Mark 13:24-37

(With A Chrismon Service)

Today is the First Sunday in Advent, and we join the disciples of Jesus in every time and place asking a most important question.

When?

In today’s reading from Mark, the question has to do with when the Kingdom of God will finally come. When will the world finally be made right? When will the unjust power of both Rome and the Temple be broken and the people set free?

When, Lord?

In our day, we’re asking the same question. In the wake of the senseless violence typified by the hotel bombing in Kenya this week, we ask the question. When, Lord? When will violence give way to peace? This is the question poor people ask as they struggle to live within the injustice of economic systems that are weighted against them. When, Lord? When will we have power to find a place at the table of life? This is the question you and I often ask as we face the challenges of raising families, and finding meaning, and working through marriages, and dealing with all the challenges of life. When, Lord?

When will the wrong be made right? When will our brokenness turn to healing? When will the Kingdom come?

This is the question we bring to Advent.

And yet, in our Gospel reading today, Jesus sort of shocks us by telling us that when may not be the right question to ask.

Jesus simply says, “No one knows when. Not the angels. Not even me. Only the Father knows.”

I personally find that one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian Faith is learning to trust that we can never really know the when of life. Coming to trust that the when of our healing, our reconciliation, our redemption as a people and as a world is completely in God’s hands is one of the hardest steps of faith.  We  are simply given the promise that God is indeed at work in the background of every broken thing – every bombing, every injustice, every sadness, every loss, every illness, every disappointment, every broken relationship – and in the careful way of Divine Love, God is transforming all these things into what they should be. But only God knows when the work will be done. Like the song says, “In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful...in His time.”

How long, Lord? When will the healing come? When will there be reconciliation? When will justice flow like a river? When will the world’s brokenness be made whole?

In God’s time.

So Jesus tells us the question of Advent is not really “When?”

No. The real question of Advent is, “What?”

And in our reading from Mark, Jesus hones in on this question down in the 33^rd and 34^th verses when he leads us away from thinking about the when of Advent to the what shall we do in the meantime?

“Be on guard. Be alert….It’s like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.”

In other words, live as God calls you to live. In the face of everything life throws your way, no matter what happens in the world around you, live as the children of God. And as you go about your business doing what you’re called to do, one more thing.

Keep watch by the door!

Our family once had a girl dog named Walter. Don’t even ask. Every time we took that dog to a different Vet and we told them her name was Walter, the Vet would look her over and say, “You DO know this is a female, right?” Duh.

Well, Walter was a truly great dog in many ways, but one of the things she was really good at was watching the door.  I mean, long before the school bus ever rounded the corner to drop off our kids, Walter would be sitting by the door, wagging her tail. Whenever I even drove by the house on my way from the church to the hospital, Walter’s ears would perk up as I sped by the end of the driveway where she was laying in the sun.

Walter had a knack for watching the door and sensing the closeness of her family. In fact, when my time comes to go to heaven, I’m absolutely sure that, even before I see Jesus, I’ll probably hear Walter barking for joy!

Keep watch by the door, Jesus says. That’s the WHAT of Advent. But how can we do that?

Well, I think of the door mentioned in Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them.”

A couple of Sundays ago, I left the house while it was still very early and very dark. My last stop before driving away is at the mailbox to pick up the newspaper and bring it in for Sandy. Well, this particular morning as I walked down the driveway, there was just something special about the touch of the air, and the brilliance of the stars in the sky. I became so very aware of the presence of God all around me.

Knock, knock.

And I found myself needing to pause there by the mailbox for awhile, just to absorb it all. Just to be present to the presence of God.

I think one day we will all be very surprised to discover that, in the course of every day of our lives, there were many moments when God came knocking at our door. But we were too busy. Or paying attention to other things.

Advent is a wonderful opportunity for you and I to really pay attention to the moments when God draws near our lives every day. And to simply pause and let God in. That’s a part of what it means to keep watch by the door.

Another important door in the Bible is the door through which the father of the prodigal son watched for his boy to return home.

My childhood pastor George Seale was really good at watching that door. George had a special knack for identifying people who needed to be loved and embraced. Long before the ecumenical movement really began, there was George making friends with the Catholic priest down the street. Despite the threats of neighbors to lynch him, there was George welcoming black people to our white church. During the Vietnam era, there was George standing on City Hall plaza between the anti-war protesters on the one side, and the pro-war protesters on the other, trying to be the bridge that brought both sides together. There was George, giving a job at the church Christmas tree lot to a young family down on its luck. There was George, stopping his car on a cold winter night to let the old drunk down there in Brittain Square sit down for a while in the warm car and with a friend who was willing to listen.

Oh, people who keep watch by the door of prodigality – making it their business to look out for and running out to those who are stuck on the outskirts of life – are some of the best keepers of Advent.

And then, one more door. Jesus said that he is the door of the sheep.

Watching Jesus. Listening to his words. Studying his life. Embracing his Way. This is one of the most important tasks of Advent!

So here’s what Jesus promises. When you and I keep watch by the door – looking for God’s presence, reaching out to others, becoming Christ-like in all that we do – we will become aware of all sorts of signs of the coming Kingdom.

And one day, in God’s time, the Kingdom will come!

