Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent
There is something special about the beginning of a regular event that brings a quiet promise.
Even though it happens year after year, that special stillness is always there.
And in the season of Advent – we encounter such a familiar experience,
as we step into a Holy time of quiet waiting, of longing, and of expectation.
The Mystery of Faith
Advent begins with faith.
And unless you are a theological giant who can argue out the Bible to the finest detail, you are probably a bit like me.
A person who lives with a simple faith in today, and hope in an eternal future of untold wonder.
But faith is something that has been the root cause of much division and strife since the Garden of Eden.
And in our modern age, with Artificial Intelligence offering answers at the touch of a button,
it might seem entirely reasonable to expect faith now to be explained in a more cut‑and‑dried way.
But faith has always carried with it a deep sense of mystery.
It cannot be reduced to formulas or tidy explanations. Cliches, or platitudes.
Because the mystery of faith is not something to be solved, but something to be lived;
a light we receive and carry, even when we do not fully understand it.
But something I feel certain of is that truth, and faith, is timeless.
And I recently stumbled across a 400-year-old theory that intrigued me, I would like to share it with you.
Pascal’s Wager
Centuries ago, Blaise Pascal, a mathematician and philosopher, wrestled with the tension between reason and belief.
He eventualy proposed what has come to be known as Pascal’s Wager.
Because he argued that when faced with the choice of believing or not believing in God, the rational decision would be to believe.
For if God exists, he said; the reward is everlasting life and love.
However, he added; if God does not exist, the loss is minimal — perhaps just some passing pleasures of this world.
Faith in the Here and Now, Today
Pascal went further, though.
Because he knew that faith is not just about eternity.
He understood that faith shapes life in the here and now – today.
That we are not depriving ourselves by living in faith,
not losing out on something better in this life, by living it out true to Christ.
Because living in hope and faith is transformational.
Pascal understood that faith enhances life, even before death, and he wrote a great deal about his thoughts on this.
So much so that Pope Francis paid tribute to him in June 2023 with a special Apostolic Letter,
celebrating what would have been Pascal’s 400th birthday and his legacy as a brilliant thinker and devout Christian.
Pascal would have understood what theologians today call the;
The ‘Already and Not Yet’;
Meaning the tension between what God has already carried out in the world through Jesus, and what is not yet complete.
Today, through Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, we understand the Kingdom of God has already broken through into our world — and so we can experience forgiveness, peace, and joy today.
Yet the fullness of His Kingdom is still not here completely; because we still wait for Christ’s to return and make all things new.
Advent reminds us each year of this, and it’s why it is a season of both celebration and expectation.
This time we live in today, the Already and Not Yet, is a time in motion.
It is often referred to as the ‘overlapping of the ages’ because as one age is gradually fading away, a new age is drawing ever closer.
Illustration — A Young Man
Recently, I was invited to pray for a young man who had been studying at the local university and was preparing to move on and start his career.
Before I prayed, I asked him to tell me a little about himself.
One of the things he humbly shared with me was that he was a multi-generational Christian — his family had developed faith and hope in Jesus through seven generations.
I was struck by that. Because as I looked at him, as I listened to his words, I could sense the goodness in him, the gentleness of spirit, the refinement of soul that had been shaped by faith passed down through those generations.
His life, I thought, was a living testimony to the “Already” — the kingdom of God already at work in him, already bearing fruit in his character.
His story also points us to the ‘Not Yet’ — the hope we carry forward in faith, generation after generation, as we await the day when Christ will return in glory and bring all His promises to completion.
Liturgical Connection
In our ordinary time services, we hear the words proclaimed:
“Great is the mystery of faith.”
To which we reply: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
And that response is the heartbeat of our faith.
- Christ has died — is the past; his birth, death, and resurrection are already accomplished.
- Christ is risen — is the present; Christ is alive and among us now, in spirit.
- Christ will come again — is the future; the not quite yet, that we live in hope of with his return and a renewed world order.
As we say these words, we confirm our belief in the hope of Advent, that Jesus will return in glory to this earth, and his Kingdom will reign forever and ever.
Challenge for Today
Advent is not only a season of waiting — it is also a wake up call to the important times we live in.
Because Jesus tells us that when He returns to this earth, it will be like the days of Noah;
when people were eating, drinking, marrying, and carrying on with life as usual, until the flood came suddenly.
Meaning ordinary life continued right up to the moment of judgment.
And no one knows, Jesus said, when he will return to earth and bring in the new age, only God knows.
Today, in a world distracted by consumerism and fractured by division, this is something people really need to hear.
So, as we proclaim our faith in our Sunday service.
Let us also, during this season of Advent, share our faith wider, beyond the walls of our church;;
in our local conversations, in digital spaces, and especially with those who might otherwise not learn about Jesus.
Because Advent is the season that whispers:
the ordinary will not last forever.
As the day of Christ’s return draws ever closer.
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