Jeremiah 33:14-16

As Sandy and I streaked south on Interstate 81 on Friday, trying to get back to Tellico Village in time for a religious event of extreme importance – the Tennessee/Vanderbilt football game – it quickly became apparent that the seasons have shifted. Where our northern trek last Sunday had been marked by internal images of being with our family for Thanksgiving, the return trip was best symbolized by occasional external images as bright and colorful Christmas decorations flashed in the night.

Obviously, something had changed in less than a week’s time.

Here in the Sanctuary, the color of our altar paraments has been transformed from green to purple, and that beautiful wreath with three purple, one pink and one large white candle has returned to the front center of the nave.

Almost in the blink of an eye, we have come to the season of Advent.

The Roman Calendar tells us that Advent has a twofold character.

First, it is a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ’s first coming in the stable of Bethlehem is remembered.

And second, Advent is a season when this memory of Christ’s arrival directs us to prepare for Christ’s return and calls us to work for the establishment of God’s Kingdom.

Advent sort of sneaks up on you, just as did the birth of Christ, and just as will his return. And so the Biblical writers of both Old and New Testaments remind us constantly to be aware of the signs of the times.

Listen to the words about the signs of advent in today’s Gospel text from Luke 21:

 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roar of the sea and the waves. People will faint with fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the son of man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up, and raise your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25-28

Jesus tells us to look for the signs of advent. So over the course of the next few weeks, let’s explore some of these advent signs. But I’d like to ask you to take a look at some of the signs of the times that usually don’t make it into the tabloids or the books that are so popular on this subject. You see, there are some signs of advent that are far more important to the Kingdom than the common signs we often think of.

Jeremiah 33:14.

 “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.'” Jeremiah 33:14-16

One of the most important themes of Biblical faith is that God is active in human affairs.

Not only do the Old Testament prophets foretell it, the Old Testament narrative describes it on page after page. Noah, his wife and children are about to be swallowed up in the sinful self-destructiveness of an ancient godless society. But God inspires the dream of an ark that will carry them to safety. Abram and Sarai are without child in their old age and there will be no heir to carry God’s promises to the next generations. But God brings about a surprise pregnancy and the birth of Isaac. When the Hebrews – the habiru, or wanderers – wander down to Egypt to escape a famine, they find themselves enslaved by the Pharoahs for hundreds of years. But God raises up a deliverer and inspires a vision of freedom that becomes what we today describe as the exodus.

Biblical faith emphatically declares that God is involved in human affairs. And most importantly, as Gene Tucker, a noted Old Testament scholar points out, “Divine intervention is expected, but through a human figure.”

So the stories of the Old Testament reveal a God-at-work in the world, His interventions embodied in the humanity of a crusty old guy like Noah; in an impotent hundred-year old couple later renamed Abraham and Sarah; in a stuttering reluctant leader by the name of Moses; and in the lives of countless other human beings.

And, of course, when the Old Testament ends and the New Testament begins, we are greeted with a Gospel that declares with great joy that, in Jesus, God became flesh and dwelt among us. And through his life, and death, and resurrection, you and I are to participate in his ongoing work among us.

One of the most prominent and important signs of the coming of the Kingdom is the presence of human beings through whom God intervenes in the lives of others. To put it another way, one of the signs of advent is God’s raising up caring Christian people.

In other words, YOU can be one of the signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God!

I feel so blessed to have been able, through the generosity of friends, to see the recent stage production in Knoxville of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Since reading the work in Junior High School or thereabouts, I’d forgotten about the powerful theme of human redemption that runs through the heart of the story.

Jean Valjean, a man convicted of stealing a piece of bread to feed his sister’s starving child, has served nineteen years in prison for the crime. Now he is paroled, but society scorns him, making it impossible for him to earn a living. With no place else to go, he is taken in by a kindly old priest who feeds him and gives him a place to stay the night. But Jean Valjean is such a desperate man that he steals the priest’s silver chalices, and runs away into the night.

But Jean Valjean is captured by the police. They return him to the priest, presenting the cleric with the stolen goods. But the old priest does an amazing thing. He goes to the table and picks up two silver candlesticks.

“You forgot to take these with you, along with the chalices,” he says to Jean Valjean. Then the priest concocts a story for the police about how he freely gave these things to the Valjean. In so doing, the priest saves Jean Valjean from arrest. When the police leave and they are alone again, the priest speaks these powerful words to Jean Valjean:

“Today, I have bought your soul for God.”

And the rest of the story traces the incredible impact of this one act of redeeming love. Jean Valjean himself later becomes a sign of advent to a young woman of the street, and after her death to her child, and to revolutionary university students, and finally, even to the police officer who is obsessed with getting the goods on Jean Valjean.

“Today, I have bought your soul for God.”

I believe this is a wonderful description of what Christians are to do in this world.

We are to claim people’s souls – their lives – for God.

I must tell you that there have been plenty of people in my life who have attended to my physical and emotional needs. I am grateful for every one of them. How fortunate I feel to be surrounded by a good family and wonderful friends, and to have access to health-care, and to other important resources so necessary for a good life. Like many of you, I feel very blessed.

But among those who have cared for me over the years, are some very special people whose care has been distinguished not only by their concern for my physical and emotional well-being, but who have also been particularly sensitive to the needs of my soul.

A mother who spoke of her own faith in God, and encouraged me to call upon God for help. A pastor who saw, despite my legendary juvenile delinquency, some potential for Christian service, and urged me to think and pray about the ministry. A girlfriend, later my wife, who didn’t laugh at my wild ideas about being called to the ministry or saving the world single-handedly, but quietly supported my dreams and encouraged me to listen to God. Church members who came to me when I’d suffered a very serious eye injury and prayed and believed for me when I could not pray or believe for myself.

There have been many precious people who have come along in my lifetime and in wonderfully human ways have bought my soul for God.

As you look back over your life, who are some of the people who’ve claimed you for God?

As I think about these people who are signs of advent, it strikes me that they share some common characteristics.

First, they seem to recognize that the human soul is the very gateway to abundant and productive living. In other words, they are sensitive to the truth that, until you get it together with God, you cannot realize the full potential of what your life has to offer!

Ted was a retired executive from New England Telephone when he sensed a calling to Christian ministry. In his mid-sixties, Ted enrolled in seminary and worked very hard for three years to earn his Master of Divinity degree. While he did that, he took a job at a small church, visiting elderly people.

It was right at the end of the process, just before graduation and ordination, that Ted learned he had terminal cancer. After a lot of prayer and discussion with his wife, Ted decided to continue on and finish what he’d started. He believed God could use even this experience with cancer to make him more sensitive to the things parishioners deal with.

I’ll always remember Ted’s ordination council. He said two things in particular that stick with me even today. First, Ted said he’d never been happier or felt more fulfilled than he did after he said “yes” to God’s calling. “It was as if the puzzle of my life snapped together,” he said. You see, as Augustine once correctly observed, our souls are restless – our lives incomplete – until we find our rest in God.

The second impressive thing Ted said was by way of answering a question about whether he regretted not hearing and responding to the call earlier in his life. He said adamantly that he had no such regret. “In fact, the only regret in life I have,” Ted shared with painful honesty, “is that I never really told my children as they were growing up what my faith meant to me. Today, I see them struggling with all of life’s concerns, including my illness, but without a real faith to strengthen and guide them. We feel sad that we gave our children everything except the most important thing of all.”

To be a person who claims another’s soul for God is to be a person who remembers that the very foundation of life is spiritual. It is a human need that cannot be met by anything or anyone other than God Himself.

As you think today about the people you love, and as you imagine the people you will meet this week, can you see them as spiritual beings? How can you claim them for God?

A second characteristic of those who are signs of advent, who claim others for God, is their willingness and ability to sensitively and tastefully speak to others about their faith.

I believe there is a real change taking place within the church today as we recognize more and more the importance of bringing verbal witness to our God and our faith. My own home denomination used to feel real nervous about the idea of witnessing, favoring instead an action-oriented faith. But a couple-of-hundred-thousand-less members later, their tune has changed. Sure, we must live our faith and not just talk about it. But we must also not be afraid to articulate our faith, or teach others what we believe.

One of the other delightful experiences I had attending Les Miserables was reading through the little biographical sketches of the actors. Many of them contained little messages at the end, like“Thanks, Mom and Dad for your support.”

But what caught my eye were the large number of personal messages from the actors that expressed things like, “I dedicate this performance to my Heavenly Father who made the dream I dreamed come true; Thank you, God, for making this possible for me; May all the glory go to God.”

And with words such as these, people encourage others to trust in God.

How about you? How can you express to others – in tasteful and appropriate ways – your faith in God?

When you bear witness to the Lord, you become a signpost to the Kingdom, and you claim people for God!

Finally, those who claim people’s souls for God are people who have an unwavering belief in the work of redemption. They are able to imagine the good that God can produce in people’s lives.

Many of us will leave here today, and return to real-life relationships and real-life situations in which there seems to be little or no hope.

It seemed that way to Noah, too. And to Abraham and Sarah. Why Moses and the Hebrew people were inundated in hopelessness.

But God intervened. And he did it through human beings.

And God will intervene in your life and through you, as well.

As this Advent season begins, hold gently the souls of others. Honestly speak of your living faith. Believe in the good God can do in people’s lives and work to make it happen!

You can be a sign of Advent – a caring Christian person through whom the Kingdom comes.