FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
NOVEMBER 28, 2021
Scripture Readings
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Luke 21:25-36, NRSV
25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,
35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The Message
from Pastor Sharon Sargent
Would you pray with me:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen
The Christmas season is upon us.
The mad rush to buy presents and to decorate the tree begins.
People shop until they drop from exhaustion trying to wrap up the best deals on gifts and things to make the holiday bright.
Hours are spent decking the halls, putting up lights, and trying to make everything perfect.
Yes, the Christmas season is upon us again.
But are our hearts truly in it?
Do we only see all that glitters during this time of year?
Or are we able to look past what this world has to offer, to truly see what matters during this time of preparation for the coming of the Lord?
In today’s Gospel Lesson, Luke turns to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
It is an apocalyptic message that tells us to pray for strength to escape the things that are to come, and to be alert at all times.[1]
We are called to be on guard, so that our hearts will not be weighed down by the worries of this life.[2]
We are warned about squandering our time and wealth on things that don’t really matter, becoming drunken with the ways of this world.
We are told the Son of Man will return unexpectedly.
And we must not allow ourselves to be caught in the trappings of this materialistic world.
In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus tells his disciples of the cosmic and earthly signs that will mark his return.
All of creation is waiting for this moment, and all of creation will respond.
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars.” [3]
“There will be distress among nations confused by the roaring of the seas and the waves.”[4]
When the time comes, “people will faint from fear”.[5]
“The world will know that there will be no future whatsoever” [6] for their children, their grandchildren, and future generations.
“Life as [we] know it [here upon this earth] is over.”[7]
For many, this image can be a frightening thing to think about.
It foretells of the end of the world, an end in which unbelievers see “no future whatsoever.”[8]
Yet we as Christians know that in Jesus, we have the promise of life everlasting.
For “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away.”[9]
While many people may see these apocalyptic prophesies to be those of doom and gloom, we as believers know that Jesus Christ will come again and will take us to himself.[10]
Jesus is coming for his saints so that where he is we may be also.[11]
He will come again to take all of us home to be with him.
“The humble child in the manger, and the one who rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, now will arrive with the glory of the heavens in his wake.”[12]
And Jesus promises, “then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.”[13]
When the time comes, it will be a time of deliverance for all of his saints.
We must “stand up and raise our heads,”[14] for our redemption is drawing near.
We will be freed from the evils of this world: from the injustices that plague us, from the hurt and pain, from oppression and hard times.
We will look up in joy at Christ’s second coming for it signifies hope and freedom.
It signifies life with and in Christ more fully than we can possibly know now.
But when will this event occur?
We know not the hour, nor the day when Christ will return but we are called to be alert.
Jesus tells us, “truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.”[15]
When we think about this statement made by Jesus so many years ago, we must recognize that he was saying this to his disciples in the first century.
And for centuries, “this generation” has been understood to be the current generation.
When we look at the early church through the writing of Paul, they too were waiting for Christ to return and believed it would occur within their generation.
And as this world has suffered from natural disasters, through wars, and pandemics, each generation has waited for Christ’s second coming.
So, what is Jesus referring to when he speaks of “this” generation?
I, along with many Biblical scholars, believe that Jesus is speaking about the generation who will inhabit this earth when the end-time events occur.[16]
And we must understand that “in the biblical world a “generation” can last several life-times.”[17]
Jesus is comforting his disciples that “God is at work and will end this evil world in his own time.” [18]
As we look around at what is happening today, we must stay alert.
We must prepare our hearts and souls for Christ’s coming, not only as we celebrate his birth each year, but knowing that our Lord and Savior has promised us that he will come again.
And as we wait for our Lord to return, we are called to be Christ’s disciples, to seek humility and perseverance even in hard times.[19]
We are called to be the feet, hands, and hearts of Christ – “A Homecoming” welcoming those who seek Him into our midst, sharing the true meaning of Christmas to light the way, filling hearts with love, peace, and joy as we prepare for the coming of the Lord.
In the words of Paul to the church in Colossae, “Let the word of Christ dwell [with]in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.[20]
Let us prepare the way of the Lord, for the One “who is, and who was and who is to come.”[21]
May God’s grace, peace, and love touch your hearts in this season of preparation so that you may find the joy of Christmas in your hearts all year long.
May God bless us all as we welcome the season of Advent. Amen.
[1] Luke 21:36, NRSV
[2] Luke 21:34, NRSV
[3] Luke 21:25, NRSV
[4] Ibid.
[5] Luke 21:26, NRSV
[6] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 488.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 488.
[9] Daniel 7:14b, NRSV
[10] John 14:3, NRSV
[11] Ibid.
[12] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 488.
[13] Luke 21:27, NRSV
[14] Luke 21:28, NRSV
[15] Luke 21:32, NRSV
[16] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 489.
[17] Ibid., 489.
[18] Ibid., 489.
[19] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 496.
[20] Colossians 3:16, NRSV
[21] Revelations 1:8, NRSV
Works Cited:
Osborne, Grant R. Luke Verse by Verse. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.
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