Message: Hopeful Waiting / Isaiah 64:7-9 & 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word "adventus," which means "coming" or "arrival." It is a time of waiting for Christ, who is coming to us. Advent lasts for four weeks before Christmas. Each Sunday during this season, we light one of the four candles on the Advent Wreath, and on Christmas Eve, we light the Christ candle. The wreath, made of evergreen branches, symbolizes eternal life through Christ, and the candles represent hope, peace, joy, and love.

On this first Sunday of Advent, we are going to reflect on the meaning of "hopeful waiting" through the words of the Apostle Paul and the prophet Isaiah. The second scripture reading today is the opening of Paul's letter to the congregation in Corinth. Paul wishes them grace and peace from God and Christ. He emphasizes that as a faith community waiting for the revealing of Jesus Christ, they should be blameless on the day of Christ.

Waiting for Christ blamelessly isn't easy. When we see ourselves as selfish, find it challenging to love ourselves as we are, or struggle to forgive others, this goal seems impossible. In the face of harsh realities and social issues, holy waiting can seem like a false hope. When we look at our flaws and an unjust world, we have more than a hundred reasons to despair.

However, we are people who find the root of hope in God. In our first reading today, the prophet Isaiah says God is the potter, and we are the clay. We are shaped and perfected by God's hands. This is one of the most beautiful images of the relationship between God and us in the Bible. 

Potters are people who wait: they wait to find the right clay, they wait to mould the shape of the pot, they wait for it to dry, they wait for it to be fired at the right temperature. Every step comes with its own set of failures and successes, and they cannot be skipped to progress to the next one. There can be no pottery without waiting.

Isaiah saw God's patience in history. He encountered God who waited patiently as those committed to God’s peace were moulded, dried, and fired. He experienced the grace of God, who eagerly anticipated the return of sinners to God's embrace. He heard the voice of God who awaited those working toward a new heaven and a new earth - sometimes rebuking, sometimes warning, sometimes comforting, and sometimes encouraging. 

God waits because no one is insignificant. God came to earth in human form for the salvation of all creation, bringing hope to the despairing. Despite oppression and violence, God's love for humanity didn't stop. The Incarnate One who was crucified rose again and became the seed of hope for all people in this world.

With patience and love, God crafted us as pottery from clay. Here is something important for us to remember. What makes earthenware valuable is its empty part. Lao Tzu, an East Asian philosopher from 2,500 years ago, said: "Thirty spokes join at one hub; emptiness makes the cart useful. Cast clay into a pot; the emptiness inside makes it useful. Cut doors and windows to make a room; emptiness makes the room useful. Thus being is beneficial, but usefulness comes from the void" (Tao-Te-Ching. Verse 11).

Emptiness makes the pottery valuable. In theological terms, self-emptying is “kenosis”. Jesus Christ is the one who showed “kenosis”: He emptied himself to fulfill God’s will. Kenosis is especially emphasized by the Apostle Paul. To the Corinthians, Paul says: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). Some people try to fill their emptiness through their own abilities or knowledge, and some even belittle or ignore others to boost their sense of worth. But that is not the way of Christ.

Waiting is not easy for people who are used to being filled. Our phones, email, the internet, and social media do not allow our time to be empty. We are urged to prove our value by being busy. However, being busy is not the same as being passionate. Busyness is driven by the fear of proving one's usefulness, whereas passion is fueled by a genuine love or interest in what one is doing. For this reason, busyness often hurts ourselves and our relationships.

As God's pottery, we need to empty ourselves. Advent is a season of emptying so that Jesus Christ can come into us. When our emptiness is filled with Christ's love and hope, God's light will lead our lives. Waiting in hope begins by emptying ourselves of things that fill us with greed and anxiety. May we all experience the arrival of Christ into our emptiness this Advent season. 

Thanks be to God. Amen.




Advent 1, December 3, 2023
South Stormont Pastoral Charge
Rev. Min Hwang

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message: Like Mom's Food / Luke 6:17-26

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.  Then he looked up at his disciples and said:      “Blessed are you who are poor,      for yours is the kingdom of God.      “Blessed are you who are hungry now,      for you will be filled.      “Blessed are you who weep now,      for you will laugh.  “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the...
Read more

Message: Fragrance of Love / John 12:1-8

Have you ever smelled something and, all of a sudden, it reminded you of a special memory? Maybe it was the smell of cookies baking, and it made you think of your grandmother’s kitchen. Or maybe the smell of grass after it was cut reminded you of summertime when you played outside as a child. Or perhaps the smell of fresh coffee made you feel calm, like a slow and peaceful morning. Smell is powerful. It does not just enter our nose; it reaches into our heart. This happens because, unlike our other senses, smells go directly to the part of the brain that stores emotions and important memories. In this way, a scent can take us back to moments we have experienced before. This is known as the Proust Phenomenon. The term comes from the French writer Marcel Proust and his novel In Search of Lost Time. In one scene, the main character, Marcel, dips a small madeleine cookie into warm tea and takes a bite. At that moment, a vivid memory of his childhood at his grandmother’s house suddenly retur...
Read more

Message: Dance of the Wind / Acts 2:1-21

Today is Pentecost Sunday. This is the day we remember when the earliest followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and the Church came into being. It is the day when a new community of faith was born through the breath of God. It is a day full of mystery, courage, and hope. According to the book of Acts, on the 40th day after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Before he left, he told his followers not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of God. He said, “This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4–5). So they stayed. About 120 people remained in Jerusalem. They waited and prayed. They did not know what would happen, but they trusted what Jesus had told them. Several days later, it was the day of Pentecost. This was a Jewish festival when people from many different places came together in Jerusalem to worship and celebrate. The city was filled wit...
Read more