Year B - Advent 1

Liturgy of the Word:

Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37

November 27

The season of Advent used to be a mystery to my congregation. Being traditional Southern Baptists, they had never heard of any of the seasons of the Church. On my first introduction of the Advent season a prominent church member (not unlike "she-who-must-not-be-named") said that she was fed up with Advent and wanted to go back to celebrating Christmas instead. Perhaps I didn't do a thorough job of explaining that Advent, which means "coming" is a season that celebrates the coming of the Lord in the past (Christmas), in the present (coming into our hearts today) and in the future (the second coming of the Lord).

Isaiah is written in the time before the first coming of the Christ. He cries out in anguish for God to make himself manifest to the people. It has been a long, long time since God came down the mountain in the wilderness. God has disappeared. Which came first the chicken or the egg? God became angry and stopped revealing himself because the people followed after other gods. The people followed after other gods because God was no longer visible.

Isaiah begs God to "tear open the heavens and come down." The crowd in Jesus' day wanted a sign. Isaiah wants a sign. The people will not believe without a sign. The truth is, as the evidence of 9/11 proves, even a sign doesn't convince for long. We have short memories. Jesus answered the crowd that if they did not believe without a sign they would not believe even if they did have a sign.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us...he came unto his own, but his own received him not

Today I am recycling a sermon I preached on November 27, 2005. You can find it HERE.