While We Wait

“While We Wait”

This text is heavy. Written well, just about 2000 years ago and we are still waiting Jesus’s return. That is almost as long as waiting in line at the DMV (That was my only joke... and it was specifically for you Fred!) Waiting, waiting, waiting. Today marks the beginning of the Advent season where we get to rejoice together in the gift of Jesus.

He gives us endless hope and Mercy – and we need it. I am sure we are all well are this world is suffering. We encounter this and at the same time feel the tension that God is with us in it. We do not suffer alone. This tension reminds me of one of my most shaping experiences. It came in a brief classroom activity one day. My professor, a dear mentor, asked the class to split into two groups. Disclaimer: he prefaced this with saying neither side is wrong because both are true...but you have to choose. Okay so one side of the room was to people who thought of the kingdom of God as here and now. The other side of the room was people who thought of the kingdom of God as yet to come. He asked us to get up and go to where we felt more aligned.

I think this idea ties in really well with our scripture reading for the day because Jesus was born for us and died for us. Plain and simple, it does not need to happen again, it is simply a gift: our sins are forgiven. We celebrate this gift every day. God’s kingdom was here on Earth even before Jesus, when Jesus was here, after, and will be here forever. God will never forsake us.

At the same time, we sure have messed up. And it feels like Jesus’s return could be pretty nice right about now. It feels like we have taken advantage of Jesus’s message, of his grace and mercy and repeatedly chosen the side of hatred, division, gluttony, and injustice. And this happens-we have seen it throughout history. God gives people a gift...they mess it up, and God swoops in and redeems us. We can see it all over the Old Testament. Then Jesus came to redeem us from our sins.

In that class, I was one of the very few (as in maybe two or three) people on the side of the room who stood firm on the idea that the kingdom of God is here and now! I stood there; a bright-eyed girl who had been given every privilege. I had of course delt with difficult things, but I had a very good life which do not get me wrong I am very thankful for-but as a white, able bodied, cis gendered, straight presenting, woman, who did not have to grow up worrying about where my next meal came from, all of my immediate family is healthy and all of my grandparents are living, I was very fortunate and still am. And I was not wrong for thinking the kingdom of God is here and now... because it is.. but I stood on that side of the room because in my heart I wanted so badly for the good of the world to outweigh the darkness.

I honestly almost pitied the people on the other side of the room. We were told to defend our positions and I said something to the effect of “No-you don’t see it! Look around! Life is good...bad things happen-but life is good.” I listened to one of my dear friends push back-she said “No Hanna YOU look around-if this is it-if this life is all that the kingdom of God is about, I’m out. It is not enough.”

This world is suffering. Yes, the kingdom of God is here and now my friends-but this is not it-it is not where the story ends-it is also yet to come.

In so many ways we long for the future of the kingdom of God we have to wait in anticipation for it …

We have come to know so many types of waiting in our lives ... it has become a cycle we’ve grown too familiar with

First, every day waiting:

Waiting for 5pm Friday to come around? Waiting for your next vacation? For summer? No, for Fall? Right? We sure have gotten stuck in this pattern of everyday waiting.

Then there are these sorts of hard questions we ask about waiting.  Questions we ask that we might not know the answer to...the answer is out there...it is solvable...but we’re not quite there yet. Hard questions maybe something like, when will Covid finally be over? With so much violence, will we ever feel safe sending our kids to school? What about asking when will people start taking seriously the effects of climate change? What needs to happen for my black brothers and sisters to feel safe around police officers?  What about when will the hatred and discrimination subside for our neighbors seeking refuge in the land of the free? Or finally, what about asking how there were 7 mass shootings in the US just last week alone?

Then, there are hard questions we might never know the answer to...when will there be peace? When will the suffering of God’s people cease?

Then, there is a divine waiting. This includes excitement and resurrection hope.  Asking when our redeemer and sustainer will come again. I am not going to stand here with the answer to even one of these questions!

We are encompassed by the idea of when. Our scripture for this morning this passage is even begging us to ask it. When will Jesus return? This world is hurting, people are suffering, Jesus, we need you. It has been quite the wait. How do we grapple with this waiting? Again, I do not know if there is an answer...or if this question is even helpful because our passage points out that “that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Creator” Even Jesus does not know!

While we wait, what if instead we ask the question what do we do in the meantime? Who does God call us to be?

Once again – this is not a new question. People in the context of this passage were struggling with the same thing! They were people who had also chosen the world, chosen what was important to them – in their case it was the Law. They were resistant to accepting the good news of Jesus because the law is where they put their trust. A tension has been created because Lord created the Law but there is no fulfillment in it.

Just like for us, the Lord gave us the means to create anything we desire – I mean this is the weekend between black-Friday and cyber-Monday – which has turned into a weeklong shopping marathon of nonstop advertisements and sales – and this is one. tiny. example., I could talk about a million versions of this – we are drowning in it- these things we have chosen to fill ourselves up with. The reality is that if we each pause for even a split second – we would know what we have chosen. Life is hard and I am by no means saying possessions are not inherently bad – but what we have done with them-what they have become to us –that is the problem. It was not the intention.

Just like the people in the context of the time this was written, we have turn away...put our trust in this world. What would it look like to turn back, embrace the hope and joy and fulfillment that comes from drinking from a source in which we will never thirst?

As Jesus was born into this Earth, a new life was created for us as well. We can learn from this as we reflect on Jesus’s life. He tells us outright in many ways who we should be – and he also says it very clearly in his actions. This is what we generally talk about every Sunday of the entire year. We know it. To walk humbly, love your neighbor, give your money away, push back against systems of oppression, help people who are suffering. We know this, we have been redeemed. Jesus’s life and death was a gift and this morning, we wait for it again- in hope.

As we sit in this tension of the kingdom of God being here and waiting for it in the future, let us be full of hope.

And even more than that...let us come alive in it. This morning, we are celebrating the beginning of advent. Jesus, a gift that was offered to us in the form of a baby. A baby who saves the world. Who conquers death. Who bore the weight of our sins-this is not a gift we deserve nor a concept we could ever grasp. For the weight of our sin is death. But Jesus came to bring life to the full! And we know from this scripture that he will come again. What do we do with this news? Who are we called to be? What do we do when we are waiting? I know it’s been a while, but the scripture tells us to be vigilant-it paints us a picture saying “If you knew someone was going to break into your house tonight-would you stay awake?” Let us open our eyes. Being vigilant means turning back towards God...letting our faith shape our actions – revealing God’s everlasting love and mercy towards all of God children.

 This is what we do in the meantime. To God be the Glory, Amen.