Luke 21:25-36
First Sunday of Advent
 
Many are feeling a deep sense of despair, a feeling of hopelessness. To see that half of Americans do not hold the same values of inclusiveness and equity and that there is still deep racism and sexism in the hearts of people, it can really become disheartening. These acts of hate cause despair, especially for those who feel called to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s even heavier to see that some Christians voted against policies designed to help the outcast, to welcome the stranger, and to give food and clothing to the poor. Serving the poor and the immigrant are at the core of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus himself was a poor refugee seeking asylum the first part of his life. When we hear messages contrary to our personal understanding of the gospel, it can cause despair.  
 
When we enter into despair and begin to feel a sense of hopelessness, our despair can take a physical manifestation. We feel it in our bodies. We feel a heaviness in our chest, and a sick feeling in our stomach. We withdraw and isolate ourselves. We want to stay in bed and pull the covers over our heads. Despair can curl our bodies over as it literally weighs us down into fetal position.
 
Life has brought many very low, and then now we enter Advent. Advent and Christmas can bring another layer of despair, but in the midst of it, God holds out life-giving gifts of hope, peace, joy, love, and light. This Advent season, as we prepare for gift exchanges with friends and family, let us reflect on the gifts given to us by the greatest giver of all and how we can receive and embrace those gifts even in the most difficult of times.
 
This week, perhaps we exchange our despair for hope. Perhaps we begin by lifting our eyes to the hills. Psalm 121: 1-2 says, “I lift my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.” We need the Lord’s help to exchange despair for hope. We begin by opening our eyes and lifting them up to look for God’s help. We take them off the things that draw our eyes from our pits of despair and lift them up to see God before us.
 
Next, perhaps we then begin looking for the signs of Jesus’ coming. Luke 21:25 says, “There will be signs.” Notice what the earth is showing us. Look for Christ in the heavens and on the earth. The trees show us that promise of hope with its continual growth patterns. Nature assures us that each season is important to its future, so pay attention to the leaves sprouting on the branches. “See for yourselves” (v.30) that Christ is drawing near, and then, perhaps, we “stand up and raise our heads” because we can now see Christ.
 
Our bent-over and low stance previously prevented us from seeing Christ around us. We were once physically weighed down by life, but we exchange our physical posture to one that lifts us up. We now “stand up and raise our heads” as we see for ourselves the signs of redemption (v.28). Now is not the time to succumb or wallow in despair. Now is the time to lift our eyes, raise our heads, and stand up to receive the hope Christ brings. Let us not hang our heads in despair, but raise them in hope. Let us all “stand before the Son of Man,” (v.36) with hearts filled with the gift of hope. Let us all exchange our despair for Christ’s hope.
 
Reflection Questions:
What does your physical posture look like right now? Are you buckled over in a pit of despair or are you beginning to lift your eyes to Jesus?
What or who can help you stand up and raise your head to God?
What sign of redemption do you see?
What causes you despair? How can you exchange that for hope?

Pray:
Lord, we bring you our despair, so we can make room in our hearts to receive your hope. Show us a sign this week of your lasting and eternal hope.

Action:
Write down on a piece of paper something that causes you despair and then destroy it – by ripping it up, shredding it, or burning it. Do some physical act to symbolize that you are exchanging your despair for Christ’s hope. 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

John 18:33-37
Jesus as King
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2018%3A33-37&version=NRSVUE
 
Last week, we explored Jesus’ foretelling of the Temple destruction in 70 AD, and Jesus offered words of wisdom that it was necessary for this era to fall in order for the new era to be ushered in. He called this time “the beginning of the birth pangs” (Mark 13:8). What is Jesus referring to? What is being born? This Sunday is considered “Christ the King Sunday” in liturgical churches when we celebrate Christ’s reign, and so, perhaps it was Christ’s reign that was to be born. Was Jesus born “for this”?
 
Jesus was born into the world during a time when it was dominated by a super power. He was born to people who were continuously crushed by empire. Once enough people learned who Jesus was, some tried to force Jesus to fit into their idea of kingdom. It was all they knew, and that they were at the bottom of the hierarchal structure. Of course, they would try to make Jesus the King of their kingdom, so they could move up. Others, the religious leaders in power, accused Jesus of calling himself “King of the Jews.”

They handed him over to Pilate, hoping the Romans would take care of their Jesus problem without getting their hands dirty. When Pilate asked Jesus, “What have you done?” for his own people to hand him over, Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (v.36). That’s what he had done. His own people turned against him because Jesus didn’t fit into their idea of a king or a kingdom.

