The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — the first Sunday in Advent — with food for thought about the love which abides throughout all change. Gnaw away!

First Sunday in Advent – Luke 21:25-36

Jesus said, “Signs will appear in the sun, the moon, and the stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish, distraught at the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the earth. The powers in the heavens will be shaken. After that, people will see the Chosen One coming on a cloud with great power and glory. When these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your ransom is drawing near.”

And then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, or any other tree. You see when they are budding and know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things happening, know that the reign of God is near. The truth is, this generation will not pass away until all this takes place. The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Be on your guard lest your spirits become bloated with indulgence, drunkenness and worldly cares. That day will suddenly close in on you like a trap. It will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth, so be on your watch. Pray constantly for the strength to escape whatever comes, and to stand secure before the Chosen One.

The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?

This Sunday is Advent I — the beginning of the new liturgical year. Last year, we were in Year B, of which the primary Gospel is Mark and now we move into Year C — the Gospel of Luke. Luke is part I of a two-part work, the second part of which is the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. There is a universality to Luke’s Gospel, both in terms of its emphasis on the love of God in Christ being for ALL people around the world and for particular attention given to the poor and oppressed and issues of social justice. This passage, though at the beginning of our liturgical year, comes at the end of Jesus’ teaching ministry — just before Luke’s telling of Jesus’ passion. It is the end part of a larger section of Chapter 21 where Jesus also foretells the destruction of the temple, persecution of his followers and the destruction of Jerusalem. Remember that Luke is written by a Gentile for a Gentile audience. This passage casts the coming passion narrative in a universal context — Jesus’ death is a universal event, a lynchpin event not just for the people of Israel but for a Gospel being spread throughout the Gentile world.

A few things to chew on:

*”The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  The Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously wrote “nothing endures but change” … and in the 2,500 years since he did, he has consistently been proven right. All change involves loss and requires adjustment and adaptation. Sometimes it’s welcome, often it’s not. In the midst of change, Christ promises the one thing that will remain constant is God’s love … but that doesn’t mean that we become immune to change or that God promises change will stop happening. Change will continue to happen … and happen … and happen. In fact, the Christian life invites us to welcome change as an adventure … an opportunity to express God’s love in Christ in new ways, an opportunity to trust not in the things of “heaven and earth” but in that love which abides throughout all change.

*“Be on your guard lest your spirits become bloated with indulgence, drunkenness and worldly cares.  In this era of checked bag fees on airlines, we have become experts on traveling light … on getting all we need for the journey into that bag that will fit in the overhead compartment. There is a joy and freedom to traveling light. There are fewer things to keep track of, fewer pieces of luggage to have to lug around. Jesus’ words to his disciples here plug into that learned wisdom of ours. “Travel light” Jesus says. Leave behind “induglence and drunkenness” … all those things that are about short-term anesthetic whose paybacks are hell. Leave behind the worries of your life. Travel light … you have no room for these things. What would travelling that light look like for you?

Try This:

The holidays are coming … and the tyranny of joy is soon upon us! What is the tyranny of joy? It’s the expectation that we will be merry and that our lives will look like a Currier and Ives print and our houses will look like Martha Stewart’s “after” pictures. It’s being pummeled by TV images of smiling joyful people who seem not to have a care in the world who make us feel like there is something wrong with us by having lots of cares in ours.

As followers of Jesus, we let Christmas wait … and instead we observe Advent (notice I didn’t say “celebrate”). We observe a time of preparation for the joy of Christ’s coming … and it starts this Sunday. And what this Gospel tells us is that part of that preparation is taking a good, honest look around us and seeing all the things that really suck.

This week, take a little time at the beginning of each day and just be honest with God. Name the things in your life … in the world … that are just plain lousy. Empty the pain in your heart into your prayers, not asking God to fix it but just letting God know where it hurts for you and for the world. Let tears flow. Shout if you need to. We need to name the brokenness before we can invite Christ in to heal it. So this week, just name it.

Stand up and
raise your heads.

The world is a fearful place right now. Fear is a commodity that is being sold to us — and we are buying.

Fear is sold to us so we will buy guns. Fear is sold to us so we will fund prisons. Fear is sold to us so we will not see the humanity in one another and then object to the dehumanizing way people different from us are treated.

Fear is sold to us so we will elect and empower the same people who are telling us both to be afraid and that they can protect us.

We read in Luke Jesus saying, “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the earth. The powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  and we know those words could have been written about 2018.

And then we read Jesus’ next words:

“After that, people will see the Chosen One coming on a cloud with great power and glory. When these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your ransom is drawing near.”

And we remember…

We are not people of fear.

We see what is happening around us.

We see the roaring of the sea and the waves.

We see violence and degradation.

We see the cause of evil prospering.

But that is not all we see.

We see Jesus. We see Jesus breaking through everywhere.

In individual acts of compassion.

In young people standing up for justice.

In communities welcoming the stranger.

In volunteers tutoring after school.

We are people of faith. And we see Jesus. We see Jesus coming with power and great glory.

And so when fear is being sold to us … we are not buying.

When we are told to duck and cover and cower, we do not. We stand up and raise our heads because our redemption is coming near.

We are not those who shrink back and are destroyed. We are those who stand up and raise our heads. We are those who know that the power of evil is nothing in comparison to the power of Christ. Who know that no matter how deep the darkness, the light that is coming into the world shines in it and the darkness has never, is not and will never overcome it.

People of God, this is our moment.

The world is trembling.

The world is buying the fear that so many are selling.

Don’t do it.

Look for Jesus.

Be the Body of Christ.

Stand up and raise your heads.

Our redemption is drawing near.
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Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings

The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every
Sunday – click here for this Sunday’s readings.

Collect for Sunday

Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Want to read more?
“The Text This Week” is an excellent online resource  for anyone who
wants to dive more deeply into the scriptures for the week.
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