Responsive Reading - "Why Not a Star" by Margaret Gooding, #621 in Singing the Living Tradition

"Advent" by David Rankin in Dancing in the Empty Spaces

During the Advent season, we celebrate the qualities of faith, hope, love, and joy. Yet these must be viewed through the prison of paradox.

No Faith is worthy without the capacity to doubt all things-for then it is only credulity.
No Hope is possible without the specter of defeat in the wings-for then it is only dreaming.
No Love is strong without the dread of loss in the heart-for then it is only passion.
No Joy is complete without the certainty of sorrow in the future-for then it is only frivolity.

Thus it is wrong to mislead people with simplistic notions, for they distract us from the fullness of life. After all, the seas have storms, the clouds have lighting, and the roses have thorns-forever.

Today is the official beginning of Advent, the season when Christians prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth. Advent is marked by special prayers and rituals, including the lighting of the Advent wreath as we did this morning. The challenge for Unitarian Universalists, particularly for those of us who don't call ourselves Christian, is to find our own meaning in this season.

Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and is a time of expectation and quiet reflection. The word Advent means "an arrival" or "coming." Advent symbolizes the time when Mary was pregnant with Jesus and anticipates his birth. It symbolizes the time of waiting for Christmas Day. It is a hopeful time, although Mary, according to the Gospel of Luke, had to endure a most difficult journey to Bethlehem. This is a well known story... the one about Joseph and Mary responding to an edict from the regional governor in Syria, about riding on a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. A good outcome for Mary and her baby was not assured, especially after such a journey, especially under such primitive circumstances as giving birth in a manger. So along with a time of hope, it is a time of uncertainty.

Then after the birth, we are told, everything is wonderful. The Magi, the wise men, are guided to the manger by a star in the east, hoping to visit the newborn king and give him gifts. An angel announces to some rather startled and terrified shepherds in the field, "Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the messiah, the Lord." Wow, how wonderful! The promised Savior long awaited by the Jewish people!

Christianity claims this savior was promised by the early Hebrew prophets. For instance, the words of the prophet Isaiah are echoed in a familiar Christmas carol: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

Each lighted candle has a special meaning, although the meanings differ somewhat from one Christian tradition to another. During this month of Advent, as each successive Sunday passes, one more candle is lit to join the others. The faithful sit in quiet reflection on each particular meaning. Traditionally, Christians lit the first candle in repentance for sins. It was a time of fasting and prayer. This is still true in Catholic churches. But some other churches have changed and softened the meaning of the first candle to simply expectations and hopes for the future. These hopes are based on the core Christian belief... trust in God's promise to save the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. The candles that follow on successive Sundays have other meanings: a second candle for peace and a third candle for love. The fourth is a pink candle of joy, the joy of Mary. A large white candle in the middle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, symbolizing the baby Jesus... as the Light that came into the world.

Now Unitarian Universalists don't take the gospel stories of Jesus' birth literally. It's not just the miracle about the virgin birth. Or about being the one and only Son of God. It's that we UUs are among the doubters, the skeptics who question God's promise of a bright future. We doubt the psalmist's words: "Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land."

As David Rankin said, "...it is wrong to mislead people with simplistic notions, for they distract us from the fullness of life. After all, the seas have storms, the clouds have lightning, and the roses have thorns - forever."

We doubt the angel's words after the birth (if there was indeed an angel.) And we think what, after all, is really sure in this life? A good outcome to a birth, any birth? A good outcome for our society or for our world? We might envy those folks who seem so certain of their faith. Even if we think they might be wrong, it must give them such comfort. Yet we know there can be no perfect world now or in the future. We are merely hopeful that all this will evolve into a better world over time.

