Signs of Advent

Text for Sunday, November 29 – 1st Sunday of Advent: Luke 21:25-36

In the last several weeks we’ve looked at similar writings in Scripture as todays passage. Apocalyptic literature…things dealing with the end…strange sounding stories that often confuse us so we tune them out or some folks focus on the details and try to take the specifics literally and miss the import of the larger message.

Last week we closed out the end of the church year and this week we start anew as we begin Advent. Today is the first Sunday of the New Church Year. A Sunday that begins us as we enter into the Church Year that rehearses the life of Christ.
In Advent we prepare (thus the Scripture today—“are you ready”) for the coming Christ child, then Christmas which is the birth, then Epiphany which reminds us the mission that this birth gives to all of us, then Lent which is a remembrance of the life and teachings of Christ but also a time of remembering the death of Jesus and then Easter which tells of the resurrection and new life, and then Pentecost which is the celebration of the birth of the Church and the season in which we remember not only the mission of Christ but also our own calling. (A VERY short summary of the Church Year!)

So at this “beginning of the new year”, we shouldn’t be surprised that there is talk of signs, readiness, preparedness and being ALERT…

How is it that WE are ready? Are we alert? Can we read the signs? Do we attune ourselves to be prepared and be attentive?
Advent is a time of learning to wait expectantly – to be filled with hope and to do it with keen awareness.
In Advent we need to practice the skill of watching, opening our eyes and ears and being diligent to look for the presence of God in the strangest of places.
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In his award winning book, The Education of Little Tree, Forest Carter writes of life with his Cherokee grandparents. He tells of sitting with his grandfather watching the morning sun rise over a mountain one winter morning.
"... we watched the mountain while we ate. The sun hit the top like an explosion, sending showers of glitter and sparkle into the air. The sparkling of the icy trees hurt the eyes to look, and it moved down the mountain like a wave as the sun backed the night shadow down and down. A crow scout sent three hard calls through the air, warning we were there.
And now the mountain popped and gave breathing sighs that sent little puffs of steam into the air. She pinged and murmured as the sun released the trees from their death armor of ice.
Grandpa watched, same as me, and listened as the sounds grew with the morning wind that set up a low whistle in the trees. 'She's coming alive,' he said soft and low, without taking his eyes from the mountain."
'Yes sir,' I said, 'she's coming alive.' And I knew right then that me and Grandpa had us an understanding that most folks didn't know."
Little Tree learned from his Grandpa how to read the signs of nature. Reading signs, not the printed ones we see on our streets and highways, but the signs of nature and life and living is an art that takes time, practice and patience.
The reward is what Little Tree called, "...an understanding that most folks don't know." {Forest Carter, The Education of Little Tree. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1993(ISBN 0-8263-0879-1)}
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In our gospel reading this morning, Jesus talks about "signs of the times" and particularly the signs that are around us. In effect, he says to us, "Pay attention to signs of the times and be prepared..." --- If you do, you may find ‘an understanding’ that most folks don’t know!!!
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Here are 3 (three) areas we might consider focusing on and addressing in our Advent preparation time based on the Scripture reading for today:

Advent is a:
(1) a time to look at our relationship with God. (v. 28)

(2) a time to step away from the worries of daily living. (v. 34)

(3) a time to center ourselves spiritually. (v. 36)
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Here is a quote that helps to focus what the Scripture reading is pointing toward:
Princeton preacher James F. Kay says this passage and of the season, "If the Gospel is good news, it is not because it predicts a bright, shiny future based on our morality or piety. The Gospel is neither a cocoon that insulates us from the sufferings of this present age nor a pair of ear plugs that shuts out the groaning of creation....The Gospel is Good News, not because it predicts a future based on our good behavior or other present trends; the Gospel is Good News because it promises a future based on God's faithfulness… to Jesus Christ." (The Seasons of Grace,; James F. Kay [1995, p. 7], quoted by William Willimon, "Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending")

Advent reminds us that...we live in hope, no matter the circumstances or what’s going on in the world, we live in hope because God IS with us…
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Advent is an expectant time…a time to ‘prepare’ for God’s coming again and again in our lives…A time to ‘keep awake’ to be aware and attentive and to live that way.
I like what Dianne Bergant says about Advent living: "The Advent way of life does not necessarily require unusual behavior on our part, but it calls us to live the usual unusually well. It affects the everyday events of life; it directs the way we interact with people; it informs the attitudes that color our judgments and motivations. It is as ordinary as the birth of a child; it is as extraordinary as the revelation of God." Dianne Bergant (Preaching the New Lectionary Year B).