Jeremiah 33.14-16, Luke 21.25-36
Sunday 1 December 2024: Advent Sunday
Eldroth, Clapham
Jesus said, ‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.’
And the Evening News is full of it: Flash floods in Valencia, a tornado in Marbella, tropical storms in the Philippines.
‘People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken,’ he said.
And the daily papers promote the shenanigans of reckless world leaders, terrorising their neighbours, tearing up agreements designed to protect the earth, their fingers poised provocatively over the nuclear button.
‘Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near,’ he said.
But how can we raise our heads with the weight of the world on our shoulders?
Recently I spoke about how some, this year, will find it very hard to sing the words, ‘O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie’, for these words may stick in our throat as we contrast them with Bethlehem today, where, rather than watching ‘the silent stars go by’, the occupants lie awake at night in fear of attack by soldiers or settlers intent on forcibly removing them from their homes. [1]
But: ‘your redemption is drawing near,’ Jesus insists.
Back in the day, wise men from the East studied the sun, the moon, and the stars for signs of a redemption which they believed was coming.
And here we are at the start of Advent, being invited to join them in their hopeful search for a new beginning for this broken world.
We who carry the weight of the world on our shoulders – may God give us strength to raise our heads to follow this star.
What does it mean for us to be following the star?
I’d say that it means watching and acting.
Following the star means watching – looking out for what Jesus is doing in this world.
It means paying less attention to the miserable rolling news and more to the gracious actions of those who practice love for their neighbours – opening our eyes to small acts of kindness: food handed over at a doorstep, conversations over fences; a smile across a street. [2]
It means opening our ears to those working hard to practice loving their enemies – like those Israeli and Palestinian families I’ve spoken of before, each of them bereaved and committed to supporting each other through the grief towards reconciliation.
The two women, two mothers, one Palestinian, one Israeli, who lead the Parents Circle Families Forum, witness the pain and loss of the conflict every day. In a recent statement they said,
“So many more bereaved families have joined us in the past year, and our hearts break together with them.
“Like all Israeli and Palestinian mothers, we do not want to sacrifice our children. All we want is to raise our children in peace.
“For us to live, the war must end. Everyone must return home. The occupation must end, and the conflict must be resolved through political agreements.
“The Bereaved Families Forum stands in solidarity with all grieving families and wishes healing and recovery to all those wounded and affected by this war.” [3]
And following the star also means acting – joining in what Jesus is doing: sharing in those acts of kindness, big and small, which ‘lay dormant within us, like a seed in need of certain conditions to grow’. [4]
Kindness, writes Brian Bilston,
affects young and old equally;
there is no race or gender immune from it;
it has the power to topple bad governments;
if one person were to pass it on to just three others
and they, in turn, were to pass it on to three more,
in no time at all, the world would be full of it,
and where, might we ask ourselves, would we be then.
Where would we be on the day that kindness fills this broken world?
Meanwhile….
Will we be with the bereaved bridge-builders of Bethlehem, working together to bring healing and recovery to the earth’s wounded and troubled ones?
Will we be here, in our own place, watching for signs of goodness, practicing grace and kindness?
Notes
[1] Army Shoots a Palestinian Near Bethlehem, International Middle East Media Center, 3 November 2024; Israel approves new illegal settlement on UNESCO site near Bethlehem, Aljazeera, 15 August 2024. Quoted in my talk, A view from Bethlehem: it’s time to call the midwives, Austwick, 17 November 2024.
[2] Brian Bilston, Kindness (edited).
[3] Nadin Quomsieh and Ayelet Harel, Co-directors, PCFF, We express our deepest and heartfelt condemnation of the ongoing violence in the region. Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF) website, homepage, accessed 16 November 2024.
[4] This and the following quote from Brian Bilston, Kindness (edited).
