November 29, 2009 - Advent 1

Jesus is near!
Luke 21:25-36
Advent 1 – November 29, 2009

Time for a sermon sing-a-long!

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style -
in the air there's a feeling of Christmas!
Children laughing, people passing,
meeting smile after smile,
and on every street corner you'll hear...

Silver bells (silver bells), silver bells (silver bells)
It's Christmas time in the city.
Ring-a-ling (ring-a-ling!)
Hear them ring (hear them ring)
Soon it will be Christmas Day!

Soon it will be Christmas Day! And it's true, isn't it – in the air, there's a feeling of Christmas – or at least, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas – everywhere you g o. (but wait, that's another song...) Actually, it was beginning to look like Christmas over a month ago . I went to buy a Halloween costume to wear to the church's Halloween potluck party, a full week before Halloween, mind you, and the inside of that Kmart was already dressed in holiday style – the corner that always has the seasonal stuff – well, it had Halloween things – costumes and decorations and make-up – but they were already marked down; & right there next to the spooky, scary stuff, well, they had the beginnings of Christmas up & ready to go – artificial trees, lights, ornaments, you name it. And the signs of Christmas approaching have been growing ever since – one radio station I know started playing nothing but Christmas music the day after Halloween, Lynbrook & Valley Stream have their street lights all decked out with lighted wreaths and stars. And if all that somehow escaped your attention, then this past week or two with its ads and commercials for great door-buster deals starting at all hours of the day & night after Thanksgiving certainly would have woken you up to the fact that there are only how many more shopping days until Christmas?! Signs and reminders to get ready for the big day are all around us – you can't miss 'em!



It's not quite the picture painted by the Silver Bells song. And it doesn't sit right with us, especially at this time of year, when we want to focus on goodness and light. There is enough distress and confusion, and fear and foreboding in the world the rest of the time – we don't want to be reminded of it at Christmas! We'd rather sing our Christmas carols and bake our Christmas cookies and write out our Christmas cards or letters. At this time of year, especially, we want to push away all that is not right with the world. We want to lose ourselves in the glow of twinkling lights and not have to think about the pain and anxiety and worries of this life. And yet here Jesus is, reminding us that there is trouble in the world, and trouble yet to come.

And yet, while none of these signs sound like they point to good news, Jesus says, “when all these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Stand up, and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near! This seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? It's hard to follow Jesus' logic.

Because the day Jesus describes sounds pretty dark, pretty scary – it doesn't sound like redemption could be anywhere near.

But then Jesus tells this parable about a fig tree, about all trees, really. He says, you know that as soon as a tree gets its leaves on, winter's gone and summer's just around the corner. And all of these things I'm telling you about, when you see them taking place, you'll know that the kingdom of God is near, about to break loose in the world. And that doesn't make all that much sense at first either.

But this story about trees and new leaves and summer are a reminder to us that even when life seems to be gone, new life can spring forth. I was looking at that lovely mulberry tree in my backyard the other day. And right now, all of its leaves are gone. It's a bare, barren tree. It's nothing to look at, just a bunch of gray branches, & from the surface, it looks like it could be dead. And all winter, it will look that way, like something you might as well cut down, because what good does it do, other than to drop old twigs and branches in our yard when it gets too windy?

Except I know and you know that that's just a part of the story. Because sometime in the spring, all of a sudden, that tree will be bursting with new leaves and blossoms, and not too long after that, it'll be filled with those lovely purple berries that grow and ripen and drop into our yard – feeding the birds, and sprouting to new life themselves, if we'd let 'em.

And the world, our world, is much like that tree in winter. On the surface, things can look bleak. When the wind starts to blow and branches are creaking and cracking under the strain, we can wonder what new life can come forth from a world that carries so much confusion and distress and fear and foreboding. But that same God who created and cares for that tree and causes new life to grow created us and the whole world. And “the days are surely coming,” says the LORD, “when I will fulfill the promise I made... in those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jer. 33:14-15)

Jesus is that righteous branch, an d God has sent him into our world, this one who we wait for in this already-but- not-yet time. God sent Jesus to be one of us, to walk with us, to live with us, to be God-with-us. In times of distress, when the worries of this life weigh our hearts down, Jesus is with us, holding our hand, sharing our suffering. And he says, stand up, raise up your head – for in those dark times, Jesus, your redemption, is near.

Thanks be to God.
Amen.