November 28, 2021: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
Well, by now, I hope all the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and turkey – or whatever it is that makes up your Thanksgiving feast – is now history – even while we know it will stick around awhile on the scale. And now, while some churches are just entering Advent, we – and many others – are in the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
We already have been paying attention to the turn of tone the scriptures of Advent bring – the call to keep watch, to pray, to be aware of the signs all around us that something big is about to happen. Yet there is a change that has happened for all churches – whether in the modern first Sunday of Advent, or the older Fourth Sunday – and that is the change in our lectionary year. Many call this the church’s new year.
As many of you know by now, on the first Sunday of the four week Advent, we move from one lectionary year to the other – lectionaries being the prescribed lections, or readings, for any given day. It is my fervent hope that one day, our church will make this switch on the first Sunday of the seven week Advent. Anyway, we have three years – A, B, and C. In each we hear from a different synoptic gospel – in A-Matthew, in B-Mark, and in C-Luke. John gets some attention in each year, particularly in Holy Week, and a lot in Year B because the gospel of Mark is so short. So, based on today’s reading, you all can easily surmise that we have just entered Year C. And this is my favorite year, because of the Gospel of Luke’s focus on women, the poor, the Holy Spirit, and prayer.
But no matter which gospel is your favorite of the three – the lectionaries all begin at the close in Advent – with Jesus near his death and proclaiming a time of destruction and new life. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” He then tells them that all those things are a sign that he will be returning, and that they should keep watch. Well, isn’t that just a basket full of cheer, right?
Many hear these words and believe Jesus is telling us to be fearful of what is to come, but it is really quite the opposite. If we really look at what he says, we will see that that is not really what is happening here at all. And in our world today, where chaos and darkness does indeed seem to be all around us, we need to understand what Jesus is telling us, perhaps now, more than ever before.
First, just a little bit of geeky Greek… “ The word used in the Luke 21:25 about the nations in “distress” is variously translated confused, bewildered, perplexed. The root meaning of the Greek word is “not knowing what to do.””[1] So, the nations, likely meaning the rulers or governments, don’t know what to do about the seas and the waves – well, given their lack of response to our environmental crisis, that’s not news really, is it?
But if fear and foreboding isn’t the point Jesus is making, what is? Well, he tells his disciples that “…when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
“Stand up and raise your heads – your redemption is drawing near.”
Really, the Greek puts it more succinctly, that Jesus is saying to “…bend yourself back” and lift up your heads.”
Jesus isn’t trying to instill fear in his followers, but hope and a sense of awe. Okay, you might think maybe his story telling needs a bit of work then, right? Well, not really. If we stop our natural inclination to focus on the climatic – the “powers of the heavens will be shaken” bit – we will see it. And in case the disciples missed it…and let’s be honest, they rarely get Jesus much of the time, Jesus tells them this parable “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
Jesus is saying that when it seems darkest, God is most near and new birth is about to happen. When the fig tree seems the most bare of any fruit, it is just before new growth begins.
This, my friends, is truly an Advent message, and one we certainly need to hear now, for we have been in the midst of signs of turmoil that leave people “fearing and foreboding what is coming upon the world.” Our planet suffers under the weight of our neglect and abuse. People are being killed, beaten, neglected, pushed aside because of their skin color, their gender, who they love, what language they speak, where they are from, or how much money they have, leaving so many in fear for their lives. Our long pandemic nightmare continues, and there is a new variant on the horizon.
And, if all that were not enough, Stephen Sondheim died. Okay, one of these is not like the others, but for this Broadway musical fan, it just seems to be a bit unfair after everything else. Sondheim was a prolific and beloved composer and lyricist of some of the best Broadway shows ever produced, including Company, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. And in his iconic musical, Into The Woods, Sondheim gave us a glimpse of what it means to be on a journey into the unknown – to fear what lies ahead – and to come out the other side changed forever.
