Psalm 25:1-10
Luke 21:25-36

The World is Too Much With Us
Today at the beginning of Advent, we read from Luke 21. Jesus is teaching in the Temple and telling the good news of God’s redemption. This is an Advent text. The Day of the Lord is coming. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.” Today, there is distress among nations: fear, foreboding, and confusion. And yet, Christ’s instructions are clear: “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
When we stand up and raise our heads, what do we see? Immediately, we see the sun, the moon and the stars. Even today, 2000 years after Jesus taught in the Temple, we look up and see the sun, the moon, and the stars. They are there for us to see. And yet, how often do we really see them? We are distressed and confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. The roaring of our confusion, the roaring our mental chaos, the stories we tell ourselves, the images of hatred and greed we consume, online, in newscasts, in photographs and videos of war and killing. Human suffering is endless. The world is too much with us. And yet, here is this verse: “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” These are words of strength and courage for us, right now.
William Wordsworth
As Wordsworth, reminds us, “the world is too much with us.” The poet William Wordsworth was born in 1770 in the Lake District of northwest England. In the Cumbrian mountains, home to England’s highest peaks, the region is famous for its beautiful landscape, with lakes and coastline, not far from the border of Scotland. It reminds me of northern New England, this beautiful region where we live, stretching from the Maine Coast and across to the White Mountains.
The poet Wordworth found inspiration in nature. He loved to walk in the English Lake District. In this, his most famous sonnet, written in 1802, he reminds us that when our minds are overcome by the heaviness of the world, when we become out of tune with nature, we can return to the elements of nature for sustenance and renewal, to the wind and the sea, to the sun and the moon and the stars. Through nature, we can find our connection to God. And we find that we, too, are God’s creation.
He writes:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.

In this poem, Wordsworth defined a problem in 1802 that is also our problem today. We have given our hearts away. We are too caught up with the concerns of the world: caught up in our ideas, our opinions, what I like and what I don’t like, the stories we tell, stories about other people, stories about ourselves. Meanwhile, the sea is there, and the moon is there, just waiting for us to see it, and yet, we are out of tune. We do not see the sun and the moon and the stars. They move us not. And so, we are separated from these messages from God. We are separated from God altogether.
Where is the Kingdom of God? When is the Day of the Lord? When is it coming? Maybe 10 years? Maybe 50 years? We look for it somewhere in the future. And yet, here is the great mystery of our faith: it is already here. It is today. Right now.
Last Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving, and as we do each year, Shari and I drove up the winding road to Mount Battie. We stood out in the freezing rain and watched as they lit the big star on top of the tower. From now, until January 1st, the star is lit each night. We can see it from our house. So we look up, and we see it, and we are reminded of goodness, and that each moment is Holy, and that we are never separated from God’s Holiness.
Each Sunday morning, when we prepare our hearts and minds for worship, our acolytes bring in the light of Christ, lighting the candles here on our table, and we are reminded of the Holy. God is Holy, and we worship Holy God, right here in our sanctuary. These are the public signs of our faith. But, at the same time, where is the Holy? We begin here in the sanctuary, and then, we see that the Holy God extends everywhere. In fact, there is no Holy that is separate and somewhere else. And so the Holy is always Holy. When the candles are extinguished and we walk out of the church, where does the Holy go? It does not disappear. God is right here. When you see this and experience this, then you will never be separated from God again. Wherever you go, there you are, and there is the Holy. Walking, talking, working, eating, driving, the Holy God is there, with you.
Stand up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near. In fact, it is already here. So, we are looking, watching and waiting. And yet, at the same time, the Day of the Lord is already here. It is this one day.
Teaching in the Temple, bringing the good news to the people, Jesus said, “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.” Don’t be depressed. Don’t be worried. Don’t hang your head in sadness looking at the ground. Don’t try to escape your worries by drinking alcohol or doing drugs. These things are dead ends. They do not lead to God.
What leads to God? “Be alert at all times.” “Pray without ceasing.” And look up. Raise your heads and open your eyes and see the sun and the moon and the stars. See the ocean and the seagulls. See the trees moving in the wind and the snow falling to the ground.
We are not separate, and we never were separate, and we never will be separate. Amen? Amen.