YEAR B
December 3, 2017
John W. Sewell
Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Memphis, Tennessee 38111

Christ in Judgement – John De Rosen Mural Saint John’s Memphis

The long season after Pentecost is ended. For the next four Sundays we reflect on the Coming of the Christ.

We do this in three ways:

1. The yearly remembrance of his First Advent.
2. His presence here in the sacraments and community
3. Looking to his Second Advent.

On this first Sunday of Advent we look to our Lord’s Second Coming. The lessons from scripture this morning are lessons of anticipation and judgment. The prophet Isaiah writes of his longing for God to visit his people with judgment. He sees the presence of God to be like the effect of heat on water or fire on brushwood. The presence of the God of Israel changes things. This is a God who works for those who wait for him. Now keep that in mind. This is a God who works for those who wait for Him. The consequences for those who have not waited for God, who have fallen into sin and are alienated from Him, are dire, “We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind will blow us away. Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Things are bad but God will come and like a potter and Father will remold and restore all things.

In his Gospel, Mark sees that the prophet’s prayer has been answered. Indeed God has come and will return a second time. The Sun will darken. All sorts of natural disasters will occur and THEN the Son of Man will come in great glory. And this coming, says our Lord through the Evangelist Mark, is a promise. The heavens and the earth will pass away but my WORD will not pass away. Here “word” is best translated, “creative energy.” This word is not static, but dynamic. Our response must also be dynamic. The dynamic response is to WATCH.

“Take heed!” he says. It will come like a man going on a journey. He leaves his home and leaves his servants in charge and commands the gatekeeper to watch. For we do not know when the master will return at midnight or evening or morning. Watch, so that he does not find you asleep. WATCH THEREFORE!

God’s will is that his creatures mature. We do that by facing challenge. So, here is a good opportunity for growing ourselves up and calming ourselves down.

Yet we are commanded to mature and thus to watch and not fall asleep. This is hard. But there is good news for us in the Epistle reading. In his letter to the Christians in Corinth, Paul gives thanks for the grace of God, “So that you are not lacking any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of Our Lord Jesus Christ; who will sustain you to the end.” This is good news. We are told to watch and not fall asleep AND Jesus will enable us to do just that. “Come,” says Isaiah. “Watch,” says Mark. “And,” says Paul, “God will sustain, hold you up, be by you, as you await his coming.” So we wait. We will be judged by the quality of our waiting. Will we wait and watch passionately or will we become distracted and forget to watch at all?

In order to watch and wait appropriately, we need an adequate theology of time.

How many of you have a digital clock? In a way a digital clock is a violation of what it means to be human. Why? Because all a digital clock tells you is now! Now! Now! Now! It is a violation of humanity because it has no reference to the past or to the future.

A CIRCADIAN clock (the old-fashioned one with hands) which marks the twenty-four hour rhythms of the earth’s rotation is better theologically because it marks time in reference to the past and future. It is half-past the hour or a quarter until the hour. We need these reference points:

Past = memory = remorse & gratitude
Future = expectation = anxiety & excitement or despair
There is a tension this time of year between digital and circadian time keeping. There is much talk about the “commercializing” of Christmas. If we are seduced into the manic, Now, Now, Buy Now! No matter that the Christmas trees up are up and it’s not Halloween yet” of digital time, we will be disappointed again! A digital culture is not accustomed to waiting. Circadian thinking says, “Wait a minute, it’s not time yet.” It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Let’s wait until it is the time to do these things. So the day after thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year. But even circadian thinking is not enough.

An adequate theology of time has an understanding of time that is not digital, now, now, now, fixed on the moment time, or Circadian, with reference to past and future, calendar time.

A deeper Christian understanding of time concerns KAIROS.  Not Digital = constantly NOW, there is not past or future. Not Chronos = calendar time = what time is it?

KAIROS: divine time = what is it time for?

its Kairos, God’s time. It’s High Time. It’s mystical time. It’s the eighth Day of Creation: that first day of the week when the tomb was empty and nothing has ever been the same since.

People often say, “I don’t have the time.” The truth is that we have all the time there IS. God calls us to discern the time and ask, “what is it time for?” Advent is in the season to clarify our theology of time. A great symbol of Advent is the Advent wreath. In Northern Europe people took a wheel off their cart and put the Advent candles on it, lighting each in turn, thereby marking the days until Christmas. Taking a wheel off your cart is a proven aid to slowing down. So I invite you to take a wheel off. Light one candle, light another, think, reflect, be. Take time. Do less.

• Wait with Mary, remembering that in the fullness of time, she gave birth to the savior.
• Remember that since that birth earth and heaven are joined.
• Remember that Jesus lived among us without sin.
• Remember that he preached the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven to all people.
• Remember that he died, rose again from the dead, ascended to the Father.
• Remember that he left us to continue the work that he began among us.
• Remember that we gather to encounter the risen Jesus in bread and wine and each other.
• Watch brothers and sisters.
• Watch for chances to touch others in his name.
• Watch brothers and sisters because life is short and there is much to do.
• Watch therefore sisters and brothers, for Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
• Let us watch and wait, discerning the hour and the day.

• Asking not only what time is it, but what is it time FOR.

  Amen.

JWS+