Advent 1 B + Wait for the Lord (Bilingual) + 12.3.23

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M. and A. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard and St Mike’s, Isla Vista

(Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37)

 

Wait for the Lord, whose day is near
Wait for the Lord, be strong take heart

This is a popular song in the Taizé tradition. Esta es una canción popular de la tradición de Taize en Francia. Es hermoso y pacífico y, sin embargo, hay un indicio de la forma en que se habla del Día del Señor en las Escrituras. While peaceful, it hints at the coming of the Lord.  “Be strong” and “take heart” are not words that are said when everything is going well.  Y el pasaje de hoy de Isaías está lleno del conocimiento seguro de que esperamos y suplicamos la presencia de Dios desde un lugar de quebrantamiento y dolor. And in Isaiah today we hear: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,” a lament.  And in the imagery of tearing a garment, the writer asks God to bridge the gap and join our human lament over the brokenness of our world. Con la imagen de rasgar un vestimento, Isaías pide que Dios alcanza a la humanidad tras nuestras diferencias.

Earlier this week I watched the movie “The Holdovers.” Mas temprano esta semana vi la película “The Holdovers.” It tells the story of a Christmas break in 1970 in a boys’ boarding school when there are just a few boys who are held over during the holidays due to their family situations. Se trata de un grupo de jóvenes que tiene que quedar en la escuela durante los tiempos festivos. At first, the boys all seem super entitled, and they clash with the stern and incalcitrant professor who is put in charge of caring for them, who wants their break to be full of a long study and exercise regimen. Los jóvenes se ven muy malos, y su profesor es muy estricto. También hay una cocinera quien está de luto porque ha perdido su único hijo en la Guerra en Vietnam. The head of the kitchen, Mary, is also staying over as she mourns her only child who has just died in Vietnam. Se nota que Mary y su hijo son moreno pero los otros son blancos. Mary and her son are black and a point is made that he is the only recent Barton graduate to perish in Vietnam (although in the opening scenes of the film we see that many graduates have perished in World Wars I and II). After many of the boys are able to go with a wealthy classmate who is going skiing to spend the rest of the break, only the professor, the cook and one boy are left. Después de que se van los otros chicos a esquiar, quedan atrás solo el profesor, un solo muchacho y la cocinera, y se conocen más- hasta se convierten un poco en una familia. As they get to know each other at a different level, the exterior veneer is removed.  As they begin to share the real stories of their lives, they begin to become genuine family for each other. Their pain disrupts the jollity of the holiday, and it becomes a bridge that brings them into a place of new connection and hope. Mientras que vemos lo bonito del tiempo festivo, estamos recordados también de su dolor y humanidad.[1] What I love about this film, and about the passage from Isaiah today, is the reminder that we are all human. Complex, liable to fail even when we try to do right.  Somos complejos y estamos llenos de alegrías y tristezas. Intentamos hacer lo correcto y, sin embargo, también fallamos. We wait for the Lord, and we await God’s coming.

In Isaiah it says:

“We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.”

“todas nuestras buenas obras son como un trapo sucio”

Bible commentators note that another translation of “filthy cloth” here is “menstrual rag.” Disculpa por la palabra, pero “el trapo sucio” aquí es un trapo menstrual. With apologies to sensitive ears, I include this point because it makes the point that our humanity is what is at play here. Esto muestra nuestra humanidad- es algo completamente natural. A period rag is not sinful; it is just human. For observant Jews, being around one would make one ritually unclean, but it is not a moral failing. Es ritualmente impuro para un judío observante, pero no es malo. What is needed is not greater effort on the part of humanity to become less human.  What we need is a bridge between our humanity and God. Lo que necesitamos no es ser menos humano, sino buscar un puente entre nosotros y Dios.

I know that, because we are complex humans, we may each have hang-ups about turning to God or waiting for God. Podemos tener preocupaciones sobre esperar para Dios como seres humanos. We may fear that God may be slow to forgive, even as we have heard that God is running to us waiting to embrace us. Or we may have experienced some pain or loss so deep that we are having a hard time forgiving God. Tal vez sentimos que Dios no nos perdonara, pero a veces yo creo que nos dificulta perdonar a Dios. This prayer in Isaiah echoes all of that. Esto escuchamos en Isaías, aun en el momento en que el autor culpa a Dios por alejarse del pueblo.  The writer even goes so far as to blame God for the people’s wrongdoing. If God hadn’t turned away, we would have been able to do the right thing. 
As the world around us turns jolly, we are invited into quiet. Into wonder. Into silence. And waiting. Mientras que el mundo se pone festivo, este tiempo de Adviento nos pide ir más lento, y prestar más atención. But you may have noticed a theme.  Tal vez han notado un tema. Our waiting does not change our humanity. We are not the ones who build the bridge. No somos nosotros los quienes construyen el puente entre los seres humanos y Dios. In response to the question, “Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?” Anthony de Mello is quoted as saying, “As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.”  Dicen que el teólogo Anthony de Mello dijo que no se puede hacer nada para iluminarnos. “Then of what use,” the questioner continues, “are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?”  And the reply comes back, “[They] are to make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”[2]  El sugiere que todo lo que hacemos como gente de fe es para no estar dormidos cuando se levanta el sol. This, I think, is the meaning of Jesus’ apocalyptic imagery in Mark alongside the parable of the fig leaves. Esto es el significado del higo.  We are asked to stay awake, to refuse to be distracted by the noise, and instead pay attention to a leaf budding on a tree.  Just as the prophet Elijah discovered that God was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire but was heard in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19: 11-13). Justo como Elías vio a Dios no en el viento, ni en el terremoto, ni en el fuego sino en la voz tranquila de Dios, estamos invitados a buscar las señales silenciosas de la nueva vida emergente de Dios.   We are asked to notice the little things that speak of God’s ongoing breath bringing new life, to pause and listen for a baby’s cry in the midst of the cacophony of war and destruction.  Stay awake.  Mantenganse despiertos.

Wait for the Lord, whose day is near
Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart.

Take heart, because what we wait for is our salvation. We may fear the coming of God because of the overtones of judgment that we have heard about. Que recordemos que esperamos no solo el juicio, pero realmente esperamos nuestra salvación. We love to celebrate a baby, but the second coming is, let’s face it, kind of scary. No tiene que ser demasiado temoroso. But it needn’t be negatively scary. It is about renewing our sense of awe at the awe-full day of God’s coming.

“Señor Dios de los Ejércitos, restáuranos;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.”

We are wholly imperfect human beings. But God loves us that way. Dios nos ama como los seres humanos perfectamente imperfectos quienes somos. And we are invited to rest in God this Advent. Estamos invitados a esperar a que Dios cierre la brecha de nuestra humanidad. Advent helps us remember that we are human. And that we can embrace all of it. Podemos abrazar toda nuestra humanidad en el Adviento. Even the parts we don’t understand. Especially those.

As we prepare for Christmas, we remember Jesus Christ who was born many years ago. Mientras nos preparamos para la Navidad, recordamos a Jesucristo, quien nació hace muchos años. But we also look forward to the light of the One who is coming. Pero tambien miramos hacia El quien viene. The Christ for whom we wait. El Salvador que hará nuevas todas las cosas. The potter who will mold all of us into something new and wonderful. La que se lamenta con nosotras para traer alegría duradera. 

Amen.


[1] “The Holdovers,” 2023 (Alexander Payne dir.)

[2] Anthony de Mello, quoted in At This Time (Bill Skeehan, published by The Community of St James, Bartlesville, OK). N.d.

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