How to Craft an Advent Sermon on Revelation
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Creative approaches to sharing hope in tumultuous times
To get some practical guidance on approaching Revelation this Advent we talked with the 3 collaborators who created the general theme and sermon prompts for Advent in a Box Vol 2: A Thrill of Hope. Whether you’re using that resource or not, we think this should be a helpful conversation.
Before we dive in, let’s meet the collaborators:
Rev. Matthew Ian Fleming is a pastor at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and the Director of Church Anew. Matthew helped shape the overall theme, pulling insights from his new book, The End is the Beginning: Revelation, Hope, and the Love that Lit the Stars (get a free copy when you purchase Advent in Box Vol 2!)
Rev. Dr. Adam White is a pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Waconia, Minnesota. Adam wrote the Revelation Based Sermon Prompts for Advent in a Box Vol 2.
Rev. Yolanda Denson-Byers is a pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Edina, Minnesota. Yolanda wrote the Lectionary Sermon Prompts for Advent in a Box Vol 2.
QUESTION 1 - At first blush, the chaos of Revelation seems like a weird choice for a season that is supposed to be about peace and hope. Where do you find hope in that book?
Matthew: Revelation was intended to give hope to a people going through impossible chaos. The destruction of the Temple. Trampling armies. Religious persecution. The impending collapse of the Roman Empire. And God’s vision at the end of Revelation, the last word, so to speak, is incredibly hopeful. Three distinct visions – a new heaven and earth, a new city, and a new garden – each providing hope for people. The garden, in particular, envisions the tree of life at the center of God’s new city, where there is enough fruit for everyone to eat and the leaves are for the healing of the nations. We need that healing now. We need those leaves, that balm, and indeed there is a balm that can make us whole.
QUESTION 2 - What theological themes from the Book of Revelation resonate most powerfully with the themes of Advent, and how can preachers emphasize those connections?
Adam: Revelation invites its hearers to practice "patient endurance"--to wait with expectation for the coming of God's reign in Jesus Christ. For me, this is a core message of the Advent season. In Advent we are honest about the brokenness of the world, and yet, we hold a posture of radical hopefulness amidst our truth-telling. This is a form of resistance firmly rooted in the promises of Jesus Christ. The thrilling hope of Jesus' coming draws us into the struggle between the powers that be and the power of God in Christ that is becoming. Revelation turns us to this Apocalyptic dawning, this advent horizon of a new heaven and new earth.
QUESTION 3 - How can pastors navigate the apocalyptic imagery in Revelation in a way that is both faithful to the text and relevant to a modern congregation during the season of hope and anticipation?
Yolanda: The wonderful thing about the Bible is that people have been finding it relevant - and life-changing - for millennia. Focusing on universal themes such as hope, longing for safety, healing, sanctuary, the elevation of "the least of these," mission and ministry, evangelism, and salvation are always appropriate ways to enter into these apocalyptic texts.
QUESTION 4 - Did anything surprise you or come to life in a different way about these texts this time around?
Matthew: Revelation always surprises me! Thinking about these texts in Advent opens up possibilities to proclaim the coming of Jesus as something urgent and transformational. Jesus arrives and the whole world changes. What if we actually lived like we believe that?!
Adam: We've heard Revelation 21 as a funeral text so many times. What struck me this time around is that it's much more. Death isn't a single event. It's an ever-present force. We experience little deaths (deaths of relationships, expectations, broken promises) all the time. The promise that mourning and death have passed away and God has shown up to wipe tears from our eyes is not merely about the future. It's about the incarnation. Death has been overcome in the life and death of Jesus. And God is present, now, in Jesus when death interrupts our lives. This promise has a potency beyond its current prescription.
Yolanda: I am excited to bring some focus to Mary's story, courage, and example this year. Too often, the stories of women are silenced or forgotten in The Church. I look forward to proclaiming The Magnificat in a new way and weaving that message into the adjoining apocalyptic texts.
QUESTION 5 - Tell us a little about your sermon prep process, especially when approaching these trickier passages.
Matthew: Revelation demands a little more prep, for sure. I love to read a few trusted commentaries. My favorites include Craig Koester’s Revelation and the End of All Things, Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza’s Revelation: Vision of a Just World, and I wrote a book that could help a bit, The End is the Beginning: Revelation, Hope, and the Love that Lit the Stars. So I nestle into the passage and read what some smart people have to say about it. I trust my instincts early on and follow the rabbit holes that are interesting. At some point I zero in on a phrase in the passage and let that inform my sermon. I think about people in my community – what they’re wrestling with and how they’re trying to live their lives. And then I weave together stories and try to help people make sense of this book. I risk a little more teaching than normal with Revelation because so many people have misconceptions about the text. It helps to give them a foothold.
Adam: I think the key is slowing down, centering the text on Jesus. It's easy to get distracted by the color, sound, movement, numbers and metaphors. The abundance of details can draw your attention in unhelpful ways. And yet, if this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the big question is where is Jesus in this text? Look for the one you know. Looking for Jesus in Revelation cuts through the noise and brings everything into focus. All the sudden everything else fades into the background. It's still there--filling out the picture, but it's no longer drawing all your attention.
Yolanda: My sermon prep starts with reading through the preaching scriptures months in advance. Then I read and listen to commentaries from places like Working Preacher, Pulpit Fiction, and others. I then teach out the scriptures in weekly Bible Study and discuss them with other pastors examining the same text (example: Lutheran Leader Moms on Facebook). Thereafter, I set aside time to pray and meditate, before writing or crafting an extemporaneous sermon in my head.
