Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
November 29, 2009 – Advent 1

Psalms 25:1-19 (NRSV) To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O Lord! 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 11 For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. 12 Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose. 13 They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land. 14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them. 15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress. 18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. 19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.

Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV) "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." 29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

“The Worries of Life”

Maybe you've heard the story of the little boy who decided to write a letter to God before Christmas. He started out by writing: "Dear God, I've been a really good boy this year." Unfortunately, he remembered that God was all knowing and all seeing and he decided that he couldn't lie to God. So, he crumpled up that letter and started over.
This time he wrote: "Dear God, I know I haven't done everything I should have, but I really tried to be good." He stopped and crumpled up that letter, too. It was obvious that he was struggling with what to write to God.
As he sat there thinking he looked up and saw his mother's favorite piece of sculpture on the mantel. It was a beautiful rendition of the Madonna, the mother of Christ. The boy perked up and ran out of the room. He came back with a towel and a shoebox. He walked over, carefully picked up the Madonna, gently wrapped it in the towel and put it in the shoebox and then hid it in the closet. He immediately went back to the table and wrote: "Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again . . ."
Friends, it's time that Christians take back Christmas. Oh, we try! We try to remember the meaning and the purpose. But before we can mark our calendars with those special days – the Sunday Advent Services, the Advent Dinner and Christmas pageant, the Blue Christmas Service and Christmas Eve services – the days are already full. The world tries to hold Christmas for ransom each year…keeping us busier than ever with a schedule that is impossible. We have cookie baking and Christmas parties; present shopping and Christmas card writing. We have concerts at school and concerts in Philadelphia; we have visits to family and visits to friends; we have gifts to wrap and gifts to deliver. There are not enough days in the week or hours in the day to get everything done – and still have time for to prepare for the coming of the Christ child!
This year has been especially challenging. First – we have to deal with the roller-coaster economy: it flips, it flops – the media and politicians cry that we’re in a recession one moment and then declare that we’re coming out of it in the next. Those great sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, were redefined – because this year there was also a special White Wednesday, a new sale day before Thanksgiving. 24/7 we are inundated with commercials about jewelry and toys, clothes and computers, furniture and every sort of electronic device available. Sears and Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target, Walmart and K-Mart, Toy-R-Us and BestBuy are all vying for that last dollar we don’t seem to have even as the car companies assure us that a new car is what we really need.
And yet, the birth of the Christ Child, the coming of the Messiah, is too powerful to be silenced – even by the demands of Wall Street and Main Street, even by the aggravation of commercialism and materialism.
This morning is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is a season of waiting, a time for preparing, a time to ready ourselves for the coming of the Lord. Many think of Advent as the time to prepare for the birth of Jesus – the official count-down to Christmas.
Indeed, Advent gives us time to remember this monumental moment in history. But Advent is so much more. During the Advent season Christians are to look back to the coming of the Christ Child and to look prayerfully forward to the return of the Messiah. “The purpose of the Advent season,” writes Patrick Cowley, “is to rouse once again in the Church people the loving anticipation of the end, and to bid them to be prepared for it.”
You see, the coming of the Lord includes much more than Mary and Joseph, angels and shepherds, wise men and a babe in a manger. Our Lord has come and will come again. It is on that message that Advent rests. Advent is a season of anticipation; a season of hope, and a season of waiting.
The season of Advent is a time of great tension. It is primarily concerned with eschatology – that is “the end of time as we know it” – and not with preparing for Christmas cheer. Advent announces the expectation of Christ’s nativity, which has already happened, and the coming again of Christ to rule, judge, and to save. It plunges us into the tension between the “already” of Christ having come in the flesh and the “not yet” of the consummation of all things in Christ at the end of time. The season of Advent challenges us to rethink and confront the revelation of Christ’s time in the midst of our time. The season of Advent begins the new year of the Christian calendar by calling us to reflect and pray together about the end of all history.
This morning our passage from Luke begins with these words of Jesus: “It will seem like all hell has broken loose – sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking. (25-28)
Now mind you, Jesus is not describing the economic woes of today’s world, the doom and gloom that settled over much of 2009, though his depiction is not far off! Rather, Jesus is giving an apocalyptic discourse of the end times – when the Messiah shall return and the kingdom of God will be at hand. It may sound like high definition sci-fi and it may seem scary. The good news is that Jesus does not stop there. He goes on to say, “And then – then! – they'll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style – a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”
            Using a tree to explain, Jesus continues: “Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here – when you see these things happen, you know God's kingdom is about here. Don't brush this off: I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too – these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won't wear out. (29-33)
Jesus says that, as surely as we can discern the approach of summer by the greening of the trees, so too will we see visible signs that will announce that the kingdom of God is near.
You have perhaps heard the story that comes out of the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War Two. There was a huge battleship whose forward watch spotted a light that appeared to be heading straight for the ship.
            A radio message was sent saying, "Unidentified ship: you are on a collision course. Change direction 10 degrees starboard."
            The reply came back: "No. You need to change direction."
            The battleship again sent a message saying, "This is a United States warship. Change direction 10 degrees starboard."
            And once again the reply came back, "No."
            The admiral of the ship was awakened and notified, The battleship sent yet another message repeating, "This is a warship on official maneuvers. You are ordered to change direction." Signed, Admiral Peacock.
            A moment passed and the reply came back, "No.” Signed Seaman Smith, Tender of the Light House."
 Friends, the clear light of God's Word for us never changes. We are the ones who need to change course. We know the outcome of Christ’s birth and the prediction of Christ’s return. We know that God loves us and that God is working for our eternal good. God is calling us to change our hearts, to prepare ourselves for God’s gift to us – Emmanuel, God With Us – who will mark the milestones of God’s mercy and grace; who will mark us with the sign of His love.
Allow the psalmist’s words to be our words: “Show us how you work, God; School us in your ways. Take us by the hand; Lead us down the path of truth. You are our Savior, aren't you? Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, God; Rebuild the ancient landmarks! Forget that we sowed wild oats; Mark us with your sign of love. Plan only the best for us, God!” (25:4-7)
Advent is a season with its own integrity and its own announcement. It is not about the count-down to the arrival of Christmas Day. Advent proclaims the coming of the Lord – His first and His second coming. This year, let’s take back Christmas from the ransom of the world. Using Advent as our springboard, let’s prepare our hearts to receive Him. This Advent season, take time to reflect on who God is, open your heart to what God has promised, and wait for Christ’s return as you experience more of God’s love in your life. Amen and amen.