December 2, 2012
Advent 1 Hope
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Luke 21:25-36
(prayer)
One of the first scriptural voices we hear in this year’s advent season is that of the prophet Jeremiah. He lived in Judah – in the early 7th century BCE.
The world power of the day was Babylon (think modern Iraq in the lands made fertile by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers).
A century earlier, it had been the Assyrians (think Syria and Afghanistan). During the Assyrian Empire’s expansion, the northern Hebrew Kingdom of Israel had been overrun. It has lost its autonomy: lost to history.
It bears noting that some three hundred plus years before Jeremiah’s time, in the early years of Israel as a Kingdom, all of the twelve tribes were united under one king. First Saul, then David and then (David’s son) Solomon. David’s reign brought the nation’s greatest unity and expansion. David had built the city of Jerusalem (on the outskirts of his home town of Bethlehem) as a new capital city and a permanent home for the Tabernacle of worship. Solomon made the Tabernacle even more settled and permanent, by building a temple of stone to replace the tent-structures that have served as the place of worship since the time of Moses.
But (it is fair to say that) the solidifying of Jerusalem in Judah as the centre of power and worship upset people from the northern tribes, who themselves revered the holy sites of Shechem, Bethel and the lands where Jacob lived. After Solomon’s death, a power struggle among his successors led to the ten tribes of the north seceding from the ‘united kingdom’. The capital of the north became Samaria.
From that time on, the history of Hebrew leadership recorded in the books of Kings and Chronicles list separate lines of rulers for the south (called Judah) and the north (called Israel). That is (of course) until 721BCE, when the Assyrians ended the line of kings in the north by capturing Samaria.
During the age of the Assyrian empire, Judah (the southern Hebrew Kingdom) maintains its political autonomy – and so its history of kings carries on beyond the fall of Samaria.
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So, today, we read from the book of the prophet, Jeremiah, of Jerusalem in Judea as the Babylonian empire was expanding west. Much of the outlying lands were already under Babylonian control. Those that could had taken refuge behind the walls of Jerusalem, hoping to wait out the invasion. Babylon (on the other hand) had the capital blockaded and felt it was only a matter of time before the city would fall to their control.
It was a bleak time for the Judeans. Much of Jeremiah’s writings lectured the people on their unfaithfulness – inviting them to consider their current predicament as a sign of God’s judgment against them.
But Jeremiah was not all doom and gloom: 14The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.
14The days are surely coming, says the Lord. [Yes, they are coming. And don’t call me Shirley.]
Jeremiah was not only pointing to a short term hope that Babylon would not control the lands of Judah (which he did believe), but the longer term hope that there would be even a wider restoration: a return to the glory days of King David.
Interesting enough, Jeremiah did not just speak of hope – he acted in hope. As we can read one chapter earlier in chapter 32, Jeremiah had just shown ultimate faith in God in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation. As the bottom has fallen out of the Judean real estate market – and even as Jeremiah has been under arrest in the palace of the king of Judah – he has just bought a piece of land, trusting that, as God has assured him, nothing is “too hard” for God. God’s promise was that...
33:12Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without people or animals, and in all its towns there shall again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks. 13In the towns of the hill country, of the Shephelah, and of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.
Jeremiah had seen the fortunes of Judah rise and fall over the course of three turbulent generations of rulers. During those three generations the little kingdom of Judah had been tossed back and forth both socially and politically. It had felt the strong arm of the Assyrian Empire pulled it away from its religious roots and then been turned in the opposite direction by a king who reinstated the Hebrew faith. In the context of today’s reading, Judah now heard the knocking at the door of a new Babylonian threat that would eventually reshape the land and its people yet again. Jeremiah lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem, the Babylonian exile, and the end of the kingdom of Judah.
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And in the end, he still preached hope!
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I am sure that many of us still have paper calendars. It can still be an exciting ritual each month to flip the page. Yesterday was December 1st. What did the page flip show you?
