The World Turned Upside Down

A sermon for Advent 1

The gospel reading for Sunday, December 3, 2023, The First Sunday of Advent

Mark 13:24-37

Jesus said, “In those days, after that suffering, ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’”

“Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Sermon Preached at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ayer, Massachusetts

There is a great song in the musical “Hamilton” called “The World Turned Upside Down” which describes the American Revolution’s Battle of Yorktown. It is the turn of the war which brings about the defeat of the British Army, the greatest in the world, by the upstart colonists. The world truly is turning upside down with the revolution! David beats Goliath. The colonists are free from empire. Everything will now change. A new country is born.

But there is also an historical ballad by the same name which was actually sung during the American Revolution. The ballad captures the feelings of the people at the time, celebrating their freedom and new world. But the ballad was originally composed in the 1640s.

It is initially a protest song against the Cromwellian Parliament when it outlaws Christmas in England. All that fancy food and joy is considered too frivolous for the Puritans, so they make it a crime to celebrate Christmas. People are very upset. The ballad is a response, a protest, against this travesty, which the people experience as the world turning upside down.

The title of the song is, in turn, originally from the Book of Acts 17:6. It is the story of Paul and Silas preaching to the Jews in Thessalonica about Jesus. Some Jews follow them, but others are angry at this reinterpretation of scripture. They are faithful Jews who understandably feel criticized by this new-fangled message of Jesus. They capture Paul and Silas and yell, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here!”

In each of these three episodes: the coming of Jesus overturning Judaism, Puritans overturning Christmas, and colonists overturning the British military, are moments when people feel the world is turning upside down. And in each case, this is greeted by some as a good thing!

Often people look at the hardships they are experiencing and hope and pray for an overturning of the status quo. They want the world turned upside down!

It’s this sentiment that we find in our gospel reading today, which is often referred to as Mark’s “Little Apocalypse.” On this first Sunday of Advent it seems odd to have a reading filled with images of suffering and falling stars, of the earth and the heavens destroyed, and Christ descending from the clouds. Why, as we are preparing for the coming of sweet baby Jesus, would we have readings with apocalyptic visions? It seems an odd juxtaposition.

The theme for this first Sunday of Advent is hope. Hope is a desire for change from the status quo. Hope is a yearning for something, in the midst of a challenge. Surprisingly, apocalyptic literature is also a message of hope.

Throughout history, Christians have looked to the apocalyptic messages in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Book of Revelation, as sources of hope. The classic message of this form of literature is threefold: 1) It acknowledges that there is a crisis, 2) It passes judgement on those causing the crisis – the corrupt, unjust, or uncompassionate, and it 3) looks to an overturning of this status quo as a source of salvation.

The entire 13^th chapter of Mark is filled with apocalyptic visions. We only read the last bit. Jesus warns of wars, and earthquakes, and famines and says, “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” He is pointing out that something new is being born, being revealed. The word “apocalypse” means “revelation” or “unveiling.” And to people who are suffering, this is good news!

This is hopeful news! To the Israelites crushed under the Roman occupation, Jesus’ message means God is finally stepping in to overturn the corrupt status quo, the pain, the suffering. The world is turning upside down and salvation is finally at hand. Apocalyptic visions are visions of hope.

Advent is about the coming of Jesus, both as a baby in a manger AND in his second coming. Both comings involve this overturning of the status quo, which is why Advent 1, every year offers apocalyptic visions.

One of the challenges of this reading for me, however, is the idea that Jesus is coming only to gather his “elect,” his chosen people, and not the rest of us. There are too many other passages in scripture which speak of a universal salvation, that all creation will participate in this renewal. How are we to understand the idea that only some people are “saved”?

One interpretation which I’ve resonated with is that of adding a third “coming of Christ.” So in addition to looking for the coming of baby Jesus, and Christ in the clouds, we are to also look for Christ coming to our hearts as individuals. I have spoken to you in the past of my understanding of salvation as “enlightenment.” This means seeing and operating out of the Reign of God right now. Jesus repeatedly says to “wake up” or “keep awake” and is healing those who are spiritually blind. There is something he wants us to see that we are missing. The Reign of God is already active around us and we are missing it. Salvation means opening our eyes to this truth; it is enlightenment.

Enlightenment/Salvation, however, also has apocalyptic undertones. As individuals, when our eyes are opened, we are forever changed. We see the world, we see ourselves, in a new way. When we come to understand the transcendent power and love which are the building blocks of creation, really internalize it, it explodes our old visions of reality and turns our inner world upside down.

So Jesus is coming not just once or twice, but coming every moment of every day to those whose eyes are opening. It isn’t so much that he is choosing some people and not others, but rather he’s open to all, but only those who are ready to see him are able to do so. In the fullness of time, all of us will reach this state. This is the hope to which we aspire.

There is a wonderful little fable which illustrates what an apocalyptic individual transformation/enlightenment is like. How we must destroy our old vision of ourselves in order to make room for the new,… turning our inner world upside down. The story begins….

Once upon a time, in a not-so-faraway land, there was a kingdom of acorns, nestled at the foot of a grand old oak tree. Since the citizens of this kingdom were modern, fully Westernized acorns, they went about their business with purposeful energy; and since they were midlife, Gen X acorns, they engaged in a lot of self-help courses. There were seminars called "Getting All You Can out of Your Shell." There were woundedness and recovery groups for acorns who had been bruised in their original fall from the tree. There were spas for oiling and polishing those shells and various acornopathic therapies to enhance longevity and well-being.

One day in the midst of this kingdom there suddenly appeared a knotty little stranger, apparently dropped "out of the blue" by a passing bird. He was capless and dirty, making an immediate negative impression on his fellow acorns. And crouched beneath the oak tree, he stammered out a wild tale. Pointing upward at the tree, he said, "We...are...that!"

Delusional thinking, obviously, the other acorns concluded, but one of them continued to engage him in conversation: "So tell us, how would we become that tree?" "Well," said he, pointing downward, "it has something to do with going into the ground...and cracking open the shell." "Insane," they responded. "Totally morbid! Why, then we wouldn't be acorns anymore!"[1]

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[1] http://ecumenicus.blogspot.com/2011/04/acornology.html

You can hear and see me preach this sermon at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsayer/videos/1118242259157803

All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition.