Christ the King-Epiphany, Wilbraham

The Rev.  Michael Hamilton 

December 22, 2024 / The Forth Sunday in Advent

Luke 1:39-45 {46-55}

Happy Advent IV! 

Welcome to the fourth week in Advent. We wait. We wait patiently. We wait expectantly. We may wait prayerfully, but we wait. I suppose we wait differently each year and according to our stage in life. Wouldn’t you agree that pre-schoolers and those in grade school wait differently than those in high school and yet again as differently as a couple in a new relationship, or newlyweds? First time aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents all wait with different dreams and desires, but we wait. As we age, our dreams are different, our desires are different and our idea of ‘what we are waiting for’, changes also. 

(remove the manger from the creche and bring it to the lectern… holding the empty crib for all to see)

Today, here in Advent IV, a few short days remaining, the crib is still empty, and individually I would like to ask each of us, what are you waiting for? A second and different question is, as a church family, what are we waiting for in these coming days? I do not know if I can put into words what is expected or desired, but I think I can point to things that we are NOT waiting for.

We are NOT waiting for the Child to arrive to bring Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all people- I say we are not waiting for that because indeed, it has already happened hasn’t it. We can lull ourselves into the romantic and nostalgic dream that we are waiting for the birth of the Christchild and a new beginning, BUT, the Incarnation has already happened and all of humanity has been changed by it. The Incarnation is not simply God becoming human in the womb of Mary; the miracle of the Incarnation is that God became all in all. So, it is not that God lowered Godself to become human, it was that by becoming human, humanity was elevated to contain a piece of the Divine.  The intimate adoption of all of humanity through the birth of Jesus has been accomplished and we can not return that gift, we can not deny that gift, we can only try to live into being children of God as we have been designed to be.

Once we unwrap the gift of being the beloved child of God, we can no longer wait for our King to arrive because as Christians, we know who our King is, and that the Kingdom is already here. Granted, maybe the kingdom is not perfected and complete yet because we still have work that needs to be finished; but the arrival of the kingdom isn’t some mysterious time in the future in another world, it is here and now. So, now in Advent as we wait, we let go of the notion that we are waiting for Our King to arrive and reign, we no longer wait for an age to come, a victory to be won that conquers evil and justice because all the makings of being a citizen in the divine kingdom has already been gifted to us. 

Today, our experience is unlike the Hebrews that were held captive in Egypt as they waited to be led out of captivity. And, it is also unlike the Jews that were living under Roman occupation, and they waited for a Messiah to deliver them from oppression. As citizens living in a democracy in The United States under a political system that is elected by the people, we are directed, taxed, and responsible for our civic duties. But as Christians, that is not our whole story because our civic life and our life of faith can co-exist separately if they need to. If our political administrators do not support the poor, the hungry, homeless, the orphan, the marginalized, the excluded, the immigrant or the victimized, then this is where our work is. That is the kingdom that we need to acknowledge, support and defend. Yes, we have laws, edicts, and taxes for the management of society, but unlike the Hebrews and Jews, we are no longer waiting to be led out of captivity, we are no longer waiting for our Messiah to arrive. Political systems are as varied as there are different communities. We can compare the differences in political styles between Russia, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Ukraine, China, Sudan, The United States, North and South Korea…. Each one with a different agenda and way of being in the world.  As Christians and citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are no longer waiting and guessing the ways of justice and peace because our mandates and lessons of bringing about the kingdom have already been given to us. All that any one of us now needs to do, is to engage the laws and lessons of God in our life and encourage others to come with us in building the One Body, the One Kingdom. How we live into the gift of faith and adoption is up to us and it is separate from whatever political situation we find ourselves in. If the political systemis providing for the Gospel messages of loving neighbor as ourselves and recognizes a larger kingdom than the amount of land that we ‘own’ or have set borders around, then all the better! But if not, we can no longer wait for that to happen and we need to work with what we have and support the efforts of others that are traveling to the larger kingdom as well. 

So, the manger appears to be empty, and the manger appears to be rather small and not able to contain much…. Which begs the question of Advent IV, what are we waiting for? What do we hope arrives on Christmas? How full do I want that manger, that Christmas tree, that wrapped box, that baked good, or gift to be? How will I wait this week?  I do not think there is a correct single answer to what anyone is waiting for and I believe that because I know that we have been given more than we could possibly ask or imagine in the adoption that we have in being the beloved child of God; very much the same as the one Child that filled an animal feeding trough so many years ago. If these last days of waiting finds you celebrating and enveloped in love with people around you- sink into that love and experience it as a gift from God, on your ‘God gotcha Day’.

If the Season of Advent and waiting has been painful or difficult for you, I pray that you trust that the love that Christ brought into the world has your name on that gift tag too. Your time of waiting may not have been easy, but if there is a way that we can come up alongside of you and wait, walk, or work with you, please come along as we build the kingdom one act of Gospel at a time.

Advent IV blessings, we wait.