How are we to find meaning in a season which focuses on a miracle and a supposed promise of salvation for true believers? What can Advent mean to us of a liberal religion? I do think it can have meaning. I think that Advent offers us an opportunity to reflect and to deepen our awareness of the spiritual values celebrated by this holy season. We can meditate on hope, on peace, on love and on joy. And we can think how might we give birth to these qualities in our own lives. I thought of four Advent lessons for Unitarian Universalists and offer them here. Maybe you could think of more.

The First Lesson is about expectations. Our liberal religion believes in the power of the ordinary person to make a difference. We realize that many religions put their hopes in one savior. This could be Jesus or Buddha or Mohammed or Zarathustra. It's a pretty universal hope. It is a common human wish that our tribe... or our country or our world... be saved by an avatar, a god who comes to earth in human form or by some otherwise miraculous human being. It is also normal for people to deify their leaders and to worship them... until they discover their heroes have feet of clay.

In our liberal faith, we expect not just one lone savior. Instead we put our hopes in the potential of many human beings to create a better world. We look toward the gifts and the strengths of each individual and place our faith in working together to bring about our dreams of a better world for all. We not only pray for peace and justice and equality in our society and our world, but we believe that we are the instruments to bring these goals about. The more God-centered among us believe we are God's instruments, that we are co-creators with God in this world. A common phrase perhaps, but so basic to our liberal beliefs.

This is the hope and promise expressed by Margaret Gooding in the responsive reading. "Why not a star? Some bright star shines somewhere in the heavens each time a child is born. Who knows what it may foretell? Who knows what uncommon life may yet again unfold, if we but give it a chance!"

Lesson Number Two is about our hopes for the world. We hope not for eternal life in the next world, the promise of Christianity, but for a better world here on Earth. And being realists, we don't expect perfection, a perfect Kingdom of God or perfect Beloved Community. We know this world is and always will be imperfect. "After all, the seas have storms, the clouds have lighting, and the roses have thorns-forever." There will be no Second Coming, no sudden change, but hopefully a gradual evolution toward something better.

We are also aware of the limitation of earthly resources and that competition among nations and people must give way to cooperation. I believe this realization is growing among people everywhere. It's not universal, but it is growing and spreading. And we realize the need for a peaceful and cooperative world community in order for all humanity to survive. So we put our hopes in this growing cooperative spirit.

But we must be patient and wise. The wait for a significantly better world may be long. We see signs of progress, but also signs of regression. We are all too aware of how the world is suffering... from war, from genocide, from terror and from environmental degradation. We can get very overwhelmed and discouraged if we dwell on these too long.

Yet there are also signs of progress everywhere, like in science and medicine. We saw signs of progress in our state elections this past November. We see it in the growth of the European Union. In these we gain hope and strength. Just remember that Christians have been waiting patiently (or maybe not so patiently) for nearly 2,000 years for the Second Coming. We can wait for human progress, as well.

Lesson Number Three is about practicing love and compassion: We can cause small ... and perhaps larger...changes in our own spheres of home, school, work and community. It doesn't take miracles, but desire and persistence. Do the tough work of democracy by voting and through campaigning and advocacy for what matters most to you. Do the gentle work of practicing kindness and compassion.

Lesson Number Four is about peace and joy: We can find peace and joy within ourselves. We need to live life as best we can now. And strive to overcome bitterness, resentment and anger. I won't deny that these are normal reactions to the trials and stresses of illness, abuse or other misfortune. But to hold on to negative emotions is only harmful to ourselves... and to those around us. Develop habits of love and compassion towards yourself and toward others. Take good care of your body and spirit. Breathe. Meditate. Seek a direct experience of the divine. Pray. Celebrate life and find joy where you can. Know that your birth, too, was a miracle. Nurture within yourselves the miracle of being fully awake and fully human.

Advent is the time of darkness, a time of waiting, a time of becoming, a time of change. Like Mary, we can acknowledge the difficult challenges before us and celebrate the wonder that comes within living. Like Mary, we can change ourselves and our world by practicing a spiritual discipline of peace. Let us practice peace.

Amen. And blessed be.