Today we light just one candle, one small candle. Our Christian Year starts not with sparkling fireworks and a bang, nor resolutions but with a small glimpse of hope. And our call is to walk with what little light we do have. Keep at it.
Advent 1 celebrates the Patriarchs, the founding Fathers of the Faith, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – and how they are role models for us. But I thought we could pause to consider the Matriarchs – Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel.
All of them struggled through their lives. None of them had an easy time of it. None of them had their own personal spiritual, angelic, divine calling. Perhaps Sarah did when 3 visitors came – they promised that Sarah would have a child a year later – her response was to laugh at them.
But their prophecy proved true.
So I have no doubt that all four of these women had a strong faith of their own. But there’s nothing in scripture suggesting they had their own epiphany. Perhaps like Jesus to Thomas – Blessed are they who have believed without seeing.
Sarah shows us faith that struggled through a long time of waiting, waiting for the promises of God to come true – that God would bless them with Land, a Family, and make them to be a blessing to all nations – she only saw the beginning of that.
Rebekah married Sarah’s son Isaac – she shows us Courage – she saw God had a plan for her son Jacob and worked to bring that about – she worked at keeping the promise of God alive – again like Sarah, Rebekah only saw a glimpse of the beginning of that promise.
Leah provided six of the 12 sons of Jacob – so she really began to see the promise fulfilled, but she went through her whole marriage feeling unloved by her husband –
Rachel – she was loved by Jacob – and she produced 2 of the 12 sons of Jacob – but she didn’t live long enough to see this first promise of God fulfilled.
So my point one would be about being thankful to the Matriarchs of our faith. They kept the faith, they kept close to God, and it was never easy.
Perhaps you might look over those who first encouraged you in the faith and remember them with thanksgiving and note how they kept the faith and I bet they struggled at times too.
So we give thanks for the Matriarchs – role models for us in our faith. And that’s encouraging. Keep the faith.
Look what came from their resilience and prayer and hope.
So point 1 is be encouraged by people of faith. And let that encouragement feed into your faith.
Point 2 is be encouraged by the faithfulness of God.
You see, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, they were each rubbish role models. And this is differently encouraging.
They struggled with jealousy, bitterness. Sarah was particularly cruel, abusive, to Hagar. Rebekah was manipulative over her husband. Leah and Rachel were mean sisters to each other.
Yet God. This is my point 2.
Point 1 was being encouraged by the faith of others, and here’s the matriarchs holding the faith through long and difficult times.
Now point 2 is be encouraged by the Faithfulness of God who despite these women being such remarkable failures – Yet God persists in His love for them, and their children, and His commitment to the Covenant that He made with Abraham, remains solid throughout.
So be encouraged by the faith of these women,
And be encouraged by the Faithfulness of God who despite their failings kept His promise.
Thirdly – Keep Watch.
This is a proactive sort of watching.
Looking out for signs of the kingdom, looking out for signs of where the Kingdom is needed.
Jesus says Keep Watch! I think there are two sorts of things we can be looking out for.
Firstly the negative stuff. There’s plenty of it. I suggest you limit your diet of it because the news is designed to upset you and get you down. I find a lot of news is indulgently speculative – What if – with no really new information – and What if’s have a fabulous way of leaving us feeling anxious.
Have courage, and when you feel you’ve learned enough, then change the channel.
And give it all to God in prayer: Oh dear God – people are hurting in Ukraine, there’s anxiety in our Nation a fear and distrust, – please God bring in your love, your kingdom, and show me where I can take a little bit of your light and hope.
I’m reminded of Narnia, and the Silver Chair, CS Lewis and the character Puddleglum, who finds himself under an enchantment struggling to hold on to his faith and in his stubbornness insists – “I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”
So when the news is nudging us to doubt our faith, turn it to prayer, give the pain you see to God, and persist in living in the light and love of Jesus.
And then secondly there’s a more positive glimpse of the world where you might see God at work – Isaiah draws our attention to a quiet revival. Here we find a prophecy that many will look to the Lord and find a welcome and an inclusion, they’ll find God’s teaching and God’s light, they’ll be liberated from the burden of judging – and instead they will apply this teaching by beating their swords into ploughshares, their spears in to pruning hooks, Weapons reshaped into tools of nurture and nourishment.
This is good news. Keep an eye out for it. And when you do see it then get involved.
We do see it in people coming to Church and wondering if this is a good place for them. We see it in our Carol services – have a think about who you can invite to which ones, and we see it in those moments when someone shares with you a hope or fear and asks for your prayers.
So we keep watch for glimpses of God’s blessings and then we get behind that and push and pray for more.
And this is why its important for us to share answers to prayer no matter how large or small.
As we go into this new year, keep watch. Give thanks for the Role Models who have encouraged our faith
Give thanks for God’s faithfulness despite the failures of those Role models!
Look out for each other, encourage each other, keep close to God, keep reading your Gospels, and keep your candle lit.
Perhaps as we gather for worship, we may find our faith begins to light a little more brightly.
I think its good that Jesus wont give us the day or the hour because – I suspect it would lure me into a false sense of apathy.
Our job rather is to live in such a way that when Christ comes He will find us together building His Kingdom, with His compassion, as we walk in His Light.
Amen //
a sermon preached for Advent 1 2025.
photo is a close up of Matthew in the Rose window in st Leonard’s