Today, on the First Sunday in Advent, we bring forward symbols of some of the signs we Christians have seen of God knocking at the door of our lives and our world. All season long, these symbols will be before us on the Chrismon Tree, assuring us that the Kingdom will indeed come.

And encouraged by these signs of Advent, you and I can go and renew our efforts to do what we are called to do. And to keep watch by the door!

The early Christians, who suffered incredible persecution and hardship, found great comfort and strength in such signs. Some, they called Chrismons ­– meaning Christ monograms. In many churches today, Advent begins with the decorating of a Chrismon Tree, a custom first developed in 1957 at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Danville, Virginia. Chrismon ornaments are made with only two colors. White stands for the purity and perfection of Christ. Gold represents the majesty and glory of Christ. Our Chrismons have been lovingly made by the Church Crafters, and are presented today as signs of God’s promise:

So friends, come and live as Christians in this day and time. And keep watch by the door! The Kingdom will come…in God’s time.

Chrismon Script

Triangle and circles – Marty

The first symbol on our Chrismon tree is the Triangle With Three Circles. The Triangle is one of the most ancient symbols of the Trinity, representing God’s power and majesty. The Circles represent eternity, reminding us that God’s love and promises are forever. The Book of Genesis tells us that “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.” By this we know that the eternal God is the very Source of our lives. As this Chrismon is brought forward, let us sing “Holy, Holy, Holy”. 

Open Book – Bob

The next Chrismon depicts an Open Book. It represents the Bible, the faithful and true Word of God. And the Bible points to another Word. The Living Word of God. John writes, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” As this Chrismon is brought forward, let us sing a verse of “Jesus Loves Me”. 

Rose – Steve

One of the important understandings of our faith is that life is difficult. Because humankind chooses life without God, God’s good and perfect will for the world is thwarted. But God, in love, will not give up on us. From of old, God has spoken through prophets and others, promising that light will one day shine in the darkness through the coming of a Savior. Solomon described this Savior as the Rose of Sharon. Isaiah spoke of  the desert breaking forth with flowers! The next Chrismon is a beautiful cross-stitched rose, representing the joy that will blossom in sorrow. As the rose is presented, join your voices in singing, “Lo, How A Rose E’re Blooming”.

Shepherd’s Crook – Bob

God’s promise to us is that he himself will be our shepherd. Psalm 100 says it well. Listen:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!Know that the Lord is God!
It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Is it any wonder then, that when the time came for the Savior’s advent, among the first to hear the news were shepherds out in the field? As the Chrismon representing the Shepherd’s Crook is presented, let us sing, “The First Noel.”

Stars – Steve

John 3:16 says that, “God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only Son..” The symbol of the Star is important because it represents the great truth that God’s love is for everyone, everywhere. By a Star, God appealed to wise men living in the East to come and worship the newborn King. As the Star is carried forward, our song is “As With Gladness, Men of Old”.

The Names of Jesus – Marty

From the time of his birth to the present, women and men have tried to describe the beauty and meaning of who Jesus is. Sometimes, words alone were not enough, and so symbols were created. There is the familiar IHS  – iota, eta, sigma in Greek. These three letters are the first letters in the Greek word for Jesus. There is the common Alpha and Omega – meaning the beginning and the end. Another symbol is the ICTHUS – a fish-shape containing the first letters in Greek of the phrase, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. In our faith tradition, there are many symbols representing Jesus. All of them remind us that the love of God expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is too high and wonderful to ever be captured in words alone. God’s love can only be experienced. As several symbols representing these descriptions of Jesus are brought forward, let us join in wondering about Christ’s meaning in our own lives as we sing, “What Child Is This?” 

The Cross – Bob (the three ministers present these Chrismons)

When we think of Jesus, we think not only of his birth, but of his life, death and resurrection. As several Chrismons depicting various kinds of crosses are presented, let us sing, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord”. And let us gather around the table for Communion.

The Crown – Steve

Read Mark 16:1-7

The Scriptures tells us that, by life, death and resurrection, Jesus has become our King of kings, and Lord of lords. We are promised that he will reign for ever and ever and ever. So even today, many years removed from the events themselves, we know that we are a part of what God has done and is doing to bring new life and freedom. We place the Crown on the very top of the tree to help us look up, for our salvation draws nigh! And let us sing, “Crown Him With Many Crowns!”

Fish – Marty

The last symbol placed upon this year’s Chrismon tree is the Fish. It reminds us of how Jesus multiplied the fishes and loaves. It also causes us to remember that followers of Jesus in every generation have to make choices about following him. In the early days of our faith, when Christians were hunted down and killed by Roman authorities, the people developed a code by which they could tell who was a believer and who was not. One person drew an oblong arc, and then invited the other to complete the code. Those who did not understand the meaning of the Fish could not complete it, and gave away their identity as agents of the State. Those who were fellow followers of Jesus, knew that the drawn oblong arc only needed to be mirrored on the bottom, forming the Christian Fish. This symbol today is the symbol of our church as part of the International Council of Community Churches. Together, we seek to complete the circle with others so that the power of Jesus’ love may be known to the world. As we place the Fish symbol on the Chrismon tree, let us look forward to the day, and vow to work for the day when Jesus returns, and all God’s family is brought together in love! This Advent hope is expressed in the song, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”.