The Message, December 1, 2024: "Making Room for Hope," Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-33

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
December 03, 2024

 

“Making Room for Hope”
An Advent Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Jeremiah 33:14-15; Luke 21:25-33

            Typically, communion Sunday worship services include a prayer of confession. Today is a communion Sunday, so I would like to make my confession. Over the years, I have struggled with the assigned scripture lessons for the first Sunday of Advent. It always seemed odd to me that we would focus upon the Second Coming of Christ as we prepare for the FIRST coming of Christ. I suspect that some of you may feel the same way.

            We want to be thinking about Christmas pageants with shepherds and angels. We do not want to be thinking about doom and destruction and signs in the heavens … unless that sign in the heavens happens to be a brilliant, miraculous star.

            But here is the thing, there are different schools of thought regarding this passage from Luke’s Gospel. And when one is reading a commentary or an article in one of those schools, the authors will cite other articles and commentaries that are from that same vein … the ones that agree with their own point of view. So those of us reading get a fairly myopic view.

            This year, I decided that I would broaden my field of view, and what I found was that most contemporary scholars do not believe that this passage is about the Second Coming at all. Most commentators do not believe that this is about the End of Times. They do believe that this is about the vindication of Jesus Christ and the followers of his Way. This IS about the upheaval of the world order.

            As Jesus shared this prophecy, he was using “picture” language, figurative language. Jesus employed classic prophetic imagery to help his listeners and learners understand what was happening. This speech falls into what is considered to be “apocalyptic” language. If you are like me, you may understand the word “apocalyptic” to refer to the end of the world type things. However, that is not actually the meaning of the word. “Apocalyptic” is actually more accurately translated as “revelation ... the act of revealing or disclosing.”

           An apocalyptic speech, as was the one made by Jesus, was meant to tell the people what was happening. And even more than that, it was designed to tell the people what was happening AND show them what was REALLY happening … what was happening behind the events that they could see and experience.

            Jesus was telling the people, “There are going to be great changes.”

            Those people hearing this speech for the very first time were completely immersed in a culture that was shaped by apocalyptic religious thinking. The ancient prophets such as Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah shaped their understanding of their future. Those prophets addressed the ways that the people had fallen away from God. They addressed the sinfulness, the failures, and the injustices of the people, as well as the consequences of their sinfulness. Their messages to the people were that one day God would intervene.

            For those First Century listeners, the Coming of the Son of Man was the fulfillment of Daniel 7. God’s people would be vindicated after suffering at the hands of the “beasts” … those pagan nations that had oppressed them for generations. Therefore, the coming of the Son of Man was not a day of dread, it was not a day or terror, it WAS a day of promise, a day of Hope.

            The best way for us to read and understand this passage is to see Jesus’ prophecy as a promise. This will be the vindication of Jesus Christ. All of those who opposed him will be defeated, and he will be enthroned at God’s side. The Kingdoms of oppression of this world will come to an end, and the Kin-dom of God will be realized.

            And you did hear me correctly. I often use the term “Kin-dom” … K … I … N … D … O … M when I refer to God’s community here on earth. Kin-dom speaks of mutual relationship with one another, rather than being ruled by an earthly power. Kin-dom speaks of following the Way of God rather than bowing down before an earthly throne.

            And Jesus is telling those first disciples, as well as those two thousand years later, that we ought not to be discouraged or dismayed. We ought not to become so preoccupied by the tumult and convulsions that we become terrified … or worse … led astray. The events that are unfolding will touch every part of God’s Creation, from the heavens to the earth. And all Creation will stand on tip-toe at the “window” waiting to see what unfolds.

            As it turns out, Hope is not about wishful thinking. ‘I hope that this or that happens.’ “I hope that I do not gain too much weight over Thanksgiving.” “I hope that I get a bike for Christmas.” “I hope that God does something about this mess that we are in.”

            Instead, Hope is our confidence. Hope is our assurance that God IS already doing something. God has been and will always be doing something. God will continue to act. God’s vision for the world IS being worked out. That is our Hope … our promise. That is our reason for being.

            Brian McLaren is a former pastor, an author, and a scholar. He has written over twenty books on Christian faith and life. Several weeks ago, he recorded a video about what is happening in the world today. I cannot recite what he said word-for-word, but this is the essence of what he said. “Something is trying to be born. And something is dying. A world of angry, greedy, dominating people is dying. A world of ‘Me first’ rather than ‘We first’ is dying. A world of domination and exclusion, rather than by collaboration and connection is dying. And all of the tumult and convulsions that we are experiencing are like the act of that cornered, dying animal that growls and bares its teeth desperate to survive. What is trying to be born is beautiful, and we know that it is beautiful because it is being born in us.”

            His words brought our passages for this morning into clear focus. He cited the words of another author and faith leader, Valerie Kaur. She said that “the darkness of the tomb is for what is dying. The darkness of the womb is for what is trying to be born.”

            As we enter into this season of Advent, may we see it as a season of Hope, a season of promise. May we see it as a time of revelation. May we celebrate with pageants and parties and pleasantries, but also celebrate that which is being born.

            Jesus did not come into our world because we were on a lovely journey through the Sugar Plum Forest. He came because God did intervene. He came because of the institutions of domination and greed and oppression. He did come because people do suffer at the hands of angry, vindictive and hateful others. Jesus came that those “beasts” might be defeated.

            When Jesus spoke those words, no one would have foreseen the collapse of the Roman Empire. At the time it was inconceivable. Throughout history, we have seen evil empires rise … and we have seen them fall.

            The “generation” of which Jesus spoke, should not be seen as the thirty-year period that we typically consider a generation to be. In God’s eyes, this “generation” has a much longer view. This generation is the generation of convulsions and tumult. This generation could encompass decades, even centuries.

            And as we sit here today, the words of Jeremiah still speak. At just the right time, God will cause a righteous branch to spring up from David. This branch, or sprout, will be a promising shoot … a fresh growth from the stump of a seemingly dead tree. And that shoot will usher in a new season of new life.

            Today we lit the Candle of Hope not because we long and yearn for God to finally do something. We light the Candle of Hope because our faith assures us that God IS, and always has been active in the world. God’s Kin-dom is being born in the world and in us.

           Be not dismayed by what is happening in the world. Do not be distracted by the “beasts” of this earthly kingdom that are fighting desperately not to lose their grip. Be alert. Watch for signs of the Kin-dom. Do not surrender to the fear. Instead, act out of love. Our hope is with us … and always will be. Amen.

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