Nov 30: Eyes Wide Open for the New Dawn

Nov 30th 2008

Eyes Wide Open for the New Dawn Breaking Mark 13:24-37

“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

It seems like just a few weeks ago we were in shorts and fishing at the cabin. The seasons have definitely changed and the first Sunday of Advent reminds of us where we are in the liturgical year. We see the purple paraments in the chancel and we can’t help but notice all the pipped in holiday music as we elbow our ways through the black Friday shopping spree.
As modern day Christians, it can be hard for us to stay centered in who we are and what this time of Advent means for us. Kudos to the Unity Church in St Paul who hosted a Black Friday service last Friday. I have to confess that I joined the masses but I went to thrift stores first before I hit the mall. I was kicking myself for missing out on all those doorbuster specials. This frugal Scottsman still got the door buster price at JC Pennys for my new Christmas tree!
It’s sad but true that these 30 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be some of the most difficult days of the year. Many of us have lost loved ones and see the empty chairs at the dinner table. Our matriarch or patriarch who helped hold the center is gone and the holidays are just not the same. Many of us had to revisit the family feuds and endure all those passive aggressive jabs that are thrown around. Like being part of a church family, we put up with the negatives to appreciate the fuller positive of belonging to a fellowship in spite of all the peccadilloes and shortcomings.
Many of our holiday gatherings are transformed when the next generation join us in the festivities. Have you ever noticed how a little baby or toddler transforms everything ? We can live vicariously through their joy and playfulness. Can you picture baby Jesus cooing and getting into mischief as little boys do. I feel guilty when I see Moms with their young boys and wonder how my Mom put up with me. Boys look more and more like energizer bunnies.
I am moved by the story of Elizabeth and Mary visiting together with John and Jesus growing in their wombs. Surely most moms lie in bed imagining what is in store for this precious child that is growing in them. Our Moms endure the pain and hardships of pregnancy because they know they have to wait until its time. She knows she can’t rush the process, for if the baby was to come to soon there will be complications, worse yet a still birth.
In the interest in of full disclosure I’m a bachelor and I have no clue what its like to be a young couple expecting a child. Friends tease me about my bad case of baby fever. Every time I see a baby, I need some time to hold this precious bundle beaming with hope and promise. It’s a critical vital sign for a congregation that they have young families with children. These babies in our midst help us keep our perspective. Our congregational vows to help raise these precious children of God centers us in what our mission is. Its’ sad that so many of congregations do not benefit from these precious little ones among them. Our children help us remember to major on the majors and not on the minors.
During this time of Advent, we remember that this a time of waiting. Like the expectant couples, we can get impatient and try to rush the process. We want Jesus to hurry up and come back. We strain ourselves trying to figure out what the tell tale signs are. Unlike the 9 month gestation calendar, our world is in labor but we will never know when it is time to make that frantic drive to the maternity ward. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans he reminds us, “For we know that all the rest of creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time.” Romans 8:22.
When I was in highschool, I had a huge crush on Molly Ringwald. I kept her poster up in my room for years. I thought she had the prettiest smile. She and Andrew McCarthy starred in a movie For Keeps. The reviews were not friendly but Molly could do no wrong in my eyes. Molly plays a young expectant mother who struggles with the pressure of disapproving parents. The father of her child is a young man who is not as mature and stable as she hoped he would be. This dramatic character understood in some ways what Mary went through. It can be hard to wait with hope when the people around you are so disapproving and you feel judged.
During Advent, we remember this young Jewish mother in Palestine facing stigma and isolation in her community because they do not understand how God is working through her. We remember how Mary endured the hardships of pregnancy and gave her very body in order for Jesus to come to us as our Emmanuel.
Mary was patient and trusted that in God’s time Jesus would come. She may have known the ninth month time frame, but she had to wait and trust to see how the community would treat this child who came to them under a cloud of scandal. Would Joseph remain faithful and stay by her side? Being a single mother in this time was an incredible hardship. Mary faithfully waits with her eyes wide open to see how Angel Gabriel’s promise will be realized.
Many of us feel like we are constantly bearing the weight of a psychic pregnancy but are never able to get to the delivery room. One of my favourite metaphors for the psychotherapy is the image of a midwife. Our therapists and counselors walk with us on our journey to discover who we are and a fuller sense of meaning in our lives. We do not want to spend all this time and money on therapy just to tweak a thing here or there. In reality we are there on the couch to find at least on space and one person who can bear witness to us as we search within to discover a fuller sense of who we are as child of God.
Too many of us have walked through this psychic pregnancy in pain and isolation. We dismiss therapy as something for the weak and sick. In reality, taking the time to search within and learn more about who God has made us to be is as a sign of health and healing. For those of us considering therapy, I encourage to invest in yourself and invite a compassionate midwife to assist you as go through the birthing process of self discovery. Like the lesson of Advent, it will take a lot of patience and waiting. But the promise of self discovery and a fuller sense of God’s love and mystery at work in you is worth the wait.
The lesson of Advent has some valuable teaching points for us as we grow in our spiritual maturity. We don’t want to wait. We want quick fixes. The latest self help guru will do. A couple of tapes or a half day seminar is all I can fit in right now. Our life long journey of learning is like making a soup or stew. Would you rather have a mircowaved soup with cold pockets still here and there? Or, would rather let it simmer in its juices? We wait, with eyes wide open to see how God’s reign is at work in our lives and our communities.
Mark’s community was struggling with waiting for the second coming. Just as Jesus predicted the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. They were seeing the earthquakes and famines unfold around them. Surely Jesus is coming back and again soon. Mark’s community was struggling with an inferiority complex. If Karen Horney, a prominent psychologist, was to offer her analysis to Mark’s community she may have said that these false teachers and prophets were exploiting some of the disciples neurotic inflated selves. They were struggling with a PR problem. If Jesus is truly messiah why hasn’t he returned when clearly the signs are all around us? We need to remember this point when people are tempted to try to rush Jesus’ return.
God’s creation is still in labor waiting for that glorious day when God incarnate comes to us again. In God’s time, all the darkness will be dispelled and the mountains and valley will be made straight for God’s highway. Like some of our freeways, we grow impatient with the never ending under construction signs and fantasize just breaking through the barrier signs and driving free as a bird.
We gather for Advent knowing that Jesus fulfilled God’s promise and came to us as precious, fragile infant. We savour this expectant hope as our world waits for the promise of his glorious return. We don’t know the day or the hour, but we know God’s promise still stands.
We keep awake, with our eyes wide open to see how the glimmers and glimpses of God at work unfolds in our lives. We are a people charged to be a people of hope. In spite of the anxieties, fears and all the negative object lessons. We know that one day all that is wrong will be made right. God’s creation will finally deliver us into our new lives as citizens of the New Jerusalem. Just as a mom holds her newborn close to her chest, we will breath sighs of relief and appreciate that it was worth it all. We make the necessary sacrifices and wait with our eyes wide open. We will continue to take our Lamaze classes and keep our bags packed for the mad dash to the hospital. We wait, trusting in God’s time that one day this new dawn will come.