I don't know how you normally ring in the New Year - normally, I start of January first with happy greetings, extensions of care and compassion. There are phone calls and emails and all sorts of connections. It's a time to look forward with great joy; to lie to myself about how often I'll exercise, to articulate how productive I'll be, how perfect the next year is going to be. It's aspirational, to be sure! And why not? It's the start of something new!! YAY!
So, then, let's think about how it is that we are starting the new liturgical year...
Hmm. It feels like there's a bit of a disconnect happening, doesn't it. Because rather than celebrate, we're being told to... wait.
Wait, and watch. Keep awake. Keep alert. Wait.
Um, no thank you. I'd prefer for the party to start. The fun times. The feasts, the adventures, the whole NEW YEAR stuff. Who wouldn't?
But the readings tell us:
Wait for the Lord.
And that's... hard. Because it means we're meant to be sitting in the moment: fully present, attentive, not getting distracted by what was, or what will be.
The here. The now. Waiting.
Isaiah is in that NOW space, and it makes people uncomfortable - because he's holding up a mirror to a society that thinks they don't need God any more... they've forgotten about their prayers, their devotions, their basic spiritual commitment to love God and love each other.
So they're feeling... lost. Disconnected. They can't see that God is still watching them, loving them, journeying with them - because they have turned their eyes away when things were going well, and now that they're in trouble, it's not looking like what they thought it would.
But: says Isaiah - wait. Return to the Lord. Pause, look around, see what IS - and re-connect with God.
The Psalm today continues this message. Israel has broken the covenant with God - they have turned away - and they lament the situation they're in. The community is wrestling with God. As my Grandma used to say: "Well. THAT's a pickle, isn't it?"
They are blaming God, yet are simultaneously expecting God to provide a quick fix, so they can get back to the life they want to be living.
But: says the Psalmist. Wait. Return to the Lord, seeking restoration. For in that future you will find salvation.
Our epistle today is, at first reading, a little bit more up-beat than the others, as Paul re-frames his message in the context of Thanks Giving. It sounds lovely... but we need to remember that Paul is writing to a young church where different ideas are being played out, divergent theologies are popping up, faith is being questioned...
And still, the message is there: wait. Examine yourselves, you who come together in the name of God; and wait.
You've got what you need, Paul assures them: you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So - Paul invites them to remember that God has not left them; God is not punishing them; God in fact is inviting them to use what God has provided in ways that will strengthen them as a community, support one another as the body of Christ, build up the faith. Because God is faithful, so too can they be: if they just wait.
The Gospel then further bolsters this message with some truths: Waiting for God is not always rainbows and butterflies. It's real life. It's dark days, and moonless nights. It's struggle and strife; suffering and discontentedness. Yet: it's also hope. If you can look around, and see what's going on - like watching a tiny bud on a fig tree - it's seeing that hope is about to come forth. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, but: assuredly.. it's there.
Yet, as with trees in bloom, if we're not living in the present, we don't see the change. We don't realise the signs. We don't embrace the change that is happening.
And so even our Gospel passage continues a different trend for a New Year celebrations: wait. watch. Keep awake. Keep alert. Be here; be now. Because no one knows the day or the hour. Just wait.
Well, how long??
Common question. How much longer?? We all know that waiting for something is easier when there's a known end date... we can create countdowns and calendars to help us portion out the waiting into manageable sections. Anyone getting ready to retire, or planning a wedding can detail HOW LONG to the hour... any child (or frantic parents) can tell you how many more sleeps until a birthday or Christmas morning.
We like to know. We like to have answers. And when we don't have them, it's harder for us to focus on the now. We want to be in control... but when we are, we're turning away from God. We want to have all the answers... but when we do, we've taken away the mystery from God. We want to make plans for the future... but if we're not careful, we take out room for divine intervention!
And we see how easy it is for us - alone and together - to turn away from God, and away from NOW.
Yet: that's exactly what we're being invited into in Advent.
A time of introspection: of examining our spiritual journey. Maybe trying a new spiritual practice like prayer journalling or a directed spiritual exercise... or a commitment to reading the scriptures... or finding a new way to serve in the community... We do these things as we aim to live fully present in the moment.
So, especially in this Advent 2020: a most unexpected and inconceivable time: we're being - again - invited to wait.
Wait for a daily update... wait for test results... wait for changes to restrictions... wait for news on closures... wait for a vaccine... wait for ... well, just about everything.
We're living - in a much smaller scale - what it is like to be a community that is WAITING. And some have turned away from doing what is best for the community. And some have turned away from God; and some have blamed God; and others are crying out to God "HOW LONG!"
So I'm going to invite us to re-focus ourselves, this Advent, on living in the NOW. Waiting: watching: keeping alert, keeping awake.
Because in every moment, in every interaction, in every aspect of our lives that may seem insignificant or unremarkable or unimportant: it is there that a glimmer of the kingdom is shining forth. it is then that we can glimpse a renewed spiritual presence in our lives.
It is through these moments that we will grow into a fuller maturity of being the people of God: waiting without anxiety, praying with faith, serving with gladness. It is then that we can look forward to the year ahead as a wonder-filled opportunity to come closer to God and to each other. It is then that we can feel the embrace of God growing in the very core of our beings, in our families, in our communities.
So let's welcome the pause that we have been given, at the very start of this coming year, as the gift that it is: a chance to look for new opportunities and new joys; renewing relationships with Jesus, building up the Kingdom of God in this place and this time. Let's be comforted in knowing that waiting for the Lord is an exercise in patience but an expression of anticipation. Wait for the Lord: the scriptures tell us. And be ready to be amazed.
Amen.
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