Advent 1: It's the End of the World as We Know It

Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24: 36-44

In Isaiah, Romans and Matthew we see that "The End of the World as We Know It" is coming.  We get to live it out now, even before it's fully here.

First Lesson: Isaiah 2:1-5

Challenges:

This is a wonderful vision and it's hard to find any challenges here other than the perennial challenge of, 'why hasn't this happened yet/how long must we wait?' One challenge for us, however, it to emphasize the SUBSTANCE of the instruction that comes from Zion (v.3).  What does this instruction look like? What does it say? How should we live?  Also, what does it mean to "walk in the light of the Lord"?  It is all well and good to say these things, they sound nice, but what do they mean? What do they look like?  As writing instructors will tell their pupils, "good writers show, they don't tell." This applies to preachers too.  WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE????

Opportunities:

It's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but with these 155 words (yes, I counted in my NRSV Bible), Isaiah has created an inspiring and enduring image that can bring hope and faith in the power of God's goodness.  What ways do you see God at work today?  Through your congregation?  Point it out to them!

For a literal look at 'turning swords into plowshares,' check out Shane Claiborne's ministry in this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-claiborne/beating-ak47s-into-shovels_b_3762948.html and this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWH4R0_-4hg.

  

The Good News:

Peace is coming.  Justice is coming.  Walking in the paths of the Lord will allow us to experience this.  And while it hasn't happened universe-wise as of yet, our faith allows us to 'live in' to this peace and justice even before it gets here.  We get a glimpse and that glimpse will carry us.

Psalm: Psalm 122

Challenges:

Jerusalem is a holy and wonderful place.  Its streets have also run red with blood because of the devotion various people have shown to it.  While Jesus found Jerusalem to be important and even wept over its fate, he is no longer found only in Jerusalem.  As the angels told the women at the empty tomb in Mark: 'He has been raised; he is not here...he is going ahead of you to Galilee..." (Mark 16)  God is present here in Swanton Ohio where I'm typing and wherever you are reading this.  Is this psalm constricting?  No, but only if Jerusalem is given the right emphasis.

Opportunities:

This is a pilgrimage psalm, celebrating the goal of the pilgrim's journey.  This is a great opportunity to talk about journeys.  You can talk about the entire weekend 'pilgrimage' that many people take to see their favorite college or pro football team. There's the drive, the skull sessions, the tail-gating and then, when they finally enter the stadium, there is a feeling of "Our feet are standing within your gates, O Horseshoe...Big House...Lambeau...Lucas Oil Field..."  While these trips are not evil in themselves (I love football myself), they do show how the sport has become a religion in itself.

How is our entire life a pilgrimage?  As we begin advent as a time of expectation, preparation and penance how can we make our way to the manger and then the cross and then the empty tomb?  

The Good News:

This psalm is an action psalm: I can easily see Jesus and his disciples singing it as they neared Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  When we say it, it is as if we are getting a chance to enter the story too.  I get to imagine myself as a disciple of Jesus 2,000 years ago, walking close to him.  I don't know about you, but that gets my blood pumping.  Then throw in the realization that, as a disciple, I will either betray or abandon him in a few days, and you have some powerful emotions rumbling around.  Follow that with the absolute joy that comes with his invitation to return to him...well, that's the whole story in a nutshell.  Your mind can go through all of that just by reading this psalm.  That's a powerful story.

Second Lesson: Romans 13:11-14

Challenges:

I totally get the darkness/light and night/day imagery here and I like it very much.  But like all imagery, metaphors, analogies and similes it ultimately falls short.  Anyone who has gazed up at the stars or taken part in a Christmas candlelight service knows that we can experience the sacred at night.  Does this negate Paul's imagery? As he would say, "BY NO MEANS!!!"  But it does merit consideration as we prepare to wax eloquent on night and day.

Opportunities:

We're in the height of football season (and my posts reflect that).  You might not be inclined to enjoy the passing of the pigskin, but this lesson reminds me of the pre-game speeches made by players and coaches who stand in the middle of the team circle and say, "What time is it?"  The shouted answer is "GAME TIME!"  Or, as they say in this video, "We ready," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb1zVpJ5AHw Advent is a time for Paul to say, "You know what time it is..." And we know: it's game time.  Are we ready?

The Good News:

It might look like night-time out there.  Watch or read the news and it will feel like the sun hasn't come up yet.  War, poverty, strife, bullies...the list goes on.  We can be dominated by how things appear, but Jesus Christ gives us the power to live a different way.  Instead of bowing to the darkness, we get to live as if the day has already come.  There is a new way of life out there: authentic life, good life, ABUNDANT life and here Paul is saying, "Come and get it!"

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44

Challenges:

Okay, two things:

1) Which day and hour are we talking about here?  Like many lessons, this one drops us right into the middle of the action with no background (unless provided by a note in your bulletin). It's like overhearing someone say, "Just shoot it."  Are they talking about a basketball, a set of river rapids or a sick dog?  Context will determine how I feel about the "it" which is about to be "shot."  Unless you are well versed in the Gospel of Matthew or the liturgical year (and how many of your hearers will be?) you could be a bit lost.  Context, context, context.  

2) Do you want to be the one taken or the one left behind?  In the case of the Flood, is "being taken" mean being taken on the ark or being taken by the flood?  In the case of what Jesus is talking about, is being taken a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it doesn't matter too much, but it's a question. What do you think?  Maybe with Christ coming to claim his own, we WANT to be taken.

Opportunities:

I once began a sermon on this text by singing a few lines of REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" to set the mood.  Go on, embrace the alternative rock goodness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY.  It appealed to the 35-55 year old crowd: most people above or below those ages didn't know what I was doing.  This sentiment gives us a succinct, if trite, way of looking at what is to come.  Of course  'Fine' in no way sums up the totality of our feelings about Jesus' return, but it's a start.

The Good News:

The end of the world is often seen as a bad thing: destruction and death, zombies, disease, cats and dogs living together...you know, mass hysteria! (See Ghostbusters for that last bit).  We can approach it with hope and expectation.  When you look at the "world as we know it," seeing it end is actually a pretty good thing, as long as Jesus Christ is involved in the ending.  Like the Romans text, this is an invitation to "live in" to what is coming. We can feel even better than "fine."