Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 3 Dec. 2017, Advent 1
Year
B RCL: Isaiah
64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
Happy
New Year!
Notice:
Jesus tells us to keep awake!
Having
just said Happy New Year, I assure you: you have not fallen asleep
Dec. 3rd
& are just waking up here Jan. 1st!
Today starts the church's new liturgical year, Year B, with
scriptures different from what we've used this calendar year during
Year A that started Nov. 27th,
2016.
Advent
offers us time to prepare for our annual celebration of Jesus' birth.
Advent
also points us to what is yet to be
when
Jesus returns.
We
know waiting can be hard: Think of children waiting to open presents;
think of being in a hurry & stopped at a railroad crossing.1
What about us waiting for peace on earth & hearing our daily
news?
How
well do the
disciples wait & keep awake as Jesus tells them today & again
in Mark's next chapter [chapter
14]2? After
Jesus shares bread & wine, saying these are his body & blood,
he & the disciples go to Gethsemane. He says: “keep awake”.
They fall asleep.
Why
did Jesus bother to be born into
our
mess?
Jesus
comes to show us how to live & how to die. We can give God thanks
even in hard times because we know, as
we read in
“The
ultimate tragedy that we thank God for is the tragedy of a young man
killed by an occupying power some 2,000 years ago. For it is in that
life & tragic death, we believe that the redemption of the world
is made possible...this life-giving tragedy” gives us perspective
for life's challenges.3
Because
of Jesus' life, death, resurrection & ascension & the gift
God gives us of the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can move forward
despite how tough life can be & how long our waiting feels.
Like
the Corinthians Paul encourages as he works to build up their unity4,
we have God's grace & are enriched in so may ways, with so many
gifts & skills to strengthen us on our journey, our life &
work together as the Body of Christ that is St. Francis Parish.
As
we've talked about in our Confirmation preparation sessions, a
balanced life includes:
“prayer, work, study & play”.5
It's
good to play. It's healthy to play.
Life
in community is a gift.
Unwrap
this gift
&
enjoy
this gift.
Harper’s Bible
Commentary. General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San
Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.
Hays,
Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New
Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics.
New York: HarperOne. 1996.
Holy Bible with the
Apocrypha. New Revised Standard Version. New
York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible:
Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation.
New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Markham, Ian S. & C.K.
Robertson. Episcopal Questions, Episcopal
Answers: Exploring Christian Faith.
New York: Morehouse Publishing. 2014.
Westerhoff, John H. with
Sharon Ely Pearson. A People Called
Episcopalians: A Brief Introduction to Our Peculiar Way of Life.
New York: Morehouse Publishing. 2014.
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