Contemporary Service
First Sunday of Advent: HOPE
Sunday, December 3, 2006

Scripture: Luke 21:25-36
(The Message)

"It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, [26] 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.
[27] "And then—then!—they'll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! [28] When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!"
[29] He told them a story. "Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. [30] When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. [31] The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God's kingdom is about here. [32] Don't brush this off: I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. [33] Sky and earth will wear out; my words won't wear out.
[34] "But be on your guard. Don't let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, [35] for it's going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. [36] So, whatever you do, don't go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that's coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man."

Sermon :  HOPE 

I don’t know about you, but I have some hopes for this Christmas season. Do you have any hopes for Christmas this year? First of all, I hope to get all my Advent and Christmas services and sermons done in time. Don’t tell Pastor Mark, but the first year I preached at the 11:00pm Christmas Eve service I ended up finishing my sermon between the 7:00pm and 11:00pm services. I hope that doesn’t happen again! Other than that, I hope the weather is good and my mother and Ben are able to arrive here safely. I hope Ben likes the presents we’ve bought him. And ~ I’ll admit it ~ I hope there might be a little something under the Christmas tree with my name on it!

What are some of your hopes for Christmas? My Miriam Webster defines hope as, “…desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment.” It also says that hope, “…gives promise for the future.” We come together on this First Sunday of Advent with lots of hopes and expectations ~ some may say wishful thinking! But our hopes aren’t just about Christmas trees, and wrapping paper and sugar cookies, right? At least I hope not! As Christians, our Advent hope is hope that comes in the form of a small baby bundled in blankets, resting in a manger.

So what’s up with our Scripture lesson for today, then? There’s no mention of babies or shepherds or wise-men or angels. In fact, our Scripture lesson doesn’t seem to be about Christmas at all, is it? Then what is our Scripture lesson about? That’s right. It’s about the Second Coming. The end of the world, as we know it. Jesus speaks with his followers about his return. As Eugene Peterson translates it in The Message, “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.” At first glance that doesn’t seem very hopeful to me. It actually sounds utterly terrifying, doesn’t it?

For someone who likes predictability, likes to be in control, this passage is a little scary. Everyone all over the world in a panic…that can’t be good. The NRSV translates the passage saying, “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world…” Where is the hope in this passage, and what is the Advent message for us?

But then Jesus continues, “And then—then!—they'll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome!” Hope itself – hope incarnate – coming on the scene. In an Advent sermon William Willimon reminds us, “We don’t have confidence (I would say ‘hope’) because we know exactly what the future will look like… We have confidence because we know God does not give up on the world.” Amen? Amen!

So what about you? Are you a hopeful person? Do you wake up each day looking forward to the future, whatever it may hold? Are you hopeful? A couple of weeks ago at the Traditional Services I admitted I am a worrier. Sometimes my worrying gets in the way of being very hopeful. But my Dictionary of Theological Terms gives a little different definition of hope, different than Miriam-Webster. It says that hope is, “The Christian anticipation of the future as the fulfillment of God’s purposes based on God’s covenant faithfulness...” James Kay writes in The Seasons of Grace, “If the Gospel is good news, it is not because it predicts a bright shiny future…the Gospel is good news because it promises a future based on God’s faithfulness…”

Maybe our Scripture lesson is actually about Christmas, after all. God coming into the world. We may not know what the future will hold, but as Christian we are sure that God will be there. As a small baby resting in his mother’s arms. Coming in the clouds in glory. God will be there.

Look for a moment at the stickers you got when you came in today. PBPGIFWMY. Can you make sense of it? Have you ever played that game where you get the first letter of each word in the sentence and you have to figure out what the sentence says? Any guesses? “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet.” We have Advent hope because God isn’t finished with us yet. This is not the end of the story. Not yet!

So what is Advent hope? Is it hoping for a baby in a manger? Presents under the tree? The perfect batch of Christmas cookies? What is Advent hope? We have a lot to hope for, but it seems to be that our hope is lost unless we put our hope in the one that can make all things ~ including us ~ new. It may seem like a waiting game, which is exactly what Advent is…. waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ. But the good news is, God isn’t finished with us yet. Amen!