength or in our own ability. As Paul reminded the Corinthians at the beginning of his letter to them, God has given us all we need to be what he has called us to be. He said to them, "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). So we are dependent on his empowerment of us to do the work to which he has called us. We depend not on our own resources but rather on his.
We are also dependent on his sustenance; Paul said that Jesus Christ "will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8). We are not to anticipate the coming of Christ and the judgment to follow with fear and anxiety, not if we are his children. And, we are not to live in fear of failure or of falling. Rather we are to depend on the sustaining power of the Lord to enable us to persevere until the end. Then we will stand before him and be declared blameless not because of what we have done but because of what Christ has done. In his strength we really can become more and more like he intends for us to be. He will help us to become more mature and he will sustain us to the end.
We are also dependent on his faithfulness. That is, God is faithful to us. We are called to be faithful to him and sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don't. But always God is faithful to us. He saved us and he will be faithful to us. He has established his covenant with us and he will be faithful to it. His love will never end and his care for us will never die.
Conclusion
We are watching for Christ this Advent. We are watching for him to come to our lives in new and unexpected ways. We are watching for his arrival in Bethlehem's manger, but we are also watching for him to return in power and glory, and we watch knowing that will make all the difference. Knowing that will make all the difference now. Let us watch in hope, in faithfulness, and in dependence. Our waiting will not be in vain. Our Lord will come. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
__________
1. Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark, Interpretation Commentary (Louisville: John Knox, 1983), p. 243.