Jesus never called himself king, and taught that his kingdom was not like the world’s kingdoms. Which is ironic, that we celebrate “Christ the King” Sunday! It’s important to note that this feast day was not instituted until 1925 by Pope Pius XI when the world was still navigating the aftermath of WWI and the threat of Hitler and other extreme nationalist movements. He called on the church to claim Christ’s Kingship over all creation.

Yet, Jesus said, “my kingdom is not from here” (v.36). I don’t think Jesus even liked the words “king” and “kingdom,” but it was what the people were used to. There were no other words that he could use that they would understand in their context. When Pilate tried to force the issue, Jesus said, “You say that I am a king” (v.37). Jesus never said he was a king, nor that he came to be King. He did say, he came “for this” (v.37).

What is “this?” What is Jesus referring to when he said, “For this?” He said he was born and came into the world, “for this.” It’s not for a kingdom. It’s not to be a king in an earthly kingdom because those don’t last. All the earthly kingdoms, or empires, eventually fall. Was it “for this” moment when Jesus shares with a gentile, a person in power, the truth.

Perhaps it was “for this” opportunity to share that there are no kingdoms with him. Instead, everyone belongs who listens to his voice no matter what station in life. Perhaps it was to tell the truth when humans try to make Jesus fit into firmly-established kingdoms, and the truth is Jesus is beyond our constrictions and definitions. Perhaps it was “for this” moment when Jesus’ own people would decide his end, but would soon learn that his end is only the beginning.

Perhaps it was “for [all of] this” because it is a necessary process to face the truth before Jesus reigns in our hearts and lives. We have to face our own darkness and our own complicity in the system that tries to make Jesus into an antihero. In order to follow Jesus, we have to acknowledge our part in “this,” and surrender our own part in killing Jesus’ teachings. Before we can truly allow Jesus to reign in our hearts and lives, we must allow our own selfishness and hate to die on the cross. “This” is what Jesus came into the world to do. He came ”for this.”

Jesus said, “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (v.37). The truth is, there are no kingdoms with Jesus. He came to reign in our hearts. He came to testify that everyone belongs if they listen to his voice. There is no using Jesus for our own advantage. There is only giving up our whole lives to Jesus, so that peace and love reign on earth as it does in heaven.   
 
Reflection Questions:
Who do you say Jesus is? Would you use the word “king”?
Do you live under Jesus’ reign?
What do you need to surrender to allow Jesus to reign in your life?
Does Jesus reign in your heart? What does that look like?
 
Pray:
Show me, Jesus, what I need to surrender for you to reign in my life.
 
Action:
Do one act of love to show that Jesus reigns in your heart.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Mark 13:1-8
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2013%3A1-8&version=NRSVUE
 
What an interesting image – birth pangs – that Jesus includes in his foretelling of the Temple’s destruction in AD 70. The whole passage is certainly not an uplifting one, that includes warnings to not be led astray by some who will come and pretend to be Jesus or who see themselves as the Messiah – the One who will save people. Nations and kingdoms will rise against one another, even families and friends will war against one another, during this time of uprising and upheaval. It may not be uplifting, but there is wisdom in Jesus’ words as well as a word of hope.
 
Jesus’ word of hope assures them that this fall of the Temple won’t be “the” end. It may seem like the end of the world, but it’s only the end of this era. It’s the beginning of the end, but not the actual end. I’m not sure how that brings hope to those who will be caught in the middle of the war – the women, children, and elderly – and those who will experience great turmoil. Hearing Jesus say, “This must take place” (v.7) offers little hope for those who will lose loved ones and perhaps their own lives.  
 
But it does offer wisdom. What wise word does Jesus offer by saying, “This must take place?” Some have interpreted that to mean that it is a fulfillment of prophecy, and others interpret it to mean that God will bring on suffering to punish people. I have a hard time with that word “must” in Jesus’ statement. I explored how other translations phrased it: The Common English Bible said, “These things must happen,” and The Voice translation said, “These things will have to happen.” The one that really spoke to me was from The Message, “This is routine history.” This is how things work – always have, always will.       
 
When I dove deeper into the Greek words “dei” for the word “must,” the definitions unlocked it for me. It read: “it is necessary.” The other Greek word for birth pangs, “ginomai,” was defined as “to become, to happen, to be born.” Jesus said that it is necessary for these things to happen in order to be born. In other words, something must die before something new takes place. The end is always the beginning of something new. That’s how it has worked throughout history and is the necessary process of rebirth.
 
