November 30, 2014 – Advent 1A
© 2014 Evan D. Garner
Do you know what I miss?
The Sears Wish Book. Three-hundred
pages that stir up within every child (and some adults, too) “the ecstasy of
unbridled avarice,” to quote one of my favorite Christmas movies.[1]
Yes, I know that there is an electronic version that you can download on your
smartphone or laptop, but it isn’t the same thing. As a child, getting ready
for Christmas meant flipping through the glossy pages of the Wish Book and marking with a pen those
things that I really wanted to find under the tree. The New York Times might contain “all the news that’s fit to print,”
but the Wish Book is where a child
could find every toy that’s worth getting. And, now that I have children of my
own, I miss the Wish Book even
more—not because I want to indulge my children in the over-materialistic
tendencies of our society but because I just want to know what to get them for
Christmas.
My parents had it easy. It
was right there—in perfect, clear, unmistakable pen. I literally had circled
every toy I might want. All they had to do was go through the pages and make a
list of the toys I had marked and then decide which parent, grandparent, aunt,
or uncle would be responsible for procuring which gift. Many, of course, were
discarded as being too dangerous or too expensive. But I had done my part. I
had given them all the consumer data they could possibly need. Oh, how I long
for those simpler times! Without a centralized resource, Elizabeth and I have
to ask and ask and ask again and try to figure out whether today’s answer is
merely the result of a commercial our kids saw on television or whether, when
weighted against all the other possible toys, the one they seem to want right
now is the one they still will want on Christmas Day.
What about you? What are
you hoping for? What’s in your Wish Book?
Maybe it’s a toy—some thing that you’ve been wanting—like a new gadget or something
shiny and sparkly. Or maybe it’s a different sort of wish—a longing for someone
instead of something—like someone to come home to, someone to take care of you,
or a tiny little someone to bring home from the hospital. Maybe you dream of
finding a new job. Maybe you hope to patch things up with someone you love. Maybe
you long for a new beginning. Or maybe you wish for a chance to go back and
start over. This is the time of year when anything and everything seems
possible. Whether true or not, the gap between us and our dreams feels a little
bit narrower. As we prepare for Christmas, we dare to allow ourselves to dream
of what life could be like if our hopes and wishes were to come true.
But, if you came to
church this morning expecting to hear a joyful message of hope—something to
warm your heart as you settle into your pre-Christmas dreams—you might be a
little disappointed: “In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling
from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” Happy Advent, y’all.
What’s the deal with
Advent? When the rest of the world is getting ready to wrap presents and sing
carols and drink cider, why are we in here talking about the end of the world? Doesn’t
it feel like something’s wrong? Doesn’t it feel like there’s a substantial
disconnect between the mood of our worship and the attitude of everyone else
around us? Isn’t this supposed to be the season of hope? Shouldn’t we be
talking about our dreams? Shouldn’t we be bringing our hopes to God as we wait
for them to be fulfilled?
Well, this is the season
of hope. And it is a time for waiting. But we aren’t supposed to be waiting for
the fulfillment of our own dreams. That’s what the world waits for. As
Christians we are called to an Advent of waiting and watching for the
consummation of God’s dreams—God’s hopes for us and for the world.
What is God’s dream for
you and your life? That’s a very different question, isn’t it? So often we
focus on what we want—for ourselves, for our families, and for those around us.
Rarely are we asked to consider what God wants for us and for those we love.
But that is what this season of Advent is all about. It is too small a thing
for us to limit our hopes and dreams to those things we think would be good for
us. We must believe in a God who has the power to set everything right and to
make all things new. That is what the coming of God’s kingdom represents. Our
hopes, therefore, must mirror God’s hopes, and that means that we must embrace a
vision for the future that involves the whole world being turned on its head.
What does God hope for
the world? Is it not that the people of west Africa might be set free from the
fear of Ebola? Is it not that little girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan and
Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have the same access to education and opportunity as the
little boys? Doesn’t God dream of a world in which the kids who go to school
across the street are just as likely to succeed as those who go to Eastwood and
that the kids who ate Thanksgiving dinner here at our church would be able to
eat with their families instead of with strangers? Doesn’t God yearn for a
kingdom in which black teenagers in hooded sweatshirts don’t have to worry
about whether they will be shot because a white police officer is afraid of
what he sees? Isn’t that what the kingdom of God is supposed to look like?
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be waiting for and hoping for? What will it
take before that dream—God’s dream—for our world is fulfilled?
Jesus said, “In those
days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not
give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in
the heavens will be shaken.” That is the only way that God’s kingdom will ever
become a full reality here on earth—when the power of God shakes everything
from its foundations and the whole world gets turned on its head. Until then,
the powers of this world stand in the way. And those powers aren’t likely to
give up their place until God comes and shakes them loose.
Is that good news or bad
news? Well, it depends on what kind of kingdom you’re waiting for. If you’re
waiting for God’s kingdom, it’s good news. It’s wonderful news. It means that those
who have suffered for the sake of the gospel will be gathered into God’s
kingdom and set at peace. It means that the meek shall inherit the earth, that
the poor shall become rich, and that the oppressed shall be set free. But, if
you’re waiting for a kingdom of your own design, of your own success, of your
own power, the apocalyptic vision of God’s coming kingdom should scare you to
your core…because, when the powers of this world get turned upside down, those
who start out on top end up at the very bottom.
So, again, I ask, “What
are you hoping for? What’s in your Wish
Book?” Jesus reminds us that as his followers—as citizens of his kingdom
and instruments of God’s will—our greatest hope is expressed in the cataclysmic
reordering of this world. That is what we are called to long for—for the full
coming of God’s kingdom. For God’s people, this is good news. This is very good
news. Is it good news for you? What are you watching for? What are you waiting
for? What are you hoping for? Are your dreams the same thing as God’s dreams? Amen.
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