Mindful Waiting

Scriptures for Advent: The First Week Isaiah 64:1-9 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37

The Scriptures for the first Sunday of Advent call us to the sobering reality of our fallen humanity and the need for divine intervention for our salvation. In each of our texts, we find the reminder to examine ourselves, our behavior, and our attentiveness to the things of God. In the Isaiah Scripture, Israel laments over the distance their transgressions have put them from God. They long to recapture their former status and relationship with God. Israel pleads to be remade, reshaped, and remolded by the hands of God. How often have we had to say, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me" to our spouses, our children, our friends, ourselves, and to God? We come to God almost daily asking for a do-over, a chance to set things right and to come back into harmonious relationship with our Creator and Sustainer.

The blessings extended by Paul to the Corinthian congregation in First Corinthians come in the face of a congregation that has forgotten that their gifts were to be used to edify the body, rather than to glorify themselves. How easy it is to lose our focus during this season and to forget or stray away from the true purpose of the season. We can get lost in the gift giving and receiving and forget the true gift of God that we received so long ago, Jesus Christ, who came as a babe and will come again.

Jesus reminds the disciples in the text from Mark to be mindful of how they wait, to be alert and attentive in preparation for the return of the Master. Advent is the season of reflecting on the "signs" of God's illuminating light on our dark paths so that we find our way back to God's presence.

The Scriptures for today also remind us of the love and grace of God that predate our human existence. God's grace was there making a "way out of no way" for Israel, for the Corinthian congregation, for the disciples, and for us. Advent is a season for new beginnings and fresh perspectives on God invading history on our behalf. During this first week of Advent, God's unfailing love, even in the face of our shortcomings, is a dominant theme as we wait expectantly for the light of Christ to come anew to illumine our way.

BLAME OR BLESSING ISAIAH 64:1-9

Advent is the season of longing to experience God's presence in new ways. We wait expectantly for God to "tear open the heavens and come down" (verse 1). Yet Isaiah reminds us on this first Sunday of Advent that repentance precedes restoration and renewal. Israel has strayed from its relationship and experience of God. The sanctuary lies in ruin (63:18), and Jerusalem is desolated (64:10b). Israel laments the absence of the past demonstrations of God's power and blessings. Israel goes so far as to say that God's anger at them is the cause of their sin (64:5b)! What a darkness of mind and spirit. They seem to have momentarily forgotten that their disobedience is the catalyst of their distance from God.

Comedian Flip Wilson had a wonderful saying that he used to excuse or justify his often mischievous antics. Rather than admitting his own guilt or his contribution to calamity, Flip would say, "The devil made me do it." Soon, you heard adults jokingly using this phrase to excuse bad behavior. When confronted with their contribution to the situation, they would simply laugh and say, "The devil made me do it." This was a joke of the 1980's, but how often do we say, directly or indirectly, like Israel, God made me do it? When we see our personal failings or situations to be a result of what God withheld from us, took from us, or did not do on our behalf, we are blaming God. Blame and blessings seldom reside in the same space.

The blame game began in the garden of Eden. Adam pointed a finger at God's culpability when Adam said to God — "the woman you gave me." Eve blamed her transgression on the serpent, and the serpent blamed God through a misrepresentation of God's instructions (see Genesis 3). There was plenty of blame to go around! Blame often permeates our behavior today. I recall that as young children my brothers and sisters and I would often push the boundaries of our Mom's kindness. Mom would say, "You can go over to your friend's house, but stay in the yard to play." We would go to their home, but we often ran outside the yard after a ball or to sit on the sidewalk to play jacks. On more than one occasion, our pushing the boundary led to trouble. Like the time my brother ran into the street after a ball and barely escaped the screeching wheels of a car. Or the time we decided the yard was too confining for our baseball game, so we went half a block down the street to the park to play, only to be chased home by a stray dog that was wandering the neighborhood. These childhood antics were lessons in obedience. We learned quickly that Mom set boundaries for our good, and when we transgressed them, we could not blame others. We had to take personal responsibility and ask for forgiveness. We were punished for our actions, but the period of reconnecting with Mom's love was always sweet. Even as children, we knew that in spite of our transgressions, Mom loved us and would forgive us. I realized that she set boundaries for me because she loved me. Even though I was disobedient over and over again, she responded to genuine remorse. Personal responsibility, accountability, and repentance can help us to refocus on God's unfailing love — even when we fail.

Israel's behavior and prayers of repentance remind them that they need God. The absence of God's light in their lives reminds them that they are broken vessels, unclean people, and far from the special relationship they once experienced as God's people. They long for the God who acts on behalf of God's people.

When we "come to ourselves," we realize that even our righteous deeds fall short of God's glory. Our righteousness is like filthy rags. Our deeds often carry us away from God's presence, God's grace, and God's blessings. Yet God desires to bless us. How do we know that? We know because in spite of Israel's repeated disobedience, God blessed them over and over again. We also know that to be true because we have sinned over and over again, but God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. What a blessing. God tore open the heavens for us. God came down in the form of love for us. God put on flesh and broke open the darkness of oppression for us. Immanuel dwelt among us to show us righteousness in action so that we might experience the light and blessings of following the Way.

In this season, we are not to wait passively for God's presence and blessing. We are called to the lamenting consciousness that we need the light of God to show us the way. Advent is as much a time of lament and seeking after God as the Lenten season is. During Advent, we are called to begin again — to explore...