Sermon: Awakened – First Sunday of Advent (Matthew 24:36-44)

In our scripture reading this morning Jesus tells us that we will not know the day or the hour of arrival of the Son of Man. That may true. We don’t know for sure when we will see Jesus again. However, as we gather here this morning, we know that this hour and this day is the beginning of the season of Advent. This is the first Sunday of Advent, and during this season we know that we are preparing ourselves and orienting ourselves as we await the arrival of the Christ child. It is one thing we can know and look forward to each year.

In the scripture, Jesus uses unfortunate or scary events, like encountering a thief in the night or the great flood during the time of Noah, as examples of the unexpected things in life. However, in Jesus we also know that it is not just misfortune or suffering that sneak up on us but good things too. During Advent, in retelling the stories of Jesus’s birth, we learn again that hope can find us unexpectedly as well. Unexpected to us anyway. If we tune in to Christ and the world in a different way, we can tune into hopeful things that are happening already. When hope emerges in our life, it is sometimes a function of people waking up, or awakening, to the sources of hope already present in their lives.

The Elders are currently reading a book called, Awakened. It is a year-long devotional. The book’s intent is to invite readers to awaken to new ways of looking at certain topics, all through the lens of progressive Christianity. Now, on the cover of this book is a picture of a flock of sheep. Most of the sheep in the picture have their heads down, probably eating some grass. However, in the middle of that flock, and in the middle of the book cover, there is one sheep with its head up. Looking out at you from the cover of the book. This one sheep has become aware of something else going on, and so it has raised up its head to look around. It has moved its focus to something other than what every other sheep is focused on.

What, then, are we focused on? Where are the places that we follow the flock? Oftentimes in our world, our attention is directed toward places where we might lose hope. When we see war and disease and poverty, we can lose our focus on hope and be overcome with fear. Our heads go down with all the other sheep and we munch on that grass in order to try and stay ahead of whatever unexpected disaster may come at us next. It is a survival instinct in a world that can feel so dangerous.

While we’re thinking about sheep, imagine being one of the sheep out in the field on that first Christmas Eve. Perhaps your head is down eating some grass. Or maybe you are resting among a group of other sheep. You may be a bit uncomfortable and cold. Or you may feel anxious, an anxiety you can’t shake because you are so worried about what might be out there in the darkness. Probably something that wants to eat you. It’s terrifying. Then, suddenly, you sense something, and you look up to the sky. One little sheep’s head popping up out of the flock. One pair of eyes looking in a different direction. And there in the sky, breaking through the darkness, is a faint light. A light that seems to be pulsing and growing in size and in brightness. Then a silhouette begins to emerge from the middle of that bright light. Is it the Angle of the Lord?

Now, imagine how that is making you feel. Are you still aware of the cold and the dark and anxiety about what is out in the darkness? Or, has your awareness shifted to this bright light? Does it make you feel warm? Secure? Hopeful? Or maybe you still feel a little anxious and uncertain, but in a different way, a way that doesn’t feel so scary. Does this light in the darkness make you feel a little more awake?

We do not know the day or the hour but knowing the answer to that question cannot be our focus. The hope Jesus offers us is not some far off thing, something we can only experience after we die. The hope Jesus offers comes in the form of presence, being here with us now. Each year the season of Advent celebrates when that presence first came into the world in human form, and it awakens us to that presence all over again, as an ongoing force in our life. Awakening to hope is not an escape to a potentially better future. Awakening to hope is something that happens in our current moment. Perhaps gradually, perhaps all at once, but once it happens, we can become ever more aware of the hopeful things going on in our world today. The ways God is at work in the world now, just as God is at work in Christ.

Advent gives us an opportunity to make ourselves more aware of the hopeful message of Jesus. So, let us look at some symbols of the season that can awaken us to the always emerging hope.

For example, during Advent our sanctuary is decorated with branches of cedar. In ancient times cedar was revered as the tree of royalty. So, when we look upon these branches this Advent, let them awaken us to the arrival of the one who is called King of Kings, and whose reign will be just and righteous for all people.

Hymn – O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Because the needles of pine and fir trees remain green from season to season, our ancestors saw them as sign of things that will last forever. So, as this space is decorated with evergreens, let remember the words of Isaiah who said “to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end…” Our hope is awakened in the eternal reign of Jesus Christ.

Hymn – Lift Up Your Heads O Mighty Gates

The holy and the ivy with which we decorate each Christmas are signs of Christ’s passion. The prickly leaves suggest the crown of thorns Christ wore on the cross. The red berries recall the blood that was spilled, and the bitter bark the drink that Christ was offered on the cross. This Advent may they awaken in us our awareness of this painful part of Jesus’s story, but also joy and gratitude for our savior who died and rose again.

Hymn – Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent

As we prepare for the coming of Jesus, the Light of the World, we light the Christmas tree. During Advent, wherever you see a lighted Christmas tree, let it call to mind the One who brings light to our darkness, healing to our brokenness, and peace to all who receive him.

Hymn (light the Christmas tree) – Come, O Long Expected Jesus