Today I was all set to preach this sermon at Trinity, Hamburg. Then Pete called to say she'd called the ambulance because Mom was sick. I threw off my vestments and handed this sermon to Frieda Webb who delivered it in my stead.
+Today is the first Sunday of Advent, a season that begins in darkness and ends in an explosion of light bursting forth from a crib in a barn because there was no room at the inn.
As we begin Advent we’re encouraged to shed the darkness of this world and put on the “armor of light” that is the world of Jesus Christ. But rather than having readings about the angel’s visit to Mary, or Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth or Joseph’s dilemma when he finds out Mary is pregnant, we hear Paul remind us to avoid revelry and drunkenness, debauchery and licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy…for, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel, we know not the day nor the hour of the Lord’s return, so we best be ready…ho ho ho, right?
But having readings like this makes sense if put into context. You see, our readings this morning are not speaking about the first Advent—that is God coming to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ—these readings are about the second Advent, the second coming of Jesus on the last day. And, they implore is to be ready for that last day.
Advent is a season to take stock of our lives, to review, to make changes and move on. Which makes it sound an awful lot like Lent doesn’t it? Well…yes…and no…. It is, by design, a penitential season of sorts— a season to focus on becoming reconciled with God. But it’s not like Lent when we lay ourselves bare before God. No Advent is when God lays God’s self-bare before us[1]---when God comes to dwell among us in the stark vulnerability of a newborn baby.
Let me repeat that—Advent is when God lays God’s self-bare before us in the naked innocence of a newborn baby. No walls, no barriers, no boundaries. What a fabulous image ---God laid out before us, in all the glory, wonder and peacefulness of a new-born.
What an honor and what a gift God gives us by coming to us, in the flesh! And all we’re asked to do in return is to receive this gift---to take this baby in our arms and love Him as much as He loves us.
Our Advent task is actually pretty simple---preparing our heart, our minds, and our souls to welcome the greatest gift of all time---God in the flesh. A God who came to live among us, as one of us, not to scare us, not to scold us, but to simply and profoundly, LOVE US.
But, accepting that love, receiving that love, embracing that love means that we have to be open to it, we have to be READY for it. Because to accept the vulnerability of that baby who is God we must shed all darkness---we must cast off all fear, toss aside all worry, turn away from all hate.
To accept the vulnerability of that baby who is God we must take on the light and love and peace that is God. This is why all the Christmas carols playing non-stop on the radio, the clerks in stores wishing us a Merry Christmas before the Thanksgiving Turkey is even cold, the Christmas trees trimmed and the lights hung with care is just fine during Advent. Because, frankly, it’s the Christmas spirit that places us in the perfect state of mind to receive the gift that is Jesus Christ.
Think about the mood change in the world this time of year. People are happier. People take time to gather for parties, to write Christmas cards to those who are far off and those who are near. People think about what people mean to them and then tell them! Folks hold doors open, let cars pull ahead of them in traffic. People are kinder. Gentler. More peaceful.
In other words, during Advent and Christmas we are who we are supposed to be.
So when we’re told to shed the darkness of this world and put on the light of God, when our readings tell us to turn away from the self-serving behaviors of our day to day to world, when we’re encouraged to beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning-hooks we’re being told to GET READY, for the greatest gift of all time is about to be given to us and we best be as ready for it not only today, but tomorrow as well. For although we know neither the day nor the hour of Jesus’ return we do know how we are supposed to live our life---as if every single day was, indeed Christmas.
So, my friends, welcome to Advent, a brief season of preparation, a time when we shed all that holds us back so that we can put on the source of all light and love and laughter—Jesus the Christ. Welcome to Advent, a time for us to embrace God laying bare before us, in that crib, in that Bethlehem barn so many years ago.
Amen.
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