Advent Lutheran Church

"The Advent Irony (Advent 2 Midweek)"

            So here we are at the second week of Advent already!  Last week, Pastor Roger talked about the theme of “waiting.”  Last Sunday, the second theme of “preparation” was introduced in the words of John the Baptist.  It strikes me as strange, this double theme, which I will call “The Advent Irony.”  Because in Advent we are presented with themes from which to choose:  waiting or preparing, and I know which way most of us will go on that decision! 

            Waiting is passive, often solitary, and it feels restrictive somehow.  No one likes to wait – it is perceived as a negative state.  On the other hand, preparing is active, usually high energy, often productive.  Everyone likes to be busy – it is a mark of value, a positive state.  And yet Advent bids us prepare by waiting.  What a strange combination, an uneasy juxtaposition of two things that are NOT complementary, in fact, two things that seem to conflict.  Waiting says “stop” and preparing says “go,”

and that is not a logical prescription.  That does not even make sense.

            But, then, neither does Isaiah in this Old Testament reading from the prophet.  A shoot out of the stump of Jesse?  Wolves lying down with lambs?  Children playing safely at the mouth of the snakehole?  Silly.  Non-sensical.  But prophecy, just the same.  A prophecy that we experience in everyday life.  Imagine walking in the forest of Isaiah, where snow is falling and the trees overhead reach across and form a canopy against the sky.  Old, old trees are in this forest…fallen, snapped off at the base, weary from years of standing upright.  Exposed wood, weathered by rain and snow, heat and wind, feeds insects and birds with the last of its resources.  And yet, at the point when it appears that there is nothing left, nothing that can come out of this decayed, old dead stump - we look closely at the crags and crevices and there it is - new life!

            New life, a shoot of green from a dead stump, a branch from its roots – our legacy to the world that even out of death, we are not dead - but still living.  Even in the depths of our despairs and our fears there is God’s power of new life, waiting to spring forth.

                So how do we prepare for the Lord? We wait.  We certainly don’t have to do anything to prepare for Christmas, December 25^th will arrive whether we are ready or not.  Still, we spend hours prepping for annual traditions, whether they still have meaning or not, whether they still bring joy or not.  Perhaps our preparation should be in examining those traditions by sitting quietly, waiting and reflecting on questions like:  what does the family really want from you?  What gift will last beyond the New Year?  What part of my life is “dead” and needs “new life.”

            We do not have to do anything to prepare for Christ.  Christ is coming again whether we’re ready or not.  Still, we can prepare for the way of the Lord by recognizing our own places of death; and trying not to be afraid of new life.  Life out of Death – Now isn’t that just like God?  Amen.