First Sunday in Advent

Luke 21: 25-28 (28-36)

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

When you are travelling on a road, it is not unusual to encounter warning signs that give advice about the conditions ahead.  There may be construction or a serious accident.  Or maybe a bridge is out and the road is completely closed.   There may be helpful hints about detours or merge patterns.  Often a reduction in speed is mandated. 

Most of us pay attention to those warning signs, even if we have no clue about the issue they indicate.  We slow down, we begin to merge, and if we are wise, we do whatever is necessary to become more alert to what is going on.  Sometimes, to our consternation, we will notice a driver who stays in the fast lane, whizzing by us and merging in at the last minute.  They pull our focus.  We may pay more attention to the distraction than we do to our place on the road.  We may become “drunken and dissipated” with judgment or even anger. 

In this way we embrace the darkness of distraction rather than maintaining our focus upon the benevolent words that are directing us to safe passage. 

This Sunday we enter the Advent Season.  We gather around scripture which tells us to be aware of signs that point to the utter darkness of life.  But we also need to remember our identity as Children of God.  The Light is there even if we don’t see it. 

We don’t need to be paralyzed in fear about daunting warnings.  We can stand alert – even in our personal or collective darkness – knowing and trusting that the promise of God’s presence is already in place. 

Prayer:  Gracious God, sometimes we are confused.  Either by chance or by choice we focus upon our darkness, striving to discover our own way through burdens and brokenness, pains and perils.  Help us to trust that our walk toward you this Advent can be confident and sure, if we will lean towards you every single moment.  Through Jesus Christ, Amen.