by Marjorie D. Grevious, Evangelist for Spiritual Healing
Watch the sermon recording on YouTube.
The season of advent is one of holy waiting and sacred yearnings. We yearn for the promises in this season of joy, hope and peace. We wait in great anticipation to celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people in the coming of the Christ child. We sit in great expectation for the wondrous and mystical power of God to surround us, fill us, and connect us in the magic of this season.
The wonders of Advent do not hide the harsh realities that are unfolding in our lives, and in the world around us, both here and abroad. There are still children who need food, safety, and security. Elderly in need of loving care, and those who need a light out of their darkness. We cannot cover and ignore these truths with the beautiful, twinkling decor this season brings. We should not overly romanticize the holy story of the divine baby born in an animal feeding trough in the most humble yet sacred settings. Even in the many artistic renderings of the nativity scene, there is a certain hush and deep pause in just gazing at it- as if our whole being goes into whisper mode in our imagination of this unbelievably holy moment.
In advent we wait for that which we do not know for sure, but believe in with full faith and conviction. Hope is a discipline, not a passive waiting game of wishing. It is a strong spiritual stance among the cut down and cut off place in our lives and in our world. It is standing strong and sure among the stumps, fully trusting that God will use the stump in a mighty way. The way that even the poorest children believe in Father Christmas, Santa Claus, The Spirit of Christmas, that magical mythical thing that will bring them joy and happiness in the most barren and deserted places of their hearts. They practice the discipline of hope so fully and completely it often makes us as grown-ups smile wistfully or even tear-up because we know that in growing up this unhindered faith doesn’t last long as life unfolds.
Today’s reading in Isaiah teaches us that God can bring forth new beginnings and possibilities from even a stump. A stump that we may look upon as something already dead, used, and gone away. From this place Advent calls us to also practice the discipline of hope as God brings new life to what we thought was dead. It grows quietly, slowly and steadily, just like the spirit of Advent. We start to see all new ways of being at the end of a long year when we may have just been ready to give up and give in to despair. This tiny growing sprig of new life is where Isaiah says the Spirit of the Lord will rest, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
If you have had a year like mine, then this serves as a most welcome reminder during the literal darkest days of the year. Advent promises a coming Messiah who will defend the poor, confront the wicked and establish justice. All that we know will be profoundly changed by His divine justice as the scripture describes it by opposites coming true such as wolves dwelling with lambs, leopards with goats, and children being safe from harm. The opposites in our lives may mean that we come to sincerely respect our Ex-wife/ex-husband/or ex-love. Perhaps we learn to appreciate the humanity of our difficult bosses and teachers at work and school. Perhaps, in this new and just world, we give more often to those in need without question or hesitation. This is the magic of the season, a reality we don’t quite know, yet the type of world Advent teaches us to expect.
Today’s psalm turns Isaiah’s vision into a sort of prayer for the kind of righteous leader who embodies God’s heart. The peace of Advent is not silent and hushed; it is the peace of justice for the poor. a peace that delivers the most vulnerable among us, while crushing the oppressor. This is a prayer for renewal, a restorative peace towards a flourishing world made right and whole.
Today’s epistle highlights Paul’s words in Romans where he writes: May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us that scripture teaches us stories of endurance, encouragement and hope. Advent is not blanket optimism. Advent is the discipline of hope. A trust rooted in our faithfulness in God. Paul recalls the lessons of Isaiah when referring to the rising root of Jesse from that stump in Isaiah. Paul blesses the church with: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” What does it mean for you to ABOUND in hope? Not a strip of hope, not a small piece of hope, not faking hope but overflowing, spilling over with, being filled with a brilliant testimony of hope. Advent hope is not quiet, it is contagious. You ever found out something so good- you just had to stop and call to tell somebody because you were so filled with hope and burning with the joy of possibilities. My best friend did that just 2 weeks ago. On a very dark day in my life she called me filled with such an overflowing spirit of hope and joy for an amazing opportunity in her life,that it made the sputtering flame of joy in me burn brighter. Advent hope is like that: active, inspirational, and motivational moving us into action, beyond desperate wishing for change.
And then today’s gospel in Matthew features the wild man of the New Testament, John the Baptist who eats grasshoppers and wild honey, and wears camel hair and a leather belt. This John is not socially acceptable, quiet, or shy. He is not Minnesota Nice. He is unimpressed by titles of so-called spiritual leaders and has no problem calling them out on their hypocrisy, guilt and doubt. John burns bright, fierce, and true. He is brutally honest. He is like an Advent firework, among mere candles. John wants to make hearts and minds ready for the Messiah. He wants to live in alignment with God’s justice. He embodies the active discipline of hope. He knows it’s not just about waiting, but preparing. Preparing room for hearts and lives that bear fruits of repentance, compassion and justice. Making ourselves ready for Christ to enter our world. John the Baptist is clear that The One that comes after him brings fire: a fire that refines, a fire that purifies, a fire that makes things new.
Advent reminds us that God sees new beginnings where we see dead end stumps. Advent reminds us that God’s peace is an active justice that uplifts the poor and confronts the power structures and systems that harm the most vulnerable. Advent reminds us that hope is not passive, but an active filling to overflow, of God’s spirit within us so that we become carriers of joy and peace. Advent reminds us to prepare for the transformation that aligning with the spirit of this season will let our lives bear fruit in celebration of the coming Messiah.
At this year’s end, in the time of Advent,
where in your life is God bringing new life to a place you thought was cut down and dead? Look again and find the sprigs of new possibilities growing in that stump.
How do you act in the spirit of God’s peace to bring justice and care to those most in need? Remember these are not always great acts of social change, but meaningful acts of care and kindness.
Is your hope overflowing? Is it a discipline? Allow your hope to help you to become a carrier of joy and peace.
Are you prepared to be transformed this Advent season by living in alignment with The One who is coming?
This is Advent:
a season of waiting,
a season of longing,
a season of preparing,
a season of trusting that the promise is true.
The scriptures for today reminds us that:
A shoot shall rise.
Justice will flourish.
Hope will abound.
And Christ—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is coming.
