I have just returned from Latvia. I was there for the first three Sundays of Advent. I tried to follow my own advice and preach on Advent themes. I have had the choice of texts and subjects on three out of the four Advent Sundays.
On the first Sunday of Advent, I decided to lean into the dark threads of Advent by exploring the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell.
The reasoning behind this ancient Advent practice is that a congregation explores why we need the saviour whose coming we celebrate at Christmas and whose final coming we now anticipate. There is in the Christian gospel a sense of the “already” and the “not yet”. Jesus comes to be our saviour, but the final restoration of all things awaits his glorious return.
“To practice advent is to lean into a cosmic ache: our deep wordless desire for things to be made right. We dwell in a world shrouded in sin, conflict, violence, and oppression. Christians must be honest about the whole of life — both death and resurrection, both the darkness and the light.” (Tish Harrison Warren)
These themes were difficult to navigate at the predominantly 20–30 something dominated International Church Communitas in Riga. What concentrated my mind and focused the congregation’s attention was the untimely death aged 31 years old of one of the founder members of the congregation. This painful loss reminded us of the phrase that is used at the committal in a funeral service:
“In the midst of life, we are in death.”
My text for the sermon was from 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.
This contains the line “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
The subject of death links the first Sunday of Advent with the last. This is often the Sunday when preachers draw our attention to the ministry of John the Baptist, whose father greeted his birth with a song that contain words that describe the impact of John’s ministry.
“… because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:78–79)
John was the warm up man for his cousin Jesus, the support act who prepared the people for the main attraction. There is an ache attached to the ministry of John. He points to Jesus but never gets to see the whole story of Jesus’ public ministry, death, resurrection and Pentecost. The cost of John’s faithfulness was an unjust arrest and a cruel and calculated plan to relieve him of his head.
I love preaching at Advent and Christmas. It is a privilege to be a support act for Jesus.
So far it has not landed me in prison or led to me losing my head. Yet I remember in prayer at this season those who, like John, face prison and death for pointing to Jesus.
Photo: The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist (Guercino) (Public domain)
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