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The lectionary readings this week paint a picture of hope. In the scriptures, God often anchors hope, which is all about the future, in the past, so that you, God’s chosen people, can live in the present.

You hope for the future because of the demonstrated faithfulness of God in the past. Lest you think this is somehow faithless—that you must have faith without the demonstrated faithfulness of God—observe how the Psalms constantly rehearse the faithfulness of the God as the bedrock of hope and faith. Or in Matthew 11, when John the Baptizer needs reassuring, Jesus shores up John’s faith with acts of faithfulness. Faith and hope are anchored in the demonstrated faithfulness of God.

We rehearse this time of Advent hope, not because we wait for God to do something, but because He already has. God sent His Son as a babe who was faithful. Now we live in an earth under His reign. We know the gates of hell cannot prevail against our advance because we are led by the one who crushed the serpent’s head.

Yes, we expectantly look forward to celebrating Jesus first coming, but we do so because we know the story. We hope in the continued victory of the reigning King of Kings, the babe from the stable, who has demonstrated His faithfulness to all people in every age. As the saying goes, Jesus is the reason for the season. With glad tidings and good cheer, anchor your hope this season in the demonstrated faithfulness of your Lord Jesus!

When reading the book of Proverbs, young men are confronted with two choices: Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly. It’s pretty clear who Solomon is angling for! But here’s a question for you: where is Husband Wisdom? Or who is Husband Wisdom? Solomon never really says, though in 8:22–31, he points to someone from the past, someone at the beginning of the Creation, a Master Workman at Yahweh’s right hand. But it’s not a question that is much of a focus in the book.

So who is Husband Wisdom? Well, that’s Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30–31), come to earth as a baby to receive his bride!

“The Word of the Father came down from heaven to teach the Way of Prudence to the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Wisdom was born of a virgin in the dead of winter to an heir of the house of Judah. Wisdom lived and grew before God and men (Luke 2:52). Wisdom came and spoke to us in [sayings], for he is greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). It was the will of the Father to send his beloved Wisdom to the folly of the Cross, and the joy of Wisdom to carry it (Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 12:2). That same Wisdom rose again, first-born of the dead, and now rules and reigns forever and ever!” (Mark Brians, Theopolis).

Having secured his bride, he now loves her and matures her that he may present her, the church, to himself in splendor, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So this Advent Season rejoice that he came for you, yes, YOU, to make you part of his bride, and he did so and is doing so in all wisdom! Rejoice! For you are not a lonely one, poor and needy (Psalm 113), but a glorious Princess clothed in the splendor of his love! (Psalm 45).

St. Mark’s Advent and Christmas Guide teaches that Advent is a time to remember that we live between the two major comings of Jesus in history, “that we must live by faith in Christ as we await his return,” and that “we are given to each other in the community of the church to encourage each other…”

Psalm 122 is one of this week’s Advent readings, and does a splendid job of displaying what it means to be a community that encourages one another.

It demonstrates the communal nature of worship: “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord,” and it is “our feet” that are standing within the gates of Jerusalem to participate in worship.

It describes Jerusalem, the worshipping community, as a body that is firmly bound together to give thanks to the Lord. It reminds us that we are under the Lord, who judges his city for their blessing, as the chief of the house of David.

It calls us, the city, the church, to pray for one another: to pray for peace and security amongst those who love the body.

Finally, it calls us to real, brotherly fellowship: “For my brothers and companion’s sake, I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’”, while at the same time exhorting us to seek each other’s good. And to do so for the glory of God!

So while our focus during Advent is the coming of the Lord, we aren’t to forget for whom he is coming: that brother or sister or child in front of you or behind you or to your side. Not only are we to pray for them, but to seek their peace and to love worshipping with them, because they, too, give thanks to the Lord!

