I had a professor in Seminary who said that Jesus’ parables didn’t make sense to those who heard them because the parables didn’t really make sense. I finally think I realize what he meant by that. And I trust you will understand what he meant after today’s sermon.
Back in those “ancient” days when I was going to college, there was always a mad frenzy when it came to sign up for classes for the new semester. You had those students who wanted to make sure that they were able to sleep late every morning, so they wanted to get all the late day classes. Then there were those who wanted to get all the early morning classes so they could have the rest of the day to have fun. And then, there were those who wanted to get the “good” classes, i.e., the classes with the interesting professors. Just like anything else in life, college had its high times, but it also had it’s lumps and bruises: if you waited too long to get in line, you could end up missing out on getting a needed or required class, or a particular professor, or a desired time slot. So almost everyone who had special interests tried to be in the front of the line at registration time. Yes, we hurried up to get on the line, and then we waited.
Times really haven’t changed. College students still continue to get into a mad frenzy when sign-up time for new classes arrives. The only difference is, few have to stand in long lines any more. Now sign-up is usually done via the computer, over the internet, while the student sits comfortably at his or her desk in a dorm room or a living complex. There is still the rush to get the classes, or the professors, or the time-slots that one wants, and the disappointment if one misses out on his or her expectations and wants. So now, we hurry to get on line, and then we wait.
Everyone, I am sure, has had to wait at one time or another. Have you ever started off on a vacation, and headed for the super highway, only when you got to the toll booth, there was a long line, and you sat there, waiting your turn to pick up a ticket or pay a toll. You hurried up to get started, and then you waited.
Or who hasn’t gone into a grocery store to pick up only one or two items, and even the express line has a long line of customers, waiting to pay for their purchases. How often we rush to get somewhere, but before we arrive, we have a time when all we can do is hurry up and wait.
And now, we begin anew the cycle of the Christian year. We enter this period of Advent. And what do we do? We find ourselves in a period of waiting! This is a time of waiting for the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus, the one who is to be the savior of God’s people. This is a time of waiting for God’s promise of a Messiah, of one who will lead God’s people out of bondage and into a freedom never before experienced. But what is it that we do during this period of waiting? Unlike all the other examples, we are not to be in a period of idle waiting, of standing and chatting with friends, or sitting and fooling around on the computer while waiting for a response; neither are we to be standing about, counting change in order to pay for our items quickly so we can dash out the exit and be on our way home from the store. Not this time. In our waiting now, we are to be making ourselves ready for what we anticipate to occur.
When the prophet Isaiah thought about the advent of God, he envisioned a world that would be unified in worship of God and committed to peace. Isaiah dreamed of a time when all the nations and all the people of the world would join together in recognizing the sovereignty of God and declare, "Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that God may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths." In the world of Isaiah’s vision, war would be a thing of the past, and the nations of the earth would live together in peaceful harmony.
Several years ago, on a On Friday morning, actually much closer to noontime than morning, I found it necessary to make a trip into the mall. Now, I don’t like shopping at the Mall on weekends, when there are always crowds of people. So I am sure you can imagine just how thrilled I was about going there on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I could hardly believe the impatience of drivers on the road: there had been a accident on the highway near the Quickway, making the right-hand lane impassable. All traffic had to merge from three lanes into two. But there were many drivers who were totally discourteous and reckless. They weaved in and out of lanes, trying to jump ahead of others, and then, when it was necessary for a vehicle to move into the lane in front of them, leaned on their horns and made numerous impolite gestures. And I though to myself: “You mean some people actually consider this fun?” I didn’t consider it a very joyful occasion.
This, was this the time of which Isaiah was envisioning?
I also suspect that more than one or two of you saw the photos in the newspaper on Saturday showing the lines of people gathered out side several different stores on Friday, waiting for the doors to be opened. I did that one time – last year. You’ll never see me doing it again. There is nothing good enough, no saving so great, that I will ever again be enticed to get up at 4 A.M., or earlier, to stand outside in the cold, either in the rain or in the snow, or in the wind, to wait for a store to open its doors two hours later. Yes, I did pick up a couple of items for Christmas presents, and yes, I did save a few dollars by doing this, but the only thing valuable about the experience was that I learned never to do it again. The purpose is supposed to be about a holy experience; what I witnessed was an unholy nightmare. Oh yes, hurry up and wait!
But as we switch from the Old Testament Scripture of Isaiah, to the New Testament passage from Matthew’s Gospel, we again see a vision, only this is not about the future, it is about the very moment of which the Gospel spoke. It was a vision of being vigilant, of being prepared, of knowing what to expect and getting ready for it to occur. In Isaiah the vision was of The Christ’s coming; in Matthew’s gospel it was of Christ’s return. “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” We may be remembering and celebrating a great day in history, but we are yet awaiting an even greater day in a time unknown.
So we listen to the radio and hear all the Christmas music, accompanied by ad after ad expounding the virtue of giving this item or that item as a holiday gift. We are encouraged to spend, spend, SPEND, to show just how much we care for each other. It seems that this time of year is of more important to bolster up the economy of local merchants than it is as the celebration of the greatest gift ever receive by humankind. The emphasis has become more focused on the giving of the tangible gift, than on the giving of the heart, of one’s self, in love.
Hopefully, as we journey together through this Advent season, 2004, we will begin to regain the true meaning and purpose of the season. Hopefully, as we wait in those lines at the checkout, as we sit in our cars waiting our turn at the toll booth, or for the traffic to move past the red stoplight, we do so with renewed patience and anticipation. And hopefully, as we approach the day of Christmas, we will begin to have room in our hearts for God’s gift to us.
Hurry up and wait.
Amen.