For What?!

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves; people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world”.

Well that reading was unexpected for the first Sunday of Advent, but there’s nothing like a little apocalyptic scripture to get the heart going right?

As we heard last week from Kirsten, Advent is meant to be a season of preparation, and yet we are listening to scripture describing the end of the world. Interesting, maybe if we put this into a more current context we might hear something different.

So let’s try this again;

There will be twinkle lights in the windows, specials on television, and extended hours in department stores. There will be distress amongst shoppers unable to think straight due to the deafening holiday music. People will shed blood while fighting over the latest gadget, and faint from standing hours in checkout lines. All the while foreboding the debt they will put on their credit cards, as well as avidly avoid the red kettles placed conveniently outside every store. Now when these things begin to take place, it is clear that Christmas is coming.

This breaks my heart.

The madness during this holiday season can feel like the apocalypse is actually upon us. And there’s really no way to avoid it, I am swept up into the craziness every year. The preparation we fall into looks like striving to impress others by purchasing the latest technology. Buying more gizmos because the sales are too good to pass up. Stores staying open later, pushing employees to work excessive hours and passed their breaking point.



We begin to feel weighed down by the pressure to over consume. We devote more time to worrying, and the tension grows as we try to live up to these insane expectations we have made.  Ultimately, creating a culture of stress and anxiety where we want to stay away from one another.

This is preparing, but for what? To “win” Christmas? Is that what we’re meant to prepare for?

I don’t think so, but there is good news here.

In the midst of this apocalyptic like culture, there’s a hidden beauty. A beauty only revealed out of the destruction of the old, allowing for the new to blossom. But it’s when we prepare differently, when we catch a glimpse of it.

In the gospel, Jesus alludes to this idea when he talks about the fig tree. He says, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near”. It’s a little cryptic, but let’s put the parable into Jesus’ context. He knows his death is near. So he is trying to express to his disciples that he won’t be with them much longer, and that the world will feel desolate and dreary when he’s gone. He is also trying to convey that he will be coming again, and it will be joyous! And that there will be signs indicating this. But only if the disciples are LOOKING for them will they know the joy in the midst of this hopelessness.

Therein lies the beauty of the fig tree parable, in the LOOKING. This isn’t just looking to merely see, but actively noticing. It’s a different form of preparation.

Ellen Langer, a social psychologist, defines this idea brilliantly. She says “the simple act of actively noticing things” is mindfulness. Jesus wants his disciples to do more than just LOOK at the fig tree, but to be mindful. To be actively noticing the little green buds of his return around them.

Because it can be discouraging to stare at a brittle, bare fig tree day after day, and see nothing new. But if we know we are actively looking for that little green bud to appear; then when it reveals itself, it evokes the glory of the fig tree to come. A strong, sturdy tree with branches full of lush green leaves, providing delicious fruit. It’s the glimpse of beauty of a new world to come.

So amidst the apocalyptic dreariness this season holds, if we are mindful, we will notice the beautiful bright buds revealing the beauty of Jesus’ return. We notice families coming together to spend more time with each other. We notice people donating hats and gloves to shelters so others can stay warm. We notice increased efforts to prepare food to sustain those without.

We give gifts, but not merely toys, but the gift of ourselves to others. Each of these moments are the little buds, reflecting the unconditional love Christ. It’s in these moments we are preparing for his coming again.

Although the world around us may look like it is coming to an end, when we prepare by being mindful to those little buds of unconditional love in our midst; we witness a glimpse of that beautiful glory of that life to come.