Mark 13:24-37

"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

After my initial reading of the gospel text assigned for today, I quickly turned to a preaching commentary for some guidance. This is what I found on the very first page:

“Contrary to the manner in which it is often celebrated in the churches, Advent begins not on a note of joy, but of despair. Humankind has reached the end of its rope. All our schemes for self-improvement, for extracting ourselves from the traps we have set for ourselves, have come to nothing. We have now realized at the deepest level of our being that we cannot save ourselves, and that, apart from the intervention of God, we are totally and irretrievably lost.”*

If you’d prefer a message about joy, go listen to my midweek sermon on the Christmas movie Elf. But today we’re talking about an apocalypse.

Advent this year begins with an APOCALYPSE!

Apocalyptic literature is a literary devise in which events are reinterpreted and reapplied in each context.
Things are bad, they may get worse - it does not mean God has abandoned us, nor forsaken us, nor has God “lost” The apocalypse is not about watching and waiting passively, but actively bearing good fruit and participating in the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God
The purpose of Apocalyptic literature is to INSPIRE HOPE not to sow fear
“The basic message of apocalyptic visions is this: The rebellion against the reign of God is strong, as the wicked oppress the righteous. Things will get worse before they get better. But hang on just a little longer, because just when you are sure you cannot endure, God will intervene to turn the world right side up.”**
The in-breaking of the Kingdom and the right-side-up-ing of the world is a tumultuous experience. These things have taken place in the past, through the cross. These things will continue to take place each time those who are suffering rise up against and topple the powers.

“Stay Awake”

Mark is addressing Jesus’ crucifixion as well as the destruction of the temple-centered society
Reference to the disciples’ inability to stay away in the garden as Jesus prays prior to his betrayal and crucifixion
v. 35 - when will the Master come? Evening, Midnight, at Cockcrow or at Dawn?
- “When it was evening”- Mark 14:17-Last Supper
- “He found them sleeping” - Mark 14:40 - in the middle of the night
- “At that moment the cock crowed” Mark 14:72 - the denial of Peter
- “At daybreak” - Mark 15:1 - Jesus is handed over to Pilate
Is our faith lulling us to sleep or keeping us awake at night?
“….[A]ll of our anticipation and preparation of Jesus’ second advent should be shaped by his first advent in the form of a vulnerable infant and as a man hanging on a tree. More than that, I think Mark is inviting us to look for Jesus – even here, even now – in similar places of vulnerability, openness, and need.” ***

Let’s Get Practical
Typically as Advent kicks off I am ready to throw out nuggets of wisdom like:
“Don’t sing Christmas carols during Advent” or
“Make sure you don’t overspend on Christmas presents” or
“Don’t get caught in the mania and commercialization of Christmas.”

However, I’m realizing this year that these are not the most pressing issues we’re dealing with. No, this year I’m realizing that things look bad, and they might even get worse. Right? I mean, things are bad.

Case in point, I bet you don’t even know which bad things I’m about to talk about!

It is the threat of nuclear war?

The prevalence of gun violence unique to our nation?

Well, those are bad; and the list can certainly continue with issues weighing on your hearts. But I’m thinking about an apocalypse that is much more personal – an ugly truth about our world that some of you have known about for a long time and which I am only slowly being brought up to speed.

Given that the message of this first Sunday in Advent is the admonition to stay awake as well as an invitation to look for Jesus in the places of vulnerability, openness, and need and participate in the toppling of the powers; I can think of no more practical issue to address than the prevalence of sexual abuse and harassment in America.

Like you, I’ve watched as men in positions of power have been revealed as predators. Each morning there are new allegations that someone has used his power to manipulate, coerce, or physically force others into sexually inappropriate situations. Each morning there is news that such a person, so long as he’s not a politician, has been fired or stepped down from his position. I’ve watched women step out from the shadows, buoyed by an understanding that they did not bring such action on themselves and that they are not alone.

I’ve watched all this happen with no clear understanding of how I should respond.

As a man in today’s society, what can I say?

As someone who has seen firsthand the wake of destruction left behind by sexual predators, what is my response?