The musical intertwines several Grimm Fairy Tales, especially Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Cinderella. A “…Narrator introduces the cast of characters, each with a wish: the Baker and Baker’s wife long for a child but cannot conceive, Jack desperately wishes his cow Milky White would once again provide milk so he wouldn’t have to sell her, and Cinderella dreams of attending the king’s ball and someday being free of her cruel stepmother and step-sisters.” And of course, there is a witch – isn’t there almost always a witch? Anyway, to find what they were seeking, each character has to go into the woods, a place that is a bit dark and scary. And as they do, they talk about their hope and their fear.
“Into the woods and down the dell.
The path is straight, I know it well.
Into the woods and who can tell
what’s waiting on the journey? …
The way is clear, the light is good.
I have no fear, nor no one should.
The woods are just trees – The trees are just wood.”
I think Sondheim, one of the most important contributors to musical theatre, essentially set this gospel, really Advent, to music without realizing it. Advent reminds us that our faith begins in the hope found in darkness, the expectation of God’s promise found in despair, and the knowledge of the nearness of Christ when all seems lost. Jesus in the gospel today calls us to stand up, lift our heads, do not cower in fear – for he is coming, God is near, salvation is at hand. He is telling his followers – lift up your heads when you are in the woods – God is with you – step boldly forward – for the woods are just trees, the trees are just wood, and there is promise to be had when our journey is done.
During our shortened service in this time of pandemic, we have dispensed with a few regular parts usually heard. In Advent, because of the lighting of the wreath liturgy, the collect of the day is not said. If it had been, we would have prayed: “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light…” It is the words of St. Paul in Romans, and it reminds us that we have a part to play in this Advent journey. That the coming of the light into the darkness of the world, the spreading of the Kingdom of God, it is something that just doesn’t happen to us, but that we participate in partnership with God to bring it about. For the fear of the works of darkness is a thing of the mind, but truth is found in the heart – and if our hearts are set on Christ – we will be armored in his light and no darkness will ever overcome us – we have nothing to fear.
After all the woods are just trees and trees are just wood.
And so, as we continue deeper into Advent, as we turn another page in the craziness of what surrounds us daily, we should remember where to place our trust, and when to not be afraid. Or, as Little Red Riding Hood sang in that same Sondheim production, after she and her Granny were rescued from the belly of the wolf who had eaten them:
“So we lay in the dark
‘Til you came and set us free
And you brought us to the light
And we’re back at the start
And I know things now
Many valuable things
That I hadn’t known before
Do not put your faith
In a cape and a hood
They will not protect you
The way that they should
And take extra care with strangers
Even flowers have their dangers
And though scary is exciting
Nice is different than good
Now I know: Don’t be scared
Granny is right, Just be prepared”
Just be prepared.
Is that not the very good news of Advent? Just be prepared? Be on guard, be alert, be watchful?
The thing about it all is that life here on this earthly plane is going to have those moments where evil seems to have the upper hand, where we feel lost, where hate and despair has eroded hope. The good news is that God enters in – dwells among us – and is the light that overcomes darkness, the love that is stronger than hate, and the life that defeats death. Be prepared, for the one we await is near, and God is making all things new once more.
And so I leave you today with this twist on the good news, with my deepest apologies to both Sondheim and Jesus:
The world may seem dark and foreboding today,
but the woods are just trees,
the trees are just wood.
The way is clear.
His light is good.
So have no fear,
as no one should.
Do not put your trust in a cape or a hood,
but in his armor of light as you enter the wood.
And you will cast away darkness and fear on the way,
by his light and his love in your heart every day.
So, into the woods, and do not be scared,
for the gospel is right, just be prepared.
Stand up, and raise your heads up too,
for God is found there
in the dark woods with you.
Amen.
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[1] Bob Eldan, preachingtips.com
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
November 28, 2021
Advent 4 – Year C
1st Reading – Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9
2nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Gospel – Luke 21:25-36
