For Those not Familiar with an Anglican Service there are 4 Scripture readings before the message is given. Today Scriptures were Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 and Luke 21:25-36
In a neighborhood ......in the city of Kabul, ...a child plays on the sidewalk outside of his home ...when a military convoy ...drives by.
Suddenly... a truck explodes.
Gunfire breaks out.
The child is hit.
His body ... battered and bleeding, ...lies on the sidewalk.
His mother cries ...for help.
Soldiers come ...Afghans, ...Americans...... it doesn't matter to her, ...she simply wants someone... anyone, ... to help her child.
A soldier... picks the child up ...and carries him toward ...a waiting ambulance.
The sky turns purple, ...the clouds open up ...and it rains ... and it rains ... and it rains. (Long Pause)
The sound of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" ......flows almost un-noticeably from a speaker... in the hallway ...of the chemo-floor ...in the hospital.
You can tell the veterans ...from the novices.
The veterans walk around in their bathrobes, ... their IV drips on wheels, ... a look of fierce determination... in their eyes
The novices ...are not quite there yet.
They still have that... "startled deer ...in the headlights" ... look in their eyes
.
A woman sits by herself off in the corner, ... gazing out the window, ... an empty ... non-descript look ...on her face.
A young man comes through the door ... looks around, ...sees her ... and moves with haste ...in her direction.
He goes down on one knee ...and buries his head... in her lap.
She gently... runs her hands through his hair... as tears stream ... down her cheek.
She looks out the window ...and sees the sky has turned purple ... the clouds open up... and it rains, ...and it rains, ...and it rains. (Long Pause)
The lawyer's office is decorated... in green and red; ...a giant wreath ...is attached to the front door.
They come separately ...and don't even make eye contact ...as they sit ...in the lounge area.
The lawyer calls them ...into her office.
She talks and explains, ... but they do not really hear her.
They sign the papers... and it is finished.
He will get the kids this Christmas, ... She will get them next year.
They leave without having ...said one word.
The sun is setting, ...the sky has turned purple ... the clouds open up ...and it rains, ...and it rains, ...and it rain. (Long Pause)
Beloved... The truth of life ......is this ... no one escapes ...living.
And living ...involves hardship and pain ...as much as it involves ......gladness and joy.
It rains ...and it storms ......just as mightily on the good ... as it does ...on the bad.
God lifts no one above the turmoil.
He lifts no one above the pain ... the suffering, ... not even his Son.
The redemption ...that is ours in Christ Jesus ......is not some sort of luxury cruise ...through the calm waters ... on the Sea of... Pain-Be-Gone.
God's plan ...has never been to insulate His people ...from the rain that falls, ... it is to prepare us ...for the storms... that will come ... our way. (Pause)
There is a reason... that purple ...is the liturgical color ...for both Advent ...and Lent.
The purple of Advent ...reminds us that the baby born in the manger ... was born... a King.
Purple ...is the color... of royalty. (Pause)
And the purple of Lent ...reminds us that the child born a King ...had a divinely human destiny ... A destiny upon the throne ... of the Cross.
Purple, ...therefore ... is both a royally joyful color ...while at the same time... royally melancholy.
But in both cases, ...purple reminds us... that our King reigns. Beloved......Our God reigns.
And we are covered in his reign...R-E-I-G-N... His purple reign.
We are secure ... We are covered. Why because our God reigns.
In Advent, ...we are called to look forward... to the day ... of our King's ...promised return,
A day ...when every knee shall bow ...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11)
Yet... this day of return ...comes with a degree ......of foreboding.
The domesticated view of Advent... focuses only on ...the impending birth... of the baby King Jesus.
Yet Advent also has this tumultuous side ... that is connected to... King Jesus' ... second advent.
All the rain... that falls from the purple sky... on the good ... the bad, ...and the indifferent... is all adding up ......to something.
It is all pointing ...to something.
All of the stuff in this world ...that looks so meaningless, ... so futile of purpose, ... all the pain and suffering,
All the wars and disasters, ... all the cancer and sickness, ... all the hopes and fears ... of all the years... (Slow) are all pointing toward ...something.
And Jesus uses the language of metaphor and poetry ...to connect with the deepest parts... of our lives...
Those tough places ...and those difficult times ......that defy language.
