First Lutheran Church
December 6, 2020 + The Second Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.”
John 1: 6-8 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life,* and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
“Advent Begins in the Dark”
Pastor Greg Ronning
Last Sunday we began the season of Advent by singing, praying, and reflecting upon the “The Great O Antiphons,” - “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In this ancient liturgical prayer, we joined in with “the saints of all times and in all places” expressing the deep human desire for God to break into our world. Prayers for hope, peace, joy and love. Prayers for freedom, wisdom, and guidance. Prayers for new life, new possibilities, and a new day. Prayers for justice. Prayers that God’s kingdom might come, that God’s will might be done, that Christ’s reign might begin, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
In the season of Advent, we are called to prepare ourselves for this coming of Christ; we are called to prepare our hearts and our minds in order that we might faithfully embrace the coming of Christ; and we are called to go out and prepare the way of the Lord, to be an active part of the coming of Christ. In the season of Advent, we are called not only to pray but to put our prayers into action. “In – with – and through” the liturgical traditions, the appointed biblical texts, the stories, and the practicing of the spiritual disciplines of Advent; we become active participants in the coming of Christ; learning from the past, looking to the future, and becoming fully engaged in the present.
So, how do you prepare for the coming of Christ in the season of Advent? How do you make yourself ready to participate in the coming of Christ in the season of Advent? What’s your favorite tradition? What rituals hold significant meaning for you? What spiritual practices keep you focused on the true meaning of the season? What makes your heart, your mind, and your soul, - open and ready to play your part in the coming of Christ?
My favorite Advent tradition, or spiritual practice, is the lighting of the candles in the Advent Wreath. That’s always the first image that comes to mind when I think of Advent. In particular I remember our family tradition growing up. Mom and Dad would call us to dinner, we’d all take our places seated at the table, a few words would be spoken, and then Mom would turn out the lights. And in that moment, we would sit in the dark - anxiously waiting. Mom took her place at the table, and then she would strike a match, and a small spark would create a flame. And as she lit the first candle, as that candle came to life, the shadows around us pushed back, and everyone’s face would take on that glow that only candlelight can produce.
On the first Sunday in Advent, we lit the candle of hope, and though it was only one candle, hope burned bright in our hearts. The candle revealed the excitement in our eyes, the excitement that was welling up deep within us, as we began to anticipate the coming of Christmas. With each passing week another candle was lit; the candle of peace, the candle of joy, and finally the candle of love. Each week the flames grew brighter and brighter and brighter. As I think back, these times were perhaps the holiest times we shared as a family, Advent time, waiting and preparing for the coming of the Christ Child.
Light is one of the primary images of Advent, however what I want to share with you today, what I want to unpack with you, what strikes me as perhaps even more significant than the “light,” is that moment just before the first candle is lit, that moment spent in “darkness.” Because Advent does not really begin with the lighting of the first candle, - Advent begins in the dark. As the prophet Isaiah noted, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)
I have come to believe that Advent is just as much a season about darkness as it is about light. As I mentioned last week, in the season of Advent the darkness actually increases, each winter day becomes shorter and each winter night becomes longer. As the day of Christmas grows nearer, more candles on our Advent Wreath are lit, however only days before Christmas we must yet endure the longest night of the year. So it is that Advent is not just about lighting candles in the dark, it is also about living in, and wrestling with, the deepening darkness that surrounds us. Light is only half of it, the second half of it. If we want to truly prepare for Christmas, the coming of Christ, we must also be willing to step away from the light and spend some time in the darkness. We’re really good at lighting candles in hope, but we’re not so good at facing and embracing the darkness of the season.
Advent begins in the dark because that’s where we often find ourselves in this life. In the darkness - stumbling around; In the darkness - wondering which direction to go; In the darkness - afraid to venture out; In the darkness startled by strange sounds and suspicious whispers; In the darkness - not sure who to trust; In the darkness - confronted by our own broken-ness; In the darkness - longing for light. This is the human condition, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.”
As fate would have it, this year I was “blessed” with the opportunity to begin Advent by sitting alone in the dark! This year Advent officially began six days after my hip replacement surgery. And one of my recovery struggles has been sleeping at night. Part of the problem is that I have a really hard time sleeping on my back, and that’s really the only position that was, and still is, available to me after the surgery. Sleeping on my side hurts. So last Sunday, as the season of Advent began, I spent almost all of that night, lying flat on my back, all alone, and in the dark. (Melissa was in Sacramento helping our daughter move into her new apartment). Thus, I found myself flat on my back, wide awake, all alone, and in the dark.
