Sermon 112716
Be Ready
Let’s begin this morning by looking again at our Epistle from the Letter to the Romans: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. In other words, be ready. In our secular society, getting ready means “getting in the Christmas spirit” now days probably sometime right after Halloween. I was in Hobby Lobby about three weeks ago and commented on how early they had all of their Christmas decorations on display. The clerk told me that actually they put out their Christmas trees in July. Christmas decorations begin going up in stores and along city streets declaring the beginning of the “Christmas Season.” But it is not the Christmas Season, at least not in the Church. The Christmas Season in the Church begins at sunset on December 24 and lasts for 12 days. Our satellite radio in the car dedicates one entire channel to Christmas music (actually bad Christmas music like Holly, Jolly Christmas or I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus). TV commercials stress buying Christmas gifts. We begin being bombarded with images of Santa, reindeer, bells, snow, and family. Movies like the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street” help us call up sentimental images of Christmases past. We are told that the days leading up to Christmas bring us to the spirit of “peace on earth, goodwill towards men.” That is the secular Christmas. We are really missing something when we forego the Advent Season.
As more time elapsed following Jesus’ ascending to sit at the right hand of the Father, sometime around the fourth century, the early church began developing liturgies to follow the life of Jesus step by step. The church calendar helped organize the worship and allowed the early Christians to experience the full mystery of God’s plan for mankind. You have heard the old expression “to put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” the cycle of times and seasons became a way for worshippers to spiritually walk in Jesus’ footsteps. There are two main patterns for the seasons in the church year: the Lent-Easter-Pentecost cycle and the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle. The date for Easter is determined by the date of the first full moon after March 21 and is thus set by the lunar calendar. This is the calendar that the Jews used at the time of Jesus to fix the date of Passover, and the early Christians continued to use this calendar to set the day for Easter. The cycle for Advent-Christmas-Epiphany is set by the solar calendar used in the Roman Empire. The date for Christmas is fixed on December 25 and the first Sunday of Advent is always four Sundays before Christmas Day. That is where we find ourselves today.
The word “advent” comes from the Latin adventus or coming and the Greek word parousia refers to the second coming thus we are celebrating a first advent or Christ’s birth in Bethlehem as God became flesh, and we also look forward to the parousia, the second advent when Jesus comes again in great glory. Advent is a time to reflect on and prepare for the coming of Jesus – both the first and second coming. Advent is the time, to use an old cliché, to reflect on the “reason for the season.” Advent is a time when we remember the reason that we need a Savior.
The subjects of sin, repentance, judgment, and hell don’t go down very well in our culture today. In our postmodern society sin has nearly disappeared since everyone is entitled to their own definition of right and wrong, thus no need for repentance. Judgment is no longer socially acceptable, and some of our leading theologians have reasoned that there is no way that a loving God could tolerate such a thing as hell. Granted, wallowing in guilt and sinfulness is not good for our mental health, but God in His loving kindness sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ to save us from all of that.
Our readings today focus on the Second Coming, reflecting a spirit of anticipation of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for God to come and set the world right. Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths…He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples. On that Great Day, Jesus will return and rule the world with truth, justice, and righteousness. In Advent we look forward to the reign of God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, who will transform the heaven and the earth and dwell with man. Part of the Advent expectation includes, however, judgment on sin and a calling of the world to accountability before God. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us to be ready.
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. In Matthew 24, Jesus intertwines teaching about his Second Coming and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Our reading this morning is clearly about Jesus’ Second Coming, the Day of the Lord, that great Day. Jesus refers to Genesis and the time of Noah as an example of not being prepared. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. From Genesis 6: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Jesus said: For as in the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. In that day, people were living man-centered lives, doing what they wanted to do with no thought of God. They assumed that life would go on like this forever.
In many ways, people in our 21st century society in America live as though they will live forever. In 2015, the Pew Research Center found that 22.8% of Americans claim to be unaffiliated religiously, that is they are atheistic, agnostic, or not anything in particular. Ask the man on the street about the meaning of Christmas, and I am afraid that for many the first thought is about Santa Claus and gifts and shopping. If you asked a Christian about what Christmas means you might get a reply about Baby Jesus in the manger, but listen to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his Letters from Prison: “We have become so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us.”
All of us clean our homes before guests arrive. Advent is a time when we should do some spiritual housecleaning. You have heard many times that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but that doesn’t mean that works don’t matter. That is the way of salvation, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t be judged. In our observance of Advent we recognize the element of judgment. One way or the other, we will all come face to face with Jesus and when we do, the way that we have lived our lives will matter.
St. Paul says in his First Letter to the Corinthians: For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. The coming again of Jesus is certainly good news but remember He will come again to judge the living and the dead. We are called during Advent to prepare ourselves for Christmas Day. Be ready.
During Advent the Church looks in two directions, backward and forward. Looking back, Advent is a time to realize just how great the gift is that we celebrate on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, Advent is in danger of disappearing amid the frenzy of Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas songs, and Christmas parties as the secular Christmas season begins earlier, it seems, each year. For many Americans, Christmas Day has become simply a celebration of the end of a long, hectic season of decorating, shopping, socializing, baking, and mailing. Christmas Day becomes a day of opening presents, huge family meals, and perhaps a football game or two. For others Christmas Day can actually be a letdown and depressing. We need to remember the words from Suffrages A from Morning Prayer II: “Let not the needy, O Lord be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor be taken away.”
A properly observed Advent is the cure for the mania of the “Happy Holidays” season. Don’t get me wrong. By “properly observed” I do not mean taking down the Christmas tree or boycotting all Christmas parties. Years ago we had a priest at St. Philip’s who didn’t allow his family to put up the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. If I advocated that at my house, believe me, I would be sleeping under the Christmas tree. Jesus told his disciples to be in the world, but not of the world. It is good for us to get in the Christmas Spirit, the spirit of peace and goodwill towards men, but let us at all times and in all places keep Jesus in the center of our celebrations.
Christmas loses much of its significance if we do not reflect on the brokenness of the world. Considering that, why not dedicate 30 minutes morning and evening during this Advent Season to reading the lessons from the Daily Office and reflecting on our own lives and those areas where we need to change or improve. In many Episcopal Churches purple is the color used for the altar, clergy vestments, and hangings during Lent, and ideally, Advent should also be a season that includes contrition, sacrifice, and prayer. Also, purple was a royal color used to indicate the royal status of kings. Obviously our church is not dressed in purple today. Before coming to St. Philip’s, purple was my preferred color for Advent and is the preference of most Anglo-Catholic priests, but I have come to realize that the people of St. Philip’s love the deep blue furnishings donated by a beloved parishioner so I have come to love the blue also. The deep blue represents the pure, predawn sky and symbolizes Jesus bringing us light, coming to save a lost and sinful people, conquering death, and giving us the way to the New Jerusalem, the Holy City. During this Advent Season, I hope that our worship will be colored by both colors, the purple representing penitence and contrition as we prepare for the arrival of Christ the King, and the blue representing the expectation and anticipation of the dawn of Christ.
During this Advent Season I think that it would be good if we take time to pray for our Church, St. Philip’s, and reflect on what kind of people, what kind of Church God wants us to be. Most of all let us make this Advent Season a time to prepare for the celebration of God’s greatest gift to the world. Don’t ever forget that Jesus is the “reason for the Season.” To Him be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.