Sermon for 1st Sunday in Advent Yr C

1^st Sunday in Advent Yr C, 28/11/2021

Lk 21:25-36

Pastor Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

“A living hope in this troubled world”

Today marks the beginning of a new church calendar year. Advent, which means coming, is a season in which we prepare for and focus on the three different comings of Jesus. Jesus came in the past born as a human being in Bethlehem. Jesus comes to us in the present in many and various ways, including through the word and the sacrament, worship, prayers, and in our relationships with one another. Because Jesus comes in the present in many and various ways, it is not actually proper to refer to his coming in the future as the second coming. However, be that as it may, Jesus will come again in the future—and that is the focus of today’s gospel, although not entirely. 

You may wonder why we have this gospel passage, since Advent is the season we prepare for Christmas and Jesus’s birth, isn’t it more appropriate to focus on hope than the sobering gloom and doom of this passage? Why do we have to focus on cosmic disasters of the sun, moon and stars wearing out, the earth and seas going crazy by terrorizing nations with tornados, earthquakes, and tsunamis? As you know, earlier this month, COP26 tried to address climate change yet again and make commitments to prevent global warming more than 1.5 degrees above what it is now. And, as we watch, read and listen to the news, we learn of unprecedented floods, fires and droughts threatening our planet. Will we be able to reach or exceed the goals of COP26? If so, will they really make any difference? As many environmental critics of the COP meetings have said, this is the 26^th meeting and all they can do is talk way too much, and fail to take the necessary actions that would involve radical changes—especially for us affluent nations in the northern hemisphere. 

Indeed, people today are, as Jesus tells us, fainting from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. As Jesus says, there are signs, tragedies happening before our very eyes. For far too many, there is a growing lack of food security; a growing number of homeless people because of natural disasters; places in the world that may no longer be inhabited by human beings due to a changing environment. In addition to all of these tragic changes, in the world of politics it seems that there are an alarming and growing number of tyrannical governments and dictatorships, which cause even more suffering, oppression, evil and injustice for way too many people. 

Where do we find a living hope in a world like this? That reminds me of the following Peanuts comic strip: Linus and Lucy are standing at the window looking out at the rain falling. Lucy says to Linus, “Boy, look at it rain ... What if it floods the earth?”

Linus, the resident biblical scholar for Peanuts, answers, “It will never do that ... in the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again, and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.”

With a smile on her face, Lucy replies, “Linus, you've taken a great load off my mind.”

To which Linus responds, “Sound theology has a way of doing that.” 

Linus is correct, sound theology can give us a living hope in a world like this. Why? Well because it is rooted in a careful reading and study of the Bible, and then responding by actions of faith. 

Our gospel is not all gloom and doom. Look at verses 27 and 28 again: “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, because your redemption is drawing near.” Here Jesus quotes from Daniel 7:13-14, in which he has a vision of the Son of Man, in which all peoples and nations will serve him in his everlasting dominion. Now that certainly is a message of hope. 

There is more hope in this gospel in the closing verses. Jesus exhorts us to “be on guard.” Being on guard is not something passive, it is as he goes on to say, not allowing our hearts to be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the worries of this life. In case you’re wondering what dissipation means, well one of its meanings is expending or wasting energy without getting anywhere—kind of like spinning your tires when you are stuck in a snowdrift and not getting anywhere. As for drunkenness, well, as you know, some folks drink too much to try and escape their problems, only to discover that the problems only get worse. And, of course, several studies have shown that people who allow the worries of this life to control them can and often do end up with serious health issues, as well as may fail to act in hopeful ways because their worries paralyze them. 

In contrast, being on guard, being alert at all times and praying give us the capacity to act with a living hope in this world. 

Ironically, it is often those who face considerable sufferings who model for us the capacity to act with a living hope in this world. One such person is Bishop Desmond Tutu, who recently celebrated his 90^th birthday. Listen to his following words of wisdom.

We are His (God’s) children, created in His image, made for love and laughter, caring and sharing. I am filled with hope for the future. In spite of much to the contrary, the world is becoming a kinder, safer place. It is God’s world, and He is in charge. His gifts of goodness and kindness, reason and understanding, science and discovery are showered upon us. Revel in these gifts, enjoy them, share them, and this new millennium will become a highway of peace and prosperity for all.¹

Some people who, I think, are doing just that were interviewed on a CBC news program recently. They are engineering students at the University of Calgary. Wanting to live out their hope in this world to make their contribution to slow down climate change, they came up with a wonderful and creative plan. They realise that for many people electric vehicles are still too expensive, moreover they are difficult even to find for those who wish to purchase one. So these engineering students are presently in the process of converting a gasoline car into an electric car. They have removed the gas engine and installed an electric motor. There are other parts of the car that they also have to change in order for it to work. I’m sure they will succeed, and hope that they will inspire others to convert gas vehicles into electric ones too. 

You and I may not be engineers, or someone as famous and gifted as Bishop Tutu—however, I believe that in our small ways we can have a living hope in this world. How? Well, by carefully reading and studying the Bible and responding by even little acts of faith. Acts such as coming to church to worship and encouraging one another. Acts of phoning or visiting those who might be ill or lonely or shut in. Acts such as praying for one another, the larger church, and the world. Acts such as purchasing environmentally-friendly products and cutting down on wastes that pollute the land, water and air. Acts such as supporting the work of Canadian Lutheran World Relief—their various projects around the world do make a difference, and their project to help the BC residents devastated by the recent unprecedented flood. Acts such as supporting local charities and organisations, like, for example, the Women’s Shelter. These all may seem small, yet together, with more and more people acting with a living hope in these ways, we do make a difference, with the help of God and his grace working in and through us. For that, thanks be to God! 

1 Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, editors, Prayers for a Thousand Years: Blessings And Expressions Of Hope For The New Millennium (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999), p. 6.

Book Review: The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, paperback, 301 pages, including Endnotes, Acknowledgments, and Index

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Author

At the time this volume was published, Malcolm Gladwell had been a reporter for the Washington Post from 1987 to 1996, working first as a science writer and then as a New York City bureau chief. After 1996, he became a staff writer for The New Yorker. The Tipping Point was his first book, which became an international bestseller, along with other bestsellers, including David And Goliath. He was born in England and grew up in rural Ontario. 

Contents

This volume contains an Introduction and the following chapters: One: The Three Rules of Epidemics; Two: The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen; Three: The Stickiness Factor: Sesame Street, Blues Clues, and the Educational Virus; Four: The Power of Context (Part One): Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of New York City Crime; Five: The Power of Context (Part Two): The Magic Number One Hundred Fifty; Six: Case Study: Rumors, Sneakers, and the Power of Translation; Seven: Case Study: Suicide, Smoking, and the Search for the Unsticky Cigarette; Eight: Conclusion: Focus, Test, and Believe; Afterword: Tipping Point Lessons from the Real World. 

Brief Observations

The author makes the case for viewing ideas, products, messages, and behaviours with tipping points that spread like viruses. “All epidemics have Tipping Points.” (p. 12) Gladwell’s volume endeavours to answer the following two questions: “Why is it that some ideas or behaviours or products start epidemics and others don’t? And what can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own?” (p. 14) In the sense that epidemics begin quite small, and multiply; so too, in David And Goliath, Gladwell makes the case with a similar motif for underdogs who are often underestimated, yet have the potential to grow into significant people, making impressive contributions.

A couple of interesting examples Gladwell provides are how Hush Puppies shoes became popular among young people and, as a “Connector,” Paul Revere’s famous historical ride with the word-of-mouth message that became epidemic. 

According to the author, there are three Tipping Point Rules that offer a way of making sense of epidemics. I’m not going to share them here, so hopefully readers of this review will read the book and find out. 

Readers will also find interesting the term “Maven,” which comes from the Yiddish, meaning “one who accumulates knowledge.” (p. 60) 

People regarded by Gladwell as “Salesmen” have the ability to persuade others who are highly sceptical. Read the book and discover which anchorperson was the most convincing: Peter Jennings at ABC, Tom Brokaw at NBC, or Dan Rather at CBS. 

The author includes a discussion on genetics and environment, and has this to say about what he refers to as “the Power of Context”: “The essence of the Power of Context is that in ways that we don’t necessarily appreciate, our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances.” (p. 152)

In his emphasis on the significance of the number 150, Gladwell cites the example of a Hutterite named Bill Gross, who said it is best to keep the number of people in a colony under 150: “If you get too large, you don’t have enough work in common. You don’t have enough things in common, and then you start to become strangers and that close-knit fellowship starts to get lost.” (p. 181)

For Gladwell: “In the end, Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action.” (p. 159)

Those interested in social, psychological, religious, political and economic change will likely appreciate this volume, as will experts in communication.