god comes even in our waiting: advent 1

other scripture for today were: isaiah 64:1-9, psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, and 1 corinthians 1:3-9

the holy gospel according to mark.

[Jesus said,]

²⁴“But in those days,

       after that suffering,

              the sun will be darkened,

              and the moon will not give its light,

              ²⁵and the stars will be falling from heaven,

                     and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’

       with great power and glory.

       ²⁷Then he will send out the angels,

              and gather his elect from the four winds,

                     from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸“From the fig tree learn its lesson:

       as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves,

              you know that summer is near.

       ²⁹So also, when you see these things taking place,

              you know that he is near,

                     at the very gates.

³⁰Truly I tell you,

       this generation will not pass away

              until all these things have taken place.

       ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away,

              but my words will not pass away.

³²“But about that day or hour no one knows,

       neither the angels in heaven,

       nor the Son,

              but only the Father.

³³Beware,

       keep alert;

              for you do not know when the time will come.

                     ³⁴It is like someone going on a journey,

                            who leaving home

                            and putting the slaves in charge of their own work,

                                   commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.

³⁵Therefore, keep awake—

       for you do not know when the master of the house will come,

              in the evening,

              or at midnight,

              or at cockcrow,

              or at dawn,

                     ³⁶or else, coming suddenly,

                            the master may find you asleep.

                            ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all:

                                   Keep awake.”

the gospel of the lord.

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i have a confession: i am a whovian.  i have become enthralled with the british show, doctor who.  and i am not alone.  perhaps some of you have also discovered the delights of The Doctor.  perhaps others have no idea what i’m talking about.

The Doctor is a time lord from outer space who travels through time and space, saving the world and the universe over and over and over again.  he travels in a time machine called the tardis, which looks, from the outside, like a blue 1960s-style police box and is, as they say, “bigger on the inside.”

as we begin advent, it is quite fitting that the color for this season is what some might call “tardis blue” (others just call it blue).  in fact, i have a friend who is hoping for a tardis stole for christmas, with the deep, hopeful blue of the tardis as a perfect match for the hopefulness of the season of advent.

in fact, this advent time that we’re in is a bit, as The Doctor would say, “more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey…stuff.”  we begin advent well into the gospel of mark, well into jesus’ ministry.  in fact, we begin just two days before the passover that, in mark, marks the last supper of jesus.  tensions are running high and everybody has a different idea of who and what the messiah must be and must do.

jesus has already destroyed property in the temple, upending tables and chairs and ruining the “business” of the temple.  jesus’ followers as well as his detractors are now anticipating a rebellion.  the detractors are already plotting to destroy him.  in the midst of jesus’ followers waiting and hope that jesus’ power will overthrow the powers oppressing them, jesus brings a powerful word of change.   

it is not what they expect, and yet jesus brings hope and the news of an end to the suffering.  “summer—new life, renewal—is near.”  jesus tells us “truly i tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.  ³¹heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  this generation that is now 2000 years long.  like a tardis, it’s bigger on the inside.

and how fittingly timey wimey that as mark looks ahead to the messiah’s power exhibited in suffering, torture, and death on the cross, we look to the power of god made manifest in a weak, defenseless baby born in a barn.

wibbly wobbly timey wimey, we look ahead to the coming of christ who has already come.

advent is a time of waiting, of anticipation.  christ tells us to “keep awake,” to keep watch for god.  keep on the look out for where and when god might show up.  the message is patience—that god works for those who wait for god.  and i have to admit, patience is a virtue… that i don’t have.  each advent we wait eagerly, even impatiently, for the coming of christ.  the tardis of time grows ever bigger in the waiting for the reign of christ, which has already come and not yet been fully realized.

and perhaps it is time to give in to our impatience and join isaiah and the psalmist in begging god to come.  “restore us, o god; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”  “tear open the heavens and come down.”

i confess that i have messed up—sometimes royally.  i have been more like a dry leaf than the fig tree ready to bring forth summer, but god, come be with me, make me better.  make me who you know and want me to be.

i am drawn to isaiah because there is room for my impatience there.  i don’t have to be satisfied with the advice to “wait.”  i also get to blame god for my mistakes.  not only did you, god, form me as a potter forms clay into shape, but your absence is to blame for my sins.  you weren’t there beside me, so i messed up, i sinned.  i let evil rule this world and myself, because you hid yourself.

this week and over the past months and even years, all i want is for god to come down and fix everything.  i want the nations to tremble at god’s presence.  like jesus’ followers, i want god to come destroy those who commit violence, i want an uprising that destroys oppression, inequality, illness, and pain.

i            want            god            to make it      all            go            away.

i don’t want to feel depressed after watching the news each night.  i don’t want my heart to break when people i love are sick or die.  i      want        peace.  i want justice.  i want life and love to rule the day.  …and sometimes i want vengeance or victory over others.  and sometimes i’m scared of what justice will look like if i am the one causing the pain.  if i didn’t hear your cry.  if i didn’t sit with you in sackcloth and ashes, mourning with you.  if i didn’t live up to my end of the bargain—which, i can never really do—then do i really want god to come for vengeance and justice?  do i want to face up to my sins?

but before i tell god to hold off on coming down here to sort everything out, i need to remind myself that the same god who comes as judge is also the god who has already come in love, as a sibling loves family, so jesus loves us.  it is a love that might, at times, roll its eyes at our foolishness, chuckle to itself at our sins, and even cry with and for us at the pain we experience and the pain we inflict on others.

so, ultimately, i return to begging god to come, to be with me, to be with us.  to bring life in the midst of death, to turn pain into joy, tears into laughter, violence and oppression into justice and peace.

then in the wibbly wobbly, timey wimey-ness of it all, i look to the cross and to the font and christ is here.  i look to you and the holy spirit blows through our midst, roughling feathers, stirring up passion for love and justice and peace.

christ came to be with us and comes again in the waters of baptism, “strengthening me and you to the end, so that all may be blameless on the day of our lord jesus christ.”

jesus came 2000 years ago as our companion, savior, and friend.  the son of man, our righteous judge, will come to set all things right, bringing peace and justice.  christ is with us now, in our pain and suffering, in our waiting and our impatience, and in our struggle to keep awake, to keep watch, to seek peace.

thanks be to god