Year A First Sunday of Advent 28 November 2010
Isaiah 2: 1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13: 11-14 Matthew 24: 36-44
Are we there yet? Yes and almost! Kind of like when you travel to a town and reach the outskirts and you can say, “We’re here”, but you keep driving because there is more until you reach your final destination.
Imagine if you set off on a very long journey and before you reached the end you gave up????? Pretty futile! We need to ensure this is not the story of our faith.
Romans 13: 12 “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.”
Advent is the name of the Church season leading up to Christmas and comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "Coming". For the last few weeks the readings have been heading in the direction of Advent and reminding us to look towards Christ’s second coming. Finally we have reached Advent.... Yes we have arrived but we are still almost there.... The night is nearly over and the day is almost here.
Sometimes when you start thinking about the things of God you can get into quite a head spin. How can we have arrived but not be there yet? We are at once living in the promise of God and the reality of the Good News, but yet we are not fully experiencing it. There is a Spiritual reality that tells us that Jesus has saved us and with our sins being forgiven, we are united to God, and yet in our physical bodies we realize that we struggle and experience feelings of separation from God.... though scripture tells us that nothing can separate us.
There will be a time when our union with Christ will be complete. Our season of Advent is reminding us of this reality. As humans we are bound to experience God and be filled with faith on one day and the next day we find ourselves to be faithless as we walk in the reality of the harsh world around us. Jesus exhorts us to always be ready because the day he comes back will be like a thief in the night.
Our lives are often like the person who tries to do all the right things to protect their home and so installs burglar alarms. As time goes on the batteries go flat..... Our spiritual batteries often go flat also... even at a time such as Christmas... and sometimes especially at a time such as Christmas.
After Joe died I did some internet searching and found a site for widows. I found it helpful to hear from others going through similar experiences. At the moment the conversation seems to be around the dread of facing Christmas with the reality of a lost spouse. I understand what they are saying and yet I know that the Christmas message is especially for those who are in any way feeling loss, hurt and loneliness. Jesus coming into the world is the fulfilment of a promise which brings comfort and great joy when we fully understand it. It is the promise of a restored relationship with God, and in that we have hope in, and assurance of eternal life.
Our readings all point to a time to come; a time of promise. Those of us who have been hurting need this message so badly, and to know that God does promise something better. As with all such prophecies there are layers of fulfilment. God’s promise of coming was accomplished in the original Christmas. At the time of our realization of God’s gift of salvation is another “coming” of Christ. At the time of our death is yet again another personal “coming” of Christ and finally there is the proclaimed second coming of Christ which we proclaim when we say, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”.
Matthew 24: 37, 38 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;”
Daily life carries on. It isn’t that these things should cease, but that within them we should be aware of our message of hope. Our lives should bear witness to the reality of Christ’s coming in our lives and the promise of him coming to our world. Noah had a family who ate, drank and married, but central to and alongside all that, he built an ark.
Someone asked me only today whether God was central to my life or just a part of it. God must be central, all other activities happen as part of what life is but Christ is our life.
If, upon reflection, you have discovered that your spiritual batteries are low, what do you need to do to charge them? We in North Queensland know well the concept of preparation and also how we can become nonchalant. We are reminded each cyclone season to prepare by cleaning up and stocking up on water, batteries and non-perishable food. It’s much better to actually be constantly prepared, rather than getting caught out.
I have a clock that is mounted on a wooden plaque... ironically the clock batteries are flat and the clock doesn’t work (but it is correct twice a day!!!!). The plaque has the words on it, “Live as though Christ died yesterday, rose today and is coming again tomorrow.” This really is a good message for the readings this week, although the message is bigger than this... and better.
We are reminded this week that God has a glorious promise;
Isaiah 2:3-5 “He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
It is obvious that we don’t see this promise in our world yet, but we do look forward to it.... however, please note the last line: “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” We are the descendants of Jacob by the spirit of God and we need to walk in the light of the Lord. We need to be awake to the ways of God and walking in them.
Romans 13:11-14 “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe your selves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
The reading speaks of clothing ourselves with Christ. We have Christ alive within us, but as our human nature wars with the law of God within us we need to wear the life of Jesus as a garment. We need to assume his way of peace and his attitude. Though keep in mind he didn’t let people mistreat the things of God and even used a whip in the temple.
We charge our spiritual batteries by being at Church and in Bible study. We need the help of each other to encourage us. We can’t “clothe ourselves with Christ” unless we know him. So, set that alarm. This is vital. We do not know when Christ will come.... or just come to take us, so let us properly prepare for his coming and then turn our preparation into a habit that we keep so as to be always ready.
I read a story about a school principal who spoke to a class and offered a prize to the child who kept their desk clean and said he’d do a surprise inspection. He delayed his visit and every child but one had fallen back into messy habits. The one child was ridiculed and told that it was just a trick and that the principal would not come back. Near the end of term the principal arrived and was met with many excuses.... blaming the teacher for not reminding them, blaming the principal for taking too long etc... but of course the one child received the well deserved prize. That child turned a preparation exercise into a habit and attitude of being ever ready.
So... perhaps that particular brand of battery should be a symbol and reminder for us... the “ever ready”!
No comments:
Post a Comment