Advent Begins in Rome
December 1, 2024 Advent 1
Have you ever been to the Colosseum in Rome? The Colosseum is the largest and oldest amphitheater in the world, right in the heart of the Eternal City! I climbed those ancient stone steps, after talking my mother into going to Rome while we were backpacking in Europe after my graduation. Somehow Rome was not on our planned itinerary. So, I convinced her to spend 14 hours in Rome. We packed in quite a lot. We toured the Vatican, Trevi fountain, the Catacombs and the Colosseum. I was fascinated to learn that the Colosseum was built in the same period that the gospels were written. If only those stones could talk.
Today marks the beginning of Advent, our time of preparing and waiting for the birth of Jesus. This year we are approaching Advent through the lens of journey, place, location. Inspired by the book, On the Way to Bethlehem (OTWTB), by Rob Fuquay, Dr. Marcia McFee curated our worship series. We are studying this book for our Advent study, on Monday afternoons. All are welcome!
You might be wondering what Rome has to do with Advent. Why are we starting here? As you saw in our Video Journey, the impetus for the entire birth narrative is when Caesar Augustus calls for a census, for the world to be registered. Emperor Augustus was adopted by Julius Caesar, his great uncle, and took his uncle’s name. His reign marked the beginning of Pax Romana, the two-hundred-year Roman peace. Caesar Augustus built aqueducts and roadways and expanded the military. His decree to be registered was a way to generate taxes for all this expansion. Listen now for God’s word Luke 2:1-3
Rome was the seat of power. It modernized much of the world. Rome shaped the culture, the laws, and even the beliefs of people of other nations, races and religions. For the Roman citizens it was a time of peace. But for the Jews it was a time of occupation. Herod the Great was a Jew who enforced Rome’s power. He rose to power through his association with Marc Antony and Caesar Augustus. Emperor Augustus gave Herod the title king of Judea. Herod kept the Jews inline. But this oppression created longings. They longed for freedom, justice and peace. But changing the way things were felt impossible. They longed for something better. Their longings were borne out of having little power, voice or vote. Paul spoke of the longing people have for something better. Paul used the language of bondage, “subjected, futility, and enslavement,” to express this longing. Remember the Jews were occupied by many nations. As we begin Advent, what longing do you bring with you? What does your heart yearn for as we start this new church year and prepare to welcome God’s Son? We “wait with eager longings,” Paul writes, before shifting to hope, before shifting to birthing pains.
When a couple is expecting a baby, they are filled with longings, hopes and dreams for a healthy child. But before those dreams can emerge, the mother must endure birthing pains. Thankfully, those intense pains evaporate once the mother holds her child. Paul uses this image to remind us that there will be pain, and there is always hope.
We might be feeling hopeless right now. Not sure how we will endure the next four years. But that means we are placing a great deal of energy in our Rome. You see Rome is that place where decisions impact your life beyond your control. We might call Washington DC our Rome, or Sacramento. But instead of decrees we call them Executive Orders. There will be many Executive Orders that will try our patience. But it is when we can’t see God moving that faith is required.
Where is your hope? Does your hope lie in our Rome, in Washington DC, with its power and problems. Or does your hope come from God? Do you trust that God is moving even when we cannot see it.
A seminary professor was praying in his office one day when he was interrupted by a student, named Mike Ford. The student asked what he was praying for. The president explained he was trying to add a distinguished British scholar, Andrew Lincoln, to the faculty. The president knew Lincoln would have a great impact on the students if only the government would grant a work visa. The student said he might be able to help with that. The student’s father was Gerald Ford, who had just become president of the United States. Sure enough, the red tape disappeared, and Andrew Lincoln was soon teaching at the seminary.
A young student who came under Lincoln’s influence was Tim Keller the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC. In his lifetime Keller started over 750 communities of faith around the world. His leadership and work made huge impressions on Christians the world over. But retrace the steps that brought Tim Keller under Professor Lincoln’s influence. The Watergate scandal of the early 70s caused President Nixon to resign. Gerald Ford, whom Nixon appointed, then became president of the country. His son happened to be a student at the time and came into the dean’s office. In times of turmoil when God seemed absent, events unfolded which God used to further God’s purposes (OTWTB, p. 19-20).
We certainly could not see God working through this situation without hindsight. But that is what Paul speaks of, hope in what we cannot see. Trust in our God who is always acting in the world. “By the time we see convincing evidence of God’s activity, the heavy lifting by God has been done. Just think of a rain shower. Long before we see droplets fall and puddles form, a process of evaporation occurred. Water from earth’s surface reforms into unseen vapors that rise through the atmosphere gathering into something we eventually see, rain clouds! Long before there are visible signs, there has been invisible activity. The same is true of God” (OTWTB, 18).
Our hope is in the God that is always active. The God who moved through a decree in Rome, to make a way for God’s only Son to be born in Bethlehem.
“What does it mean for you to begin your journey to Christmas in Rome? Where do you see evidence of God’s work in the world being like the rain and where do you see it like evaporation? Where can you see God clearly moving? And where do you not see God moving but choose to believe that in those places there are vapors of God’s presence? (OTWTB, p. 18).
We long for the birth of God’s son. We wait and hope for Jesus to be born. But when our Rome feels like it is moving in the wrong direction. When we are not sure what the future holds. Let us remember that God moves long before we can see; with an Emperor calling for a census, making a decree, long before Mary is with child. Vapors rising. You see, heaven does not make decrees. No, God creates. God births. God sends a baby, a Son. So that something new can be born in our hearts. That is our faith. That is our hope! Amen.
