Waiting for Figs

Sermon by Seminarian Adam Groenke on the Fourth Sunday in Advent + Sunday, December 1, 2024

My name is Adam Groenke, and I am a seminarian from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago down in Hyde Park. Holy Trinity has a long history of working with seminarians from my school, and I am very grateful to be about the 50th seminarian in that line.

Now, if you’re wondering what a seminarian is, don’t worry, so are the seminarians. So far all I’ve got is it means we go to seminary, and seminary, like any good school, is all about asking questions. In my scripture class, one of our favorite questions to ask is, “what in the world is going on in this text?” Not an unusual sentiment, I think. By the end of that class, though, we were asking a different question: “what in this text is going on in the world?”

Our gospel today provides rich imagery for the happenings in the world; When I look around, I do see nations distressed and confused; seas roaring, and rising; folx scared of what is coming upon the world; sometimes it really does feel like heaven itself is shaking. What does that mean? The text suggests that these are signs that Jesus is coming, to redeem us, to bring about the reign of God.

Well, I suppose that does make sense, all of this talk of Jesus coming; it is Advent, after all, there is a reason this is the good news today. We are getting ready for Christmas, getting ready for Jesus to be born, to celebrate the incarnation of our Savior. We see signs of that, too in our world; Christmas lights and trees going up around the city, peppermint mocha something or another; I walked past folx setting up the Christkindl market just one day after I dressed up as a hobbit at a Halloween Party. Trust me, folx are, and have been, getting ready for Christmas.

So have we, here at Holy Trinity, in this our 4th week of Advent: We have decorated our sanctuary in blue, adorned with bare branches, proclaiming the good news that Jesus is indeed coming. But Advent is about more than just “getting ready” for Jesus’s birth. Advent is about waiting, but we are not just sitting around lighting candles, waiting for Jesus to be born already; if I can share a fun seminary phrase I don’t fully understand yet, Advent is about the inbreaking of the reign of God, the kingdom of God, or the kindom of God. The gospel today illustrates this concept beautifully with yet another sign: Look at the fig tree, Jesus says, in fact all the trees; when they sprout leaves, you see for yourself, you know that summer is near. Just so, when these signs take place, the kingdom of God is near.

Now honestly, I’m more of a dates at Ramadan than figs at Advent kinda guy, but no matter the fruit, or the tree, we know how trees work. The seasons come and go, the leaves change color, fall off, then sprout again. But the trees themselves, the trees remain. And Pastor Craig shared a fun fact with me about these winter trees. If you look closely at them, you’ll see that they still have their buds. Yes, the buds that will sprout new leaves in the spring are already on the trees right now, and in fact, it is through enduring the cold of the winter that these buds are able to sprout in the spring. So yes, when we look around in our world today, those are the trees we see, the bare winter trees with no leaves, no fruits. Yet, we have faith that in the spring, those buds will sprout new leaves, these trees will bear more fruit, and it will soon be summer once more.

So, too, with God. All of these signs we see in the text and in our world are not just signs that Jesus is coming; they are signs that Jesus is here, he is present and among us and our neighbors. They are not just signs that the reign of God is near; they are signs that God reigns right now, always has, and always will. God is present when the leaves are lush and the figs are ripe for picking, -And- God is present when there are no figs to harvest, and the tree is bare. We see signs of God’s reign in the life cycle of all of God’s creation, including ourselves. Indeed, Jesus tells us “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”. The buds are still here, we are still here, God is still here. In this advent season, the gospel good news is that the inbreaking of God’s reign into this world is here, and it will not pass away. In fact, the word advent comes from the Latin “adventus”, which can be translated both as “coming” and as “ arrival.” So you see, advent is not just a celebration that Jesus is coming, it is a celebration that Jesus has arrived. We know Jesus is coming because that is what he does all the time, that is who he is all the time; our savior, and our redeemer, born into this world every moment of every day, every time we come together at this table, to eat this bread, and drink this cup. [Every time we gather at the font to be baptized, and to remember our baptism]

The last thing Jesus tells us in our good news today is to not simply wait around for his arrival, for the reign of God to manifest itself. No, Jesus charges us to be alert to what is going on in the world, he calls us to keep our hearts, bodies, and minds focused on bringing about that reign of God in our lives here and now.

It is my privilege to serve with you all here at Holy Trinity, because we have the honor and responsibility, like all God’s people, to help bring about that reign of God here in this world, and that is exactly what I have seen us all do in my short time here. So many ministries carried out in summer, fall, and now winter, ministering to the needs of folx all over the city and the world, doing God’s work with our own hands on this broken, hurting, hopeful Earth we call home. And we know, there is still much, much work to do.

That work is the sign of the inbreaking of the Reign of God, the coming of our savior Jesus Christ, and the opportunity to build a better world, so that when those leaves do sprout in spring, we can say, “we knew you were coming God, cause we knew you were here along.” Here at this table, and here in our hearts, all along, waiting and working right here with us.