December 1, 2013
Waiting for Peace
- Isaiah 2:1-5
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Welcome to Advent. The beginning of a new church year.
The start of our journey to the town of Bethlehem- to find the baby
the Messiah - the Prince of Peace.
For many Advent is the least favorite season of the church year.
The world is decorated in bright lights and colors and we talk of darkness.
The world is singing carols and fa-la-la-la-la’s
And we sing songs in minor keys- Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.
The world is preparing for gifts and parties and festivities
and we talk about the end of the world and the second coming.
But here we are again- in advent.
Advent is first and foremost a time of waiting.
My favorite theologian- Dr. Seuss in his book- Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
describes the waiting place as useless…
The Waiting Place...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, for the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
But we are not JUST waiting.
We are to find meaning in our waiting.
It is a time to anticipate the coming of Christ
a season to reflect on the fact that Christ has come into the world
and to prepare for the time when Christ will come again.
And at the end of this waiting we celebrate
O Come All You Faithful - Joy to the World
Or as Dr. Seuss puts it-
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
But I must confess I have difficulty with Advent.
I yearn, I wait, I hope—I sing Come, Thou long-expected Jesus!—
but I also remember.
I remember singing these same songs last year.
I remember watching and waiting.
I remember waiting for Christmas and then the celebration
Immanuel- God is with us
Unto us a child is born
Joy to the world.
If God has come among us in the Word made flesh, why are we waiting again?
Why are we still yearning?
If the Prince of Peace has come, why do we still pray: Come Lord Jesus
and grant us your peace O God.
The difficulty with Advent is that it requires us to live between the first and second coming of the Christ, between the now and the not yet. Because we are in this in-between time there is a tendency to be passive in our waiting. We just wait for the Prince of Peace. We wait for peace on earth goodwill to all. We wait for God to fulfill God’s promises. We wait.
But we are reminded in scriptures we read today
that how we live while we wait is a matter of crucial significance.
On this first Sunday in Advent, the prophet Isaiah is trying to tell us
that God has set a beautiful vision before us,
but along the way to that vision we have broken some things.
Sometimes we did it intentionally, and sometimes we did not.
Some relationships have been broken, responsibilities messed up.
And the brokenness is at all levels... in our families, our churches,
our communities, our nation, and our world, even in our own spirits.
And it matters. It matters that we can make it right again.
It matters that we acknowledge it before God and each other
so that we can begin to bringing healing again where brokenness lies.
This vision of weapons of war turned into agricultural tools,
images of death-dealing turned into food-producing
this vision is a promise for “the days to come.”
But biblical visions always show us the future,
but they also try to shape the days in which we are living now.
Isaiah had a vision, a vision of God's vision.
And the thing that separated him from the others
was that he actually believed that message from God that we must fix what is broken now.
The future of our planet has always depended upon people, at least a remnant of people,
focusing their hearts, minds and souls on an alternative vision...
on a vision of reality established by God.
But there is something else that separated Isaiah from all the others.
He wasn't simply pointing to the future. Rather, he was speaking about the present moment!
Don’t wait for God’s kingdom of peace. Create that peace now. Easy for him to say.
I can’t bring peace to the earth or to the middle east or even to Indianapolis.
But that doesn’t mean I can just sit and wait for God to do it.
I can strive for peace in my life, peace in my relationships, peace in my spirit.
If we believe these words of the prophet,
then we watch for, prepare for, hope for, work for God's kingdom of justice, love and peace...
right in the midst of time...our time. In our lives, today, and we just might make it!
As Seuss said-
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And you are the [one] who’ll decide where to go.
As Isaiah said
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.