We have an Edmonton Humane Society calendar at my house: a new sleepy kitten (wearing a Santa hat) appeared yesterday. In my church office, I have the Canadian Church Calendar (which our church sells only $5 by the way), the December picture is of a couple of advent-themed stained glass windows from Gower Street United Church in St. John’s NL.
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We are fortunate to live in the shadow of the knowledge of those who have determined the months and dates of the year for us.
In times gone by, people looked to the sky for the signs of the times: the movement of the stars, moon and sun were observed and catalogued and the patterns became predictable. They observed the growth of plants and the migration of animals and understood the hidden truths about the seasons of time.
Few us of have the knowledge to do this completely for our self, so we trust the publishers of calendars and authors of websites.
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As our Luke reading today reminds us – the movement of the heavenly objects and world events also spoke to the ancient people in prophetic ways. They looked for signs of God in the sky and on earth.
Let’s be honest, for the most part. The signs that Jesus tells his followers to be on the lookout for, are too common to be able to point to any particular time – sadly, natural disasters, severe weather events and human conflict seem to point to almost any moment in time. I suppose if they did see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” that would be unique, but Jesus says that would be an event after the other ones they were supposed to notice as well.
I suppose that – at the very least – we can take from the Luke passage that Jesus is saying that God is at work in the world around us; and (as an act of faith) that we do well to take notice of this.
Signs from God are often in the eyes of the beholder. Have you ever seen ‘a sign’ that you were sure was from God? What made you sure that it was from God?
My mind has been racing on this subject ever since I sent and saw the movie “The Life of Pi” last Wednesday (went by myself while Patti was at work). I got home from the theatre and immediately ordered the ebook on my tablet and started reading the novel (I know, it’s the wrong order from a purist point of view, but that seems to be my pattern in recent years). On Friday, I dragged Patti to see the movie (again), so I had someone to talk about it with.
Anyway, my point is that the story of ‘The Life of Pi’ in the movie (and in the book which I polished off last evening) is also filled with events and circumstances that could be taken as ‘signs from God’.
As Jesus said, we are to be alert. I guess the question we can be asking is ... How can we notice God if we do not look for God, occasionally?
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If we believe that God has created and is creating – that God is part of our lives and the world that surrounds us – does it not also follow that we can evolve to be able to see signs of the divine in our midst?
I imagine that this belief can also motivate us to live in a certain, faith-focused way. Does the knowledge of God-in-our-midst affect how we choose to live in this world?
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Christmas is 23 days away. Many people will be planning special events to mark the day: meals, time with family and friends, generosity and gratitude.
Christmas Day events seldom just happen – they take preparation and planning. Cooks will take stock of their pantries and make note of what is needed. The generous will plan gifts they may give – to friends and strangers – out of a sense that the connections we make between us are perhaps even more important than our own wants of the moment.
We can look at these next 23 days as just another three weeks on the calendar or we can hope that this time has special meaning for us.
Advent may be a time of waiting, but the word is a noun of promise and anticipation – ‘coming’. What may come our way in the days to come?
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If like the Christmas cook, we were to take stock of our faith (individually) and the mission and ministry of our church, what do we have that is available to us now and what else do we need?
How will we deal with those needs: change the menu? Find ways to make the hope real?
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It is four Sundays before Christmas and we eagerly anticipate the coming of Jesus, as the child in the manger.
What will be in store in your life in these days to come?
What is tugging at your soul?
What enlivens you? Scares you?
Where is your hope?
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Sit with these questions.
Live and move through these questions.
Know that there is light on the path we travel and there is the hope that this light will grow even brighter.
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May we see God along the way.
Let us pray...
God of hope, lead us as we travel once again the holy road to Bethlehem. When the journey wearies us, we are thankful for your unfailing presence, wisdom and encouragement. Give us courage and comfort, confidence and challenge on the way. Amen.
***Offerings***
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