Waiting for the First Day!, First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 11/27/2011

Waiting for the First Day!
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 11/27/2011
Based on Isaiah 64:1-9 & Mark 13:23-37
First Sunday of Advent

Today is the first day of the new church year. It happens every year on the Sunday following Thanksgiving; we call this season, Advent. Though, you might not recognize it, for you cannot look around without seeing decorations telling you that it’s Christmas. You drive down any main street and can see Christmas lights lining the avenues, the stores are decorated for the season, there is the white noise of musak playing Christmas music in the background. Many churches start singing Christmas songs with the beginning of Advent. Yet Christmas doesn’t start until the birth of Christ, which we typically celebrate on Christmas Eve and the twelve days after.
We are in the season of Advent not the season of Christmas. Advent is a four week period where we contemplate the “coming” of Christ. It is a time of preparation, not a time of celebration. We take this time to work toward the stable that is found in the little hamlet of Bethlehem, so that when we greet the Christ child, we will be able within our hearts to play that drum, or sing songs that Herald Christ’s birth, and bring our gifts to this person who is restoring the world into God’s image.
Each week we light our advent candles. The first is called the "Candle of Hope." It symbolizes faith in God keeping his promises to humanity. The second is called the "Candle of Preparation," reminding Christians to "get ready" to receive God. The third candle, the "Candle of Love," reminds Christians that God loves them enough to send his only Son to Earth. The fourth candle is the "Candle of Joy." It recalls the angels joyfully singing about the birth of Christ. The "Christ Candle," the white candle in the center, stands for Jesus Christ himself.
In general, I enjoy this period of “advent” as well as the season of “lent” for these make me take time to think about the “why’s” in my life, more so than the rest of the church year. Yet, I always seem to have issues with the scriptures that are presented for the first Sunday of Advent, each year. The first Sunday of advent generally focuses on scripture which deals with the second coming of Christ. This gives most ministers the opportunity to talk about the end times, the retribution that God will give to those who do not believe, of Christ riding up on a white horse with hoards of angels at his side, cutting down all the bad people. Historically, I dislike these particular texts because it is in conflict with how I view Christ’s role in healing a broken world, as well as poor theology about who gets into God’s Kindom and who is left out. These texts have somehow become messages of the end. Yet, if the first candle of Advent is the candle of “Hope”, how does that represent the idea of the “end?”
Our text for today does present the reality that all of us experience at various times in our lives, the question of “why me?” There are people sitting here this morning hurting because of broken relationships, of abuse, of the feelings of isolation, or feeling inadequate because of a job loss. There are times in our lives where we just want the world to stop so we can get off, or that God will come and punish all those bad people who make life so unbearable. Like our ancestors in faith, we and all of humankind stand before God in “helplessness and need.” “Not only are we vulnerable to those forces that may destroy our happiness – indeed, our very existence – but there is little or, nothing we, when left to ourselves, are capable of doing about our precarious state.” Quote from James Newsome, Sermon Seeds, UCC 11/27/2011
Earlier this past week, I was reading the continuing saga of my youngest daughter’s blog which I think exemplifies the Advent message of today. She writes: I am trying to stay upbeat, despite the fact that Thanksgiving is around the corner and I know my new boys won't be home to celebrate with us. I honestly never thought this would happen. Last September when we started this process, I had no doubts the boys would be home by now.
My sister had her new baby (#5) on Wednesday morning. Bless her heart, labor started Saturday, but she now has a beautiful boy to show for it! I am excited, sad, and jealous all at the same time. My brother and his wife also had a little girl placed in their home (hopefully to adopt) as well as giving birth to another baby, and I am still waiting. I was officially 'expecting' before either of them. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited for two new nieces, and a new nephew! I am SO excited! I love my family and all my nieces and nephews (there are a bunch!), but I want my boys.

I broke down Sunday at church. I just couldn't take it. Friends of ours have friends who started their adoption (from another country) after us, and are bringing their 4 kids home today. Another friend is pregnant, there are like 6 new babies in our church - 5 of which are families in our Sunday school class. I am so excited for each and every family and each baby. I am happy for them, truly joyful, but that doesn't mean at the same time, I don't struggle. I am human, I am jealous, sad, angry, frustrated, happy, excited, all at the same time. We were talking to friends on Sunday and equated this adoption to a roller coaster. I LOVE roller coasters, but we have now been on this one so long, that I am nauseas. I am about to lose my lunch! All I want is to get off!!! It can't come soon enough. And, just when I think we are about to be done and get off, there is another drop or loop
I am confident in my God. I am confident He has a plan and His will is being lived out through this adoption. That is the comfort I hold on to. We are being given the opportunity to witness to others. To be a Christian example. We have already seen this. We have been asked about adoption by a few people in our church who are sincere, which is exciting. Because of the delays, more people in the church are becoming aware of our situation, and are now praying for us. Our prayer support has doubled, at least. It is exciting and a challenge to see others watching us. What an opportunity we have been given to live out the gospel! I hold on to the Father, and He is holding us! Therefore, we have joy!
The title of today’s reflection is “Waiting for the First Day.” Where my daughter Tara is concerned, she is waiting for the end of the adoption process. An end that means she will be able to physically have her two new sons at home with her. Yet, what is truly going to happen when this “roller coaster” ride ends, all of her waiting will have been for the first day of a new life. This is what we are doing at present with our faith. We are on a roller coaster that we call life, waiting for God to enter once again and repair what’s wrong with the world, shaping a new creation where grace, justice, and joy will be the norm.
Within this week’s reading in the Gospel of Mark, we are reminded of the paradoxes within the Gospels. The paradox that God has already entered into the world through the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but also the “not yet” reality of God’s kindom here on earth is not completed. We are in a waiting period. We are living in the present kindom of God, yet working toward the completion of that kindom, that “first day” that God has planned. This waiting period is a time of preparation for us, where we can actively work to help usher in the completeness that God wishes for all of creation. Amen