Homily for Advent 2

Advent 2
Romans 15:4-13, Luke 21:25-33​

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” So begins the epistle, and the reading ends on this same note: hope. In fact, Paul uses the word 'hope' fifteen times in the epistle to the Romans. His other epistles are also saturated with the word. But hope is in short supply in the world around us.

Last week, you may have seen a news story about a high school girl who shot herself to death in front of her family. This is by no means an unusual action for the youth of these times. I have known three individuals who chose suicide and at least a couple more who have made an attempt. Quite often, substance abuse is also known among these same troubled souls. Heroin use has become prevalent at a rate not seen in forty years.

It was perhaps three or four years ago, around this time of year, that a girl came to my door in the cold of the night peddling magazines. I let her enter my residence to warm herself and gave her a drink. She began to tell me how she came to be peddling magazines in such unpleasant conditions: it was her escape from a life of abuse in St. Louis. She spoke of living in a car with her boyfriend, scrounging up the money to pay for a daily supply of 'red caps' – a form of powdered heroin. Somewhat incredulous, I asked her to show me her arm: the bruises on her veins had not yet faded away.

I noticed when I was studying literature that many are no longer able to grasp the classics of our English language because they cannot relate to the values and virtues encoded in the prose. They cannot understand because they have been robbed of a foundation on which to build virtue. But do you know one work of literature that does resonate with them – a Biblical work? The book of Ecclesiastes. Just as the ancient preacher set out to fill the voids in his life with drink and drugs, women and things, so our people have indulged themselves and also found it all 'vanity.'

Many have proposed inadequate solutions to these problems: give the addicts clean needles and stop bullying in the schools. But those approaches are treating the symptoms, not the underlying causes. These people do not need these band-aids: they need hope.

And they have not been helped by the popular religion of our time. There is a movement throughout mainline denominations that styles itself the 'emergent church.' They prattle on about hope in nebulous platitudes without ever offering a real definition of what it might be. Some offer up social justice or prosperity or whatever else appeals to the shallowness of our time. But St. Paul observed, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

So what is Christian hope? The lexicon defines the root Greek term, elpis, as “joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.” This hope is sustained within us by the work of the Spirit – who is quite intimately involved in promoting the patience, endurance, and faith which sustains us as we wait for the consummation of our hope. Paul wrote to the Galatians: “We through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” And to the Thessalonians, he wrote: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

This astute observation takes us around to the Gospel reading. St. Luke has repeated, in a succinct fashion, the themes of St. Matthew's 24th chapter – a passage which we read just a few weeks ago and which is actually assigned to the season of Epiphany. St. Matthew's passage tends to be obscured by verbose discussions of the apocalyptic implications of Christ's sayings. But Luke has done us the favor of cutting to the summary quite quickly: “Then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

St. John has elaborated the point as well, in his first epistle, writing:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.​

Peter also contributed to the discussion, closely echoing Paul in his first epistle. He first described our hope as a 'lively' hope and then enjoined his audience to “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Here, as in the letter to the Romans (the 12th chapter) we are reminded that there is some responsibility, some due diligence, to the Gospel. We must believe in such a way that we are transformed, quickened by the Spirit.

We do not know how long our wait is; or how long our preparation time. By Matthew's reckoning, the ancient Israelites waited 42 generations for the first coming of Christ. But as we read earlier, “Whatsoever things were written aforetime. . .” The OT, too, is packed with stories of hope. I think especially of the books of the three female heroines: Ruth, Esther, and Judith.

One of St. Paul's more famous sayings is “now abideth faith, hope, charity (or love).” But then, on the day of Christ's return, faith will be sight and hope will be fulfilled. We will have only love left. A very special kind of love. A participation in the love that defines the relationship of the trinity. A participation in the life of God. That is a hope worth joyfully anticipating, and a hope worth sharing infectiously.

Come, Lord Jesus!

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