In Genesis 1, God creates a three-tiered universe of the heavens, the land, and the waters below. The first three days he creates them, the next three days fills them, and then puts man in control of it all in Genesis 1:26: “…dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over… all the earth…” The three tiers show up all over the bible: it was seen in Psalm 8 in Pastor Joe’s sermon, and in my sermon in Revelation 12:12 and soon in 14:7.

This language of three-tiers of the universe is also in the second commandment, where God forbids us to bow down to an image of anything in “heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth” (Exodus 20:4). Stop for a second and take that in! God forbids us to bow down to images of anything! “Heaven, earth, and sea” means the whole universe!

In this holiday season, these are important words. Rather than worshipping things, or wealth, or beauty, or good times, or family, or coveting all that might go with those entities (like fake Coca-Cola Christmas scenes and all the emotions evoked by them), we are to worship the Trinity and give thanks for all that we’ve been given, and be content with that as well (1 Corinthians 4:7). We’re to be people of thanksgiving and joy, not envious or covetous of anything in the universe. We’re not to worship it or bow down to it, but rather “rejoicing in the Lord always…in everything by prayer…with thanksgiving letting our requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6–7). Or, as Paul said elsewhere, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). What a way to enjoy the universe God has blessed us with in Jesus!

It’s that time of year of waning light, and Christians get discouraged for multitudes of reasons: not enough sunlight, poor election results, wickedness accessible on all screens, idolatry of the general culture, rampant sexual immorality blasted in every medium, failing statesmen on all levels of government, holiday debt, kids just aren’t soaking in the discipline routines, conservatives are really Democrats in “go slower” hoodies, etc. We feel bleak, and that carries over into our estimation of Christ’s kingdom and the Great Commission: things look bleak (which is called “living by sight, not by faith.”).

So here’s a great quote to help you live by faith!

“It is often casually said that we live in post-Christian times. I believe that statement to be false. Theologically, the term ‘post-Christian’ makes no sense. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, and all the letters in between. He carries constitutionally the freshness of morning dew. Christianity is of the dawn. If, at times, during given periods, we feel enshrouded by twilight, it is because another day is in the making.” — Erik Varden, “Towards Dawn”

Wow! Now that’s inspirational, because it is TRUE! If in the fullness of time all things were and are united in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10), what are we doing moping? As Varden points out, Jesus always “is” in His reign and action and love and kingdom. We live in the “regeneration,” the new world order, where Christ sits on his glorious throne, and we are ruling with Him (Matthew 19:28).

But Jesus isn’t just sitting there! No, he’s moving the heavenly Jerusalem to imprint itself upon the earth. He is making all things new, each and every day.

Meditate on that this season, and rejoice that Jesus “is” the daily dawn!

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ…shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly…not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock… Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another…” (1 Peter 5.1-5).

Church membership really is an exercise in humility and like-mindedness.

For the elders (elder means “old guy” in both Hebrew and Greek), they have to humbly accept the sheep that God gives them, and willingly exercise oversight over those sheep; not under compulsion but as a gift, the gift of eternal souls being shepherded unto eternal life. Peter says they can’t bully the sheep into heaven, but that the elders have to be examples to the sheep. In humility they can’t push them away, but have to consider that they, too, are sheep, and must shepherd as they would want to be shepherded. That’s like-mindedness for those under your care. Peter makes it also clear the shepherding is to be done eagerly unto Christ, as it is God’s flock, without any “fleecing” of the sheep for shameful gain. Those in authority often use their power to ascribe further power or possessions for themselves; but Peter says “no” to such malarkey. The “gain” is to the sheep.

For the members, who are younger than the “old guys,” they are told to be subject to the old guys, clothing themselves with humility. So “might is not right” for youth with respect to subjection to the leaders; but a refusal to use that youthfulness and strength while listening and following the wisdom of those who have traveled the paths ahead many times over. The youth learn from the old guys how to navigate the future with holiness, watching and following their example.

People often ask, “Is there a compelling reason for church membership presented in the Bible?” Of course there is!

In the book of Numbers, God knows exactly who his sheep are, because he counts them twice: once after the Red Sea, and then just before entering the Holy Land, after the older, rebellious generation has died off. He knows who He is responsible for, and they know who to obey.

Same thing after the exile: 1 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah all have lists of those who came back.

Jesus also says that he knows his sheep, and that they know his voice. Since he appoints men in the church to lead his church and keep the keys of the kingdom

in Matthew 16, it only makes sense that they also are to know who they are responsible for, and for those cared for to know the voices of their leaders.

Hebrews 13:17 provides the clearest compelling argument for membership in a local congregation: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account…” The individuals have to know the names of the men who rule over them, as one cannot obey a nebulous or undefined leadership. Likewise, a body of elders cannot render an account to God for an undefined membership either!

So this verse (see also Hebrews 13:7 and 1 Peter 5:1–5) requires two lists of names—a list of the elders and a list of the members! We’re not talking about some impressionist painting of fuzzy sheep and shepherds on a distant hillside while working with smudgy brushes!

For some reason, the skeletons all around my neighborhood (most are bleached white, though a few are fluorescent orange and green!) never seem to make it out of the ground. They are still “buried.” Often they are surrounded by signs that read “No one leaves!” or “No one gets out!” Definitely signs of the times: we fear death, it’s scary, but we die and that’s it. In the grave and don’t leave. How sad!

But for the Christian gospel, death is a whole other thing! Why? Because Jesus incorporated death into life. Christian faith means faith in a God who makes death into a positive feature of life. “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17b-18). By being the “first Man,” Jesus established the possibility of a different stance toward suffering and death. Life after the cross, and life in light of the cross, is a life in which death never has the final word, but where death is the means and path toward new, more expansive resurrection life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11).

Faith in the God of the future (“I am alive forevermore”), who is also revealed in the cross, enables us to die not only to all the false gods out there in the world, but even to ourselves day after day, and move to the future. Death to our selfish selves, to our sins, to our ungodly aspirations, and even wrecked situations we find ourselves in so much, means moving forward in the resurrection life of Jesus. The Christian life is one of daily death and resurrection, and because of Jesus, death has paradoxically become the key to everlasting life. Even abundant life!

That’s something you really need to share with the owners of those skeletons!

When we think about time and holidays, we are bound to think about calendars. Why? Because calendars write history, helping us to remember the great events. Days, festivals, holidays, the order of meals, rest and vacations, together with religiously observed rituals and symbols, are sources of history.

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy notes that modern society is “completely sensational, totally forgetful, and wonderfully devoid of memory.” He said that seventy-five years ago! He hit the iPhone video MO directly on the head!

That’s why he liked calendars! They shape time by commemorating cataclysmic events that open and close epochs; and the societal creativity to mark those epochs give form to time. They give time rhythm, and that’s important for the church. ERH notes that “liturgical rhythm is expressed in terms of Sunday and weekday, Christmas and Easter, Pentecost and Advent.”

The church’s calendar defies natural time. Nature has 365 days, but the church’s 365 days express the true infinity of all time from beginning of the world to its end. The reasoning mind sees time as consisting of units, days, or years. But for Christian faith, “one year’s course inducts into the whole linear expanse of all time. So much so, that from Christmas to Easter, a whole lifetime of thirty years is remembered, and from Pentecost to Advent, the whole experience of mankind through the Old Testament and our whole era is remembered.”

For ERH it’s clear that our understanding of time is deeply rooted by Christian convictions concerning Jesus, his death and resurrection, and eschatology. So the Christian faith “gives unity to humanity’s times by giving humanity a common future…humanity lives a unified time and history only because of Jesus.”

