"Restore
Us"
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of
Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.
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It’s the first Sunday of Advent!
What’s that?
Come on – you were here just a few minutes ago when we lit the first Advent candle, right? What was it? (The candle of hope!)
So now you know about Advent.
No?
What’s advent?
The word comes from Latin – adventus— that word comes from Greek - parousia - and it means "coming towards".
We’re coming towards Christmas.
And as we come towards, we look back – at the birth of Jesus as a baby born into poverty and even a bit of scandal – and forward – to the time when Jesus returns – when Jesus again "comes towards" us.
And I think that Advent is not about preparing for Jesus with some kind of phony peace or feeling of "everything’s all right." It’s about preparing for Jesus right where we are – every emotion, every situation, everything going on in our lives and in our world.
Put it this way: The preparation for Jesus birth so long ago began with the news of an unplanned pregnancy.
(Pause before moving on – a long – uncomfortable – pregnant pause.)
How long will you be angry?
Growing up I had a couple of assumptions about God. I’m not sure if it came from direct teaching or if it came more from putting pieces together from a variety of sources. Nevertheless, here are the assumptions:
It didn’t take me long to challenge both of those assumptions (When I was in high school) but those early, persistent thoughts are still with me.
And I have a question for myself and for anyone who ever taught me ideas like that. "Did you ever read the Psalms?"
Sure, there’s lots of praise to God in the Psalms.
But there’s also anguish, fear, isolation, complaints and questions!
The Psalms do such a great job of communicating the raw emotions of the writers. Reading them helps me to feel connected with the Bible not in a "Look at all the Bible heroes!" way, but rather an "Amazing – real, flawed people put this thing together!" way.
This week’s reading from Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 shows a writer asking for God’s restoration and questioning how long God will be angry with the people’s prayers. It shows a writer complaining and wondering when God will stop letting or even causing such awful things happen.
The Psalm doesn’t put forth those ideas as truths about God. Instead it communicates the feelings of anguish, fear and isolation of the writer. It complains to and questions God!
Let me make a "not current" reference to a TV show that is likely still in our minds – a decade after it ended. Seinfeld introduced the general public to the peculiar holiday of "Festivus" (for the rest of us). That "holiday" that so many of us learned about from the December 1997 episode has something deeply theological in it. Festivus includes an unadorned length of lusterless metal – the Festivus pole, Feats of strength – wrestling matches (regular, arm, leg, thumb etc) where the winner pins their opponent, and the event that comes just before feats of strength, "The airing of grievances." The time to complain about each person in the room.
This morning’s psalm – raw and uncensored – airs the writer’s grievances to God. Though what Festivus misses and what the Psalm has – is hope.
Today we lit the candle of hope.
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
We come into this season of advent raw and uncensored. We come into this advent season with our complaints and questions. We come into this advent season with fear, stress, anger and anguish that might be similar to that of a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy.
But with all of that – we also look forward in hope.
It’s advent. Jesus "coming towards" us – as we cry out with all that we are, ‘Restore us!"
Close with prayer.
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