Loving God, you teach us to live expectantly, filled with hope and love by the power of your Holy Spirit. Grant us the grace to be Christ for others, just as others are sometimes Christ for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

There is a question expressed in our first reading today which I would bet has been on the lips of most people at one time or another. Where is God anyway? Why won't God come and show himself, or at least give me a sign? God? Are you there? These are the questions that often come out of our mouths when things are not going well - when we are suffering; when we are looking for direction; when we are lonely and in need; when we are sick or full of sorrow. These are the times when we can fully understand what the words of Isaiah are getting at:

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence (Is. 64:1)!

God? Where are you? We remember what you did in the past. "When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence" (Is. 64:3).

It is a cry to God to experience God's presence and power. It is a cry in the midst of tragedy and suffering and shattered hopes, to experience once again God's healing and salvation. It is the same cry that was made many years later by the followers of Jesus, as they experienced persecution and imprisonment and torture because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Their constant prayer was that Jesus would return soon. Otherwise they might lose their faith and their hope, and might not be able to endure until the end. However, as Paul and other early Christians discovered, Jesus was already with them.

In Isaiah 64, God is asked to "tear open the heavens and come down." Many years later, when Jesus is baptized, the heavens are "torn apart" as the Spirit descends on him like a dove (Mk. 1:10). The heavens have indeed been torn open, and God has come to live among his people in the person of Jesus, the Christ. Once again, God did in fact come down in order to do awesome deeds that the people did not expect (Is. 64:3).

In Jesus, those who followed him and ate with him and listened to his teaching encountered the only-begotten Son of God. They had the privilege of spending time in the presence of a man who was filled with God's love and compassion and literally emanated God's healing power. They were able to learn from one who spoke and taught with the mind of God and showed them in word and deed what the kingdom of God is like. They were able to see how Jesus was indeed a servant without limit, willing even to suffer and die on the cross if it meant salvation for God's people. They were able to meet and talk with Jesus and eat with him after he had been raised from the dead and saw him going up from the earth in order to take his place in his rightful, heavenly home.

Understandably, they longed for Jesus to return after he had ascended into heaven, for they wanted to be in his presence once again. In fact, Jesus did return, but in a different form. Rather than having one Jesus who can only be in one place at one time, the Spirit of Jesus was poured out on his followers. Coming down from heaven once again, the Spirit came with the sound of a violent wind and what looked like tongues of fire reaching out to touch the people who were gathered (Acts 2:2-3). Rather than living among his people in the person of Jesus, now God was living within his people who had been filled with the Holy Spirit.

That same Spirit lives within and among God's people today. It is, in fact, possible to meet God and to be in God's presence in any number of different ways. Yet, being human, it is easy for us to forget that God is here. And then the season of Advent comes along and reminds us of what it means to live expectantly and with hope.

In fact, what difference would it make if we were to live each and every day as if we are expecting to meet God? What if we were to wake up every morning and say, "Okay, God. What do you have in store for me today? How will you work through me today?" What if we were to live expecting to see each and every day what God is doing, not only in our own lives but in the lives of others?

So many people seem to be under the impression that life is boring and monotonous. However, when life is lived by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the constant expectancy of meeting God, there is nothing dull about it. Just out of curiosity, how many of you came here this morning expecting to meet God? And how many of you came here today expecting to be changed by God? If not this, then what were you expecting? This is what gathering for worship is all about - gathering together in the presence of God expecting to be changed!

And why would we expect to be changed? - Because in the presence of God we realize the truth - that we are created and loved by God, but we have sinned. We are not worthy to be in the presence of God except through the blood of Jesus Christ, who opened the way for us not only into God's presence, but into everlasting life. Simply believing that God has given us this gift changes our hearts, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we are changed even further. Through the Spirit, our hearts are filled with love, and we are turned away from ourselves and towards God and others instead.

It is then that we are able to live each day expecting to meet God - knowing that this meeting can take place in so many different ways. Certainly, any day could be the day of Jesus' return to earth, in which case we would meet him face to face. Certainly, any day could be the day of our death, in which case we will also be meeting God face to face. Any day could be the day when we meet Jesus in the face of another person who is in need - who is hungry or thirsty or sick or in prison and needs our help. Any day could be the day when we are in need, and somebody else acts as Christ for us. Certainly, any day could be the day when we are weak, and yet God works through us anyway by the power of the Spirit.

We don't have to wait until the second coming of Christ in order to meet God. The Holy Spirit is here now, and will work within us and through us and among us, if only we will open our hearts to the love of God. When we do so, it is amazing in how many different places and ways we meet God from day to day, including right here today, as we gather together to be healed and nurtured through Word and Sacrament.

Today we are reminded to live expectantly, watching and praying for the coming of Christ. Over and over again Jesus taught his followers to expect God to be near and to be ready for his coming. And how do expectant people live?

First of all, we are called to live with hope, for not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39). We live with the hope of resurrection, the promise of forgiveness, and the promise of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit for all those who believe. We live knowing that "all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

Secondly, we are called to live responsibly, making the most of both the time and the gifts that we have been given. All that we have is intended to be used for the glory of God and in the service of others. Just like in the parable of the talents, we will be asked what we have been doing with all that God has entrusted to us.

Finally, we are called to live alertly. When we shuffle through life half asleep, we are not likely to notice what God is doing or where we are meeting God each and every day. In fact, it would be easy for us to miss the message that God sends to us even in the Lord's Supper as God tells us that we are worth the death of his Son, who gave his body and blood for us! God is here! Are we ready to meet him?

As we go forth from this place today, may we expect God to be near as we live from day to day. May we live in hope, ready to welcome Jesus at any time and in any place. May we watch and pray, making the most of the time that has been given to us. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Advent 1(B) Isaiah 64:1-9
November 27, 2005 Mark 13:24-37
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
? 2005 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved