First Sunday of Advent
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Reader 1: In the days of exile and uncertainty, the prophet Isaiah cried out:
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence. As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. (Isaiah 64:1-3)
Reader 2: In the midst of our own encounters with uncertainty and upheaval and our longing for deliverance, Jesus calls to us, “Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come” (Mark 13:35).
Congregation: We wait as people surprised again and again by God who shakes us out of our complacency and wakes us up to the work of the kingdom all around us.
Reader 1: We light this candle as a sign of our shocking hope. May we stay awake to God’s activity in the world as we wait in expectation that even now God is with us, working to restore us to the fullness of life with God and one another. Amen.
Light the first candle of the Advent wreath.
First Reading: Mark 13:24-37
First Reading: Mark 13:24-37
“But in those days, following that distress,
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ”
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mk 13:24–37.
Second Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9
Second Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to our sins.
8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
for we are all your people.
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 64.
Sermon:
Sermon:
Have you ever wondered to yourself, “When will Jesus ever return? or maybe you’ve asked, “Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet?” or maybe you’ve even thought, “Will Christ really return?” I mean, it’s already been over 2000 years, and looking through the pages of history, there have been plenty of times when He could have returned. There have been times when a group or groups of people have attacked in terrible ways other groups of people. There have been times of injustice, struggle, hardship, and general difficulty.
Watch the news. While it’s subjective, you can determine for yourself how many positive stories are told verses negative stories. Honestly, I’ve heard people say, “I don’t watch the news because it’s so negative.” Beyond that it seems each generation looks down at the generation that follows. How many times have we heard, “back in my day, that would never have been tolerated.” or “kids these days are so disrespectful.”
And for Christians, there’s the testimony of scripture. In John 14, Jesus tells His disciples He is going away but if He goes away, He will come back so that they may be where He is. Both Matthew and Luke report Jesus in speaking to His disciples and saying, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." And after Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples were looking up into heaven and Luke records for us in the book of Acts, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 1:11.
4. And given everything that is happening around us, sometimes we think, “Okay, Lord, you can come now.” And sometimes we say, “Lord, come now.” That’s certainly how Isaiah sounds as he wrote these verses we read this morning. “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!”
5. Because Isaiah, and the disciples, and you and me, have one central thought. When God comes, when Christ returns, the world will be fixed. All will be put right again. And we might even secretly hope that our enemies will finally get what we have always wanted to give them. We live confident that God is on our side and against those who are against us. I mean that only makes sense, right?
6. But as Isaiah continues to speak and he says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, a7. And like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.” According to Isaiah, there are two sides, but God is on one side all by Himself, and we all are on the other.
7. But to this bad news, Isaiah says, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.”
8. Isaiah calls on God’s mercy because ultimately the decision is His. Now Isaiah lives in a time where people brought sacrifices that indicate a repentant and contrite heart as they waited for the Messiah. We don’t bring sacrifices because Christ has already died on the cross for our sins. The only sacrifice that covers all sin has already been made. But we should still approach God with an attitude of humility, offering ourselves to Him, living for Him.
9. Yes, we are still awaiting the King who will put our world right, who will fix all that is wrong, but who demonstrated His love in sending His Son that we may be redeemed and live eternally with Him.