First Sunday of Advent, Proper 1A, November 27, 2016; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

O God of new beginnings, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.

And so we begin a new year in the Church. Our ordinary time has been interrupted like the blast of the ram’s horn, by Advent, a season of preparation and repentance. Preparation and repentance can sound like the season of Lent, but Advent is not about the personal so much as it is about institutional, organizational, and communal preparation and repentance (repentance meaning turning around toward God). Our lessons for this Sunday are about a vision of nations waging peace, instructions to the Church that loving is the fulfillment of the law, and a reminder from Jesus that no one knows when the end will be, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son. No one knows except the Author of creation, the Author of Love.

The Gospel passage that Bob just read for us is an example of apocalyptic literature – which is a genre of writing that is about revealing a vision about the end of evil and injustice. Biblical apocalyptic writings always arose in times of crisis – and these writings were about revealing how God will set things right that are very wrong. You don’t need stories about God setting things right if everything is just fine already, right? How did the lectionary know we would need to be reminded of these ancient lessons about waging peace, about love being the way the law is fulfilled, and about keeping awake? (Well, it’s because we always do.)

This Gospel lesson is often used as a proof text for people who talk about the end of the world and believe “heaven” is for a limited number of folks – and the popular imagination is captured by best-selling “left behind” literature. But importantly, this apocalyptic Gospel literature goes against the grain of knowing who and when and how. This apocalyptic Gospel literature argues that no one knows, not the angels, not the Son. This apocalyptic text turns knowing upside down. The language in this passage is quite ambiguous: “taken” can also mean captivated or carried away, and “left” can also mean forgiven or let off the hook. And, amazingly, those who believe they know just who will be in and who will be out, seem to ignore what is just after this passage. At the end of this same speech by Jesus is the part about how God will recognize the faithful because of their visits and care for people who are in prison, because of their care for people who are sick, hungry, thirsty, who are lacking sufficient cover and shelter. At the end of this same speech, Jesus lays out the path to full citizenship in the Realm of God in his description of nations providing relief to those who are most vulnerable.

The prophet Isaiah was writing about justice and peace for all. The second chapter of Isaiah starts with this introduction: “the thing which Isaiah perceived – envisioned – visualized about Judah and Jerusalem in the future.” (In Hebrew, there is no difference between a “thing” and a “word.”) And this was the thing that Isaiah saw in Jerusalem’s future. The mountain of the house of the Lord – (that’s Jerusalem) is going to be exalted – the city will be a role model – and all of the nations are going to be streaming up to it to learn God’s ways. And what are God’s ways? Well, according to the Torah, God’s ways are justice and mercy, care for all who are poor, freedom for all who are oppressed, healing for all who are ailing, welcoming for all who are strangers, all who are refugees. God’s ways are companionship and regard for people. God’s desire is for right-relationship and peace. The way Isaiah sees it, all of the people are going to experience God’s judgment, that is, God’s mercy and wisdom – and when they do things are going to be very different. It will be different when everyone experiences God’s mercy and God’s wisdom.

Isaiah was writing words of encouragement for people who were experiencing despair about the future. It’s a lot like Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Isaiah was painting a picture of hope. Why? Because hope was needed. Because the present and the future looked bleak and people were feeling gloomy and overwhelmed. Isaiah’s dream is that one day, people are going to learn God’s loving ways…when we do, we are going to destroy our weapons and make farming tools. We are not going to study war any more. “Let us walk in the light of the Lord,” he said. Actually, what he said was, “We will walk in the light of the Lord.” You might remember that in Biblical Hebrew there are only two verb tenses. There’s completed action and incomplete action. An action either is already done – finished – kaput (as my father would say). Or it’s underway – it’s ongoing. In Isaiah’s dream, the verb walk – as in “walk in the light of the Lord” – is incomplete action. It’s ongoing…unfinished – still true thousands of years later.

It was into this unfinished action that Jesus entered and it’s into this unfinished action that we enter as well. “Love is the fulfillment of the law,” Paul writes to the Church in Rome. Walking in the light of the Lord – loving — keeping awake –these actions are not so much about the end of the world, but they are very much about the end of business as usual for many of our communities, our organizations, our corporations and institutions. In that respect, Isaiah, Paul, and the Gospel of Matthew all speak to the end of the way things are. They all seek a new beginning

How might we rearrange our communities, organizations, and institutions to be more peace-making, generous, merciful and just? To where are we being called to more fully live the life that God has given us in this moment in history? Just speaking about Emmanuel Church for a minute, where can we get ready, where can we make room, make a way where there is no way? Where are we called to preparation and repentance? How can we, as a congregation, give thanks for all that has been given to us and for the distance we have already come, and not rest on our accomplishments? How might we build on those accomplishments to forge ahead on behalf of those who are most vulnerable in this time and place? I’m thinking of how we might respond to the increased threat in our country right now to undocumented immigrants, and to Muslims, while extending our welcome to and advocacy on behalf of people who are without shelter, who are mentally or physically unwell, who identify as L or G or B or T or Q, or who do not identify as white, or who identify as other religious minorities. I’m not just talking about what we might do at 15 Newbury Street, but what we might do as people of Emmanuel, wherever our coming days and weeks take us this Advent season..

It occurs to me that celebrating a baptism on this first Sunday of the new year can help us focus on our Advent preparation and repentance, because, as part of the baptismal ritual, we will make a promise to do all in our power to support Hagen Johnson in his life in Christ – that is, in his life in the Redeeming Urge of God. With Hagen, we will be re-making our promises to continue to be the church, to persist on the often perilous path of living and loving in the name of Jesus Christ.

A few weeks ago, I had a meeting with Hagen. We read a little book together. (It’s called Where is God, by one of my favorite teachers, Rabbi Larry Kushner, with his wife Karen Kushner. [1]) I liked reading it to Hagen because I could pretend that I was teaching him something, when I was really reminding myself and the adults within earshot, of where to look for God when(ever) God seems hard to see. The book says things like: “God is in the beginning, like in the first ripening tomato, and in cookies fresh from the oven. And God is in the end, in the last sweet bite of birthday cake, and in a worn, torn baby blanket; in the last wave good-bye at the end of a visit and in the closing moments of someone’s life. God is in the morning hugs and goodnight kisses.” I would add that God is in the middle, and mettle, and muddle of our lives. Perhaps this seems too simple for you, but this is where we must start in our new year, our Advent.

Keep awake to this, because “About that day and hour no one knows,” the Gospel of Matthew says. Jesus gave some examples of watching, being alert, being fully alive. What are our examples for watching; being alert – ready to learn – being fully engaged and alive! Jesus was not talking about stocking up on caffeine or suspending bedtime indefinitely. As a community, as a congregation, we must be fully engaged, fully alive, fully in love – preparing again and turning again toward God. The beginning is near!

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