3 Advent Yr B

Keep awake, pay attention, prepare. This third Sunday of Advent we are so close, but not there yet. The path takes us through the waters of baptism with John and by the oaks of righteousness with Isaiah, to the place where our anticipation of the incarnation soars. In the Christmas season, where shopping and party’s have traditionally been the activities, and this year are tempered with fear and loss, we are reminded in Thessalonians that the one who calls you is faithful. Keep awake, pay attention, prepare for this one who is faithful.

The way we prepare is to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances. I don’t know about you, but that sure isn’t the way I hear the Christmas message coming from my TV, or the newspaper, or Time magazine. The Christmas message that I’m getting is that the key to Christmas this year is to buy all my presents with cash; at least I won’t be in debt.

We are in a place and a time where this message; rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, the one who calls you is faithful, couldn’t be more appropriate. Here is where hope lies. Today we light the third candle on our advent wreath. We are filled with hope in the one who is faithful, the one who is to come, the one who has come, the one who will come again. We positively burst with excitement at the possibility and the reality of the light coming into our dark world.

The hope that we look at today is not to be confused with wishing. That often happens, wishing gets confused with hope. We misuse hope all the time when we say, hopefully, things will change, or I hope I get a new iphone for Christmas, or I hope those Vikings can win the Super Bowl this time. Those are all wishes. We can wish for much, but it still isn’t hope. Christmas as we see it presented in the marketplace is all about wishes, but not about hope.

Hope lives in the reality of God with us, hope lives in the reality of the incarnation and in the resurrection. Hope is in the faithfulness of the one who calls your name. Listen to this Good News carefully. Hope is in the faithfulness of the one who calls your name. For me this is truly good news, hope is not in my ability to have enough faith, or any faith at all, those things live much more in the realm of wish, sometimes I may say to myself, I wish I had more faith. Hope is not in my ability to earn more money and buy more things; hope is not in the stock market. And wishing all that won’t make it true. What is true is that the one who calls you and me is faithful. The one who calls you and me is trustworthy, reliable, devoted. This is the one in who hope lives. This is the one who has made you and me new creations; this is the one who delights in us. This is the one who we prepare our hearts and our minds and our souls to receive into our lives now, this is the one who came 2000 years ago, and this is the one who will come again.

Joy is a result of this hope. Hope is similar to joy as wishing is similar to happiness. Happiness is something that the marketplace wishes to fulfill. You will be happy if you build a bigger house, you will be happy if you buy a nicer car, you will be happy if you make a lot of money, none of this has anything to do with joy. Joy lives in the reality of being the beloved of the one who created us, joy lives in the incarnational wonder of the one who created us.

Hope and joy are the realities of Immanuel, God with us. The response to hope and joy is to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is a compelling reminder of the faithful response of a community that celebrates God’s saving actions in Jesus Christ. How can we faithfully witness to the joy of God’s delight in us? And how might our actions and responses move us away from a climate of complaint to the creation of a climate of rejoicing? As I have contemplated this question I have also been reading a book that my son Tom gave me to read about writing. The image the author of this book on writing uses is composting. She says you need to practice writing by writing all the time, including all the stuff that you may eventually throw away, and then your writing will begin to be the fertile ground that your stories grow out of. I think that is the same as how rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances is the will of God. When we are always in the posture of praise and thanksgiving, hope and joy can take root, and give rise to our witness to God’s incarnation.

And then we are in the posture to see and hear God signs. We are able to see God incarnate, God in our midst, Immanuel. Your God sign stories are important to us. Your God sign stories show us the reality of hope and joy. I’ve asked you to think about and share your God signs. This is my most recent God sign.

A few weeks ago, just before the passing of the peace, at the time I usually invite folks who are celebrating birthdays and anniversaries for a blessing, lately I’ve been adding “and anything else anybody needs.” A young father came forward with his nearly two year old son, who was have surgery the next day, asking for prayers. Well, that 8 o’clock congregation prayed for that little boy and his family, and was quite touched that his father had the courage to ask for the prayers. On their way out that day, some wise folk gave them a prayer shawl, and sent them off with not only our prayers but also the shawl that envelopes one in our love as well. The baby had successful surgery, and two weeks later, at the same time in the service, his mom brought him to the front of the congregation and thanked them for all their prayers and their love. She told me that that blanket had become his favorite, and he never let it go.

There is so many reasons why this is a God sign. I’ll leave you to wonder about that.

Keep awake, pay attention, prepare, watch for God with us.
Our King and Savior now draws near: Come let us adore him.