You Can’t Plan Everything
*Isa.64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, and Mark 13:24-37
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#AdventYearB #thecomingofJesus
Head/Mind – The Helpful Information
Advent and Christmas are about the coming of Jesus. But the first week of Advent is a bit shocking to some because they come to church expecting to hear about the birth of Jesus and little baby Jesus lying in a manger. And, we’ll talk about that today; but it’s not where we are going to start. The First Sunday of Advent always starts by looking forward to Jesus’ second coming.
The Gospel reading assigned to the first Sunday in Advent this year is from Mark 13:24-37. It reads:
“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.
Then he will send out the angels and gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.
Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.
And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
Our reading from Mark reminds us that it is important to be prepared, but that being prepared does not mean we will be able to anticipate everything. Faithful men and women, like Joseph and Mary were confident that God would answer the prayers of His people. This confident belief in the faithfulness of God had implications for how they lived their lives. Faithful men and women, like Joseph and Mary, lived lives of repentance, expectation, and hope as a way of being prepared for how God would answer those prayers. But, that did not mean they fully understood how God would answer those prayers. They only knew that he would.
And so, we are going to start by remembering that the whole season is about the coming of Jesus. And Jesus’ coming; both his first and second coming, are God’s answer to the desperate cries and needs of Israel and the world.
Isaiah 64 contains the words of a people who are desperate for God to do something. They need God’s help in a bad way. The people plead with God to please do something decisive. How many of you have ever been in a desperate situation in which you simply begged God to do something? #Isaiah64
Both the wonderful and terrifying thing about coming to a point where you are so desperate that you want God to just do something, anything, so long as it is decisive, is that these are the kinds of prayers God loves to answer. Because these are the prayers we pray when we are completely open to God’s will. We are no longer in any position to bargain, call the shots, or demand our own way. We are fully open to God doing it his way. And when we get to the point where we are going let God do it his way; He does. And when He does it his way, you can never know what to expect.
The birth of Jesus, God’s divine Son stepping out of heaven and becoming a little baby is God’s plan to rescue the world from a hopeless situation. I wonder how many people in Isaiah’s day would have seen that answer coming?
Heart – The Personal Connection
Friends, we may very well miss God’s answer to our prayers because it often comes in a package we do not recognize or expect.
#christmas #birthofJesus
A few weeks ago, I told you a story from one of the churches I used to serve. So, some of this will sound familiar; but, I am going to tell you a part of the story I left out.
In community very close to this one, a factory was being built. It was a huge factory and it took thousands of construction workers to build it. During the construction of this factory, the little town in which the factory was being built saw its population swell to five times its normal size.
The little Methodist church in that community had so many children coming to church that they simply had not enough rooms for all of the children’s Sunday school classes. So they began building a two-story annex building, which would house all of their children’s ministries. This was an awfully exciting time to be a part of their church.
Then it happened. The factory was completed. The construction project was finished ahead of schedule. This happened about the same time the little Methodist church had completed just half of their annex building. Just as they had completed the first floor and were starting on the second floor, all of the families that had moved in for the construction project began to move to other communities. Before the long, the community had returned to its normal population and the reason for building the annex building was gone. So, there it sat. On the outside it looked completed. But on the inside, only first floor was finished and accessible. Not only was the second floor left undone, but no one ever even built a flight of stairs or finished installing the elevator to it.
The little church was heartbroken and desperate. They had set out to build their annex building as an act of faith, love, and obedience to God. Why had God let them down like this? In desperation they began to pray with all their heart. And then it happened.
One day, another non-profit group in the town called and asked to speak to the church council. The group was working with elderly adults who were afflicted with dementia and needed a space for an adult-daycare. Would the church partner with them to make this happen? With only a few modifications and a limited amount of money, the annex building would make a perfect facility. It could even be a combined ministry between the church and this non-profit group. The non-profit group would see to all the day to day details and the church could provide the spiritual care. It would perfect match, and would meet a great need of one of the community’s fastest growing age groups.
Sadly, the church said, “No.” They could not spare the space because the annex building is where they were going to put all of their youth and children’s ministries. And so, for the next forty years, the annex building sat empty and the little church slowly died of grief, always lamenting a dream that never was, and a prayer they perceived as having gone unanswered.
Friends, sometimes we have to let go of one dream to make room for another. What old dream do you need to let go of? What new dream do you need to make room for? It can really hurt to let go of an old dream. It can be quite scary to open yourself up to new possibilities.
Hands – The Practical Application
But don’t lose hope…
The Lectionary assigns a reading from Paul on this day, from 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. It reads:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus,
for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind
just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you
so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our passage from 1 Corinthians is a prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed for one of his churches. The prayer is about facing the future with confidence and assurance. It begins by recalling for us the decisive event, the coming of Christ, which anchors our future with hope. Whatever we face, the coming of Christ enables us to face it with confidence in God’s faithfulness.
Our prayers and our outward preparation go together. Maxie Dunnan would often preach, “We should pay like it all depends on God, and we should act as if it all depends on us.” In this way, we act like people who expect God to show up. Our sense of personal responsibility and faith act together in unison.