First Sunday of Advent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
Wake up and watch is the biblical/liturgical theme for this First Sunday of Advent. It is a time to think seriously about the promise of the risen Christ to return again to judge, reign, and rule over the earth. There is a "Wake-up!-It's-later-than-you-think!" motif in the biblical fabric of the Advent season, and that note is clearly sounded on this Sunday. Future eschatology is the theological clue supplied by the church year and this First Sunday of Advent.
The Second Coming of Christ is announced in recognition that he first came as a child, and that his birth - his incarnation - is an accomplished fact. Jesus was really born in Bethlehem. No one can deny that. He arose from the grave - we believe that - and so the living Lord comes to us constantly through Word and Sacraments, worship and prayer. That Christ has assured us that he will come again - we, in our preaching, are to announce, anticipate, and articulate that glorious return to rule and usher in thefullness of the Kingdom of God.
The Prayer of the Day
The "stir up" prayer of the classic liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent is appropriate for the readings and worship of the three cycles of the church year. It is a prayer to the living Lord to fulfill the promise made before his ascension - "Stir up your power, O Lord, and come." The prayer is, therefore, a type of Maranatha, the first and continuing prayer of the faithful who have taken the Lord at his Word and eagerly anticipate his return to the earth.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 80:1ac, 2b, 14-15, 17-18 (R); 80 or 80:1-7 (C, L, E) - This psalm is employed in three different ways by the liturgical churches. The Episcopal Church uses the entire psalm as its first choice; the Roman Catholic Church chops it apart; and the Episcopal (second choice) and the Lutheran Churches cut it in half. In its entirety, it is clearly a psalm of lament, providing a fitting response to the first reading of the day as its refrain-like plea (vv. 3, 7, 18) is raised to God - "Restore us, O God of Hosts (which becomes, "Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts," in v. 18), show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved." The "show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved" thrice-repeated theme also makes an indirect connection with the second reading and the Gospel for the day. Regardless of how the psalm is read - in pieces, in half, or in its entirety - it reflects the situation of the people of God here and now, as well as in the Old Testament times at the beginning of Christianity, when people longed for the salvation of God.
The following verses speak profoundly to the "advent situation" of the people who watched and waited for the appearance of the Lord:
Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted. (v. 14)
Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. And so we will never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your name. (vv. 16, 17)
The Psalm Prayer
Lord God, you so tend this vine you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest shore. Keep us in your Son as branches on the vine, that, rooted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Psalm 80, in conjunction with this prayer would also be appropriate for the Sixth Sunday of Easter in Year A.)
The readings:
Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3b-8 (R); 63:16b-17; 64:1-8 (L); 63:16--64:8 (C); 64:1-9a (E)
That the children of Israel have been freed and allowed to return from their exile to their homeland and holy city, Jerusalem, which - with the Temple - lies in ruins, means little to twentieth-century Christians. What really does matter is that they recognized their sinful condition, repented of their sins, and called upon the Lord God to forgive them, to come down from heaven, and to visit them with his mercy and forgiveness restoring them to grace. In their desolation, they realized that they needed more than their holy city and temple; they needed God! Their lament is not ours, however, for most of us "have everything;" - and the emphasis on "things" during Advent and Christmas underlines this truth. In our comfortable and affluent lives, we might admit (in those moments when we are truly honest with ourselves) that we don't really seem to need - or want - God in our world and our lives. The truth of the matter is that we are every bit as spiritually impoverished as the Israelites were. Perhaps we need God even more than they did - and don't know it! Isaiah reminds us of this. He pleads with God to intervene for the Israelites and for us:
O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at thy presence.
It will probably take divine intervention to save us and our world! We need to have the heavens "rent" by God, not by human beings with their space craft and their missiles, if we are to be saved from sin and ourselves.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (E), 1:3-9 (R, L, C)
Paul's greeting to the grace-filled Corinthian congregation, a classic salutation used by many preachers before their sermons - "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" - has a kind of "for all the saints" ring to it. It is followed by his thanksgiving for all the gifts given to them "in Jesus Christ." Despite all that they have been given (teachers and preachers and all kinds of spiritual gifts) they still must wait for the coming and appearance of the Lord, which Paul expected to occur in his lifetime. God will meet all their spiritual needs, sustaining them and keeping them guiltless until that day. Paul believes that God will remain faithful to the community of believers he has created in the name of Jesus Christ. And so, they - and we, too - wait for his promised appearance at the end of time.
Mark 13:(24-32) (E); 13:33-37 (E, R, L); 13:32-37 (C)
Mark is convinced, as was Paul, that the risen Lord will return at a time that even Jesus does not know. There will be an apocalypse - that is certain - and faithful Christians must expect it and be prepared to greet Christ whenever he returns to this world. Mark's parable of the man who left home and left his servants in charge ("each with his work") highlights the fact that the servants must be alert because they don't know exactly when he will return. But he will return home, and the doorkeeper must be ready to let him in. But the parable implies that not just the doorkeeper, all of the servants must be ready for their master's return; the tasks that he has given them must be completed by the time he comes home - that is part of their "watching" - and ours, too. The word for the Church of Jesus Christ is "Watch! Expect and be ready for the coming of the Lord!"
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 13:(32) 33-37 (R, C) - "It is Always Advent."
1. An announcement - Jesus Christ is coming again. Like it or not, he will come and later rather than sooner - but he will come as he has promised.
2. On anticipation - Contemporary Christians join with all the faithful who have lived out the faith before them in expectation of the return of the Lord. Fear and trembling before the Lord will give way to joy and gladness on that day, for Jesus Christ will claim his own for all eternity.
I often attended a worship service held in a church that has the ancient representation of the risen and reigning Lord in its chancel. Christ, as in the earliest Christian churches, is seated on a throne, surrounded by the angels of heaven. I would like to change that painting - and other classic representations of the Lord reigning in heaven - by changing Christ's position. Instead of having an arm upraised in blessing, I would like to see Jesus' hands placed on the arms of the chair, his body leaning forward a bit as if he were about to rise to his feet, to indicate that the Lord is about to fulfill his promise to his people and come back again. And I wouldn't simply alter this representation for Advent; I would keep the "rising Christ" in front of the faithful all year round to remind them to anticipate the return of the Lord.
3. On action - Anticipating the second coming of Jesus Christ demands that the people of God act in the world, doing the work that he has given them to do. The Lord has given us tasks to perform: witnessing where we live and work; doing works of love and mercy in his name; teaching and preaching and baptizing; and, of course, doing the Sunday "work" of "proclaiming his death (in Word and Sacrament) until he comes again."
4. Our Advent attitude - Take up the "Advent attitude," the prayer posture of the early Christian: "Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!" Anticipate Christ's return and engage in those actions that will prepare us for his second coming - as if he were coming, and might come, today!
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3b-8 (R); 63:16b-17; 64:1-8 (L); 63:16--64:8 (C); 64:1-9a (E) - "Who Needs a Father-God?"
A quarter of a century ago, my wife, daughter, and I were forced to drive out of Berlin, West Germany, through East Germany because the Autobahn that went due west from Berlin had been closed for military maneuvers. We drove to Hamburg, over 100 miles, seemingly under the constant vigilance of East German soldiers. It was a grim ride. The countryside and the towns were stark; we saw few people and fewer farm animals. It appeared almost as though life had come to a stop for these people. One of the most disheartening signs of that time was the number of churches we saw that had not only been closed but had been turned into barns. The last signs of hope in that country seemed to have been obliterated.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to see a major city near where I grew up and where I had even lived for a short time. This was also a disheartening visit, not only because so much of the city had been allowed to run down, but also because so many of the churches had been closed, abandoned, or given over to functions for which they had not been built. Parts of that city seemed like a graveyard to me, and the deserted and dilapidated church buildings were so many gravestones marking the demise of the city and the people who had once lived there. A similar phenomenon is occurring all over our country as people move away, or, worse yet, fall away from their churches.
1. A secular world - Any semblance of a holy city in this world is strictly accidental. We have lost the holy city but gained, we think, a secular world, which promises us more than does the City of God.
2. An unneeded God - Science and technology, as the tools of a healthy economy and expanding affluence, have almost made God expendable. It is when we really see what we have lost to broken homes, alcohol and drug culture, crime and violence, war and oppression, sickness and death that we begin to understand how much we really do need God.
3. A repentant prayer is not the prayer of Isaiah and the children of Israel, who longed for the restoration of things as they were through the forgiveness of their sins, but the genuine prayer of faithful people, who hope for things as they should be.
4. An authentic plea - Isaiah offers to put words in our mouths that will guarantee an Advent perspective for our lives and will, at the same time, be pleasing and profitable to God: "Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art the potter; we are all the work of thy hand." We dare to add: "Shape us, as you see fit, for your holy purpose in the world." That's the Father-God we really need.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (E); 1:3-9 (R, L, C) - "How Long, O Lord?"
A parable of the parousia: A parish pastor, who had devoted his whole life to people and the church, became a seminary professor. One of the young men, whom he had confirmed while he was in parish ministry and whom he had encouraged to prepare for the ministry, went to college, and then entered the seminary where this professor taught. He studied theology for two years, then, to the dismay of his parents as well as this professor, he decided to abandon his theological pursuits. He gave up seminary studies and any intentions he had of becoming a pastor. When his parents discussed the matter with the pastor/professor, he said to them: "I have a feeling that he will return to the seminary and resume his theological education sometime." It took almost twenty years, but that young man did return to the seminary and is about to be graduated and ordained into the ministry of his denomination. The professor, who had discerned the gifts for ministry that the young man had received from God, did not live long enough to see the man resume his seminary career and become a parish pastor; he did not see his prophesy come true.
1. It was that way with Paul. He was grateful to God for the Corinthian Christians. He recognized all of the spiritual gifts that God had given them, but he knew that they needed something more - "the revealing of the Lord Jesus," who would sustain them to the end, to the last day.
2. Paul, like the professor, did not live to see that day - nor did the members of the Corinthian congregations. We might not live long enough to see Jesus, either - but he will return, as he promised.
3. The Lord, who has given us gifts for faith and ministry and shaped us into his body the church, will sustain us and keep us faithful to him to the end. Of that we may be certain. We may not be physically alive when he returns, but he will - at the last - return.
The Second Coming of Christ is announced in recognition that he first came as a child, and that his birth - his incarnation - is an accomplished fact. Jesus was really born in Bethlehem. No one can deny that. He arose from the grave - we believe that - and so the living Lord comes to us constantly through Word and Sacraments, worship and prayer. That Christ has assured us that he will come again - we, in our preaching, are to announce, anticipate, and articulate that glorious return to rule and usher in thefullness of the Kingdom of God.
The Prayer of the Day
The "stir up" prayer of the classic liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent is appropriate for the readings and worship of the three cycles of the church year. It is a prayer to the living Lord to fulfill the promise made before his ascension - "Stir up your power, O Lord, and come." The prayer is, therefore, a type of Maranatha, the first and continuing prayer of the faithful who have taken the Lord at his Word and eagerly anticipate his return to the earth.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 80:1ac, 2b, 14-15, 17-18 (R); 80 or 80:1-7 (C, L, E) - This psalm is employed in three different ways by the liturgical churches. The Episcopal Church uses the entire psalm as its first choice; the Roman Catholic Church chops it apart; and the Episcopal (second choice) and the Lutheran Churches cut it in half. In its entirety, it is clearly a psalm of lament, providing a fitting response to the first reading of the day as its refrain-like plea (vv. 3, 7, 18) is raised to God - "Restore us, O God of Hosts (which becomes, "Restore us, O Lord God of Hosts," in v. 18), show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved." The "show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved" thrice-repeated theme also makes an indirect connection with the second reading and the Gospel for the day. Regardless of how the psalm is read - in pieces, in half, or in its entirety - it reflects the situation of the people of God here and now, as well as in the Old Testament times at the beginning of Christianity, when people longed for the salvation of God.
The following verses speak profoundly to the "advent situation" of the people who watched and waited for the appearance of the Lord:
Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted. (v. 14)
Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man you have made so strong for yourself. And so we will never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your name. (vv. 16, 17)
The Psalm Prayer
Lord God, you so tend this vine you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest shore. Keep us in your Son as branches on the vine, that, rooted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Psalm 80, in conjunction with this prayer would also be appropriate for the Sixth Sunday of Easter in Year A.)
The readings:
Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3b-8 (R); 63:16b-17; 64:1-8 (L); 63:16--64:8 (C); 64:1-9a (E)
That the children of Israel have been freed and allowed to return from their exile to their homeland and holy city, Jerusalem, which - with the Temple - lies in ruins, means little to twentieth-century Christians. What really does matter is that they recognized their sinful condition, repented of their sins, and called upon the Lord God to forgive them, to come down from heaven, and to visit them with his mercy and forgiveness restoring them to grace. In their desolation, they realized that they needed more than their holy city and temple; they needed God! Their lament is not ours, however, for most of us "have everything;" - and the emphasis on "things" during Advent and Christmas underlines this truth. In our comfortable and affluent lives, we might admit (in those moments when we are truly honest with ourselves) that we don't really seem to need - or want - God in our world and our lives. The truth of the matter is that we are every bit as spiritually impoverished as the Israelites were. Perhaps we need God even more than they did - and don't know it! Isaiah reminds us of this. He pleads with God to intervene for the Israelites and for us:
O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at thy presence.
It will probably take divine intervention to save us and our world! We need to have the heavens "rent" by God, not by human beings with their space craft and their missiles, if we are to be saved from sin and ourselves.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (E), 1:3-9 (R, L, C)
Paul's greeting to the grace-filled Corinthian congregation, a classic salutation used by many preachers before their sermons - "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" - has a kind of "for all the saints" ring to it. It is followed by his thanksgiving for all the gifts given to them "in Jesus Christ." Despite all that they have been given (teachers and preachers and all kinds of spiritual gifts) they still must wait for the coming and appearance of the Lord, which Paul expected to occur in his lifetime. God will meet all their spiritual needs, sustaining them and keeping them guiltless until that day. Paul believes that God will remain faithful to the community of believers he has created in the name of Jesus Christ. And so, they - and we, too - wait for his promised appearance at the end of time.
Mark 13:(24-32) (E); 13:33-37 (E, R, L); 13:32-37 (C)
Mark is convinced, as was Paul, that the risen Lord will return at a time that even Jesus does not know. There will be an apocalypse - that is certain - and faithful Christians must expect it and be prepared to greet Christ whenever he returns to this world. Mark's parable of the man who left home and left his servants in charge ("each with his work") highlights the fact that the servants must be alert because they don't know exactly when he will return. But he will return home, and the doorkeeper must be ready to let him in. But the parable implies that not just the doorkeeper, all of the servants must be ready for their master's return; the tasks that he has given them must be completed by the time he comes home - that is part of their "watching" - and ours, too. The word for the Church of Jesus Christ is "Watch! Expect and be ready for the coming of the Lord!"
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 13:(32) 33-37 (R, C) - "It is Always Advent."
1. An announcement - Jesus Christ is coming again. Like it or not, he will come and later rather than sooner - but he will come as he has promised.
2. On anticipation - Contemporary Christians join with all the faithful who have lived out the faith before them in expectation of the return of the Lord. Fear and trembling before the Lord will give way to joy and gladness on that day, for Jesus Christ will claim his own for all eternity.
I often attended a worship service held in a church that has the ancient representation of the risen and reigning Lord in its chancel. Christ, as in the earliest Christian churches, is seated on a throne, surrounded by the angels of heaven. I would like to change that painting - and other classic representations of the Lord reigning in heaven - by changing Christ's position. Instead of having an arm upraised in blessing, I would like to see Jesus' hands placed on the arms of the chair, his body leaning forward a bit as if he were about to rise to his feet, to indicate that the Lord is about to fulfill his promise to his people and come back again. And I wouldn't simply alter this representation for Advent; I would keep the "rising Christ" in front of the faithful all year round to remind them to anticipate the return of the Lord.
