Meditation on This Week's Gospel

The readings for Sunday, December 1, 2024:

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm 25:1-10 (Ps. 25:1)

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

Across the nation, many people have already begun to decorate for Christmas. The stores are full of winter holiday stuff, some of it already deeply discounted. The TV ads swirl with Christmas cheer. Many of us are trying to fight off the apocalyptic feelings both in our souls and in the larger world.

If you're in a truly festive mood, the readings for Advent must often seem jarring. They tend to be apocalyptic in nature. Take this week's reading from Luke, for example, with its mention of men fainting with fear and the heavens shaking and the return of Jesus (at least, that's a common interpretation of what this text means). Many of the Old Testament readings for Advent will focus on the prophets who foretell doom and offer comfort to the oppressed. If you're oppressed, perhaps you feel fine. Otherwise, you might sit there, wondering why we can't sing Christmas carols like the rest of the world.

It's important to remember that Advent is seen as a time of watching and waiting. We remember the stories of others who watched and waited: famously, Mary and all the legions of people who have felt the yoke of oppression and yearned for a savior.

It's also important to remember that one of the main messages of the New Testament, as well as those from the earlier Hebrew Bible, are tales of the Kingdom of God breaking into our current reality. Many modern theologians talk about the Kingdom of God, and about the mission of Jesus, as both “now” and “not yet.” Again and again, we are told that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, will not look like what we expect.

One of the messages of Advent is that God breaks into our dreary world in all sorts of ways, some scary, some comforting, some magnificent, and some hardly noticed. The story of Jesus is one of the more spectacular stories, but God tries to get our attention all the time. We are called to watch and wait and always be on the alert.

The message of Advent is truly exciting. God wants us to participate in Kingdom living now, not just in some distant future when we go to Heaven. What good news for those of us who have been fainting from fear or fighting off feelings of foeboding. The kingdom of God is near.