The First Sunday of Advent, December 1, 2024

Advent is the season of awakening. To be an Advent person is to be woke to the signs of the times, awakening to both signs of creative transformation and demonic destruction and to embrace the tragic beauty of life, while claiming our vocation to advance the teleology of the universe’s aim at beauty. New life is springing forth, and that new life emerges in the most desperate times. Where death appears triumphant, a branch springs forth that can only be recognized by the eyes of faith. Divine Providence is guiding the planetary and historical process and calling for us to be Agents of Advent, calling forth the better angels of our nature in a time in which the demonic quest for power is alluring. Destruction is part of the creative process, and letting go of past traditions, achievements, and ways of life can be painful, but we must co-create the Advent Future by allegiance to the power of love and not the love of power.
The prophet Jeremiah’s words capture our current situation as well as 7th century B.C.E. Judah. As bombs fall in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, and peace seems an impossibility, a branch of David will bring save Judah and bring safety to Jerusalem. In contrast to political leaders then and now, this leader will “execute justice and righteousness.” While there are no direct political policies embedded in Jeremiah’s hopes, the prophet imagines leaders very different from the current leadership of Israel, Gaza/Hamas, and Hezbollah or 7th century B.C.E. Judah. What would it mean to be guided by justice and righteousness in our personal morality and political involvement? What would a truly just and righteous leader look like in practice? A leader whose loyalty is to the planet as well as the nation. If, as Alfred North Whitehead suggests, beauty and peace, along with adventure, goodness, and truth, are embedded in the movements of the universe and the moral and spiritual arcs of history, then we must privilege self-transcendent leaders, who move from self-interest to world loyalty and national exceptionalism to planetary embrace: leaders who are guided by wisdom and willing to join the global and local in their concern, and inspire their nation’s citizens to do likewise.
The Psalmist describes a time of threat and counsels a widening of concern rather than a contracting of interest. In times of crisis, we are often tempted to circle the wagons and care only for our own survival and flourishing and the survival and flourishing of our kin. The Psalmist counsels, in time of conflict and threat, to live in the uplift. The Psalmist seeks protection, but not the protection which emerges from self-interest and annihilation of opponents. The Psalmist believes that lifting up our hearts involves alignment with God’s vision for our lives and communities. This means seeing the challenges of life from a divine as well as human perspective. The Psalmist wants to walk the walk and follow the paths of righteousness. The Psalmist does not assume superiority in relationship to their enemies: the Psalmist seeks pardon and illumination during threat. The Psalmist seeks to let go of the sins of the past and embrace God’s pathway to the future. Their moral victory, reflected in a truly good life, will put the Psalmist’s enemies to shame. Perhaps, they will see a better way and abandon their treachery in favor of God’s way of righteousness. Steadfast love and faithfulness – God’s and ours – are the way to peace and prosperity and protection.
The reading from I Thessalonians joins gratitude and goodness in light of God’s providential movements in history and the life of the early Christian movement. God is moving through history and history will find its wholeness in the fullness of revelation in our lives and communities, “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” While we may not look toward a Second Coming, each moment of experience reflects God’s call forward to healing and wholeness for ourselves and others. We don’t have a blueprint for the future, but we can trust that God is with us luring us and the world forward. Let us look toward a Millisecond Coming, the incarnation of Christ in this moment and in the expanse of history. Let us see ourselves on holy ground, realizing that the healing of the world and revelation of Christ come as a result of moment by moment acts of kindness and reconciliation.
The passage from Luke is apocalyptic in tone, although it need not be read in terms of a narrowly understood and foreordained apocalyptic scenario. The signs of the times – the end of one age and the emergence of another – are revealed in natural process and human history. God’s realm is near, and it will emerge out of the travails we are currently experiencing. We can give ourselves over to fear. We can also be awake, guard our spirits, and look for signs of healing amid the crises we observe. Our story is part of a much larger story: the grand teleology of the universe aiming at wholeness. While we cannot intuit a final moment in history or a prescribed goal to history, we are challenged to live with hope even in our hopelessness. Hope comes from “being on guard” and being prayerfully “alert,” seeking the strength which comes from a trusting and obedient relationship with God.
This Advent, our hearts are weighed down. The soul of the nation is troubled. Human folly and hubris are revealed in weather patterns, and many persons live in denial of both the climate crisis and the dangers of the marriage of authoritarian politics and religion. The readers of this lectionary, I suspect, are not anticipating “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” We, for the most part, reject the constantly updated, and always inaccurate, announcements of Jesus’ Second Coming. We also reject the binary, authoritarian, and violent, vision of God portrayed by such apocalyptic imagery. Still, we must live in hope for a better world, a further revelation of the moral and spiritual arcs of history. We must look for rays of light and images of hope to strengthen our resolve and empower our agency.

Bruce Epperly is Theologian of Residence at Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ, Bethesda, Maryland. A theologian, professor, university chaplain, and seminary professor and administrator, Epperly is the author of over 80 books, including “Homegrown Mystics: Restoring Our Nation through the Healing Wisdom of America’s Visionaries,” “Saving Protestant Theology to Save the World,” “Jesus: Mystic, Healer, and Prophet,” and “The God of Tomorrow: Metaphysics, Mysticism, and Mission in Whitehead and Teilhard.” He is also of six volumes of 12 Days of Christmas meditations, the most recent being “Once Upon a Time: The 12 Days of Christmas in Story and Film.” He may be reached at [email protected].