The theme of our Advent sermon series is “wait for it.” Advent is a season of waiting and being patient as we prepare for the Christmas celebration. So if that’s the meaning of these four weeks leading up to Christmas, it seems a little premature to add rejoicing to what we should be doing in the middle of December.
Rejoicing is what we do on Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ. Rejoicing is what we do when we gather with family to open presents and laugh together around the dinner table . Rejoicing is what we do when we gather on Christmas Eve and sing “Joy to the World.”
Even so, the Christian calendar knows that you need to have at least a little fun during these long weeks leading up to Christmas. It can’t all be so serious.
This is why the third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word for rejoice. And it’s the reason why today’s New Testament scripture reading is from I Thessalonians where the Apostle Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.”
Paul wrote those words for Christians who were living in Thessaloniki and who were being persecuted for their faith. It was during this time of adversity, that Paul encouraged them to not give up and to keep waiting for the coming of Jesus.
And this reminds us that Advent is not just a time that we await to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Advent is also a time that we await the second coming of Jesus when something even bigger and greater will happen. That’s when God will make all things new. Even after the Christmas holiday comes and goes, we are still an Advent people because we await that time in the future when God will make as the scriptures tell us, new heavens and a new earth.
Or think of it this way. These four weeks of waiting for the first coming of Christ into the world is a reminder that we are also called to wait for the second coming of Christ. If we thought his first coming was wort waiting for, imagine what his second coming will be like!
This is the big picture of the whole reason why we observe Advent. These four weeks are meant to remind us that we are always a people who are in waiting. We are waiting not just to open Christmas presents, but we are waiting for this world to be transformed, renewed, and reclaimed by God.
And Paul is reminding the Thessalonians that they are not to wait passively. They, like us are invited to wait proactively. We are to wait by rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all circumstances.
For the past several months, we have all been in a waiting mode as we have been making sacrifices to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. We have also been patiently waiting for a vaccine to be developed and made available for people all around the world.
I remember when I started to work on this Advent series thinking that these four weeks leading up to Christmas are nothing compared to these past several months in which we have been in a waiting period for a medical breakthrough. If anything, this global pandemic has forced us into a long-term waiting mode.
And I’ve been wondering how this time of waiting has impacted people in different ways. Our hearts break for families whose loved ones have passed away because of this virus. One of the ways that I have been impacted during this time of waiting is in being more appreciative of what we have. As Tom Murray, our coordinator of Monday Lunch reminds me, “our health is our wealth.”
Remembering to be thankful for our health, for our loved ones, and for our blessings in life has stood out for me especially during this long and challenging year. I’m more inclined to rejoice in the things I have rather than be sad about the things I don’t have.
During the weeks leading up to the start of school this past August, school districts had to make very difficult decisions on whether they were going to allow students in the schools or offer online learning only or a combination of the two. I was following the discussions that were happening with our local area schools but I was also following an out of state school district.
I made the mistake of joining a Facebook page of this out of state school district. It consisted mostly of parents of students as well as other people in the community. At first, the comments that were shared were civil and respectful, but after about a week, the opinions that were being shared became so negative and toxic that I decided to leave the group discussion.
And I know that there is no way you can make everybody happy, but that’s when I realized that this was an example of how we can so easily forget to be thankful for what we already have. I was thinking, what if this pandemic happened back in the 80s or 90s or even just ten or so years ago when we wouldn’t have even had an online learning option at all?
The same can be said for the church. What if the only option we had to help people stay connected would be sending out a newsletter through the mail. I can’t imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have our new sanctuary camera to make these online worship recordings.
I remember this past July after one of our worship recordings, one of you told me over the phone that you felt like you were physically here in our sanctuary even though you were watching the recorded service on your computer. That positive comment led me to a moment of rejoicing and I think it did for you as well.
I think this is a little of what the Apostle Paul is saying in his letter. “Give thanks to God in all circumstances.”
Maybe your blessing during this long year of social distancing is that you have been able to spend more time with a loved one, enjoy a hobby or maybe start a new one. One of the new hobbies I started is to identify plants in my neighborhood. I downloaded an app on my smartphone to help me do this.
When I go on a walk, I take a picture of a plant and the app will instantly tell me what it is and even if it can detect a diseased plant. When I come home from a walk, I’ll mention to Penny that I never realized how many wild grape leaves are in our neighborhood or that one of the trees near our house is a black cherry. I’m learning all kinds of things about God’s wonderful creation that I never took time to notice.
When we focus on what we do have rather than on what we don’t have, it helps us to give thanks in all circumstances. What helps you to be thankful for God’s blessings especially during this long time of waiting? And what prompts you to rejoice even when life can seem so mundane at times?
Do you know who St. Nerdnuk was? I would guess not. One of my seminary professors had created this fake saint day for the church calendar. He came up with the idea of having a St. Nerdnuk Day because it was my professor's way of having a little fun during the Advent season.
As the story was told, my professor didn't like it when his family members gave practical gifts to each other for Christmas. And so he created this new pre-Christmas Feast Day to be the day when we give practical and utilitarian gifts to each other so that Christmas can be reserved for more special gifts.
Some examples of practical St. Nerdnuk gifts? Toasters, oven mitts, underwear, cooking utensils, coasters, pillows, pens/pencils, etc. These types of gifts are meant to be given on St. Nerdnuk Day. The more special and personal gifts are to be reserved for Christmas.
This professor has since passed away and I don't remember the exact details of St. Nerdnuk Day. I'm sure he had a special date for it in December. I just don't remember which day. As a way of honoring this professor's creative way of have some fun during Advent, I have taken it upon myself to establish the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Advent as St. Nerdnuk Day which would have been last week. I chose Monday because it seems like it is in the spirit of the purpose of this Feast Day.
I’ll remind you about this next year so that you’ll have time to purchase, wrap, and deliver practical/utilitarian St. Nerdnuk gifts to your loved ones. Actually, I'm a little surprised that I even remember the name of this made up special saint day. I'm not sure if this would be the correct spelling for St. Nerdnuk. I'm spelling it like it sounded when he first told me this story over thirty years ago now.
I often wonder what St. Nerdnuk would have probably looked like. Maybe he looked like this picture on this oven mitt. This could become the new logo for St. Nerdnuk Day.
The Apostle Paul tells us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. This is what it means to be a people of faith who wait for the coming of Christ.
It’s not always easy to wait for it, but it’s good to know that there are moments of rejoicing as we wait for that time when God will make all things new.
Spirit of the living God, during this season of Advent, help us to draw closer to you. Guide our preparations for Christmas so that we will hold fast to what is good and holy. Remind us that in all of life’s circumstances, you are with us. You never forsake us! We confess that we often try to solve the challenges of life with our own strength and we quench your Spirit. Forgive us for not turning to you in our time of need. Teach us in this time of waiting to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment