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Homepage >> Ministry >> Worship And Music >> Sermons >> A Time Between Times A Time Between Times
Here we are on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday just before Christmas. For me, it’s a little disconcerting. It feels like I have been living somewhere between Fourth Advent and Christmas for the entire month of December. A brief explanation… Ray and I visit four assisted living and/or nursing homes each month to celebrate Holy Communion with the residents. We sing hymns together, say our prayers together and check in to see how everyone is doing. This month was our “Christmas” service for each of those places – for those who most likely will not be able to join us here in the church over the next two days. We chose the readings from Fourth Advent – the passages from Isaiah and Matthew that we just heard – and three traditional Christmas favorites – O Come, All Ye Faithful; Hark, the Herald Angels Sing; and Silent Night. Each Sunday this month, I’ve been both listening to the assigned lessons for the Sundays of Advent and preaching on them at our 5:15PM service. And then, during the week, I’ve been reading the lessons from Fourth Advent. As I said… a little disconcerting, to say the least… a little surreal… kind of being caught in a time between times. But if we really think about it, that’s really where we all are – and what the themes of Advent are all about: a time between times. At the heart of Advent is the anticipation of the Incarnation – God coming to be with us realized in the birth of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. Yet Advent also invites us to consider the second “coming” – the consummation of God’s Kingdom inaugurated here on earth by the first “coming.” Themes of joy and wonder at the birth of the Messiah and those of a final judgment are all caught up together in this marvelous season. This year, our faithful guide through our Advent journey has been the great prophet Isaiah. For me, it is always helpful to understand the context in which a particular passage of scripture was written and how that illuminates the deeper meaning of the words. The verses of our first lesson this morning were written by the prophet at a time when the southern kingdom of Israel – Judah – faced political and religious turmoil in the face of the mighty army of Assyria. Ahaz, the king of Judah, had refused to join an alliance of his neighbors to counter the growing threat of Assyria. In the face of the siege of Jerusalem, devastation and certain ruin, Ahaz and the people of Israel might have wondered: Was God going to keep the promise to be with them always? Isaiah told Ahaz to ask God for a sign and Ahaz, perhaps out of false piety, said he would not put God to the test. So Isaiah tells the king that God will give him a sign anyway: a young woman would bear a child and she would name him Immanuel – God with us. The prophet speaks as a voice of hope and asks the people of Israel to see and believe in the future – to hear and trust the promise of God as spoken through the centuries; to know that the word of God would be fulfilled; and to listen to those God sent to be in their midst. Isaiah underscores the validity of the promise of God by saying that even before this child was old enough to understand the difference between good and evil, the two kingdoms before which Israel stood in fear would no longer exist. God indeed would be with them. All of this little bit of history happened about seven centuries before the birth of Jesus. As time went on, the people of“Said the night wind to the little lamb, Do you see what I see? Way up in the sky little lamb. Do you see what I see? A star, a star, dancing in the night With a tail as big as a kite, With a tail as big as a kite. Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, Do you hear what I hear? Ringing through the night, shepherd boy. Do you hear what I hear? A song, a song, high above the tree With a voice as big as the sea, With a voice as big as the sea. Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, Do you know what I know? In your palace wall mighty king. Do you know what I know? A child, a child shivers in the cold Let us bring him silver and gold, Let us bring him silver and gold. Said the king to the people everywhere, Listen to what I say. Pray for peace, people everywhere. Listen to what I say. The child, the child, sleeping in the night He will bring us goodness and light, He will bring us goodness and light. Amen.
(This sermon was preached by the Rev. Terri Stanford, Associate Rector, in St.
Chrysostom's Church, Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, December 23, 2007, The
Fourth Sunday of Advent.)
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