still working on posting my backlog....
-Chrisy
Luke 21:25–36
25There 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. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the
34Be 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, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be 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."
Grace and peace to you from the Father, the Holy Spirit and our Lord, Jesus Christ as we begin our journey of waiting for his birth. Amen
Reading this text for today makes me want to quote from a very popular show of the 80’s Different Strokes. I don’t know how many of you have seen it, but Different Strokes was a show about two young kids Arnold and Willis who lived in Harlem and are adopted by Mr. Drummond and gain a new sister Kimberly. One of
This text makes me want to say…whatchu talking about John and whatchu talking about to the people that decide what order the lectionary texts are in. In other words…what in the world were the people that decide which Sunday we are reading certain Bible passages thinking when they started advent with a text that sounds a lot like the second coming of Christ? Aren’t we supposed to be preparing for the birth of Jesus? Aren’t we supposed to be lighting the first candle in the advent wreath and some time during advent singing songs like Oh come Oh come Emmanuel and Light One Candle to watch for Messiah? What in the world are we doing talking about fear, foreboding and guarding our hearts? At the start of Advent…Why are we reading about and talking about the end?
Lots of people seem to be talking about ends these days. It doesn’t take much to find some spiritual leader warning his or her flock that they need to do good thing x, y and z or else when the rapture happens they might not be selected to go to heaven. They in a real sense might be left behind. Speaking of being Left Behind…the Left Behind book series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins was a pretty popular set of books a few years ago and in some circles still are. I will admit I have never read any of the books in the left behind series nor do I plan to any time soon but they certainly got a lot of people talking about end times and the rapture. In more recent years, we have Dan Brown; author of both the Davinci code and Angels and Demons that spurned more talk about the rapture and conspiracies and all of that.
Ends are constantly on our mind. We mourned the end of life here in this sanctuary this week. We remembered the life of Linda Mortensen here on Monday. I mourned the end of little 7 year old Maddie Trudel’s battle with cancer this past week when I read of her death this past week in the
And I am sure some of you were thinking about ends last night…would we end up with enough fruit soup? When would people end their eating and talking and go home? When would the mountain of dishes be washed and put away? When would the days and weeks of preparation for the Scandinavian Dinner end?
In this what are you talking about text this week…we are reminded of endings…or in this case THE ending. Signs in the night sky. Fear and foreboding across the earth. The son of Man coming in a cloud. We are told to be alert and watchful for the end that is coming. To not get caught up in life’s worries….to be watchful and expectant.
That is certainly easier said than done this time of year…worries and wonder of what are we going to do when we have snow…who is going to get up earlier than normal to shovel snow and plow driveways? Is work going to slow down when it snows? Will it pick up? What to do with the kids if we have a snow day. What are we going to have for Christmas dinner? Where are we doing to have dinner? Let’s see….do I have presents for Bear, Rebecca, Ethan, Lisa, Jim and Carol…hmmm…No, some, yes, yes, no and no…got get working on that…holiday concerts, St. Lucia, council meetings, budgets…there’s no time to be watchful and expectant….
Wait… 34Be 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…. It all makes sense now…
This is a season of beginnings…a season of watchfulness and expectation in the midst of our endings, business, fear and frustration. This is a time where we get all tied up in our worries, our plans and our stuff. It makes sense that we are reminded to be watchful and expectant…because if we aren’t reminded… Christmas could very easily just become another day… of family, friends and all out craziness. and since we aren't literally expecting Jesus as a baby, we take this time in advent to remember the promises God makes to us...we know that through Jesus we have new beginnings...new life… we all have the new beginning of this world’s end when Jesus will come again... and we have the new beginning each day when we wake up and feel and see the love and care of God through Jesus all around us.
The end that is written about in this text for today is truly a beginning…a beginning of life eternal for all; just as the baby born in a manger 2000 years ago was. We watch, we expect, we wait, we hope. In the midst of our lives, our plans and our craziness. In the midst of not having all the presents we think we need bought or our house not yet looking quite right for Christmas. In the midst of barely being in winter, and barely having snow on the ground. We look ahead to spring and to the new life that we know we will see all around us in trees, flowers and many living things. We watch, we wait…and living in
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