Jesus' words to us... are words of divine promise.
The promise ... that God is present ...and acting within human history, ... Acting within the good, ...the bad, ...and the ugly.
A Promise ...to bring about a victorious conclusion ... the result of which ... is a new beginning, ... a new creation:
Where God himself ...will wipe away... every tear.
Where death... will be no more.
Where mourning ... crying and pain will not be present, ... for these things ...will have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
Beloved this is a promise!
It is ...a purple promise.
We are called ...in Advent ... to be enveloped by ...this purple promise, ... to be alert ... to be observant.
We are called to think ...and to act faithfully ...and sacramentally, ...... to sense the nearness ...of the kingdom.
For ...the Kingdom of God ......is where ... It is at hand.
We are called to look for the hand of God... in All of life ...in the good, ... in the bad ... and even ... in the ugly.
Jesus shares with us... Hear again God's Word from our text this day: BIBLE "It's like the budding leaves on a fig tree," ... "When you see the buds ...you know that summer is near." END (Luke 21:29-30)
Yet how ...and why would things like natural disasters, ...wars, ...and political upheaval ...be signs ... that the Kingdom ... the Second Advent ...is near?
Would it not make more sense ...to see things like ...an end to war..., and people caring for one another, ...as signs ...of the nearness ...of the Kingdom?
Beloved ...Jesus is not stressing ...the negative?
What Jesus is accentuating is a truthful assessment ...of reality.
A worldly reality ...that stands in stark contrast... to the Kingdom of God that we are experiencing ...in part, ... Yet coming ... in fullness.
Our human frailty, ...our human sinfulness, ...our world's birth pangs ...reflect the signs of how badly we need: "Thy Kingdom to come. Thy will be done..." Matthew 6:10
As we prepare to gather ...at this Table for communion ... we proclaim these words: ... Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
We declare ... a mystery of faith...that decrees ...it is through death ...that God is victorious... in Christ Jesus.
We proclaim ...that Jesus died, ... and rose from the grave,
His death ...is what atoned... for our sin.
Hear Gods word to the Believers gathered in Corinth and to us this day: BIBLE "And Jesus' death ...prepared the way ...for Jesus' resurrection ...to be the first fruits ...of many to come." END (1 Corinthians 15:20-34)
At this Table ...we proclaim that our present, ... And our past, ... is not ...all there is.
At this Table we proclaim ...... That the past, present, ... and future ...lays in God's hands.
And we wait for the fulfillment of God's promise... in His coming again ... The second advent of Jesus.
And Beloved ... Jesus comes again ...in a very real ...and special way ...every time ... every time we celebrate ...this meal together.
It is a foretaste ...of Jesus' ...second advent.
It is a sign ... that the Kingdom of God ... is near.
It is a sign of His reign.
His purple reign covers us, ... forgives us, ... resurrects us, ... nourishes us, ...emboldens us, ....and transforms us.
Praise God!
What changes... at this Table ...is everything.
This is where ...we are united into Jesus' purple reign, ... into ...the Body of Christ. (Pause)
United into Jesus ... So that when the rain of life ... pours into our lives ... We have the faith, ... the hope ... and the love ... to weather the storm.
So ... We are able to sense ...the nearness of God's Kingdom ...in Christ Jesus.
To know that we are never alone ...not in life ... and not even ... in death. (Romans 8:38-39)
Beloved... We do not escape life's great tribulations ... just because we are Believers ... and God does not escape them either... For He ... (Slow) is with us.
Jesus made a promise: I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
Never ... Never ... Never.
God is present, ... God is working and acting through history ... And he is acting through and in our lives.
Through the good, ...through the bad, ...and through the ugly... bringing about ... the redemption ...of the world.
That is the good news ...that leads us to stand up ...and refuse to give in.
To fight the good fight ... and stand as a light against the darkness ... hopelessness ...and desperation ...of the world.
Through faith in Christ... we are able to sense in all things ... the nearness... of God's Kingdom.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, ... we are able to eat and drink, ... to live and love, ...... without fearing the rain ...and the storms... of life.
(Slow) For in Jesus Christ ...our lives are secured, ...they are saved, ...they are redeemed; ...
And they are covered in our King's ... purple reign.
Amen and Amen.
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