"Are We There Yet? Peace" - Sermon for December 1, 2019

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Community UMC, Quincy
“Are We There Yet? Peace”
Rev. Andrew Davis
December 1, 2019
Isaiah 2: 1-5
Matthew 24: 36-44

            Since we are coming off of Thanksgiving and now looking towards Christmas, the holidays can bring back memories of getting in the car or hopping on a plane or train to visit loved ones.  How many of you remember such trips to visit family during the holidays?  The longest I think my family traveled for Thanksgiving or Christmas that I can remember was to Cameron Park, as work schedules often prevented us from traveling out of state.  Yet during seminary, I was able to escape to Amesbury, MA one year and Nashville for Thanksgiving other years, then would fly back home on Christmas morning for a couple weeks.  I didn’t mind the flights to Boston or Nashville since they were relatively short, although the flights back to CA could be a stretch.  Inevitably, that dreaded phrase, “are we there yet?” would start crossing my mind about the last hour of the flight.  How many of you remember going on trips and a couple hours into the trip would say or hear those words, “are we there yet?” And how many of you said that as kids?  It’s quite natural, as we want to get somewhere as quickly as possible.  
            Like going on a car trip, cruise, train trip, or flight, this is the time of year when we might ask ourselves “are we there yet?” when it comes to Christmas Day, only to find the day come and go quickly, feeling like we haven’t had the chance to fully enjoy the season and perhaps a little let down because of the expectations we have put upon ourselves and others at this time of year.  There is a sense of anticipation at this time of year, whether it’s for Christmas Day to arrive, or for it to be over with.  I’ll be honest that when I worked in retail, there were more days where I would find myself asking “are we there yet?” for the holidays to be over while a little sad when Christmas came and went.  As I shared in the newsletter, the older I get, the more I appreciate the season of Advent, a journey we are once again beginning this morning, as we spend these next four weeks preparing our hearts and homes for Christmas, for Christ to be born, and the peace, hope, joy, and love that Christmas can bring.
            One of the things I love about the season of Advent is that it’s an opportunity to step away from the busy-ness of the season. Advent gives us the opportunity to worship fully, engage deep in spiritual practices, and a time to quiet our hearts despite everything going on around us as we get ready for Christmas.  So often, we want to get right to the manger or even the bright colored packages under the tree, or that prime rib dinner.  Just like traveling, Advent is a journey to Christmas, just as Mary took a journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth, or how Mary and Joseph made the journey to Bethlehem while Mary was pregnant, or how the Magi made the journey by following the star to present their gifts to the toddler Jesus.  I love looking at things like a journey, not a race, and so as we begin this journey of Advent together, we may still find ourselves asking, “are we there yet?” and we will get there.  
            This first Sunday of Advent, we are also beginning a new year in the church.  The green cloths that have adorned our altar symbolizing life and harvest have now changed over to blue and purple, representing the shorter days and longer nights, and the royalty of the one who is to come, as God comes to earth in human form to bring peace, hope, joy, and love, which we will light candles representing each during Advent.  As we begin a new church year, we begin a new cycle in the Revised Common Lectionary, a set of readings assigned to the global church each Sunday.  This year, we will be exploring the Gospel of Matthew, although during Advent we will turn once again to the prophet Isaiah as we take this journey.  When we look at the texts for this morning, they certainly don’t seem like we are waiting for a baby to arrive, or singing “Silent Night,” or “Joy to the World.”
            As we just heard, Matthew’s gospel does not exactly sound like we are waiting for a birth to happen, but instead the end of time, the end of the cosmos which can be a little jarring.  As we talked about last week on Christ the King Sunday, we are dealing with a text that is using apocalyptic language to call the faithful to action, as we are in between times of Jesus’s birth and second coming, which is one of those big theological concepts that is not easy to unpack.  Isaiah deals with what is to come, while Matthew’s gospel finds Jesus telling the disciples to stay awake and pay attention, because nobody knows the time when Jesus will come again (Matthew 24: 44, CEB).  On the other hand, when we look a little deeper, we do see threads of peace.  Isaiah is pointing towards a future with peace, with a powerful image of beating “swords into iron plows,” while Matthew reminds us to stay awake and stay at attention (Isaiah 2: 4; Matthew 24: 42).  
            While we hear this message of peace from the prophet of the one who is to come, the people in our gospel lesson “are just there, doing their thing, not even noticing that plans are being made, that reservations are in place, travel snacks have been purchased.”[i]  Instead, the people “are too busy to pay attention, too focused on the tasks at hand to notice that there is movement, that all the keys are being jangled, that the car is pulling out.”[ii] In the midst of the busy nature of this season, are we paying attention to things around us, or are we just doing our own thing?  During this time of year, it’s easy to lose focus on why we celebrate Christmas or become distracted by what feels like a massive ‘to-do list.’ Yes, there are additional activities that happen, shopping lists to make, parties to attend with lots of good food and drink, or performances at school and in the community.  These can bring a lot of joy in the midst of the longer nights.  Except, does this bring peace to your heart as you prepare for Christmas?  If Jesus was to come to earth today, will we be ready? 
            At the same time, we hear a message of wait, as Isaiah points to what is to come, a world of peace in the midst of conflict, as Isaiah has a vision in which “peace is a guide” as we make the preparations for Christmas and “toward a dream that could change how we live in the world of today.”[iii] The image of “beating our swords into iron plows and spears into pruning tools” is a powerful image here, especially when we see wars or threats of war and extreme divisions in the world of today (Isaiah 2: 4, CEB).  Earlier this year at the Gathering of the Orders, our yearly clergy gathering, one of our speakers, Rev. Dr. Felicicimo Cao who held a bell that was fashioned out of mortars from the Philippines.  It was a powerful example of something beautiful coming out of the violence and destruction, a powerful example that peace is much greater than war or violence, and something for us to strive for, just like Isaiah’s vision.  
            Likewise, we are called to pay attention today, to practice peace, do works of mercy and love, and we are called to work towards making God’s a kingdom a reality even as we continue awaiting Jesus’s return, just as the people awaited Jesus’s birth and the prophecy of a messiah to save the world to come to fruition.  As professor O. Wesley Allen from Perkins School of Theology in Dallas writes, 
the church is invited to participate in the transformation of the world yet still in process! In The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to ask that God’s reign come, that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the eschatological discourse, Jesus gives us the opportunity to partner with God in answering that prayer.[iv]
            Even as we wait, as we prepare, wonder “are we there yet?” and work to bring peace to our world all year round, we still need to pay attention.  We still need to stay awake!  While Advent is a relatively short journey at four weeks, it’ll go by quickly and Christmas will be here before we know it, especially as Thanksgiving was so late this year.  As we stay awake and wait for Christmas Day, what are you doing “to participate in the transformation of the world still in process [?]”[v] Instead of a to-do list, what are some things you will pay attention to during this Advent journey as you prepare for Christmas by making a ‘pay attention to list’?[vi]  And, how will you bring peace to someone you encounter this week when you’re out and about around town?
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let the Church Say Amen!!

[i] Derek Weber, “Are We There Yet? Peace, Preaching Notes” in Discipleship Ministries of the UMC, Accessed 27 November 2019, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/are-we-there-yet/first-sunday-of-advent-year-a-planning-notes/first-sunday-of-advent-year-a-preaching-notes
[ii] Ibid.  
[iii] Ibid.  
[iv] O. Wesley Allen, “Commentary on Matthew 24: 36-44” in WorkingPreacher, Accessed 27 November 2019, https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4302.
[v] Ibid. 
[vi] Derek Weber

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