Sunday, November 27, 2011

Advent week 1

Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Old Testament: Isaiah 64:1-9
Gospel: Mark 13:24-37
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9


In lieu of my previous advent reflections at SouthEast, I have decided to write a brief reflection each week since I can't be in San Diego. For those of you who don't know, I keep these short. I was not the one "preaching."

Advent is about waiting. Not something we naturally enjoy. The Psalm this week reminds us of the pain of waiting. The Psalmists cries out as he appears to be facing the anger and wrath of God. But we must recognize that the writer is crying out to God despite feeling abandoned. The Psalmist believes that it still the God of Israel who can restore despite being the One who also brought judgment.

Isaiah 64 is an interesting parallel to this Psalm. In Isaiah we see that when God comes, it is not as painless as one might think. When God comes the mountains tremble and the natural order and human systems are disrupted. When God comes, you know it. Again, as in the Psalm, the writer is crying out to God on behalf of Israel to restore it to its rightful place. The prayer is for God to again take his people into his hands and mold them like clay.

This theme is continued into the Gospel and Jesus' sermon on the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus teaches again that there will be judgment. The natural created order responds such that it will be impossible to miss. When the Son of Man comes the people of God will be restored. God will finish molding his people in the fashion which he desires and started since the beginning.

Mark introduces the theme of "watching." We are to watch for the Son of Man. But how are we to watch? When I think of watching, I picture a lone man, maybe with some binoculars, standing sentry. But I don't think that is what Jesus meant. When I know Kelcey is coming home, and I'm waiting for the minute I know she will arrive, I don't wait at the door peering through the peephole. Instead, I'm cooking dinner and setting the table. I'm making sure the house is clean. Then I might run over to the door or window to see if she is here. (I like to open the door since her hands are full) If she isn't here yet then I'm back in the kitchen working on dinner.

This is the image of waiting we see in I Cor. We see two examples of how we wait. Paul is planting and Apollos is watering. They are not just sitting on their laurels, but are rather they are laboring in obedience in God's service.

So, what can we draw from this week's reading? First, waiting isn't fun. While we wait it can seem like God isn't there or that he is angry. But we ought never to stop calling out to him for our salvation. Only God is the one of whom we can say, "no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." God is still Emmanual, even while we wait. He is with us. Secondly, we see glimpses of what it means when God comes. He comes in power and judgment. But he also comes to save and restore. God comes to restore the place of his people. Finally we see that we must actively wait. We wait in obedience with a life that draws other to Christ.

I feel a bit odd writing this down since normally I speak it and there is no record of what I said. But hopefully these reflections are meaningful to some. To my SouthEast friends, I miss you. To all: happy Christian New Year, may advent be a time of meaningful waiting.