Hope (2)

Have you ever watched a sunrise - where you have been out while it is still dark before there are any signs of the sunrise? The anticipation is great in those moments. Then, we start to see a glimpse. A little bit of pink or orange on the horizon and the darkness starts to become less. But have you stayed all they way through the sunrise? Waiting patiently for the sun to come up?

Advent is a similar season of anticipation. It is a season similar to the morning dawn. The light is coming, we can see glimpses of it along the horizon, but the sun isn’t up yet. There are still long stretches of shadow and places of darkness. The noises of the day are barely audible as everything from animals to infants begin to rouse. Advent is the season of the dawn, where we live in the space between the darkness of a world without Christ and the light of a world with Christ; where we see the light coming, yet it hasn’t fully come.

We tend to want to jump right to Christmas, but I think there is much value for us as believers to sit patiently in this season of anticipation. It is often awkward and uncomfortable, we want to rush through it. However, it is an important period of preparation not only for the celebration of the birth of Christ, but also for Christ’s second coming.

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come."

Matthew Kelly reminds us with this prayer “God of hope, I look to you with an open heart and yearning spirit. During this Advent season, I will keep alert and awake, listening for your word and keeping to your precepts. My hope is in you."

Let’s be people during this season willing to sit in the tension between the darkness and the full sunrise. Let’s be people who are expecting God to move and to teach us something in these few short weeks. Let’s lean into the period in between, being ready for what God might have for us to learn.

Romans 13:11–14 NIV

11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

While we observe this season of Christ’s birth, the coming of light, we are also reminded that we are still Advent people, living in the glow of the dawn. We no longer are people of the darkness, we are people of the light, even while Christ’s return is still before us. Romans 13 reminds us, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” We are called and reminded that we are Advent people—people of the dawn. We live in the reality that the kingdom of God is now, yet is still to come in its fulfillment.

On the first Sunday of Advent we light the candle of hope, a reminder of the hope we have in Christ coming in a stable so long ago, but also a reminder of the hope we have that Christ will come again. It’s a reminder that we are people of light in a world that is still so often cloaked in darkness. And we are called to live, to love, to serve, to celebrate, to mourn, and to grieve—all in the light of hope. The light has come, and the light is coming.

We are to be people of hope - in all circumstances. That is not always easy, I will admit, but it is only through our relationship with God that we can have that hope. Our hope for God’s Kingdom, living as this peculiar people we call Kingdom people, people who live according to a different set of standards than the remainder of people around us. There are a few things to point out in our passage this morning as we think about what it looks like to live as people of hope:

Understanding the present time (vs. 11) is an important statement in Romans 13.

It communicates to the early church that there is an understanding of the current world of suffering, death, and pain.

When Jesus came, these things weren’t eradicated.

Suffering and sin still existed in the world, and the early church was familiar with them.

Romans is a letter to the early church in Rome—the land of the Colosseum—so they were well acquainted with the pain and suffering of the present time.

This phrase “the present time” isn’t that far off from something we could use in our context either.

We often talk about difficult times or seasons in our lives. The COVID season has been particularly difficult. The reality of suffering, pain, and grief have been very evident for us.

We can look at any news source and know quickly that suffering and sin still exist in our world.

Paul is highlighting that “this present time” is different for the people of Christ.

While the church is well acquainted with the sin and suffering of the world, they are simultaneously aware of the power of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Christ in their lives.

The present age is a thin veil dividing a world of suffering and sin from the glory that is to come. The early church lived in the midst of this thin veil, with-in the dawn of the coming reign of Christ.

The present time is important for us as well. Although a couple thousand years and cultural differences divide us, we are still a church well acquainted with the sin and suffering of the world and simultaneously aware of the power of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Christ in our own lives and community of faith. We are still living in the midst of this thin veil, the dawn of the coming reign of Christ.

Because of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, those who follow Christ already live as though Christ has returned.

Paul uses the image of waking up, which is a term used throughout the New Testament, often to point to those following Christ (they are asleep if they are not following), or to the idea of resurrection.

It seems Paul is using a familiar image to remind the church they are awake in Christ. This is something they already know. It is also a reminder of their baptism and of their current participation in communion or love feast that points them to and reminds them of participation in the banquet yet to come.

In Christ, God invaded the old age to bring about the new age.

The people of Christ, then, are living in the new age while awaiting Christ’s return. They live as people of light.

It’s also important to note that in the geographical location of this text, dawn was a busy time.

It got hot during the day, so dawn was filled with activity.

The implication is not to move slowly; there is much to be done.

The people of the light live as people of the light.

Darkness, especially in the context of this passage, was seen as a time when any-thing was permissible—yet the church is called to live as people of light.

This is not a works-versus-faith argument but a statement that those who live in the light—who follow Jesus—live differently.

Those who live in the light do not participate in the acts of the night (where everything is permissible).

Paul lists several acts that are associated with the darkness (carousing and drunkenness, sexual immorality, debauchery, dissension and jealousy).

The terms “carousing” and “drunkenness” are plural in the Greek; they refer to the banquets honoring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, who is always associated with drunkenness and wild parties. “Drunken revelry” would be another appropriate translation for these words.

“Sexual immorality” is also plural in Greek. It could be defined as “sexual excesses.” We might define that as sexual promiscuity today.

“Debauchery” is a combination of the prior words, indicating promiscuous, violent, and licentious indulgence.

“Dissension” and “jealousy” seem to mean jealous infighting.

These acts are things that go on in the darkness, and they are used to contrast how those who live in the light are to act.

Those who have been baptized, those who follow Christ, have been trans-formed. They are clothed not in the garments of Dionysus but in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are not focused on satisfying urges but on love, grace, truth, hope—the things of Christ.

Essentially, the people of Christ live as though the light already rules the world.

They live as though Christ has returned and made things right. They are a glimpse of the kingdom to come, already in the present world.

This is not a call only for the early church of Rome but for us as well.

We are people of the dawn. We are people of Advent. We live in hope, even while we still see the shadows of darkness. We live as people of the light.

Advent is the season of the dawn. Christ came, and our lives are radically transformed because of it. We are no longer people of darkness; we no longer behave as people of the night, we are people of the day. We cast off the ways of the world to live as people of the light. The kingdom of God hasn’t fully come, all things aren’t made right yet, and to deny the reality of suffering and sin in our world would be a heartbreaking mistake. But for those who live the reality of suffering, we are to be a glimpse of the world to come. Even now, in the rubble of decay, in the heartbreak of sin, we are to be a glimpse of the light. We are a community of hope, of grace, of goodness, of righteousness, and of love.

We are to live as people who exist in a different kingdom that is actively breaking into our world, just like the morning breaks into the night. So we light a candle of hope today. May it be a reminder to us that we are people of the light and that we carry the hope that Christ has come and that Christ will come again. Let’s live as people of the dawn.

COMMUNION

RITUAL

The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.

The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.

All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.

In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION:

Holy God,

We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.

By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

EXPLAIN ELEMENTS

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMITMENT

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.