Happy New Year!
Yes…Happy New Year!
Today marks the beginning of the New Year in the Christian Calendar. No, this is not the calendar year, neither is it the beginning of the church statistical and budget year—but the beginning of the Christian Worship Year. Today is the First Sunday of Advent, and the first Sunday of the new Christian Calendar—so…Happy New Year!
Our church can neither be considered a “High Church” nor a “Low Church.” It is not a strictly Liturgical Church nor is it a free worship atmosphere with no structure. We are neither traditional nor contemporary; we are not excessively formal, neither could we truly be considered informal. Our worship services are truly blended—taking the best of the liturgical traditions, blending fresh music with classic hymns. We are a “come as you are” church, recognizing that some might wear a suit and tie, while others might be dressed much more casually.
If you didn’t grow up in a liturgical tradition, you might not quite be sure about all of the hubbub surrounding “Happy New Year” on December 3rd. You might think that Advent is a word used to describe a calendar with paper-fold-out windows, and you’re probably wondering why we didn’t sing any Christmas Carols this morning.
To put it simply, Advent is the first season of the Christian Calendar. It consists of the four weeks preceding Christmas, and focuses on themes of waiting and anticipation. If we were strictly following the Christian calendar, we would celebrate Christmas for twelve days, concluding with the arrival of the Wise Men on the celebration of Epiphany—January 6.
But the season of Advent is not simply about waiting for the celebration of Christmas. It is not simply about counting the days until we can sing Silent Night or light the Christ Candle. Advent is not just about coloring the church in blue, in anticipation of changing the colors to white. Traditionally, during advent we look at the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love—each on their respective Sundays. We hear the Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament once again, knowing that they were fulfilled in the birth of a Baby in a manger in Bethlehem.
However, there is yet another theme of Advent which we often explore—particularly on the first Sunday of Advent, and that is the theme of Christ’s second coming. You may wonder—why do we talk about Christ’s second coming as part of our Advent celebration? What does that have to do with preparation for Christmas?
Well, first, it’s important to understand the meaning of the word Advent, which is based on the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming towards” or simply “coming.” When we speak of the Advent season, we are speaking of the season of coming. What is coming? Well, certainly, Christmas is coming. But more than that, we know that Christ is coming to earth again, when he returns to finally bring about His Kingdom. This season of waiting and anticipation also reminds us that the “Ancients” spoken of in Hebrews 11 spent their lives waiting for the Advent or the “Coming” of the Messiah.
As a child, my only understanding of Advent had to do with the little Advent calendars, with windows to open each day. Every morning I would get to open another window in the calendar, as I marked time toward the day when I could open the presents under the tree. But Advent is more than just marking time until December 25th. Advent is an opportunity for us to understand the waiting of the ancients—and it is also a time for us to boldly proclaim the message of hope.
We think that we’ve waited a long time for Christ to return. Generation after generation has been convinced that the Second Advent will occur during their lifetime. We look back at the books that were written to predict a date of His return, and we realize that many people have “gotten it wrong.” And so we are tempted to wonder if we have also “gotten it wrong.” But we forget that it was much more than 2000 years between the time of Adam and the time of Jesus. Our impatience for Christ to return is minimal compared with the amount of time the “Ancients” were asked to wait for His first Advent. Any doubt that we might experience in regards to Christ’s return should be removed by the reminder that the ancients in Hebrews 11 waited much longer, did not see the promise during their lifetime, but their faith was still credited to them as righteousness.
The message of Advent is important in our culture of instant gratification. We are so unable to wait for anything anymore—retailers offer us attractive financing plans so we can delay payments and interest an entire year—while still enjoying the product. Halloween is over, and Christmas decorations begin to go on sale. This past week at work, we decorated the General Store and began playing one of the non-stop Christmas music radio stations. Microwaves and frozen dinners allow us to eat when we are hungry, and weight-loss plans entice us with the promise of instant success. We have a low tolerance for trials and tribulation, and often look for the easiest path to health and wealth.
