“Watch out! Stay alert!” Colchester Federated Church, December 3, 2023, (Mark 13:24-37) First Sunday of Advent

The Season of Advent begins today, focusing on the theme of hope.  It was Sister Joan Chittister who reflected that Advent “trains us to see what is behind the apparent.  Advent makes us look for God in all those places we have, until now, ignored.”[1]

In our lectionary text from the Gospel according to Mark, we can read about Jesus commanding his followers to keep watch.  Jesus uses rather strange images to urge the disciples to have wide-eyed attentiveness to the signs and wonders that show God’s realm breaking into our earthly realm.  The words and images (inspired by Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Isaiah, and Daniel in the Old Testament) are that the sun will become dark and the moon won’t give light.  The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken.  The Human One will come in the clouds with great power and splendor.  Angels will gather God’s chosen people together “from the four corners of the earth, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.”[2] 

Then Jesus points to the changes that occur on a fig tree, changes that display how seasons transform the world around us.  Branches become tender and eventually sprout new leaves, indicating that summer is near.  Our own environment changes from spring to summer, from fall to winter.  We know how this goes.  Changes can be seen and felt all around us as time has a way of marching on.  Jesus shared this parable from the fig tree as an encouragement to pay attention and look for signs of God’s presence.  Jesus ends by saying that nobody will know when the day or hour will come, when God’s kingdom will be fully realized among us.  So, “Watch out! Stay alert!  You don’t know when the time is coming.”[3]

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about hope.  Advent begins with images that would have felt hopeful to folks who were suffering persecution in Jesus’ time and suffering when Mark wrote his Gospel account of Jesus’ life.  Thinking about the Human One coming in the clouds with great power to help the faithful?  Yes, that would have been hopeful. 

Though let’s consider hope for all of us gathered here today in this sanctuary.  What is the point of hope?  When life is hard and we face pain or suffering, heartbreak or personal setbacks—what is the point of hope?

One of the shows that my husband Neill and I love watching is Ted Lasso.  We just rewatched season three because we raced through it and knew we missed stuff, especially with the accents of some of the actors.  Ted Lasso is about an American college football coach hired to coach an English soccer team.  In the beginning, the secret motivation behind club owner Rebecca Welton hiring Ted is that his complete lack of experience with soccer will cause the team to spectacularly fail.  And this failure will cause her unfaithful ex-husband (the previous owner of AFC Richmond) to suffer.  Ted ends up winning everyone over and challenges some long-held beliefs along the way.

One of the phrases that folks say (and Ted questions) is: “It’s the hope that kills you.”  It ends up after researching the phrase, that this is an idea often shared in the world of English football.  The idea being that it’s better to have no hope or expectations for success.  This way, fans won’t be disappointed by failure.  If our beloved team gets relegated, it won’t feel like the end of the world.  Because after all, it’s the hope that kills you. 

It’s understandable why not having hope or low expectations could soften certain blows that inevitably come our way in life.  Though at what cost?  Coach Lasso tells his team that the lack of hope will get you in the end.  Because maybe it’s worth it to believe in miracles.  As the poet Emily Dickinson famously wrote:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.[4]

Hope has a way of perching in our soul.  Hope has a way of keeping us warm.  Hope has a way of helping us survive the storms of life.  Believing in miracles and paying attention to signs and wonders, paying attention to how God shows up in our lives—that helps us get through the hard times.  The hope that things will get better.  The hope that brighter days are ahead.  Knowing that God is with us and that we are not alone helps hope spring eternal.  In these long and sometimes stressful December days—with Christmas on the horizon—don’t lose hope.  Don’t lose hope.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] Joan Chittister, The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life, pg. 59.
[2] Mark 13:27, CEB.
[3] Mark 13:33, CEB.
[4] Emily Dickinson, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers”, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash