First Sunday of Advent / December 2, 2018\
Jeremiah 33: 14-15 Psalm 25: 1-10 I Thessalonians 3: 9-13 Luke 21: 25-36
“Do we have a right to weariness in an era of animus? More precisely, can we afford it, or is exhaustion a luxury reserved for those whose wealth, privilege and status insulate them from the losses the rest of us suffer?“
These questions were asked by New York Times columnist Charles Blow in a November article titled “You Have a Right to Weariness.“
Many of us enter the new church year wary and weary. We have been worn down and nearly worn out by the continuing struggle to preserve the best in our nation and our churches. We cry out: How long?
Bury martyrs
Guillaume Courtois (1628–1679) created "Saints Abdon and Sennen Bury the Remains of Christian Martyrs" circa 1656/57. The fresco is currently located in the Basilica of St. Mark the Evangelist in Rome. (Public Domain Photo/Wikimedia Commons)
And our lectionary gospel for Sunday answers back: O ye of little endurance, do you think you are the first to know weariness in your well-doing?
Remember the church for which the Gospel of Luke was written was a church in long-term resistance, struggling every day for its life against hunger, poverty, enslavement and the military domination of the Roman Empire.
To this weary people the apocalyptic vision attributed to Jesus may have seemed like the only chance for liberation: “...signs in moon, and the stars, and on earth distress among nations...Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory“ (Luke 21: 25-28). This is the cry of one whose people are at the mercy of merciless masters and can only look to divine intervention for their salvation.
The drama of this vision is tempered by Jesus‘ parable of the fig tree: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.“ (21: 29)
Agricultural images press the long view. An experienced social activist once advised young ones to “plant dates as well as pumpkins.“ (Pumpkins grow in a few months; a date grove takes forty years.)
Charles Blow reviewed how black people survived and thrived during the “weary years“ of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. “The recurring themes are to never lose hope in the ultimate victory of righteousness, to focus your fire on the things you are most able to change; and to realize that change is neither quick nor permanent.“
The good news about our weariness is that God calls us to times of rest and trust and provides courage for us in our efforts at well-doing “for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.“ (Galatians 6:9)
When we rest in the Holy One we are refreshed for our work. Harriet Beecher Stowe gave her long life to abolition. She wrote both "Uncle Tom‘s Cabin" and the devotional hymn “Still, Still, with Thee.“ She knew both the underground railroad schedules and the communion prayers. She trusted finally in God---and she did not lose heart.
So let us stay alert and pray: "O Lord, let us weary in thy work but not of it." (John Wesley)
The Rev. Bill Steward is a retired clergy member of the Iowa Annual Conference. Together with the Rev. Bill Cotton he produces MEMO for Those Who Preach, which is distributed by email. Click here to subscribe.