The Advent season can create some challenging questions for a pastor as he prepares sermons and worship. Am I supposed to tie these readings to Christmas? If so, how? Between the last Sundays of the Church Year and the season of Advent I focus a lot of attention on Christ’s second coming. How can I do this for seven weeks without repetition? The language used in the Advent readings, as well as the last Sundays in the Church Year, have some of the most sobering specific law in the lectionary; how do I ensure people hear these sermons of judgment and walk away longing for that day when the dead will be raised and all wrongs will be made right? If you would like to read a book that will help you understand the season of Advent better, you will find much to appreciate in Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge. Advent is a collection of Rutledge’s Advent sermons and other writings related to the season.  

Fleming Rutledge is one of the first women ordained into the clergy of The Episcopalian Church. Throughout the introduction and many sermons, she lets the reader know how much Karl Barth has influenced her theological outlook. One is not surprised she does not have the same beliefs as confessional Lutherans, and some of the contents of this book are hard for me to get past. She does not understand the Bible to be inerrant and on rare occasion will share that in her sermons. She holds out universalistic hopes in a few of her sermons. The Social Gospel appears here and there. She devotes time to talk about political issues throughout the book and even mentions voting for a political candidate by name. 

Despite the caveats above, Advent warns the reader to take seriously the fact that Christ will return as judge on the last day. Lutherans often emphasize the plural arrivals of Christ during Advent: past, present, and future. Rutledge is hyper-focused on the final arrival and the Wedding Feast of the Lamb that follows. Rarely does she mention the past and present aspects of Advent, but she does credit Lutheranism for this understanding (5). Rutledge is on guard against the Advent season disappearing into Christmas. Her bold and unapologetic body of work concerning the last judgement of our Lord helps one appreciate how the Last Day impacts the present day. The present and past arrivals of Jesus aren’t absent in Advent but are certainly less pronounced than her focus on the Second Coming. Rutledge speaks often of the Anglican tradition to decorate for Christmas in the sanctuary only on Christmas Eve to keep Christmas out of Advent and how she strives to keep each season in its proper lane.   

Her advice is worth serious consideration. John the Baptist (a clear favorite of Rutledge) still calls us to be ready for the Lord’s arrival in repentance through his words and actions. The commercialism and schmaltz around Christmas cannot prepare hearts for death and eternity like John the Baptist’s message can. In her rare comments about Christmas, Rutledge shares the realities of beauty and ugliness that Christmas holds in tension. Most Christians know this all too well as suffering takes no holiday, and this tension appears in the church year. She connects the celebration of Christ’s Nativity to the festival of the Holy Innocents, commemorated so soon after presents are open. Her words about the Feast of Holy Innocents on pages 54-56 are both haunting and comforting. If a preacher were looking for some tips to approach Holy Innocents (though not a part of Advent), Rutledge’s words are worth the price of this book. 

I found redeeming value in all but four of her Advent sermons and writings, a worthwhile 92% success rate for a postil coming to us from outside of our fellowship. Besides Barth, Martin Luther is the theologian she quotes most often. She has the theology of the cross in mind in her sermons. They usually have a proper distinction between law and gospel. The notes “Great specific law” and “Great specific gospel” appear frequently in my margins. Her use of specific law takes mainline theologians to task. She condemns a shallow feminism that demands quotas of women theological professors at the expense of truth. She makes nothing of herself as a trailblazer. She frequently admonishes theologians who are embarrassed by the second coming of our Lord. Despite a rare few sermons that hold out hope in universal salvation, a plain reading of most of her sermons gives the opposite impression. Rutledge boldly proclaims Christ’s return is real and he will return to judge the living and the dead, despite the scorn that has earned her from some in her own community. She frequently notes how helpless humans are to solve the problem of evil and that God alone has the solution. “Christ for us” is emphasized. Christ crucified and risen are shown in almost every single sermon as the source of the hope Christians have. She uses Advent as the springboard to teach about a new day that will dawn when there will be no more tears.   

Rutledge puts a spotlight on the Deus Absconditus. In times of tragedy the apparent silence of God vexes many. Rutledge teaches often about our God who hides himself only to make himself found. This focus works with the Advent readings so well, especially the Old Testament lessons and the centuries of silence that would follow the inspiration of Malachi. Rutledge ties our hidden God to the season of Advent in ways I had not considered, but ways that are apt. One can take this even further than Rutledge did as we consider how God hides himself in the means of grace. Advent is a time to celebrate a God who arrives today in Word and sacrament. He reveals himself when he arrives in our own time right after we sing our Holy and Hosanna to receive the Lord’s Supper. Though hidden in waters of promise, he arrived at our baptisms. Though God’s words are dismissed by many as foolishness, he still arrives today with power in the gospel read, heard, tasted, and felt. Rutledge reminds the reader that Advent is for everyone who says together with St. John: “Amen, come Lord Jesus!” On that day he will hide no more.  

Throughout this work she refers to the rich Advent hymnody of the Anglican and Lutheran communities. She loves Wachet Auf and refers to “The King of Chorales” several times. Paul Gerhardt is quoted often. She teaches the “whats” and “whys” of worship in a way that is not pedantic or didactic. She rather lets the works of this great cloud of witnesses in heaven pour some gospel oil in our lamps as we wait for the bridegroom to return.  

Despite the book’s flaws and the points where we disagree with the author, the discerning brother will appreciate this book for quotes such as these: 

• “The New Testament sets before us—not a private, invisible, spiritual coming of Christ, but a cosmic event that will be visible to everyone. ‘Every eye will now behold him, robed in dreadful majesty.’ This claim that the church makes is too serious to fool around with. If we don’t mean it, we should put an end to Advent. We should take the phrase out of the Nicene Creed: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” We should not say that every Sunday if we do not believe it.” (76) 

• “The church cannot survive on sentiment and nostalgia. If we try to do that, we will wake up at midnight and discover that our lamps are gone out. Christianity is not for sissies.” (92)  

• “In our time, one of the worst things that can be said about anybody is that he or she is ‘judgmental.’ It’s remarkable that the word ‘judgmental’ is a relatively new word. It doesn’t appear in the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary until the twentieth century. Prior to that, judging something was considered a positive thing, meaning to discern its truth, or its value. The capacity to judge accurately was a form of exercising wisdom. I’m not sure how ‘judgmental’ entered the language, but it must have been related to our contemporary attitude of ‘whatever works for you.’ The god of ‘whatever works for you’ is certainly one of the idols of our era.” (179)