And as it turns out, at least for me, that was the perfect time, place, and position for me to become obsessed with the meaning of life, - in particular with the meaning of my life. There’s something about sitting alone in the dark that invites all those existential questions of life, for better or worse, to run wild and free in your head, the perfect opportunity for the Holy Spirit to get your attention. Wide awake I found myself wrestling with all the big questions in my life. What is it that I value; what do I want to do with the rest of my life; where do my passions, my ultimate concerns, and my faith intersect - and what does that mean?
So it is that in a strange, ironic and powerful way, the darkness that surrounds us, the darkness that we fear and seek to avoid, actually helps prepare us for the coming of Christ! It has a way of jump starting our holy conversations. Theologian John Navone explains, “Darkness provides us with a therapeutic limit-experience, illuminating the meagerness of human resources for experiencing, understanding, and communicating the divine. … When darkness induces modesty, humility, faith, and trust, it leads to a communion with God …”
In other words, darkness, the experience of darkness, makes things real, (very real.) Revealing our need for God, our need to be able to trust in something more than ourself, our need for a vision to sustain us, our need to live with purpose, our need to love and be loved, our need to be in a relationship with the divine. Only such darkness, the profound experience of such darkness, makes us aware of our desperate desire and need for God. This “darkness” sets us on the Advent journey in search of the light, the light that is Christ, the light that is our life and salvation, the light that is Christmas.
The only problem is – we’re afraid of the dark. We’re afraid of the very thing that can save us! We’re afraid of the dark, both literally and figuratively. We don’t like being in a physical situation where we literally can’t see what’s going on, where our limited perceptions become distorted, and our imaginations become inspired by our irrational fears. And we don’t like being “kept in the dark,” the loss of control, the disorientation of uncertainty, not clearly being able to see the answer.
So, we avoid the dark, and when the winter days get shorter, - we just turn on our artificial lights! And rather than do Advent in the dark, we go straight to Christmas, we step outside in the night only to string up the brightly colored house lights. And suddenly, Advent becomes more about preparing our house for Christmas, and less about preparing our hearts for Christ. That’s human nature, by default we tend to avoid darkness. It’s just too risky.
And this year it’s going to be twice as hard. 2020 has been such a long and difficult year – we really want and need to get to Christmas ASAP! And I get that, so it’s ok to put up your lights and decorations, and dip early into the Christmas spirit. More than ever, we really do need to experience the joy and love of the Christmas season. However, we must try to resist the temptation to totally skip over Advent in our quest to have Christmas as soon as possible. I believe the joy and love of this Christmas will only be made richer and deeper if we can figure out a way to sit in the darkness of Advent first. And this year may just provide us with this opportunity.
One of the things that’s going to be really different this year is our Christmas calendars. This year, sadly and regrettably, our calendars are not going to be nearly as full as they have been in the past. Most of our Christmas parties, concerts, luncheons, and other special events are not going to happen this year. And for many of us, there will not be those hectic holiday travel days. This year, like it or not, we’re going to have more “free time” on our hands! So it is I invite you to consider, maybe some of this “free time” can be “time spent” practicing Advent.
This past year, the infamous 2020, the year of the COVID 19 Pandemic, has impacted everyone in so many ways, it has touched every part of our lives, from the ordinary moments to the moments that have touched our essential core being. Perhaps it would be wise to take some Advent time, some time alone in the dark, reflecting on the experience, considering how we have been shaped by it all, and praying about what it means going forward? How have we been changed? What have we learned about ourselves? In what ways have our values and ultimate concerns been challenged and shaped, re-formed, made new? How has Christ been present in this pandemic? How will Christ be present on the other side of this pandemic? Perhaps we can find the time to sit alone in the dark and ponder these things!
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.” We are in the midst of what many people are describing as a “dark winter;” May God grant each of us the faith and courage we need to spend some time in the darkness of Advent; trusting that it is in this darkness that Christ will meet us, trusting that it is in this darkness that Christ will calm our fears and give us peace, trusting that it is in this darkness that Christ will make all things new, trusting that it is in this darkness that the true light of Christ will shine, trusting that it is in this darkness, through this darkness, that we will be finally led to the joy and love of Christmas. As we enter into this challenging season let us be reminded, let us be comforted, let us give thanks, that Advent begins in the dark. Even now Christ is coming, coming into the darkness that surrounds, that darkness that has prepared us, - to be drawn into the light of God. May God bless our Advent journey. Amen.