Rector's Sermon - Sunday, November 30, 2003

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Jeremiah 33:14-16	25:1-6, 9	1 Thessalonians 3:9-13	Luke 21:25-36

    The custom was firmly established during our years in the Adirondacks. Up in the northern woods, balsam trees grow like weeds. Several parishioners owned land, and were more than happy to have my friends and I thin out their forest. So every December a number of us would go out in search of the perfect Christmas tree. We would always go past the first strand of trees we came to, then split up, and soon I was all alone. I would search and finally stop by a tree that caught my eye. It would take a few minutes to catch my breath as I looked back at my trail of footsteps. Then I became aware of an immense silence. After a little while, I might hear a few chattering birds, but more often than not, all I heard was the occasional wind, lifting wisps of snow off the branches, playing with it a bit, and letting it swirl down upon the ground.

    Here in the Southern tier, it is not quite the same, but usually I still go out to a tree farm to cut down a tree. I try to get away from any fellow tree hunters, and go to find a tree in the farthest reaches of the lot. There too, in the midst of a grove, I've found it possible to become aware once more of the deep silence of winter broken by the movement of wind, snow and limbs.

    Now neither the woods began their silence nor the snow its movement the moment I ever ventured out for a tree. They were always there. Rather I took the time to get away, to leave a warm house and my car behind on the road. I walked a moderate distance, allowing my senses both space and time to adjust. I was prepared to enjoy the silence or hear the small voices of birds, the drip of icicles, or the snow and wind at play.

     The season of Advent helps us remember and prepare to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus; it helps to raise our awareness of the continual arrival of the Holy Sprit among us, and it encourages us to look forward to God's final victory over the evil forces of this world and the reconciliation of all peoples.

    The secular world would like us to believe that it just would not be Christmas if we didn't bake those fruitcakes, send the cards, and mail out boxes of gifts. Yet, that is nonsense. We prepare because in Jesus, God has given us a wonderful gift. Nothing will negate it; not a UPS strike nor even a computer shut down at L.L.Bean. God's birth in this world can be counted on and that's the reason we prepare and make room.

    Advent is an invitation for The Holy Sprit that is always seeking to support us in our lives. In one sense we all die many small deaths in our course of life, but Christ is always looking for us to provide a home, for rebirth, renewal, and new life.

    There is an old story about a fellow who was met by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Together they looked back at a map of the fellow's journey through life. The fellow observed that there were usually two sets of footprints along the path. "Oh, so the Lord was right beside me" Then he noticed that often during the trying and tough times of his life there was only one set of footprints. "Ha! Just as I suspected. When I needed God's support the most, the Lord left me." "You misunderstand," Peter gently answered. "Those aren't your footsteps. Those show the times the Lord lifted you up and carried you through."

    The passage from Jeremiah was written when the prophet was probably in prison. Yet the message is one of hope. The setting of Gospel lesson today is one of upheaval and un certainty.. It was tempting to draw back, to become cynical and disillusioned. So the Gospel writers wanted their readers to know that this was just part of the picture. Yes there will be earth-shaking things, but God is still in charge. God's new earth means the healing of the nations, the healing of nature, of unimaginable reconciliation. God has made an immense commitment, and that's why the worries of this life, even events that threaten the foundations of our cultural and political institutions, will not prevent the entrance of God in our world.

    Advent calendars are wonderfully clever yet simple things, aren't they. You open one small door every day, and at the end of Advent you have two dozen doors open, all ready to accept good news. That's the message of advent. We are all invited to unclog the hard drive of our senses, to stretch our mind, to empty our agenda, and give our soul plenty of space to hope. God is coming near. New birth is about to take place. now is the time to open our gates, to remove obstructions in our way, to clear a path. Advent is four weeks to prepare our senses, our minds, our souls. Advent, the season of doors, is often the rediscovery of the mystery of God's presence that has been among us all the time.

    And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.