Faith for Today, Hope for Tomorrow
Advent 1 – Narrative Lectionary 1
November 30, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Habakkuk 1.1-4, 2.2-4, 3.17-19
I don’t really want to talk about the events in Ferguson, MO and some of you might not want me to talk about them either. Truth be told, I don’t know much about what has happened other than what I’ve overheard. That’s because in my experience all of the “news” around these events tends to be hyped gossip and over-wrought speculation. I did see the District Attorney’s statement the other night and President Obama’s following, but under duress because they interrupted the shows I watching. Frankly, I have a lot more questions about the situation than a particular position to stake out.
However, the text from Habakkuk today seems to be tailor-made for it: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help? … Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.” The prophet lives in a time of immense pressure. The Assyrians forces that have been so threatening to the southern kingdom of Judah have been replaced by the Babylonians, with the Persians waiting in the wings. Habakkuk acknowledges that they haven’t been the best of people, but then says “enough is enough.”
Habakkuk calls God out in a way that looks familiar to us. A while back we studied the Psalms and found various types, including the lament. As we remember from that series, the lament has particular characteristics. One of them is an acknowledgement that life is not fair and downright pathetic and tragic. But, in addition to honestly naming the pain and heartbreak, the lament is based on the assumption that God is still God—even when we can’t see it—and that God can and will act.
It is also providential that today begins the season of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, when God took on human flesh to walk with us. The themes of Advent coincide with Habakkuk’s lament and might give us way forward through how to think about Ferguson. In many ways, the themes almost seem contradictory, or at least in creative tension with each other. On the one hand, Advent is “liturgical head-slap” that tells us to, “Wake up!” we are to be alert and watch for God’s coming. On the other hand, at the same time it reminds us that God takes the long view and we are to be about waiting. However, the waiting for God is not a passive waiting, but a dynamic, active, anticipatory waiting.
The Advent sub-theme for today is hope and we are also reminded that hope is not wishful thinking or pie-in-the-sky dreaming. Hope is faith oriented to the future on is based on the conviction that God is working in our world, if not on our timetable. In essence, God’s response to Habakkuk and to us challenges our craving for quick fixes and easy answers. While we are actively waiting for God to bring about all that God promises, hope keeps us going. Hope gets us out of bed in the morning when we want to pull the covers over our heads. Hope helps us put one foot in front of the other, moving forward when we want to run and hide. Hope prods us to live into God’s future vision rather than be resigned to our present nightmares.
So, what do we do about Ferguson? First, I think we have to enter into a period of lament and there is plenty to lament about: the loss of life in all its multifaceted expressions; functional racism in a society that has come far but has far to go; and people living in fear and mistrust of one another, a mistrust that destroys community. Second, as we trust and hope in God’s working, we actively wait by being engaged to make our own communities better. We need to figure out ways to really talk and listen to others, to build bridges instead of barriers. We can do that right here in our area so that we don’t become another Ferguson. I don’t want to talk about this, be we have to, because God calls us to act as we wait. We do so because we stand at the foot of the cross of the One who gave himself and invites us give ourselves, too. Let’s wake up to what God is calling us to do in our world, actively waiting in hope until the day God makes it all in all. Amen.
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