Sermon on the first Sunday of Advent (Matthew 24:36-44 and Isaiah 2:1-5
Originally given 27 November 2022 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry
‘In the days to come…nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more…
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!’
These words from Isaiah are incredibly powerful, but in our modern world, shockingly unbelievable. To imagine a day in the future with no violence, no war, a day where we all walk in the light of the Lord, seems not only unimaginable, but even naive. Just turning on the news and looking at the state of the world we currently live in could easily leave us feeling… hopeless.
But today is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of hope. And Isaiah gives us an image to hope for – an image of turning swords into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. Now of course we no longer use swords and spears as much as guns and grenades, but the metaphor can still work. The future hope for weapons of destruction is that they become tools for creation. The hope is that we all contribute by walking in the light of the Lord, loving all our sisters and brothers. That instead of tearing each other down with words or actions, we will build each other up.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us to be always prepared because we do not know when he will return, he tells us to stay awake. To keep hope, because Christ will come again at an unknown day and hour. Now this thought may fill some people with anxiety because of the unknown. People generally like to plan. But it’s okay when things don’t go exactly to plan, and it’s also okay if we don’t know the exact plan. We don’t have to worry about the unknown, because God knows. And truly God is the only one who needs to know, because God can make all things work for good. And whether or not we know the ins and outs of all of God’s plans, we still need to continue to carry the hope, the light, of the Lord. But in a world filled with darkness, what does that even look like?
I recently came across a sermon looking at the term ‘woke’ and comparing it to Jesus telling us to be awake. Terms like woke, and political correctness, and virtue signalling have been tossed around so much in the past few years, but whenever I’ve heard Christians use these words it’s more often than not in a negative sense. I once heard a Christian minister say woke was basically political correctness on steroids, to which other ministers responded with eyerolls and chuckles. In the era of ‘Me too’ I’ve heard many Christians say the movement is just political correctness gone mad, as they don’t see any big deal with ‘innocently’ touching someone…with or without permission. And I’ve heard the term virtue signalling used countless times as an insult against fellow Christians who are pointing out injustices, whether that’s highlighting racist institutions, criticising the treatment of refugees by the government, or wearing a rainbow flag in support of the LGBTQ+ community, just to name a few things. So, although I thought I had a general idea to their meaning, I decided to look up the definition for each word:
Woke – alert to injustice in society, especially racism
Political correctness – the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalise, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.
Virtue signalling – the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.
When I look at these definitions, and look at the Gospel preached by Jesus, I can’t help but think Jesus was woke and politically correct and accused by the Pharisees of virtue signalling. Jesus called out injustices, he ate with the excluded, and spoke with the marginalised, and publicly called out the Pharisees for immoral actions that harmed so many people. So if Jesus was the epitome of these terms, why have so many Christians come to look at them as a stumbling block in society? As something to ridicule and mock instead of aspire to?
I think we might be afraid of being woke. I think when we hear Jesus say to stay awake, to always be prepared, it can be quite intimidating. It’s difficult to carry the light of hope at all times, especially when we feel so surrounded by hopelessness. And it’s difficult to challenge the status quo, especially when it’s all we’ve known our whole lives. But I think the readings today are asking us to face those difficulties full on with the support of God. The Isaiah reading calls for us to walk in the light of the Lord, and the Gospel tells us to stay awake. Surely that means to notice injustices and call them out. To see people who are hurting and bring them comfort. To listen to the marginalised and let their feelings be heard. The first Sunday of Advent is about hope, and if Christ taught us nothing else, it’s that the Gospel message is for everyone. So this Christian hope is for everyone. But we can’t bring it to everyone if we cling to what makes us comfortable. Sometimes stepping into the light of the Lord means stepping into discomfort. And staying prepared, staying awake, means being woke to injustices even if we are the only voice speaking against them.
So on this first Sunday of Advent, I encourage you to walk in the light, to shine with the light of God’s hope, to be woke and shine a light on injustices, knowing that you are walking with the Lord.
Reflections of a Christian 