The First Sunday of Advent

Mark 13.2437

Gaze on Jesus talking to the disciples. Has he set out deliberately to frighten them? Theyve left the Temple and Jesus will never return there. They are sitting on the Mount of Olives now; it is a tranquil place overlooking the bustle of Jerusalem spread below. And yet his images are all of disaster. He paints a picture of the natural world in crisis, where creation will be in turmoil. Gaze on your television news at the pictures of tsunamis, earthquakes, and of erupting volcanoes. Listen to the witnesses giving their descriptions of the events. You can feel their fear and share their trembling. For they will never take life for granted again. They know the secret at the core of existence, that everything can be uprooted in a moment, and the world turned upside down. Consider what a way to begin the Church year, with all this talk about endings! Look again at vv. 2627: At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Notice two very important verbs: come and gather. The Son of Man will come to accomplish the end of time. This is not all doom, for this will usher in his new creation. Then he will gather together his chosen. Consider what the end of time will be like. We are told there will be a judgement, but there will also be a gathering, when all
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are brought into Gods Kingdom. Consider whether we will be among them have we been alert enough to recognize the signs of the impending eclipse? Jesus slips in a message of hope in verse 28 when he talks of signs of summer on its way. But he doesnt let us stay hopeful for long, for immediately he returns to dire warnings. Do you remember seeing men and women walking along your High Street with placards declaring the end of the world is nigh? They dont appear so foolish in the light of this passage, do they? Contemplate a solar eclipse. See the darkness gradually increase and engulf the day as all colour seeps away. Even the shadows are lost all that denes difference and personality is levelled to a dim uniformity. The birds fall silent and there is no song. Stars appear to fall into the sea, and all light is extinguished. The sky becomes broody with cloud. Though these clouds are full of fear and judgement, they only shield the sun for a while. It is still hanging in the sky, a constant presence. As you desire to imitate him Help me live now so that I will recognize the signs. Help me live now so that I will be among the chosen. Help me live as if I already see the Son of Man Coming with power and glory to transform this world. Amen.

The Second Sunday of Advent

Mark 1.18

Gaze on the people coming out to John in the wilderness. The parents are dragging along the children by their hand, and the old people are hobbling along trying to catch up. They know it wont be easy to reach the spot where this man who has so excited them is preaching. The whole arid area to the west of the Dead Sea is made up of layer after layer of crumbling rock, cliffs and gorges, dried river beds stretching further than the eye can see. There are no straight paths there. They twist behind rocks, get lost in the scented scrub, and run out in the sand. There are no tarmac roads, just the memory of caravan routes wending around steep contours, via precious watering holes and simple tented settlements. That is why Johns cry is so extraordinary. This will be a straight path, he says: here is direct access to the saving ways of God. Consider where Mark actually begins his Gospel. It is in the past, in the Old Testament, with Isaiah. For it is impossible to understand the advent of Jesus without an understanding of the hopes and history contained in the Old Testament. Mark is weaving together past, present and future Isaiah then, John now, and Jesus to come, into one Gospel. Not one strand of existence will escape the new order. It is as if the division of time has already been broken. Consider, then, is there really never a point where anything starts from scratch? Everything in our lives is a series of episodes and consequences, for we see all life as a story
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unfolding. The message of God and the ways of God are everlasting. For Gods word has stood for ever, and pre-exists all our local and temporal history. And when someone comes to be baptized they become involved in this eternal existence. Contemplate how baptism by water is only a sign. It works no separate magic, since it is only valid if we truly repent. For this we require the Holy Spirit. And to repent means hard work. Not just a turning in the new direction, but a clearing of the path. We must hack down the nettles, remove the rocks, and prune the overhanging branches before we walk along the straight path. As you desire to imitate him Lord, going into the wilderness is a frightening new beginning, One that demands of me toil and relinquishment. Lord, give me the strength to know I am not alone For I have Isaiah and John to show me the way, Your message to follow, and your Holy Spirit to guide me. Amen.