"Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
- Our new church year begins at the old one ended – with emphasis on the end of all things. These are not things that are easy to hear. We often take the signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God as an end of things. And we humans love to focus on the end of things, don't we?
- If you doubt what I just said, think back a bit. The so-called Mayan calendar ends this year and some folk are scared. The huge stone that holds the calendar of the Mayan people ends this month, December 21st , in fact. {So there's only 19 more shopping days!} Some people have jumped on this and say that since the calendar ends, the world must end, too. Scholars have consulted Mayan elders about this and they say they know nothing about it. A friend of mine says that like all calendars, when it ends, you go back to the beginning and start over.
- Do you remember the doomsday posters and billboards that were up and visible in our own area not too long ago. A “prophet” said that the world would end on a certain date and told his followers to rid themselves of all their earthly goods and be ready for the end of the world. We all know that it didn't happen at the time predicted.
- Once again, we've reached Advent and we hear the age-old cry to “Watch!” and to “Stay awake!” Once again we might wonder why watch and stay awake. Again we might wonder what we watch and stay awake for.
- The double focus of the season gives us an answer or at least some hints.
- In Advent, we look back to the coming of Christ among us as the Word made Flesh. We hear the ancient prophecies that sustained the people of Israel over the long years of waiting for their redemption. Those prophecies sustain the Jewish people even today, as they wait for Messiah. In those prophecies, we are made aware of their faith and also of their longing for redemption and salvation. Some of this is reflected in our Advent music. Is it possible to sing or hear “O Come, O come, Emmanuel” and not be aware of that age-old longing?
- Of course, our Advent celebrations prepare us to celebrate the birth of Jesus those many years ago. The old stories will be told, to the delight of children... of any and all ages. We need time to get our spirits ready. The season of Advent allows us to build strength and anticipation over a period of time. At one time, it was a period of external preparation with included fasting and considering what our Christmas celebrations are like, there might be some wisdom in that!
- Finally, Advent turns our attention to the final things, to the things that are yet to come. Here the advise of Jesus to his disciples – which includes us – comes into play. "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
- Jesus teaching and preaching are full of images that would be familiar to his listeners. Using images from their every-day lives would bring the message to them in a way they could better comprehend. Here it is the blossoming of the fig tree and all trees. It is possible to tell the seasons from how the trees respond to the change of the seasons. Now if there ever was a congregation that would understand this passage, at least in understanding how to look for the coming season by new growth, it should be this one!
- New growth means a new season and this new season is the continual message behind our celebration of Advent. We look at what has happened and we look to what is yet to happen. We don't know exactly what will happen or what the time-line will be. We don't know what this new season will look like. We just trust in the promise that it is coming, like the promise of Spring and new growth that is held in every winter. This is why Jesus would tell his disciples “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
- So why should we watch and wait? Simply because a prophet or two tell us to? Not at all! We watch and wait because everything we know of God tells us that God is not finished with his people or his creation. Redemption and salvation have been promised and renewal and re-creation are taking place.
- This is what we watch for and wait for. We watch for the fullness of salvation and the re-creation and renewal of all that God has created. Our lives, physical, spiritual, and what-ever else there might be are included in that renewal and re-creation. Jesus points to the fig tree and indeed to any tree as a sign and a reminder of this.
- Change is frightening. No one really wants to use a brand new but unfamiliar hymnal, do they? Yet change comes, wished for or not, welcomed or not. We can desire it or we might try to avoid it, but it will come. To refuse to watch for it might be to be caught unaware. And if the change is from the action and will of God, being caught completely unaware could be at the least unfortunate and at worst disastrous.
- Advent is our yearly reminder that all time and every season is ultimately in God's hands. It is also a yearly reminder of just what lengths to which God would go for our salvation and our lives with him. The reminder is just what Jesus said – as simple and as powerful as the trees outside our windows.
"Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
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