Advent reminds us of several things—that good things are worth waiting for, that we learn and grow during trials and tribulations, and that we can trust God to keep His promises…even when we don’t care for the timetable. In this way, Advent gives us hope amidst the despair, and light in the middle of the darkness.
As we consider the culture in which we live, we become aware of the increasing levels of hopelessness around us. News of suicides reminds us of the desperation which is felt by many, and the shorter days remind us of the depression which many deal with all year long. The message of advent is one of hope, for we are reminded that Christ will come again. This is a message offered to us in I Thessalonians 4.
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Encourage each other with these words. Christ will come again. Are the skies cloudy and gray? Christ will come again. Does the load seem too heavy to bear? Christ will come again. Are you grieving? Christ will come again. Are you sick? Christ will come again. Are you in distress? Christ will come again. Evil in the world getting you down? Christ will come again. When it seems like darkness and death are winning, when it seems like the forces of evil are too strong, when the clouds are covering the sky…look to the east, for Christ will come again.
The season of Advent reminds us that we live between the two Advents—between the first coming and the second coming. We are called upon to be realistic about the status of the world in which we live, while at the same time we are asked to have great hope in the future—for God’s promises are forever.
As I was studying the scripture lessons for this week, I was intrigued by Eugene Peterson’s translation of our Gospel Lesson in “The Message.” I invite you to hear these words from Luke chapter 21, beginning in verse 25:
25-26"It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.
27-28"And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!"
29-33He told them a story. "Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here. Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
34-36"But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man."
The Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ
It will seem like all hell has broken loose. While it may be a phrase that we toss around as slang to indicate that everything is completely out of control, Jesus is speaking in much less figurative terms. What he actually says is a figure of speech in His culture, He speaks of the sea “roaring and tossing.” During Jesus’ day, the Sea of Galilee was seen as a symbol of chaos, or of the abyss—and so for Jesus to speak of it “roaring and tossing,” would have been tantamount to our expression, “all hell has broken loose.”
In any case, while Jesus may be using colloquial expressions, He is speaking of the very real sense that it will get worse before it gets better…or, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Jesus indicates that it will seem as though evil is winning, that hell has been unleashed—and all the powers of evil released upon the world.
But, remember this—when it does get darkest, when the powers of evil seem to be winning and it seems like there is no hope—that is when you should stand tall. Instead of hanging your head in shame and despair, that is when you should look up. Lift up your heads, oh you gates—the King of Glory will come in. For when all hell is breaking loose, that is when your redemption is near. Or, as Eugene Peterson would say, “Help is on the way”
Help is on the way. The Christian band MercyMe wrote a song with these lyrics:
To everyone who’s hurting
To those who’ve had enough
To all the undeserving
That should cover all of us
Please do not let go
I promise there is hope
Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He’s come to save the day
What I’ve learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast
Hold Fast—Help is on the way. Or, as you would read in the NIV—“your redemption is drawing near.” In Luke, salvation is something that we have, while redemption is something that we wait for. We may have experienced salvation when we accepted Christ as our Savior, but we are still awaiting our final redemption. The world awaits redemption from hunger, poverty, sickness, war, and depression. We await the coming of the King. Remember this—it gets darkest just before the dawn. When all hell seems to break loose, that’s when we should lift up our heads. And, when you feel like giving up altogether…that is when you should hold fast—for help is on the way. Your redemption is drawing near.
James F. Kay wrote the following in an article in the Christian Century, published in 1997:
[Begin Quote]The message of Advent is not that everything is falling to pieces. We probably don’t need Luke to tell us that. And certainly the message is not that God is in heaven and all is therefore well with the world. No. The message of Advent is that when heaven itself is spinning into oblivion, when every fixed star on the moral compass is wavering, when all hell is breaking loose on earth, "your redemption is drawing near."
