Last year, one of the best books I read was The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ. So, when I saw that the author, Fleming Rutledge had an advent book come out back in the fall, I decided it would be a good read for mid-December.
The book, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ, is mostly a collection of Rutledge’s sermons throughout the years. The sermons are preceded by a collection of Advent related writings. But, the bulk of the book is the collected sermons.
Those sermons are broken up into groups of 9 subsections. The first three are Pre-Advent, the fourth are those from the Feast of Saint Michael, and the fifth is for the last Sunday of the Church year: The Feast of Christ the King. The next four then are for the four Sundays of Advent.
Readers unfamiliar with the Episcopal/Anglican traditions surrounding Advent will be caught off guard by the darkness of the book. However, as Rutledge explains in the introduction,
In the medieval period, the Scripture readings for Advent were well established, and they were oriented only secondarily to the birth (first coming) of Christ; the primary emphasis was his second coming on the final day of the Lord. Because the church in modern times has turned away from the proclamation of the second coming, an intentional effort must be made to reinstate it. Related to the second coming, which Jesus repeatedly says will come by God’s decision at an hour we do not expect, is the Advent emphasis on the agency of God, as contrasted with the “works” of human beings. An exclusive emphasis on Advent as a season of preparation risks putting human endeavor in the spotlight for all four weeks of the season. All the Advent preparation in the world would not be enough unless God were favorably disposed to us in the first place. This will be a principal theme in many of the sermons collected here, which emphasize the theme of watching and waiting.
p. 5
She goes on in the introduction to further explain the darkness of Advent, as well as its apocalyptic flavor. She later concludes, “this book will be valuable to anyone who is interested in the second coming, the last judgment, the end of the world, and especially the ethical dimension of the the life of waiting and watching while also seeking to live a life of meaningful action” (30).
That has been the tension I have been living in lately. We want to wait on God’s time and be attentive to the times and seasons. But, we don’t want to lapse into passivity and reactivity. This book provided good meditations on living in that season of Advent, which is really characteristic of all of the Christian life between the two comings of Christ.
An unexpected sub-theme that emerges in reading these sermons is 9/11. Some of that is related to the Rutledge’s preaching career and location (NYC). However, it is an appropriate American concern woven into the apocalyptic material. It is perhaps the most recent national tragedy that upended the status quo and forced individuals toward more reflection on the nature of evil, suffering, and violence. In this volume, those are concerns are right at home in Advent reflections. Rather than forget that season of American life, we do well to dwell on it further in connection with the coming of Christ.
While it is too late to get this book by Christmas, it is not too late to take and read while we’re still in season. I found it profitable to read each section of sermons at once. But, they are relatively short and could be profitably read devotionally. Either way, you’ll find Rutledge’s writing rich with Scriptural and literary connections. You’ll probably find somethings to disagree with theologically along the way. But, I don’t think that should deter you from the overall value in wisdom and insight you’ll find inside.