Second Sunday in Advent, Sunday, December 8th, 2013
Fr. Todd Bragg
St. Margaret Anglican Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
" . . . that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (Romans 15)
Let us set the scene for our mind's eye to picture: We have just been through the worst day in the history of the world. We have witnessed Our Blessed Saviour beaten, mocked, scourged at the pillar. We have seen Him forced to carry His own Cross to the hill of Calvary. We have been witness to His painful and agonizing dying on the Cross in addition to seeing His Blessed Mother by His side the whole time, with her heart agonizing out of despair and pity for her loving Son. And after all this we are witnesses to Our Blessed Saviour being taken down from the Cross and laid in a tomb. The Man that we came to view as our hope of the Messiah is now laid in the tomb, dead and lifeless. We are confused, to say the least, and shocked and disappointed that so much would happen in such a short period of time.
Then fast forward to: "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter . . . " (St. John 20:1) Now, albeit that there was a strong mixture of emotions that filled St. Mary Magdalene when she made a point to go to the tomb: sadness; despair; confusion; being afraid; desperate; anxious. All of these emotions were swelling up inside of her and, yet, despite all of this, I would contend that when she saw that the stone was rolled away, deep down underneath the layers of all of these various emotions, there was one more emotion underlying all of these others: hope.
If we were forced to describe the holy season of Advent in one word, I think that many of us would use the word "hope."
"The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3:16)
Yes, hope entered the world on that first Christmas morn some two thousand years ago but the hope was found in something very deceiving: a small, helpless child born to poor, ordinary parents. And yet, it would be wise for us to consider that sometimes looks can be deceiving. What we see with our eyes is not always the reality. This seemingly small, helpless babe was in reality the Saviour of the world, the long-awaited Messiah. But to our eyes, without knowing any better, He was just a helpless infant.
The same thing happened some thirty-three years later on that hill at Calvary. To the eyes of the world, it seemed that defeat was achieved on that Cross at Calvary. And when He was taken down was the Cross and laid in the borrowed tomb, it seemed to the world that death had won. And, yet, we have to keep in mind that what seems one way is not always what we perceive it to be. The world expected and hoped for a Messiah. They perceived that the Messiah would be a strong, powerful king or ruler with power and armies unimaginable. The world received her long-awaited Messiah but He came in the form of a small, helpless babe. Sometimes perceptions can be deceiving.
To the world, death had achieved victory on that Cross on the hill at Calvary, and yet, sometimes perceptions can be deceiving. The victory for death was only fleeting and death was ultimately herself defeated by Our Blessed Lord's Resurrection from the grave. As Christians, we are called to have faith and hope and to realize that not everything is as it may appear.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
Abraham and Sarah, though old in years, and certainly beyond child-bearing years, were promised to be the parents "of many nations." In fact, Sarah laughed out loud at the thought of her becoming a mother at her age. And yet, perceptions are sometimes deceiving. What may seem a certain way . . . in fact, it may seem impossible to us . . . we always have to have hope and faith as Christians that nothing is impossible to God. This is the message of Advent.
Let us set the scene for our mind's eye to picture: We have just been through the worst day in the history of the world. We have witnessed Our Blessed Saviour beaten, mocked, scourged at the pillar. We have seen Him forced to carry His own Cross to the hill of Calvary. We have been witness to His painful and agonizing dying on the Cross in addition to seeing His Blessed Mother by His side the whole time, with her heart agonizing out of despair and pity for her loving Son. And after all this we are witnesses to Our Blessed Saviour being taken down from the Cross and laid in a tomb. The Man that we came to view as our hope of the Messiah is now laid in the tomb, dead and lifeless. We are confused, to say the least, and shocked and disappointed that so much would happen in such a short period of time.
Then fast forward to: "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter . . . " (St. John 20:1) Now, albeit that there was a strong mixture of emotions that filled St. Mary Magdalene when she made a point to go to the tomb: sadness; despair; confusion; being afraid; desperate; anxious. All of these emotions were swelling up inside of her and, yet, despite all of this, I would contend that when she saw that the stone was rolled away, deep down underneath the layers of all of these various emotions, there was one more emotion underlying all of these others: hope.
If we were forced to describe the holy season of Advent in one word, I think that many of us would use the word "hope."
"The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3:16)
Yes, hope entered the world on that first Christmas morn some two thousand years ago but the hope was found in something very deceiving: a small, helpless child born to poor, ordinary parents. And yet, it would be wise for us to consider that sometimes looks can be deceiving. What we see with our eyes is not always the reality. This seemingly small, helpless babe was in reality the Saviour of the world, the long-awaited Messiah. But to our eyes, without knowing any better, He was just a helpless infant.
The same thing happened some thirty-three years later on that hill at Calvary. To the eyes of the world, it seemed that defeat was achieved on that Cross at Calvary. And when He was taken down was the Cross and laid in the borrowed tomb, it seemed to the world that death had won. And, yet, we have to keep in mind that what seems one way is not always what we perceive it to be. The world expected and hoped for a Messiah. They perceived that the Messiah would be a strong, powerful king or ruler with power and armies unimaginable. The world received her long-awaited Messiah but He came in the form of a small, helpless babe. Sometimes perceptions can be deceiving.
To the world, death had achieved victory on that Cross on the hill at Calvary, and yet, sometimes perceptions can be deceiving. The victory for death was only fleeting and death was ultimately herself defeated by Our Blessed Lord's Resurrection from the grave. As Christians, we are called to have faith and hope and to realize that not everything is as it may appear.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
Abraham and Sarah, though old in years, and certainly beyond child-bearing years, were promised to be the parents "of many nations." In fact, Sarah laughed out loud at the thought of her becoming a mother at her age. And yet, perceptions are sometimes deceiving. What may seem a certain way . . . in fact, it may seem impossible to us . . . we always have to have hope and faith as Christians that nothing is impossible to God. This is the message of Advent.
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