It is important to remember that Advent is not just a season in which we recall an event of the past--Jesus' birth--but also a time in which we look to the present and the future. When will Jesus come again? When will the kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven? Of course no one knows. And so the more important questions are: What can we do as the church, more important questions are: What can we do as the church, Christ's body here on earth, to bring about God's reign of justice and peace today? What can we do as individuals to reorder our lives, in the light of God's love? What would it mean to live as a people who believe in Jesus as the savior of all the earth and who expect him to come again at the fulfillment of time? Each Advent we turn to these questions anew.
It is easy to sentimentalize Advent and Christmas by focusing so much on the coming birth of the baby Jesus that we lose sight of why he came--to save a lost, sinful, and beloved people; to restore a broken world; to conquer death and raise all the creation to new life in God. We love anticipating happy events, and most of us would rather think about the birth of a baby than about restoring the world. Yet, the Gospel loses its power and meaning when we gloss over the reality of darkness in our world. (Page 16).
The important thing to consider during Advent is that the restoration of God's reign on earth is a work that all of us are called and empowered to be a part of. God's merciful and gracious love has gifted all of us to take part in bringing God's reign of justice into this world. Advent is the opportunity to begin again as it is the start of a new Church Year. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that began two weeks ago as radio stations already started playing Christmas music and stores advertised their black Friday sales to make corporate profits even bigger, yet, is the story of real people who are hungry, naked, oppressed, victims of spiritual, political and social violence. Within their stories are challenges for Christians to find their places in those stories so that we can be about the work of establishing God's reign.
In the first reading from Isaiah 2: 1-5 God promises through the Prophet to establish God's mountain from which God will teach God's people God's ways and judge the earth. As Christians one of our greatest mistakes has been putting off doing justice thinking that another time or person will come along to take care of things. But the reality is, God has placed each of us in the here and now. To respond to the evils of our time such as political and social corruption. As people of different races, religions, sexual orientations, genders, gender expressions/identities, cultural backgrounds, abilities, languages etc continue to face persecution and oppression, the Church has been given the awesome task of raising our voices on behalf of those who are oppressed. Much of the oppression that many experience is because of the Church and many of the mistakes we have made over the centuries. Biblical literalism, colonization and cultural suppression are just a few examples of how the Christian Church has misrepresented Christ and the Church. In this year of 2010 and 2011 the Holy Spirit has been calling the Church to a new understanding of sexual and gender diversity. So that God's mountain of justice for all peoples can be established.
The Christian Church should be proclaiming the Gospel of inclusion and justice so that all may say with the Psalmist: "I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1). Instead many in the Church through political organizations such as the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage which have been profiled as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), to suppress and oppress any person or religious group that does not think or operate as they do. When Christians erroneously help others paint a picture of God as an unjust and angry psycho path by telling LGBTQ people that our sexual and gender diversity is "sick" or "disordered" it sends out the message that the house of the Lord is a terrible place to go. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer individuals whether Christ followers or not at least in name, but in practice are really great at extending hospitality. LGBTQ people have the ability to tell our stories so that the ignorant messages of hate by Christianist and arch-conservative Catholic/Anglican and Episcopal groups are rendered groundless. We can tip the scales of ignorance and prejudice and help God transform hearts and minds.
In Paul's letter to the Romans 14: 11-14 we are challenged and invited to see the urgency of creating a world of justice and inclusion here and now. The time of Jesus Christ's second coming may not have happened yet, but Christ did come and showed us through his example how we can help establish the reign of God here and now. When we welcome the stranger, hold out a hand to help the broken hearted, bring reconciliation where there was once misunderstanding and disorientation, we help God's presence to be real and powerful. Some of Paul's exhortations against having a good time, might seem a little extreme. I do not believe Paul is talking to or about those who do things with a genuine sense of moderation. We are all asked to be considerate of others by not becoming a people who have no personal self-control. While loving another or even others sexually and physically with a sense of love and respect of others as people and not objects is good and holy, the use of other people for our own selfish desires is not. It is important to maintain a level of self respect and a healthy respect for others.
The Gospel reading from Matthew 24: 36-44 sounds as if Jesus is preparing the disciples for dooms day. There are many Biblical scholars who would suggest that Jesus is not talking so much about the end times as much as he is referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Pontious Pilate and the Roman Empire. For those who lived there, it was the end of the world. Nevertheless Jesus tells those who are listening: "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father". This is why I tend to shake my head and ignore those who suggest that the impending wars in the world are a sign that the end times are near. Many Christianists suggest that when LGBTQ equal rights are granted in America and/or in other European countries, Christ will return to punish the nations with God's fury. The problem with such nonsense is that it is just that nonsense. Such words are spoken to promote a world and Church of fear so as to justify the worst kind of violence and hatred. What Jesus is promoting through his words here is to prepare for the return of Christ by helping to establish peach and justice in our world of today, here and now. Advent reminds us that we do not know exactly when Christ will return, but we do know that we can be doing so much to help make God's reign on earth a reality as we promote a Church and society that welcomes all people with radical hospitality and seeks reconciliation. This is why Christians and all people of good will need to reject the hate messages from Christianists and arch-conservative Catholics/Anglicans and Episcopalians. When such groups of people work over time to suggest that "God hates" any group of people the Church and society is in real trouble. When we use the Name of Jesus Christ and/or our names as Christians to scapegoat people, we are not promoting the reign of Christ on earth. When Christians promote hate, we make hell a living reality for way too many people.
As we begin again in this Season of Advent, let us remember that we all have work to do. Making the Church and society more inclusive and a place for justice and peace for all people is what preparing for the reign of Christ on earth is all about. Let us take that mission seriously and do our part to make the reign of God's peace, justice, inclusion and love the best news that came from Christmas Day we will celebrate.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Advent, Book of Common Prayer, page 211).Holy One, we are an Advent people,
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, page 826).
those who are called to struggle for
a new and transformed world for all your creation.
Help us to claim this Advent season as
a renewed commitment to bring your realm into being
on behalf of all those who are waiting and hoping for justice and
liberation.
Help us take on the mantle of courage as we face into all the places
where we are complicit in the world's suffering,
so that our true repentance might help turn our world around.
Help us take on the mantle of justice making in this moment and time,
for this is truly revolutionary patience.
Amen. (Prayerfully Out in Scripture.)
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