“But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back - whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
(Mark 13:24-37)
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Last Monday night was quite a night. I’m sure you all remember the wind storm. Yeah. It was quite a night. In the midst of it I had to go out to Food Basics to pick up a couple of things we had run short on. Much to my surprise, as I turned into the parking lot I had to suddenly swerve - to miss a tree! Food Basics already has their Christmas trees out as you may have noticed, and on that particular night, one had actually been blown right off the sidewalk and into the parking lot! We’re talking about a tree! Yes - a Christmas tree, so it wasn’t a giant oak planted in the ground, but still - it was a tree! Blowing around the parking lot! You never know what to expect. It did, however, remind me of the power of the Holy Spirit - a sometimes unexpected and always uncontrollable power. The word we translate as “Spirit” means - in both Hebrew and Greek - “wind” or “breath.” So when the wind blows and howls, it always reminds me of how God’s Spirit is always present, and always working to bring God’s plans into effect. The wind is a sign of the presence of God.
And this is the time of year when we start to look for signs - although most of us probably don’t look for the right signs. We start to think about the signs of Christmas. Actually, we start to see the signs of Christmas long before this. I’ve seen ads for Christmas music CDs in the United Church Observer as early as September, and I do remember seeing artificial Christmas trees on sale in Costco in August. But the signs of the approach of Christmas start to multiply around this time of year. We see trees in parking lots; we see lights on houses; see see ads on TVs - and the Christmas specials aren’t going to be too far behind them. Signs of Christmas are all around us. And it’s wonderful - but, sometimes I wonder, what ever happened to Advent?
You remember Advent. It began today. I think that the church has become so inundated with the surrounding culture that many Christians just think of Advent as another sign that Christmas is on the horizon. But that’s really not it. Advent and its symbols are a sign - but not a sign of Christmas. Advent points us ahead to what you might call: “the end.” That has an ominous sound to it - and we’ll think about the concept a bit next week with a very typical Advent reading that will surely remind us that Advent isn’t about the warm fuzzies of getting ready to welcome a baby in a manger. Advent is a sign of the end - but not in an ominous sense. As Christians, we take the season of Advent to reflect on what will be the ultimate fulfilment of God’s plan; the ultimate establishment of God’s Kingdom. Perhaps we forget that our entire faith is based on providing hope to the world that for all the pain and suffering, for all the turmoil and chaos, for all the war and violence - God has a better way for us, and God’s better way will one day be established. Advent kicks off the church’s liturgical year. It’s the beginning - and the beginning points us not to Christmas, but to the end.
Jesus understood the importance of signs. In today’s Gospel reading, for example: “when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.” The “things” he was talking about I suppose are the words of the prophet Joel, that he quoted just before: “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’” Honestly - I don’t know what to make of that, except that both Joel and Jesus seem to have expected something very dramatic to occur that would signify the establishment of God’s reign on earth. Watch for it; wait for it; be ready for it, Jesus seems to be saying.
I’m not sure about the sun being darkened, or the moon refusing to shine, or the stars falling from the sky or the heavenly bodies being shaken. My discernment tells me that we’re not supposed to take this literally, but just as Jesus’ (and Joel’s) way of saying that the establishment of God’s reign will be accompanied by dramatic signs that won’t and can’t be missed. But - all the dramatic signs aside - I do find myself wondering if there aren’t supposed to be a few signs right now that are less dramatic, perhaps - but in some ways just as powerful - and I wonder if it’s these less dramatic signs that the season of Advent is challenging us to reveal to the world? Think of the primary symbol of Advent - the wreath, with its five candles: representing love, hope, joy, peace and, of course, Christ. Are these not the very things that we as followers of Jesus can take to the world, share with the world and use to point the world toward the God who wants such signs shared? What I’m saying is - is it not WE who are supposed to be the signs of the season? Not the season of Advent or the season of Christmas - but what you might call the season of God, whose presence is made obvious to us by that mighty wind that sometimes roars around us or by that gentle breeze that sometimes just brushes over us. Are we not supposed to be the signs of God’s presence in the world? The living out of love, peace, joy and hope? The ones who offer love, peace, joy and hope to the world? The ones who make sure that others know that our God is a God of love, peace, joy and hope? Is it not we who are supposed to be the embodiment of Jesus? And by living in ways that do that - are we not then the signs; the ones who point others to God?
Maybe we get the wrong idea when we talk about signs. Maybe the signs aren’t just those things that point us to the promise of God’s Kingdom; maybe we’re the signs who are to point others to the presence of God.
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