As someone who, by virtue of my career, can claim at least some degree of power in today’s society, what should I do?

I do not ask out of a sense of defensiveness, as if I feel the need to defend the abhorrent behavior of other men. Rather, I ask because this is yet another moment where the Kingdom of God is breaking in on our world. People who have been victimized are standing up and confronting the power structures of today. This is another apocalypse.

Two thousand years ago the apocalypse to which Mark referred in his Gospel was the corruption of the temple-centered universe that failed to treat people equally and kept God at a distance; today it is the corruption of masculinity that has made women around the globe feel inferior and voiceless – a toxic masculinity that teaches boys from a young age women are inferior in every way.

In the midst of this apocalypse God calls us to respond not with watching and waiting passively, but by staying awake and actively participating in the in-breaking of the Kingdom.

I have an idea about what it would mean for me to participate in the in-breaking of the Kingdom in regard to this issue. I think I need to listen.

This week I listened to a podcast called Pantsuit Politics. A friend of mine from Paducah, Kentucky co-hosts the program. It’s a top-tier podcast with millions of downloads. In the episodes I listened to this week I heard an impassioned plea for women to assert themselves and for men to be quiet for once and listen. And not just listen, but believe.

Believe when a woman accuses a man of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Believe when a woman says she’s been treated differently from men her whole life.

Believe when women say that our world would be better if women’s gifts, intelligence, leadership, and insights were given equal weight as men’s.

I was particularly struck by this comment:

Having listening to the episodes and having started to reflect on the scope of this problem as well as the ways in which I have been shaped by a culture of toxic masculinity, I feel compelled to participate in God’s kingdom in-breaking in on our oppressive and unjust society. I believe God is doing something incredible through the courage and bravery of women who have taken a stand and insisted on being treated equally and insisted that men to keep their hands to themselves (and be held accountable when they cannot do that).

In this season of Advent, characterized by anticipation of the arrival of God in a new way both through the manger and through the cross, I hope that women will continue to be inspired and encouraged by the ones who are speaking up and demanding justice. I hope that women will seek out allies and continue to share their stories. I hope men will listen to women who have been victimized and I hope men will dedicate themselves to serious reflection. I hope that if you have been mistreated, abused, or assaulted, you'll realize that it is not your fault. And I hope Cross of Grace can be a safe and open space to accomplish some of this meaningful, kingdom-bringing work.

I hope women will persevere even when people them they are wrong and that “that’s just how the world works,” because God has a habit of disrupting the way the world works when the world doesn’t work for everyone equally.

So maybe my disclaimer at the beginning of the sermon was unnecessary. Maybe this actually is a message of joy. Joy in the despair; joy in the honesty, and joy at God’s promise that something new, beautiful, inclusive, and just will be born out of the struggle.

Amen.

* Texts for Preaching, Year B, p. 1

** Christopher Hutson, Feasting on the Word, p. 22

*** David Lose (http://www.davidlose.net/2014/11/advent-1-b/)

2 John 1:12

Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

The Second Letter of John is one of the shortest works collected in the Bible. Not much is known about its context, save for the fact that it is a letter written by a leader of one faith community addressed to the leader of another faith community. It is a letter of encouragement to the community to continue to prioritize truth and love, and act accordingly.

At the conclusion of the letter the author indicates that joy can reach “completion” or fulfillment only in face-to-face relationship.

I can think of many recent encounters with this truth. The first is when Lindsey and I went to Guatemala. There I was able to reconnect with a close friend and his family. We’ve stayed in touch as they’ve traveled the world, serving in the State Department, but this was the first time in a long time we were able to be together in the same place. There was a level of joy in spending time together that cannot be duplicated electronically.

Also, there was my encounter while at a conference in Nashville, TN a couple weeks ago. I was awake early and headed to a coffee shop. After ordering I found myself standing next to Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton. I leaned over and told him how much he meant to me because we had both grown up in the same city – Bowling Green, Ohio – and I grew up thinking of him as a role model and hero. Much to my surprise, his face lit up when I told him I was from Bowling Green. We ended up having what I would consider to be a nice conversation. The chance encounter and five-minute face-to-face relationship indeed filled me with a sense of joy that I would have missed out on had I not awoken early that morning and decided to explore the city.

Joy is made complete when we come together and talk face to face.

In a way, this is the message at the heart of the Christmas film, Elf. For those of you who are not familiar with this movie, here’s a synopsis:

A human baby accidentally ends up in the North Pole. Santa's most trusted helper took the boy under his wing and raised him as an elf. But when he matured, and grew over 6 feet tall, it became clear that Buddy would never quite fit in the elf world. Told the truth about his real father, Buddy sets off for New York City to find him. Buddy soon learns that life in the big city isn't all sugar plums and candy canes. Everyone in New York seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, especially his father. And it's up to Buddy to save Christmas.

Elf is a story about identity, risk, bravery, and authenticity. At it’s heart, Elf is a tale about one man’s journey from the familiar to the foreign, in search of a face to face relationship he believes will bring real joy into his life. In the end, he initiates relationships with dozens of initially-reluctant scrooges, only to melt their hearts with his innocence, persistence, and joy.

Elf would have been a terrible movie if it was all about a human who lived happily ever after in the North Pole. Instead, the bulk of the movie deals with tension and a sense of being displaced and without a tribe to call his own.

In her chapter about “Ecstasy” in the book Amazing Grace, Kathleen Norris writes,

“People like to know where they stand. And to be put “out of place” is a disaster; it conjures up images of eviction and homelessness…. But I am tempted to say that without ecstasy, there is no love. If we lack the ability to even imagine ourselves without a place, we are not likely to be able to love wisely enough to heal our society of its schizophrenia.”

Elf is a comedy all about joy. There is a slapstick sense to the film’s humor, but it is balanced nicely with a deeper elements about disappointment, identity, love, resilience, and hope. Joy pulses through Buddy’s veins (along with an inhuman amount of sugar). While Buddy’s joy initially comes across as annoying, he ends up transforming many peoples’ lives for the better.

I had picked out scenes from the film that illustrate each of the 8 Pillars of Joy, as written about in the phenomenal book The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. In the book, they identify the 8 Pillars of Joy: Perspective, Humility, Humor, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Compassion, and Generosity. Much of the foundation work of joy is to be done alone, through meditation and contemplation. But joy only finds completion in relationship.

Perspective - your problem will pass.
Buddy most clearly embodies this in his eternal optimism. For him, each rejection and setback is only temporary.

Humility - you are deeply connected with all people.
Buddy’s mission is to spread Christmas cheer. He doesn’t set himself over and above others, rather he engages in unconditional love because, for him, no one is beyond redemption.

Humor - laugh at your problems, shortcomings and frailties.
Buddy has nothing to lose because he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Acceptance - in order to make the most positive contribution to the situation, one must accept the reality of its existence.
Buddy understands a problem that few bother to recognize – namely, the absence of Christmas cheer.

Forgiveness - recognize you have hurt and will be hurt by others.
At the conclusion of the film, Buddy gladly receives his father’s acceptance without a trace of frustration or anger.

Gratitude - for whom and for what you are thankful.
Buddy sees everything and everyone as a gift and engages in the world in a sense of wonder and awe.

Compassion - Buddhist practice of tonglen – breathing in the suffering of an environment and breathing out love, courage, strength, and joy from one’s heart

Buddy single-handedly changes the environment of the department store, publishing office, disgruntled apartment of his family, and the mail room.

Generosity - desire to give gifts.
Buddy spends no energy debating who deserves what; rather, all he wants is for people to give and receive gifts.

This holiday season, perhaps what the world needs are more Buddy the Elves – people who engage in the world with a sense of wonder, seeking to spread Christmas cheer, and transforming entire communities. That sure sounds like Christian discipleship to me.

So may you come face to face with people who need your friendship and unconditional love. May you find joy in being displaced and uncomfortable. And may entire communities be transformed by joy and grace.

Amen.

Allegations, Apocalypse, and Advent – Mark 13: 24-37

Advent Movie Series: Elf – 2 John 1:12