How can this be? It can be because God is faithful to this promise of Jesus Christ. If the future were not the promise of Jesus Christ but the predictable outcome of present trends, despair would overwhelm us. No trend points to the permanence of what we call heaven and earth. If trends predict anything, it is that death and dissolution bring an end to every human heart and hope.
But the message of Advent is that we can never take our own projections more seriously than God’s promises. When we least expect it and when there is no evidence for it, God’s power comes into this godless world in ways the world itself could never predict or foresee. [End Quote]
Certainly, it would be easy for us to look at the world around us and give up. Many of us have been tempted to look at the world and say, “it’s pretty bad—Christ must be coming back soon.” And yet, we have no idea how bad it really is…or how bad it really might get. While we may live in a dark period of history, we realize that there are periods of history which were much darker—much more evil. While it may seem as though all hell is breaking loose—we realize that we really have no idea what that might be like.
But what we do know is this: The same Christ who was in control on Christ the King Sunday is in control on the first Sunday of Advent. When we sing, “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” we are reminded that He also holds us. Advent reminds us to hold fast—for God’s promises are forever--His words won’t wear out.
Hope goes beyond our scientific explanations and predictions. Hope goes beyond the realities that we see around us. Hope requires that we have faith in something greater than the physical world in which we live. Hope requires that our trust goes beyond doctors and scientists—instead trusting in God’s faithfulness to sustain us.
The Church of the Nazarene has always held that God provides us with the abilities to learn and develop scientific and medical ways of healing. And yet, we also maintain that those scientific methods are not always successful. While God does sometimes choose to heal through the medical institutions, sometimes He also chooses to heal miraculously. We also know that God does not always provide the healing that we would like—but always provides the healing we need.
What do I mean by that? Sometimes He heals miraculously—and some of us have seen first- and second-hand evidence of those healings. Sometimes He heals us permanently—by allowing us to leave this world and be wholly redeemed and healed forever. But most often, it would seem, God’s healing takes the form of providing us with the grace and strength to deal with our trial. He does not always remove the trial from us, but He does always help us make it through the trial.
There is no better way to conclude a service on Hope than by giving you the chance to express that hope in a physical way. Let me read to you what James writes in the fifth chapter of his letter:
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
The Word of the Lord
James offers us a few words of instruction that are important here—first, we are to confess our sins. James indicates that our spiritual healing and the forgiveness of our sins is far more important than our physical healings. Before we offer a prayer of anointing this morning, we will give you the opportunity to spend time in prayer—confessing any sins which may be standing between you and God. In addition, we are to pray with faith, trusting that God will be faithful to His promises, and that he will provide the ultimate healing which we need.
It’s important to note that we don’t believe it is the oil that heals, nor do we believe that it is the pastor who heals. It is God alone who provides healing to us, and God alone whom we will thank for what He does today. He may choose to give you immediate relief and answers to your prayer—if so, give Him thanks. He may not choose to give you the sort of healing that you are hoping for—if so, give Him thanks, believing that He will give you exactly the sort of healing that you need.
Why do we offer occasional services of anointing and prayer? Because we have hope—that when things look hopeless, when we are full of despair, and tempted to give up—that is when we should not give up—but hold fast, believing that help is on the way, that our redemption is near. May Christ be near to you as you seek Him today!
In a moment we will sing our prayer chorus. As we do, you’re invited to come and kneel here at these altars. We’ll spend some time in corporate prayer and some time in silent prayer. You’ll have the opportunity to confess your sins directly to God and receive forgiveness for them. Then, I’ll walk along the altars, and if you wish to be anointed—for yourself or for a loved one, just share with me your intentions. I’ll anoint you and pray with you. When all who wish have been anointed, we’ll conclude our prayer together with The Lord’s Prayer.
Would you stand with me as we affirm our faith in Jesus, the risen Savior?
Benediction: Numbers 6:24 The LORD bless you and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
(You can listen to this sermon at http://www.capenazarene.org/ftp/sermonaudio/CECN_120306_Hell.mp3. Or, you can subscribe to our podcast at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129585252)
