Scripture Text: Mark 13: 24-37 (Advent 1B)

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 a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and 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 he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

‘Tis the season!  Advent is here, the time of preparation, the time of waiting, the time of that somewhat always-chaotic march to Christmas Day.  And, at the risk of stressing you out even more than you already are, this year’s season is even shorter than usual since the fourth Sunday of Advent is actually Christmas Eve!  So, yes, this year we have only three weeks of Advent.  What is THAT about?  So, we begin…

I know Advent is here because the stores have their holiday décor out, I’ve heard one or two Christmas carols, and I keep seeing that commercial where the red and green Hershey kisses play “Carol of the Bells”.  And, yet, there are things in the world that do not seem to echo the joyousness of the season.  There is still a war in Ukraine, a seemingly endless war only because boundaries were not honored and greed ensued, and now the Middle East has become a veritable powder keg of violence and distrust between neighbors.  And we find ourselves getting pulled into it in a way, find ourselves dealing with anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, find ourselves being forced to choose sides in a war that has way more than two sides, a war that is nuanced so that many things can be true at once, find ourselves fighting to keep our own democracy and defend it against corruption and authoritarian creep and those that think they should control others and inflict their beliefs on those around them.  And this Scripture doesn’t really help.  Why do we have to read about suffering and the end times on this first Sunday of Advent? What happened to that angel coming to Mary and Mary doing her pondering thing and everyone being joyfully reminded that the world was with child?

Read it again.  This Scripture is not about the end times.  This Scripture is about now.  This Scripture is about us.  See, if we look at this Advent season as only a season of preparation, a season of waiting for what follows this, for what comes next, we miss out.  If we spend this Advent season trying to somehow forget the world that spins around us, trying to ignore those things that make us uncomfortable, that we might have our ideal fill of nostalgia, we’re not giving this season it’s due.  This season, like the Scripture in today’s lectionary, is not a call to merely get ready for the next season; it is a call to an awakening.  This season is our awakening.  This season calls us to wipe the sleep from our eyes and, rather than just waiting, to be a part of what comes next.

The world is still at war, both actually and figuratively.  We are still fighting each other over our beliefs and our quest for power, over our control of each other’s lives, over our differences and our diversity in which God created each of us.  We try our best but sometimes the world seems to be splitting apart at the seams.  And into this world, into this messed up little world, God comes.  But we have to pay attention.  We have to stay alert.  We have to become those who stay awake.  Something new is about to happen.  Maybe the world will or will not get better.  Maybe the wars will or will not end.  Maybe nothing around you will change.  But you will.  And that makes it worth waking up. Here’s to this joyful season, the time of your great awakening!

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn. (Henry David Thoreau)

OK, I’m back. I’ll try to post something each day during this Advent season (short though it is!). I hope it aids you in your journey and your great awakening! Do me a favor. Don’t just read it. Digest it. And then comment back. It helps me and it adds to what others are reading. Let’s journey together! Drop me a line and invite others to either read or follow!….Shelli