November 27, 2022
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbu
" The Tensions of Advent Faith"
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
November 27, 2022 Based on Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-4; 3: 1-2; 17-19
A critique of Christians that I find to be… well, fair, is that we are brightsiders… we silver-lining everything… we jump past the hard reality of life and (as quickly as possible) try to look for the good stuff, the new life, the hope, the peace, the joy, the love. Why think about good Friday when you know easter is coming? Why bother with the hard things when we could just focus on the positive? Why wait in darkness when we know the light has come?
This reputation is deserved, I think. There is a whole lot of surface level, lightweight, “feel-good” thought in the church. Belief that insists on easy and simple answers. Theology that ignores the deeper questions, the complex contradictions, the hard stuff that tends to always bubble up when you actually face the harsh reality of this world.
You’ve heard much of it yourself, I’m sure. Maybe, as I have, you’ve let some of it past your own lips. When confronted with something impossibly hard, and not knowing how to respond.
The unthinkable happens, and almost instinctually you quickly improvise, and jump to the brighter days ahead in hopes to help make the situation better, to lift some of the pain, to ease some of the suffering.
“God doesn’t give you more than you can handle”
“When a door closes, God opens a window”
or the worst… “I guess God just needed another angel.”
I have been on both sides of those phrases. I have seen the impact these words can have. How they can leave you feeling unseen and ignored. As though God is saying your pain is not real, or you can rise above this if only you see things a certain way.
I have seen the effects that a theology like this can have. How it can hurt, and abuse, and cause folks to leave faith altogether.
I think, as Christians, we can do better. We can learn to dwell in a more complicated place. A space between the hardship of Good Friday, and the joy of Easter morning. A space that acknowledges and honors the pain and grief of this world, while also holding close the hopeful promise that God will heal and redeem all things. A Holy Saturday space. An Advent space.
This is why we have this season. This is why we begin the church’s calendar year with it, because though we are people of hope and resurrection, the truth remains that we aren’t there yet. God’s promises in this life have not been fully realized.
The signs are all around us. As the prophet Habakkuk says… Though The trees are not bearing fruit, though the rivers have all dried up, though there is no food in the fields, no livestock in the pens.
Though there is famine and hunger, and loss.
Yet, the prophet says… “I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance.”
Though global temperatures are rising,
Though the country is deeply polarized and divided,
Though money and greed and corporate interest rule the day,
Though our leaders refuse to do anything substantive about gun violence and mass shootings beyond offering their thoughts and prayers,
Though mass incarceration and racist policies persist,
though people continue to live without adequate food, or healthcare, or housing,
Though the world is weary and tired
a poor reflection of the beloved community that Jesus came to create
yet still, we will choose to have faith, we will hold on to hope, we will trust that this is not the end, that God will come, that God will redeem even this.
Yet still, we will praise God, and give thanks”
Advent faith honors ambiguity and tension.
A faith that can name the raw and painful places of our heart and of our world while at the same time holding on to God’s promises, looking for glimpses of hope, signs of life, finding light that shines in the darkness.
In advent, we are invited to sit in that uncomfortable, unsettled, and unresolved place. We are invited to not jump to answers or conclusions but to wait. To wait in darkness holding onto the light, to cry out from the deepest longings of our souls and trust that God will respond. In advent we are invited to linger in the mystery of our faith. And trust that this is not the end.
I’ll leave you with one of the best Advent quotes I’ve ever heard. It comes from an unexpected source: John Lennon.
“Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, It’s not the end”
Friends, welcome to advent.
Amen.
We welcome all who worship here this morning!
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
CANDLE LIGHTING Natalie & Mark Phlegar written by Roddy Hamilton
*HYMN No. 294 “Within Our Darkest Night” (repeat) DANS NOS OBSCURITÉS
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION Doug Slusher, PhD
Living God, we come to you now, in wonder. We have heard of your works - as Creator, Upholder, In-dweller, Lover of all. Before the mystery of your presence all around and within, it is right for us to be silent, and to offer thanks and praise…
In the silence… Offer your prayer of thanksgiving and praise…
But, living God, we also come to you bringing our anger and despair. We look out
and see the suffering of your children, we see nations torn apart, we see greed and corruption blighting the lives of millions, we see your creation facing destruction.
And we look within, and see our complicity in much of this, we see our compromised lives, we see our broken hearts and our broken promises. We lift our voices to you and cry “How Long O Lord?” “Why does it feel as though you have abandoned us?” In silence, then, before the mystery of both of your presence and of your absence, we wait upon you now.
In the silence... we lift up to God our longings for the world
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE #107 “Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn” (verse 4) REJOICE,REJOICE
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “Peace Child” Colin Gibson (b. 1933)
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-4; 3: 1-2; 17-19 MSG
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Mary Rebekah Fortman
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
*HYMN NO.. 89 “My Soul in Stillness Waits” (vs. 1, 5-6) MY SOUL IN STILLNESS WAITS
CALL TO OFFERING
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE #105 “People Look East!” (verse 1) BESANCON
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
SHARING THE LORD’S SUPPER
SONG DURING COMMUNION No. 520 “Taste and See” TASTE AND SEE
The congregation is invited to sing the refrain; soloist will sing the verses.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God our hope, we give you thanks that you have given us this foretaste of the justice, righteousness, and peace of your promised new creation. Strengthen us with this heavenly food as we seek to serve your holy realm. Lead us to live in joyful expectation of the coming again in glory of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
*HYMN NO. 800 “Sometimes a Light Surprises” SALLEY GARDENS
TIME OF SHARING
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
BENEDICTION RESPONSE “Light Dawns on a Weary World” (vs. 1 & refrain only) TEMPLE OF PEACE
POSTLUDE
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452
WORSHIP LEADERS
Pastor – Rev. Trip Porch
Liturgist – Doug Slusher,PhD. Director of Music Emeritus
Children’s Message – Mary Rebekah Fortman
MUSIC LEADERS
Chancel Choir
Organist – Orlay Alonso
Director of Music – Christopher Dent
Assoc. Director of Music – Ariel Alvarado