By now you are sick of all the Halloween unDecorations, since they celebrate death and grossness and witchcraft and demons, albeit sometimes in a funny way, as in all the Minions in my neighbor’s front yard. You can’t help but chuckle—they are cute and they overcome the tragedy of death comically. But the sadness with all the skeletons is that it is a parody of the resurrection, albeit without bodies and flesh. Leave it to Satan to promise resurrection without skin and flesh and warmth and beauty! No thanks; I’ll take the true resurrection in Christ!

Which brings us back to some of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s observations. He notes that in observing a national holiday, say the War of Independence, it “celebrates more than survival: Through the holiday the tragic events, the death involved in the events commemorated, are incorporated into communal life, as we look ‘with condescension’ on our conflicts because we have triumphed over them. Holidays are the mortar of society; the fruit of a holiday’s observance is the rebirth of the community.” Why? Because as we view the painful events of the past, we “see the connection of death with birth, of darkness with light, of heaven with earth.”

He further notes that “the fellowship of a normal group…is the answer to our hunger for rhythm. Without holidays, humans are deprived of the necessary rhythm of time, and suffer psychologically.”

So we, first, ought to be at regular weekly worship; that gives us the Lord’s Day rhythm, from which the rest of the week flows. Secondly, let us remember to invite our family, friends, and neighbors not only to church holiday observances, but also to our homes for coffee, drinks, and sweets, just to fellowship around the holidays. What a privilege to exhibit peace and trust in Jesus to our neighbors so joyfully!

The Hallowed Eve decorations are all up, so it would be good to think about the “holidays.” Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (ERH), a German-American Christian thinker who ended up in the Harvard Divinity school since he talked a lot about God, has some great observations about the “holidays” worthy of consideration.

ERH argued that holidays are “time-bettering days” — days that improve time by furthering communities, helping to form a group with something “common.” He said, “On a holiday, we share one time and one space although we are divided by self-interest, by age, by wealth, by occupation, by climate, by language, by race, by history; we carry on as though we were one and the same man, regardless of birth, unafraid of death…unperturbed by fear.” He noted that “even the apparent idleness of a Puritan town was productive because it was a matter of being idle together. Puritans labored “for being idle together. The gathering of the idle was primary.”

He further notes that “on holidays, a community triumphs over tragedy…” The power of a holiday consists in the ascendancy over tragedy. Holidays “…place us at the center of existence where death becomes the gate to life.” He means that …“holidays commemorate the great moments, often the great crises, of a community’s history.” (quotes from Peter J. Leithart, I Respond, Though I Shall Be Changed)

Of course, that’s exactly the Christian Church Year of holidays — remembering and celebrating, by being together as a community, the life we have in Christ, having been saved by the great tragedy of Christ on the Cross.

So during this season of holidays, take time to be “idle” with the body of Christ, relaxing and celebrating and being together in the Sunshine of Christ’s love!

“As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them…And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed…It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold” (Dan 2.34, 44b-45a).

Twice Daniel mentions to King Nebuchadnezzar that the statue he saw will be destroyed by a stone “cut out by no human hand.” Why is he told that? Why are you told that? What are you, in your bible reading, supposed to be connecting?

In the scriptures, uncut stones, stones no iron tool is used on, are “altar stones” (Ex. 20:25; Dt. 27:5–6: Josh 8:31). So this is an “altar stone” that destroys the statue in the days of the iron and clay feet (Roman oikumene/empire). Say what?

Since the “stone” grows to be a “great mountain that fills the whole earth” and a “kingdom that shall never be destroyed” (vv. 35, 44), we can surmise that this kingdom is built upon worship, since worship took place at the altar, where the sacrificial offerings were placed. Particularly the worship of the stone, the rock of God, Jesus himself, the Son of Man, who receives the kingdom later on in chapter 7. Jesus appears during the Roman iron/clay era, is worshipped, and then the Apostles expand the worship of Jesus by planting churches, places of singing, praying, fellowshipping, feasting and teaching, all “altar” associated activities in the temple, where altars are normally found. So the kingdom expands, filling the world; and it does so through the worship of the gathered body of Christ!