Sermon – First Sunday in Advent 2024 Text: - Luke 21:25-36 – Waiting

 Sermon – First Sunday in Advent 2024

Text: - Luke 21:25-36 – Waiting

As we gather here today at the beginning of the season of Advent, we enter a time of waiting—a time of anticipation and a longing for the fulfillment of God’s promise that has been in existence from the fall of Adam and Eve. A promise that St Paul says all creation is looking to be fulfilled: With eager hope, creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Jesus talks about that death and decay in today’s Gospel reading. In fact it sounds quite horrific: There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

But Jesus encourages us to not give up hope but to keep looking for his return. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. And Jesus says what a great day that will be and says that when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. We are not to be discouraged but keep our hope in God’s promise to us. To life our heads high with pride because Jesus is here. And that promise is embraced by God’s love – for God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Advent is not just a 4 week countdown to Christmas; it is a season that calls us to reflect on the coming of Christ, both in the past as a baby in Bethlehem but also in the future as our King in all his glory to usher in the new creation. It’s a time to examine our hearts and lives as we prepare for His arrival, remembering the love that His coming brings to our world.

Advent is a season of hope, peace, joy, and love. It’s a time to remember that Christ has come, Christ is coming, and Christ will come again. And in this space of waiting, we are invited to be a people who reflect on the true meaning of the coming of Christ, embracing the promise He made to us all as we wait for his 2nd Coming.

Waiting can feel uncomfortable—especially in a world that is always in a hurry.  We don’t like to wait because whether it’s a couple minutes- a couple hours – a couple days, weeks or months – we are not in control when we are waiting. Even if it’s just waiting for the traffic light to turn green – so we rush the amber light. We want things now. If that meal we’ve ordered is a little late or someone coming after us getting served first - we feel an injustice. Instant gratification has become the norm – in fact it’s an expectation. 

And yet, the season of Advent invites us into something altogether different: the discipline of waiting with patience, trust, and anticipation. The prophet Isaiah spoke about waiting for Jesus:"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned" (Isaiah 9:2).  This was a message to the people of Israel who had been waiting for generations for the promised Messiah. Their world was filled with darkness—political oppression, spiritual longing, and a sense of distance from God. Much like today’s generation that is not waiting for a saviour but trying to escape from the hardships as Jesus calls it – dissipation and drunkenness. Dissipation means escaping by carefree lifestyles pretending everything is okay when it’s not.

Yet, in the midst of their waiting, Isaiah declared that the light would come, and that light would be our Savior whom we’ve been waiting for. What helps with our waiting is hope.  We wait with expectation that God fulfils his promises and is coming to us – that he has not forgotten us. So, in Advent, the waiting is always accompanied by hope.  Hope is the assurance that God is faithful to His promises, and His promises are good.  As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 13:11, "The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." And he also says – our present sufferings are not worth comparting to the glory that awaits us.

The arrival of Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise that God gave to His people.  The child born in Bethlehem brought hope to the hopeless that God has not forgot his promises to us – bringing light to those in darkness, and salvation to those lost in sin.  But Advent also reminds us that this hope is not just about looking back to that first Christmas. 

It is also about looking forward—looking forward to the return of Christ when He will make all things new. Advent hope is found in the birth of Jesus. The angel’s message to Joseph: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 

So, in Jesus, we see the hope of salvation—a hope that transforms lives and brings us back into relationship with God. It is a hope that will one day be fully received when Christ returns to establish His eternal kingdom. Advent is not just about waiting and hoping; it is about receiving the promises of God with faith. It is a season in which we acknowledge that God has made promises to us—and He will keep them. God promised a Savior, and He sent Jesus to fulfill that promise. God promises to be with us in our waiting, to guide us in our hope, and to bring about His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

The promise of Advent is not just a future promise; it is a present reality. Christ has already come, and through His Holy Spirit, He continues to dwell with us. 

Advent calls us to be people who are not just remembering the birth of Christ but are also living His promise because Christ is present with us now. So we live in the hope of Jesus return by how we live our lives today. As we wait with hope and trust in God’s promises, we are also called to live out the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs it.  Advent challenges us to examine our hearts, to remove the distractions that keep us from fully embracing Christ, and to prepare room for Him in our lives. As John the Baptist says – make straight paths for Christ’s coming.

This might mean forgiving someone who has wronged us, reaching out to someone in need, or simply slowing down and making space for God in our hectic lives.  It might mean stepping into the darkness of the world around us with the light of Christ, bringing hope to those who feel hopeless – to those still living in darkness. In this season of Advent, we are invited to wait with expectation, to hope with assurance, and to live with the promise that Christ is coming.  We remember the first coming of Christ as a baby in Bethlehem, and we look forward to His return in glory to bring us home to our Heavenly Father. 

As we journey through this season together, let us do so with hearts open to His presence, lives transformed by His grace, and hands ready to serve as His hand of hope and light to the world. Let us be a people who wait and live in the fullness of God’s promises.  And may we be ready to receive our King who is coming, our King who is already here, and the King who will reign forever.