Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, Advent 1(full size gallery)
A new church year (Year B) a new Gospel (Mark) and a new season (Advent) wrapped into one. We had 39 to welcome Advent.
Previous to that we had 4 to discuss Ghost of Christmas Present from A Christmas Carol. The focus was on repentance as Scrooge is moving toward salvation
During each Sunday of the Advent season, we focus on one of the four virtues Jesus brings us: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Others consider the lighting of the first candle to symbolize expectation, while the second symbolizes peace, the third joy and the fourth love. The third candle is pink reflecting the change of colors. This third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete from the Latin word for "rejoice").
The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day reminding Christians that Jesus is the light of the world.
Edgar read the first reading in the midst of a changed altar in Advent. The blue, space age designs were done last year by Susan Tilt. With the sunlight gradually increasing during the morning the changes in light on the altar and wall were evident.
One thing is obvious as we approach a new season, Advent. The Advent scriptures do not comfort or soothe. They awaken; they nudge; they prod. They call us to alertness. Many of us think we are alert at this time of year, but we are alert to the wrong things. We watch for sales, for gift suggestions and tricks to save time. We look in magazines for festive decorations and hunt recipes for holiday entertaining. And all the while, we miss the point.
Advent is about waiting and preparing so the theme of watchfulness is part of those tasks and it may not just be about Christmas. But Advent calls us to prepare for something much bigger than the yearly arrival of Christmas – the arrival of our savior, Jesus Christ.
The sermon compared it to a homecoming. "…the season of Advent is about preparing for the homecoming of Jesus, not someone as aristocratic as The Earl of Grantham or a warrior king like Odysseus, but a homecoming for an infant lying in a manger—God, coming to us to live with us" It used Homer’s Odyssey with Odysseus returning home and confronts his dog. "Not until Eurycleia, his old servant, washes his feet and sees an identifying scar, does any person know that Odysseus himself has arrived at home."The other homecoming is with the Crawley family in Downton Abbey."
"And this season is about a second homecoming as well—a homecoming that has yet to happen—the one we just heard about in the gospel, the Son of Man coming, as it is put, in clouds, with great power and glory. This homecoming of Jesus at the end of time is the homecoming we refer to whenever we say the Nicene Creed."
"One familiar scene in the series, repeated frequently, features the servants lined up outside in front of the imposing entrance to the house, waiting to welcome The Earl of Grantham from some journey. Upon being greeted, and entering the house, he invariably will find that all inside has been well tended and all is prepared for his comfort and ease."
Advent calls us to pay attention to the world around us, even as it is wracked with suffering, violence, and hunger. The first Sunday of Advent begins a story of cosmic proportions, with the sun being darkened and the stars falling from heaven.
Advent, in all the readings today, reminds us that our ancestors once called out for a Savior, and that we in the Church wait for the return of one. We wait, and we hope, knowing nothing other than to keep working, keep watching, and keep awake.
In our world torn by pain and division, we look at the pain all around us and we wonder, “how long?” How long will people in our own country and around the world have to live in fear in their communities, in their schools, and in their own homes? How long will we live at odds with our neighbors and endure division in our families? How long will people have to endure violence and hunger and pain, right up to our own doorstep?
In our lowest points, we are tempted to wonder if things will be this way forever.
But this season that we begin today — Advent — has a presence that calls us to look deeper. It whispers to us, urgently, in the dead of winter: “Keep awake!” It is a call of urgency and longing, but also a call of promise: there is hope. Things will not always be as they are. Something is coming that is even bigger than Christmas.
The sermon mentions we have the gifts to prepare and celebrate Advent. " And so we can prepare without anxiety, knowing that God will give us strength even when we feel weak, or discouraged or sick. Even when we get distracted and off track, God is faithful. And God has given each one of us unique gifts that we can use to help everyone in the household of God to prepare for Jesus’ return."
The world still waits for justice. The world still waits for peace. The world still waits for God.
Isaiah assures us that God works for those who wait in faithfulness, especially through challenging times. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul affirms his readers for their spiritual gifts, which well equip them for the return of the Lord Jesus. In today’s gospel, Jesus directs us to “keep awake” (v. 37).
We are now in the Gospel of Mark for Year B. Chapter 13 of Mark is known as the “little Apocalypse.” The latter means revelation, disclosure or uncovering. Such writing usually comes out of tribulation, which is interpreted through signs and symbols to disclose the unseen reality of God’s presence and purpose beneath the appearance of disaster.
Jesus’ terse parable about the deputized servants who await the master’s return urges us to live in that balance between keen anticipation and faithful obedience. The former without the latter may lead to idleness and a neglect of service. An unwavering commitment to responsibilities without an eager hope may result in feelings of drudgery and despair or spiritual and moral lassitude. The final word to all is: “Keep awake!”
So it would seem natural that the God who gives us everything might wonder if we are more absorbed in the shopping malls than in God’s coming. Not to condemn the preparations necessary for a festive season: in the right proportion, they are natural and good. But perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are spending an equivalent amount of time in prayer and action for justice. If we are the clay and God is the potter, are we allowing God to shape us into new creations? Or do we in our busy-ness exclude the very One who would mold us into a better life?
After the service we enjoyed a feast in Coffee Hour – chicken, sweet potatoes, casseroles,salad, lentil soup and crab dip. The desserts included tifle, cookies, and cake.