3. On action - Anticipating the second coming of Jesus Christ demands that the people of God act in the world, doing the work that he has given them to do. The Lord has given us tasks to perform: witnessing where we live and work; doing works of love and mercy in his name; teaching and preaching and baptizing; and, of course, doing the Sunday "work" of "proclaiming his death (in Word and Sacrament) until he comes again."
4. Our Advent attitude - Take up the "Advent attitude," the prayer posture of the early Christian: "Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!" Anticipate Christ's return and engage in those actions that will prepare us for his second coming - as if he were coming, and might come, today!
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1, 3b-8 (R); 63:16b-17; 64:1-8 (L); 63:16--64:8 (C); 64:1-9a (E) - "Who Needs a Father-God?"
A quarter of a century ago, my wife, daughter, and I were forced to drive out of Berlin, West Germany, through East Germany because the Autobahn that went due west from Berlin had been closed for military maneuvers. We drove to Hamburg, over 100 miles, seemingly under the constant vigilance of East German soldiers. It was a grim ride. The countryside and the towns were stark; we saw few people and fewer farm animals. It appeared almost as though life had come to a stop for these people. One of the most disheartening signs of that time was the number of churches we saw that had not only been closed but had been turned into barns. The last signs of hope in that country seemed to have been obliterated.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to see a major city near where I grew up and where I had even lived for a short time. This was also a disheartening visit, not only because so much of the city had been allowed to run down, but also because so many of the churches had been closed, abandoned, or given over to functions for which they had not been built. Parts of that city seemed like a graveyard to me, and the deserted and dilapidated church buildings were so many gravestones marking the demise of the city and the people who had once lived there. A similar phenomenon is occurring all over our country as people move away, or, worse yet, fall away from their churches.
1. A secular world - Any semblance of a holy city in this world is strictly accidental. We have lost the holy city but gained, we think, a secular world, which promises us more than does the City of God.
2. An unneeded God - Science and technology, as the tools of a healthy economy and expanding affluence, have almost made God expendable. It is when we really see what we have lost to broken homes, alcohol and drug culture, crime and violence, war and oppression, sickness and death that we begin to understand how much we really do need God.
3. A repentant prayer is not the prayer of Isaiah and the children of Israel, who longed for the restoration of things as they were through the forgiveness of their sins, but the genuine prayer of faithful people, who hope for things as they should be.
4. An authentic plea - Isaiah offers to put words in our mouths that will guarantee an Advent perspective for our lives and will, at the same time, be pleasing and profitable to God: "Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art the potter; we are all the work of thy hand." We dare to add: "Shape us, as you see fit, for your holy purpose in the world." That's the Father-God we really need.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (E); 1:3-9 (R, L, C) - "How Long, O Lord?"
A parable of the parousia: A parish pastor, who had devoted his whole life to people and the church, became a seminary professor. One of the young men, whom he had confirmed while he was in parish ministry and whom he had encouraged to prepare for the ministry, went to college, and then entered the seminary where this professor taught. He studied theology for two years, then, to the dismay of his parents as well as this professor, he decided to abandon his theological pursuits. He gave up seminary studies and any intentions he had of becoming a pastor. When his parents discussed the matter with the pastor/professor, he said to them: "I have a feeling that he will return to the seminary and resume his theological education sometime." It took almost twenty years, but that young man did return to the seminary and is about to be graduated and ordained into the ministry of his denomination. The professor, who had discerned the gifts for ministry that the young man had received from God, did not live long enough to see the man resume his seminary career and become a parish pastor; he did not see his prophesy come true.
1. It was that way with Paul. He was grateful to God for the Corinthian Christians. He recognized all of the spiritual gifts that God had given them, but he knew that they needed something more - "the revealing of the Lord Jesus," who would sustain them to the end, to the last day.
2. Paul, like the professor, did not live to see that day - nor did the members of the Corinthian congregations. We might not live long enough to see Jesus, either - but he will return, as he promised.
3. The Lord, who has given us gifts for faith and ministry and shaped us into his body the church, will sustain us and keep us faithful to him to the end. Of that we may be certain. We may not be physically alive when he returns, but he will - at the last - return.
