The both / and of advent

First Sunday of Advent ● December 1, 2024

Rev. Alexis Lillie © 2024

You can view the full worship video recording at:

https://youtu.be/4HZD2RsOcaQ?si=RDP6RooPjdAbVpvv

Scripture Readings: 

Luke 21:25-36 (The Inclusive Bible)

The texts of the readings are in the worship bulletin linked here.

My first impressions of this text (Luke 21:25-36) were initially quite positive. It feels like it resonates in terms of our current cultural moment ... or at least how I feel about it. To be fair, Wednesday, November 6th I did not literally "faint from fear of foreboding" but I did hit the bathroom floor in a fetal position and sobbed for a solid 30 mins. In this way, I have a firmly entrenched fear and foreboding! So that part resonated. 

But as i keep reading, I’m not sure I love this passage so much. It has some language that we don't often dive into at Church of the Village. Phrases like, "son of man is coming in cloud" ... "coming in power and glory" … etc. This is imperialistic-sounding language that, in my theology and at COTV, we intentionally stay away from. 

This language is also a little different from the Advent framing we normally focus on. I want to talk a little bit about what some of the "norms" are, and do a little compare / contrast with our text today. 

Often at COTV we read through a framework sometimes called the "Social Gospel," that seeks to center the marginalized and lift up oppressed voices. This interpretive tool emphasizes how empire was engaged as a contrast to the reality of Jesus. Stories and terminology that would have been understood by the audience because of their usage in wider culture – these imperialistic sayings and word pictures – they are used instead to emphasize how different Jesus' leadership was intended to be

So, in the birth narratives that we're used to, we hear aspects of incomprehensible birth; travel; lowly conditions; a flight for safety; elements of poverty and marginalization. Thus, ascribing imperialistic language – like Son of God, or Son of Man, or Kingdom, or Reign – it's intended to be countercultural. At least that's what reading these stories through a Social Gospel lens invites us to consider.

It gets people's attention by using terminology they're familiar with, because these are often attributes ascribed to the rulers of the day, like Cesar or Pharaoh. But in Jesus' case, they're turned upside down and ascribed to someone, something so unlikely! 

That's the context that we typically enter into Advent with. Insofar as imperial language does show up, it's to highlight Jesus' differences and turn the ancient (and not-so-ancient) understanding of power on its head. 

This morning's text doesn't really do any of this, at least not on surface level. It doesn't mention Jesus as a baby at all, or any of the juxtaposed aspects we may be looking for. 

But you know I love going below the surface! So understanding another layer of this text we can see, it's a different type of story – if we can call it that –than what we often hear to start off Advent. 

It's a lot more apocalyptic. And I’m not talking zombie apocalypse or another end-of-the-world catastrophe that involves building underground bunkers and doomsday prepping (not that i would know anything about that kind of apocalypse!). Biblically, "apocalypse" can be understood as revealing something, unveiling something. Similar to how I've come to read the "traditional" Jesus birth narratives, we can understand apocalyptic literature through a social gospel lens – a lens that seeks to give voice to the oppressed 

These types of texts reveal forces of injustice – distress, fear, foreboding, as our reading today suggests – and awaken a call to action. Thus, apocalyptic literature exists on multiple planes. It is not only about an otherworldly or future event, it also serves as a critique of what is happening right now ... both in ancient context and in our context. And then it can serve as a rallying cry toward a just and compassionate society.

As biblical scholar Susan Garrett writes, "In Luke 21, Jesus reminds his followers that there is always more going on than meets the eye. There is more to reality than they might see at first glance. Not either/or, but both/and.” It’s not esoteric, apocalyptic or emphasizing what's going on in the here and now, it’s both of those things.

This is the part where I do kind of the cliché thing and quote Taylor Swift. Her song Happiness has been big for me in identifying these both/and feelings. It was a song that spoke to me in a big way when I was going through my divorce. It spoke to the pain and hope in letting go of something, not that was toxic and traumatic and dysfunctional, but something that had its good and beauty that you outgrew. The refrain is: "There was happiness because of you, will be happiness after you, both of these things can be true, there is happiness." This helped me surface and validate my both / and feelings –feelings of holding things in tension and not necessarily resolving or explaining away one or the other. 

Another example I’m sure I've given before because it comes to mind any time I’m thinking about both/and, comes from Daniel Tiger, the modern spin-off of Mister Rogers. In one episode Daniel Tiger sings, “Soemtimes, you feel two feelings at the same time and that’s ok.”

Sometimes you feel like you live in two realities at the same time, and that’s ok. Maybe one is a dumpster fire, and one is the beauty of good people rallying together to birth the light of Christ in the world, in their own unique way. Both of these things can be true. 

That brings us to our "action" Advent word for the day: Resilience. We contend that "resilience" can be understood as hope put into action. 

It can be understood as the active response to an "unveiling" of distress, and fear, and foreboding. 

It can be understood, this World Aids Day, as the vocal and powerful responses of ActUp!, staging die-ins to demand awareness to this epidemic in the 80's (thanks Pose), or activists chaining themselves to the balcony of the NY Stock Exchange to protest obscene Aids treatment drug prices

It can also be understood – to venture into both and territory – as Audre Lorde says, as self-preservation which is itself an act of political warfare. 

These are actions taken in rage, incredulity, persistence ... and hope. Resilience enables us to live in this both and ... with hope. It allows us to keep moving forward even when we don't see results (because the fruits of our hopeful resilience may not be immediately seen, or ever seen, by us). It enables us to pause and refuel when we need to, knowing that others will carry the torch when we need to engage in self-preservation. 

A Both/And understanding of Advent acknowledges: it can be easy to despair of the injustice, greed, selfishness and oppression we see gaining traction (and, I might add, that was clearly prevalent n Jesus day as well). And, many of us are continuing in the way of hope, doing all the good we can to birth the light of Christ into our apocalyptic reality. 

Both of these things can be true. 

Our persistence in doing good is how we develop the resilience needed to keep hope alive. no matter what is unveiled, no matter what apocalypse we experience.