Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 30, 2008 - First Sunday of Advent
[Isaiah 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37]Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come...."
Those who frequent airports become familiar with the "levels of alert" and their colors - from yellow to orange to red! That familiarity carries within it the defeat of the purpose! A familiar "danger" becomes domesticated and loses its power to command. Yet, the danger is no less real for our ignoring or getting used to it. The amount of effort required to remain "on alert" can be exhausting - ask the mother of any infant that has just learned how to walk! The positive side of this can be equally difficult. How long can a human person sustain the condition of "hoping?" When does it become "hoping against hope?" How much waiting can anyone take? Often what sustains us is the memory of past hopes that were fulfilled and inspire us to continue to hope. Advent begins that process for us. Within the broader story of God's intervention in human history as Jesus Christ - the story that is told in the liturgical year, year after year - are the focused stories of nations, peoples, cultures, communities and individuals like you and me! All of us "wait" even as Christ comes again and again in our hungry, thirsty, naked, and suffering brothers and sisters of every time and place. Within the bigger "wait" for Christ's second coming are the little "waits" for Christ's appearing in the faces of those with whom we come into contact each day. This is no "Waiting for Godot" as in Beckett's play where there is no hope, only waiting. Nor is it "pie in the sky, by and by" as often uttered by cynics and skeptics. A real and loving God became a real and loving human in history and lived and taught and healed in our human midst and suffered and died for us and for all who will come after us. To keep this message alive requires that we hope right through economic and political turmoil and keep our minds alert to that bigger story which will lead us through the challenges. This first Sunday of Advent once more summons us to stand tall and look forward - to tell afresh the story of hope. AMEN
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