The Second Sunday in Advent
December 6, 2009
St. Andrew’s Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
Psalm 126
In Winnie the Pooh, one evening Pooh and Piglet are quietly walking together. Piglet breaks the silence with this question:
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” answers Pooh. “And what do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today.”
[Robert Dale, To Dream Again, p. 12]
I like Piglet’s approach to life. There is no same-old same-old vision in Piglet’s mind.
What exciting thing is going to happen today?”
When I was growing up my family watched The Ed Sullivan Show. I never saw The Man of LaMancha on Broadway, but I did see the Don Quixote character sing “The Impossible Dream” on The Ed Sullivan Show.
I read Don Quixote later in life and I learned from it about chivalrous ideals and tilting at windmills. Noble ideals and impossible dreams are far more energizing than wondering what’s for breakfast. Was Quixote insane for pursuing impossible dreams or was he in his right mind to be energized by his dreams?
In today’s psalm we have the fulfillment of prophetic utterances that must have sounded like impossible dreams to the Jews who were held captive in Babylon. The Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 597 B.C. and began deporting the Jews who lived there. By 586 B.C. the Babylonians had conquered all of Judah, the southern portion of divided Israel. In 538 B.C. the Persians defeat the Babylonians and the Persians allow the Jewish people in Babylon to return to their homeland.
v. 1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, then we were like those who dream.
It seemed like a dream. It seemed like an impossible dream. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos had spoken of Judah’s return to the Promised Land, but after so many years, who remembered the prophet’s words. Who believed them? It happened so fast it was shocking.
Cyrus, King of Persia, defeated the Babylonians and he encouraged the Jews to return to their own land.
v. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.
The Jews were exuberant with laughter. “Happy days are here again!” “Shouts of joy” were sung out in response to the new beginning that awaited them back home.
v. 3 Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
Even the nations notice the good fortune that God has bestowed on Judah.
v. 4 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed.
Judah gives thanks to God for the deliverance they have received.
v. 5 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses of the Negev.
Then another dimension of reality sets in.
Life in Judah is not as good as it appeared to be back in Babylon. Starting over is hard work.
The writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 11 verse 1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
When Moses led Israel into the Promised Land after the exodus they were energized by one dream. When Judah reentered their portion of the Promised Land after their exile in Babylon they were energized by a new dream.
And then reality set in. The land of milk and honey needed some cultivation.
In December of 2007 we left our buildings and properties on Mirador Road. On Mirador Road we had good worship space, good education space, a good parish hall and good office space. Two years later those buildings have been largely unused and they have deteriorated. The Town of Vestal has blocked their use by Candlehouse ministries and the future use of those buildings is now in question.
When the Diocese of Central New York sold the buildings and grounds to Candlehouse they had a stipulation put in the contract that prevents us from repurchasing those properties. God is calling us to a new dream.
vv. 6-7 Those who sowed with tears will reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed for sowing, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
Judah shed tears when God restored them to their land. Those were tears from hard labor and harsh conditions.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Judah was back in the Promised Land and they looked forward, even while they were engaged in the hard work of restoring the land. They looked forward to the day when they would reap with songs of joy.” They believed that “those who go out weeping, carrying the seed for sowing, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. “
In the Cotton Patch Version of Hebrews, Clarence Jordan paraphrases Hebrews 11:1 in this way: “Now faith is the turning of dreams into deed.”
Israel believed that their hard work would pay off in an abundant harvest. Do we believe that our hard work will result in an abundant harvest? The Lord has not yet restored the fortunes of this parish.
In this Advent season, the beginning of a new church year, we do more than wait. While we sing “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” we continue to labor in the field that God has given us. We had a powerful time of learning and ministry at our Healing Workshop with Canon Mark Pearson. 42 people attended either Friday or Saturday or both. On Saturday three people testified to healings that they received Friday night. [At this point, the three persons were invited to share what they said on Saturday about Friday night.]
Advent is a season of waiting, but it isn’t a season of delay. God has given us this time to awaken hope and deepen faith. This is a season of joyful anticipation and expectation. We prepare ourselves with joyful anticipation for our celebration of Christ’s first coming at Christmas. We also rekindle our expectation of Christ’s second coming. Between these times God has given us some work to do. He has also given us everything we need for an abundant harvest.
So, we wait and we work. We prepare for Christmas. We prepare for Christ’s second coming. And we wait and we work… but it’s not an endless cycle. There is a terminus. There is a destination. From now to when the Lord comes again. From Memorial Park Baptist Church to our new church home. How is it going to happen?
“Now faith is the turning of dreams into deed.”
Faith calls us to open ourselves to God’s dream for us and to be energized by God’s Spirit to turn that dream into deed. How will the future unfold? Only God knows. But as we are faithful, as we are praying, working and giving, the future will unfold in God’s time.
Building God’s kingdom on earth is a joint enterprise between God and us. Without Christ we can do nothing. With Christ all things are possible.
On Friday night Canon Mark Pearson spoke about God events. Mark encouraged us to write out our memories of God’s visitations to us. Write out those stories and title them. Keep them as a testimony of God’s work in your life and as a reminder to you and for others. The titles that you give to your God events will serve as a mental file system and you’ll be better prepared to share you stories for others.
I brought my Journal book this morning. I have mentioned this book in previous sermons. The first entry in this book is from 1977. I have pages of prayers and answers to prayers. I have other pages of what I call God incidents – times when I believe God has acted in my life. I’d like to mention three God incidents that I am especially proud of in the life of our parish.
First, about ten years ago our parish received a bequest from Doris Coleman. The bequest was for about $37,000. After we received this bequest we became aware that the Vestal Free Methodist Church was in the process of relocating and Leo Cook walked across the street to investigate this. Our vestry discussed the possibility of our congregation purchasing the church property across the street from us. We held a parish meeting about this. Many here gave generously for the purchase of what became the St. Andrew’s Community Center. That was a great act of faith and that building served us well and was a way we could extend ourselves further into the community that surrounds our parish.
Second, three and a half years ago we voted to leave the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Central New York. We had no place to go, no real understanding of where we might go, but we had a strong sense of God’s leading. In 2007 God opened the hearts of Memorial Park Baptist Church and here we are. I am thankful for the generosity of Memorial Park in allowing us to worship, fellowship and educate in this building for the past two years.
Third, a few months ago Canon Mark Pearson let it be known to some people he knew that he would be willing to offer healing ministry in churches for love offerings and expenses. Normally Canon Pearson receives $1500 plus expenses for a weekend seminar. Our Vestry agreed to host Canon Pearson. A lot of hard work went into preparing for his visit. A number of our members worked on publicity. A number of our members prepared baked goods for hospitality during the Healing Workshop. 42 people came and over $500 was given in the love offering on Friday evening. On Saturday more than $400 was given in the love offering. This has been a powerful weekend!
This parish can do great things because we know that we have a great God.
We know that we know the one and only true God. He will restore our fortunes as we remain true to Him. He will fill our mouths with laughter; He already has. He will release our tongues with shouts of joy. People will see what God does for us and they will say "the LORD has done great things for them." Our prayer is “restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses of the Negev.” The Negev was desert and even one inch of rain would cause torrents of streams. These streams were powerful enough to wash out buildings.
That’s the kind of abundance that Israel was asking for from their God. That’s the kind of abundance that we are asking for from our God. We believe “those who sowed with tears will reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed for sowing, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. “
Let us pray.
