DO OVER!

I remember as a kid playing backyard games with the neighbors and other local friends.   Occasionally, one of us would screw our turn up horribly and you’d hear “Do Over!”  Even as an adult we are not immune to this desire, as an adult it sounds like this, “Mulligan!”  It is our way of expressing the desire to have another shot at it, to give ourselves another chance at being as good as we believe we are.

In their book, “Can I Get a Do Over?”, Rick Domeier and Max Davis tell the story of René Uzé who built his dream life from the ground up.  He knew he was born to cut hair, and in high school he started doing so using his bedroom as a salon, first cutting the hair of his team mates, then the cheerleaders wanted him to cut their hair and then their parents became clients.  Eventually, he owned one of the most successful high-end salons in New Orleans.  Just as life seemed perfect, Hurricane Katrina hit.  Literally everything René had worked for was lost.  As he was putting his life back together, he was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.  With fearlessness and ambition, René has defied his cancer and his doctor's expectations.  He now owns two successful salons in the Baton Rouge, LA area where he relocated after Hurricane Katrina.  Talk about a Do Over!

Well look around the sanctuary this morning.  It looks, it sounds, it feels, it even smells like Advent.  The wreaths, purple vestments, hymns, familiar biblical text.  There’s enough snow dropping in the Northeast that they’re going to have to pull out the snow mobiles & horse drawn carriages.  The Salvation Army bell ringers are out.  Kids are counting the days until Christmas.  Here we go…again.¹

But it doesn’t get any better.  I’m not talking about our singing or the opportunities here to serve the church, you know what I mean—life, the world, the struggles, the suffering, the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven kind of thing.  I’m talking about the big picture out there; ok maybe in here (in the heart)…it doesn’t get any better.  Advent and this do-over thing!!

Each year many preachers and retreat masters will go to great lengths to try to explain the apocalyptic literature in the Bible, every Advent, every do-over.  Yet when we stop to think about it, such apocalyptic consciousness is not just about biblical literature.  Nor is it only in video games and fantasy novels.  More than 6,800 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  More than 52,000 have been wounded.  According to the US Census statistics, 46.7 million people live in poverty, 16 million of those were children.  1 in 5 children in the United States live in poverty, 2.2 billion in the world!  Statistics of apocalyptic proportions.  Words with apocalyptic connotations are everywhere.  Words like rampage, surge, famine.  Workplace, family, random violence, war on drugs, pandemic.  Preachers don’t prime your apocalyptic imagination.  The world already takes care of that.  It’s never far from home either.  Every time we gather as the Body of Christ, you know there is someone whose daily battle is beyond description.  Someone who is living a story of endurance and perseverance, a family member struggling with addictions, someone labeled as a “surviving spouse”.  Life and how when Advent comes around, yeah—it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.¹

In the Gospel we hear Jesus tells his disciples, “There will be signs … that will leave this world in dismay and perplexed...” (Lk 21:25) and to “beware that your hearts do not become drowsy … with the anxieties of life.” (Lk 21:34)  To “be vigilant at all times and pray… (Lk 21:36).

When these signs appear, when life’s challenges happen, Jesus said, when that’s how it feels, when the Advent do-over just isn’t working … right then, stand up and raise your head, because redemption is drawing near.  Your redemption.  Your salvation.  Your liberation.  Your forgiveness.  Your new life is drawing near.  God is drawing near.  Jesus is drawing near.  Not just because the calendar marches on, not just because we’re on the clock, but because life happens.

The Real Presence of Christ is present here.  Just as he promised, “I am here, this is my body broken for you, this is my blood shed for you.”  Forgiveness, Liberation, Salvation, Redemption.  Take and eat, drink my blood, “…stand erect and raise your heads for your redemption is at hand.” (Lk 21:28)  The sacramental, apocalyptic promise of God.

In an unpredictable world, God assures us of his care.  In the midst of our vulnerability, God comes as the most vulnerable of all, a new born child.² Can you imagine how individuals, congregations, and other communities might grow if we embraced this do-over time to clarifying and strengthening our ability to stand, head raised in the midst of our own vulnerabilities by the end of November next year?³  Neither can I, but it sounds worthy of our best “Do Over” effort.

References:

    Scriptures: Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

1 Hungry, and You Fed Me. Edited by Deacon Jim Knipper © 2012 “Be vigilant at all time.” by David A. Davis

2 Sundays with Jesus. James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2006. Paulist Press.

3 Wrestling Year C, Connecting Sunday Readings with Lived Experience. Wesley White © 2015. In Medias Res, LLC.