Revd Darren McCallig’s sermon from the First Sunday of Advent, reflecting on Matthew 24:36–44.
Beginning with the Advent question, “What are you waiting for?”, the sermon reflects on how Advent calls Christians to look beyond simply counting down to Christmas and instead to reconnect with their deepest longings, hopes and sense of purpose. Christmas is presented not merely as remembering Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, but as opening ourselves to the possibility of Christ’s life of love, peace and joy being born anew within us.
The sermon explores Jesus’ call to remain awake and alert, suggesting that Christians often need to enter a kind of wilderness in order to rediscover what truly matters. Drawing on the examples of Israel in the wilderness, Jesus’ forty days in the desert and John the Baptist’s ministry, the sermon encourages practices of silence, stillness, sacrifice and honesty that strip away distractions and allow people to encounter God more deeply.
Concluding with a prayer by the Irish poet and priest John O’Donohue, the sermon challenges listeners not to postpone the life they are called to live. Advent becomes both an invitation and an urgent challenge to embody Christlike compassion, justice and self-giving love in a world deeply in need of hope.