Our Gospel from the 24th chapter of Matthew tells how the Son of Man will be coming at an unexpected hour. And so we must wait. On this First Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that waiting is what the season of Advent is all about.
Pastor Eric began his reflections by singing a song by Chris Cornell called The Keeper, from the soundtrack of the movie Machine Gun Preacher. The words describe a man who goes into a war-torn country of Africa as a “keeper of the flame”. He was struggling to maintain faith in a situation “where love meets genocide, where laughter meets fear”. Amidst all the conflict, he says “…before I let one more life get erased, from the ashes I will rise for you and the ghosts.”
Pastor Eric said the song helps him think about how hard it is at times to be faithful, especially when strife and conflict exist…in your soul, in your family, in the church, in the community, in the world. We need to remember that as we wait we are keepers of the flame.
Jesus is coming. And we wait. We endure the hard work of waiting and yet we revel in the excitement…as we wait for the child to be born…to grace the world with his presence.
To listen to the Gospel reading and sermon, click the link below.