ADVENT 1 SERMON: December 2, 2006

“The Days are Surely Coming”

By Terry Lesser

I loved to sit in my living room at home after we set up the tree with its 1500 lights which we carefully wrapped around the tree and the ornaments of all shapes and sizes, some depicted the nativity, others were memento’s of family life, others were just silly and maybe a little humorous.  It was neat to watch the lights blink and chase each other around the tree.  But the part I liked most was watching the pile of gifts under the tree grow.

My parents never put our names on the neatly wrapped packages.  All my three siblings and I could do was to shake them in order to guess at the contents and who were the future owners.  But that was half the fun.  We all knew that there was something under the tree for each of us and as the pile grew, our anticipation for that Christmas morning grew with it.

And so it was even more for chosen people of God.  Let me introduce you to Jeremiah, the writer of the Old Testament reading for today.  Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet even before he was born.  A prophet is someone who speaks for God.  Jeremiah was not the only prophet to be called even before he was born.  John the Baptist also had this calling.  Perhaps this is why John the Baptist and Jeremiah both play such an important role during advent.

Let’s start with Jeremiah’s calling.  One of the features of the Nativity is that God communicates openly with many of the characters either personally or through an angel.  God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet in Judah.  God tells Elizabeth that she would give birth to John the Baptist and that he would play a vital role in proclaiming the divinity of Jesus Christ.  God tells Mary that she would give birth to the savior of the world.  God tells the shepherds of Jesus’ birth.  And God tells the wise men that Mary and Joseph and their new baby are in danger and they should go into hiding.  God does not want the birth of Christ to remain a secret.  God wants to shout the good news to the ends of the earth.

If we study the book of Jeremiah, we notice early on that Jeremiah was called before he was even born:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

Jeremiah’s response to these words from God was less than willing at first: “Ah, Lord God, truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” (1:6)

But God insists:

Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” (1:7)

I find it interesting that of all the qualified, trusted, experienced people God could have selected he chooses a boy—or at least a very young man.  We don’t know how old Jeremiah was but he must have been young because his prophetic ministry lasted for about 40 years.

Nevertheless, Jeremiah reluctantly answers his calling to prophesy, and what a prophet he was.  During the first Jeremiahs message was one of warning.  This negative message was only amplified because he was not respected by the other prophets and the royal court preferred the positive optimism of many of the other prophets.  Jeremiahs warnings went unheeded and his people paid the price.

Jeremiah was considered from the very beginning a prophet of doom.  But the message did not reflect his personality.  Jeremiah was a man who loved God and loved his people so much that he felt obligated to speak for God even if no one would listen.

The words of the prophet Jeremiah weren’t always wrapped in a black shroud.  After Judah’s exile in 587 B.C.E, the tone of Jeremiah’s message changes from a message of judgment to one of peace.  This is the era in which we find Jeremiah’s words:

¹⁴The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill 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. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:14-16)

These words from Jeremiah come at a time when the people of Judah and Israel feel that they have lost their identity.  These words come at a time when the people of God, whether acknowledge it or not, have turned away from God and are now experiencing the consequences.  These words come at a time when the people of God needed a message of hope and love.  For Jeremiah and the people of God, the message at this time and place looked toward a Messiah.

We know that Jeremiah’s prophesy would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the righteous to spring up for David and we await his second coming.  But the people in Jeremiah’s time did not have the benefit of hindsight.  They were living their history.

In the revised common lectionary, Jeremiahs prophesy is connected to Jesus’ own prophesy about himself:

²⁵“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. ²⁶People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  ²⁷Then they will see ‘the son of man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.  ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:25-28, NRSV)

My Bible’s notes tell me that this passage projects an apocalyptic message.  Notice here the use of the sun, moon, stars and the earth as signs.  This was common in prophetic and apocalyptic pronouncements.  This passage has two main concepts here.  There is the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Christians believe that history is going somewhere.  And history is going towards Christ.  The ultimate goal is for Christ to be the ruler of all the earth.

The other concept is the need to keep watch.  Keep watch.  Open your eyes people; there are signs all around us pointing to the coming of the Christ.  Jesus own words tell us that things are going to get bad.  This rather parallels the life of the Israelites and Judeans.  The Israelites and Judeans found themselves in a situation that they thought could not get any worse.  And then they were promised a messiah.  They were given a message of hope and love.  Jesus’ words in Luke are also a message of hope and love.  This message causes me to look at all of the horrible things that are going on in our world with new eyes, with eyes of anticipation, waiting for love to light the darkness.

As I have demonstrated, these passages point toward the Lords coming.  How shall we prepare for the Lord’s coming?  Our Psalm tells us that we wait all day long for our salvation and we put our trust in God.  Jesus tells us that while people are terrified of what is coming, we are supposed to stand up and raise our heads.  I don’t know about you, but when I am afraid, I want hide, not stand up and raise my head.  We need to prepare for the Lord’s coming with the knowledge that these words are a message of hope for the faithful, not a message of doom.

God’s work is teaching, leading, loving and executing justice.  What is our response?  How can we follow God’s lead?  Our Psalm today reads:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.  (Psalm 25:1-9)

Our response to God’s teaching, leading, loving, and executing Justice can be one of two things:  we can ignore it, or we can embrace what we have learned and experienced and share it with the world.  We, like Jeremiah are called to be the voice of God, to let God’s love light the darkness of our world and to wait and watch for the Lord’s coming.