We cannot be reborn while holding onto the things from the past. We cannot welcome the new things to come if we are not willing to let go of the things that need to die within us and within our broken systems. Something must die before something new is born. That’s the wisdom that Jesus offers.
 
Jesus’ wisdom brings hope by being honest about this process. He shares that the process of new birth is hard work and likens it to birth pangs, childbirth. Childbirth is called labor for a reason. It takes hard work and agony to bring new life, but once new life is born and we stare into the eyes of hope and love, we will realize that the hard work and pain were necessary. We cannot take an easy way out or just be handed new life without the hard work of transformation.
 
As any woman who has experienced pregnancy, childbirth, or motherhood knows, this process transforms us into a new person while also birthing a new generation, a new era. The person prior to childbirth is gone, and we can never go back to being that person. That person dies on the birthing table, but it is necessary, it must happen, it must take place, for the new life to be born. That is Jesus’ words of wisdom and hope to his disciples – this is not the end. Hold on. It will be hard, but new life is coming.  
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you experienced this process – that something must die in order for something to be born? Do you agree with Eugene Peterson that this is routine history? How specifically?
What needs to die within you in order for something new to be born?
Does this passage give you hope? If so, how or in what ways?
What is to be born? (hint hint, next Sunday is Christ the King Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s Reign.)
​
Pray:
Help us, Holy One, to bear down and push through the newness that is to come. Transform us into being who we need to become for you to reign.

Action:
Examine what needs to die in your heart and life, and take one active step in letting it go.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Mark 12:38-44
The Widow’s Offering
 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012%3A38-44&version=NRSVUE
 
The image that came to mind when reading this passage was that Jesus was a “People Watcher.” I’m a “people watcher” too. When given the opportunity to sit and observe people in how they conduct themselves and how they interact with others, it’s interesting the things one notices. Jesus was observing how people conducted themselves at the Temple, in particular how they were “putting money into the treasury” (v.41). Jesus noticed more than I do when observing people. He could observe what was in their hearts.
 
Jesus’ observation shows the differences between the rich, the poor, and the scribes. The scribes were the writers, transcribers, and teachers who were not paid for their service but given special favors and honors. Many of them used their position and influence by taking advantage of widows, so it is very interesting that Jesus includes the scribes in his comparison of the rich and poor. The scribes may not have been putting money into the treasury, but Jesus saw what they were seeking in their hearts – honor for themselves instead of for God.
 
The rich put in large sums to the treasury, but as Jesus said, they “contributed out of their abundance” (v.44). They did not practice sacrificial giving like the widow. In fact, the poor widow “put in more than all those who are contributing” (v.43). Even though this was a freewill offering, not the required Temple Tax, the spirit in which the gifts given meant more to Jesus. She gave “everything she had,” he noted (v.44).
 
This phrase is what drew my attention. The NRSV added, “all she had to live on” after this phrase to suggest that the widow truly gave everything. “She gave her all,” as The Message says. This phrase is literally translated as “her whole life.” The widow may not have had much money to give, but she gave all of what she had, which was a symbol that she gave her whole life to God and trusted that God would take care of her.
 
This extravagant generosity is what Jesus observed, and what set her apart from all the others. Some may see her giving as financially irresponsible because who will take care of her now if she has nothing to buy food or to live on. It was barely enough to live on, a tenth of a day’s wage for a man, but instead of holding on to it, she put her whole life in God’s hands. No one else who put money into the treasury this day did so with such extravagant generosity. They held on to a portion of their lives, and as Jesus pointed out with the scribes, they did so for show.
 
I am not suggesting that we should give all our money to God, but I think Jesus is teaching that we should examine our spirits of giving. After all, it wasn’t the amount that meant more to Jesus. It was the willingness to give all and put her whole life in God’s hands. Are we trusting God with our whole lives? Are we holding on to more of our lives than we should? Are we giving extravagantly like the widow…and ironically, like Jesus? The real reason why Jesus probably pointed out the widow’s extravagance was because he will also give his all, his whole life, on the cross. As a Jesus follower, he has shown us how to give with generous hearts and how to put our whole lives in his hands.
 
Reflection Questions:
Are you trusting God with your whole life?
Is there a part of your life you should give up?
Do you give everything you have, or are you holding on to more than you should?
 
Pray:
Show us, Lord, what we need to do to give extravagantly like you.

Action:
Give some of your money to someone who needs it more than you do.  
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.