Luke 21:25-28 (The Message)
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. --Jeremiah 33:15
All aboard... are you coming? This Advent season we look at the scriptures through the lens of The Polar Express, a wonderful children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. It tells the story of a little boy struggling to believe in Santa when a friend has told him Santa isn't real. And he takes a magical trip aboard the Polar Express to meet the real Santa. His journey proves to him that all you have to do is believe and the magic of Christmas and the sweet sounds of the Christmas bells will never leave.
So today, we are at the beginning of the boy's journey. And, according the gospel of Luke, we are nearing the end of ours. And yet both require the same sort of faith and belief. Luke tells us of our end times in The Message translation, like this:
It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking. “And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”
What chaos can we expect at the end of our own lives? It could be very tumultuous. We've all been through that with loved ones who have died. It does sometimes feel like all hell is breaking loose at the end of life. So much chaos!
And in the world, when DOESN'T this scripture fit? It seems like every single Advent season we can find some world or national disaster or upheaval that fits in this box of 'everyone in a panic, knocked out by the threat of doom,' and so on.
And yet, the prophet Jeremiah tells us of a righteous branch that will rise up and show us the way to justice and peace. A righteous branch that will remind us that God is faithful, even when humans are not. A righteous branch that will save us and allow us to live with security and peace and joy even when times become difficult and it feels like our world is crumbling.
In the Polar Express, this little boy's world is crumbling. How can this friend think there's no Santa? Everything he believes to be true has come into question. And yet... he is invited to take a journey to a land of joy and peace, the land of the real Santa, and, as the story continues we will see that he is the one with the message to share all along. That he is the one who really understands what it means to believe.
So, in this time of year when it is easy to get lost in madness, from bickering within the family to outright warfare in the world, Jeremiah and Luke invite us to stop and realize that what we come here to do each Sunday isn't about any of that... those distractions in the world... it is about coming to worship the God who is getting ready to come down and be among us.. It is about throwing our hands up in the air and thanking God. No program, no person, no song, nothing in this building means anything if our first and most natural impulse isn't to worship God. To believe in God. To trust in the joy of God's kingdom come.
So it is important to spend this time of Advent preparing ourselves. Examining our own lives. Repenting for those things that have caused us to turn away from our walk with Christ. Choosing to live in the ways Jesus taught us to live. Participating in the healing of the world in any way we can. Offering hope, peace, joy, love because that's what Jesus came to us to share.
And probably most of all, we need to believe. Believing in the miracle of Christmas is so important.
Why is it hard to believe sometimes? Why do we let problems and worldly cares overtake our abilty to just trust and believe? What do we want the 'rest of our days' to be about? How can we work on that most effectively? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.
Happy Reflective Advent!
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