The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Advent 1) - November 28, 2010
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
Psalm 122
I have got to be honest with you, when I was little, I was afraid of the dark… Not that I believed that there were monsters hiding under my bed or in the closet… It was just that the darkness made things seem so different. Different in a way that was a bit scary.
Needless to say, I was a child with a very active imagination, and the darkness held the unknown and unseen, and it made it difficult for me to relax and get to sleep. Sometimes the shadows of the darkness cause me to see things differently… What I knew to be a coat hanging on the doorknob, became a short person standing guard at the entrance to my closet, or what was a chair with an afghan thrown over it, became that odd looking thing that I had never seen in my life… I would sometimes stare at these things for hours, waiting for them to move… waiting for the light to come on again in the room, and reveal its true identity.
I can bet that perhaps some of you don’t like the darkness. And even though you probably won’t admit it, you don’t like not being able to recognize and understand what lurks in the shadows. No matter how much we mature, our natural instinct is to be afraid of the unknown – of what we can’t see. And the absence of light makes it very difficult to see anything.
Now, we have several ways that we deal with this… We can age, and simply grow out of the fear… We use night-lights (or artificial sources of light) that give us a sense of false security… but, some of us never deal with it, and just end up living in the darkness. These folks sometimes need assistance (a professional) to help them deal with the darkness in their lives, a counselor.
That is what our scripture lessons are talking about this morning… About keeping awake, putting on the protective armor of true light, and walking and living in the light of the Lord, the light of Christ. A place where there is no fear, and there is peace and rest. We deal with the darkness in our lives by relying on the wonderful counselor, Jesus Christ.
In the season of Advent, we all become the keepers of the watch, and must keep awake and be ready. Even though it’s dark and scary sometimes, we know that this is our time to wake from sleep, live honorably, and keep watch. We watch in active anticipation for the arrival of Christ. Not to commemorate the baby Jesus being born in a barn, but the arrival of Christ in His power and glory, descending on the clouds, coming back to reclaim the world for justice and peace! For him to establish a Kingdom under His rule where there is no war and the swords are beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.
But we live in a world that doesn’t honor faithful living… and we aren’t prepared for this final judgment. Like Paul tells the Romans, we need to wake up and recognize our salvation because the day is near. But, we are not good watchmen… We want to be comfortable, so we chase after things that give us a “quick fix” but do not gratify in the long run (things like reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, and licentiousness) aggressively going after pleasure, and over indulging.
Think about the holiday that we just celebrated… Thanksgiving. Another major feast of the church that our society has hijacked… It has taken it, and rearranged it into a gluttonous feast followed by football and shopping. I am wondering if our forbearers, the ones who sat down with strangers to give thanks to God over a shared meal, would be proud of what we have become…
Instead of walking in the light of Christ, we are wandering around in the dark cloud of consumerism. The consumerism that has convinced us that we need this or that… it has become an artificial light in our darkness. And we wonder why this time of year is so difficult for folks that are dealing with depression and anxiety… It’s because, in our American way of life, we have replaced the true foundation in Jesus Christ with the “Stuff” that doesn’t satisfy.
We try to overcome our anxiety by trying to make it happen quicker by decking the halls early with all kinds of stuff… somehow trying to make that euphoric holiday feeling come, thinking that the artificial lights will chase away our darkness.
Jesus said that he will come back… and like the days of Noah before the flood, life has been one big party, not being concerned with doing anything to honor God, or giving God the glory… we all know what happened during the time of Noah – the flood came and swept them all away… so Jesus warns us to keep awake and be ready because we will not know when he will come… be ready, because one will be taken and one will be left… He will come like a thief in the night at an unexpected hour.
Our advice today from our Lord Jesus Christ, our Wonderful Counselor, as we start a new church year together, is to stay alert and live faithfully… Like the scriptures tell us, we should “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” – Be clothed with Christ as we take on his teaching and model his holy righteousness… This is our “armor of light” that repels the darkness…
We are the keepers of the watch… and what we do as Christians, our work in this world, is only accomplished in the spirit of wakefulness and watchfulness. We are called to faithful work, awareness and sensitivity, living in the mystery of things that are to come. And it’s not an easy place to be… it’s like living in the middle of the “already” and the “not yet.”
We are called during the season of Advent to a period of eschatological waiting, anticipating the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to vanquish the world’s darkness…
Today, we have a beautiful new advent wreath here, adorned with new oil candles that will be dedicated in a few minutes. With the passing of the Sundays in Advent, we light another candle, symbolizing the light of Christ that is coming into this world… growing brighter and brighter, casting away the shadows of darkness, until the day of the incarnation when the true light comes into the world and all the candles will be lit…
So keep watch my friends, put on the armor of light, and let the light of Christ grow in our hearts and in our lives… and be ready to receive our Christ at His coming.
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Advent 1) - November 28, 2010
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
Psalm 122
I have got to be honest with you, when I was little, I was afraid of the dark… Not that I believed that there were monsters hiding under my bed or in the closet… It was just that the darkness made things seem so different. Different in a way that was a bit scary.
Needless to say, I was a child with a very active imagination, and the darkness held the unknown and unseen, and it made it difficult for me to relax and get to sleep. Sometimes the shadows of the darkness cause me to see things differently… What I knew to be a coat hanging on the doorknob, became a short person standing guard at the entrance to my closet, or what was a chair with an afghan thrown over it, became that odd looking thing that I had never seen in my life… I would sometimes stare at these things for hours, waiting for them to move… waiting for the light to come on again in the room, and reveal its true identity.
I can bet that perhaps some of you don’t like the darkness. And even though you probably won’t admit it, you don’t like not being able to recognize and understand what lurks in the shadows. No matter how much we mature, our natural instinct is to be afraid of the unknown – of what we can’t see. And the absence of light makes it very difficult to see anything.
Now, we have several ways that we deal with this… We can age, and simply grow out of the fear… We use night-lights (or artificial sources of light) that give us a sense of false security… but, some of us never deal with it, and just end up living in the darkness. These folks sometimes need assistance (a professional) to help them deal with the darkness in their lives, a counselor.
That is what our scripture lessons are talking about this morning… About keeping awake, putting on the protective armor of true light, and walking and living in the light of the Lord, the light of Christ. A place where there is no fear, and there is peace and rest. We deal with the darkness in our lives by relying on the wonderful counselor, Jesus Christ.
In the season of Advent, we all become the keepers of the watch, and must keep awake and be ready. Even though it’s dark and scary sometimes, we know that this is our time to wake from sleep, live honorably, and keep watch. We watch in active anticipation for the arrival of Christ. Not to commemorate the baby Jesus being born in a barn, but the arrival of Christ in His power and glory, descending on the clouds, coming back to reclaim the world for justice and peace! For him to establish a Kingdom under His rule where there is no war and the swords are beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.
But we live in a world that doesn’t honor faithful living… and we aren’t prepared for this final judgment. Like Paul tells the Romans, we need to wake up and recognize our salvation because the day is near. But, we are not good watchmen… We want to be comfortable, so we chase after things that give us a “quick fix” but do not gratify in the long run (things like reveling, drunkenness, debauchery, and licentiousness) aggressively going after pleasure, and over indulging.
Think about the holiday that we just celebrated… Thanksgiving. Another major feast of the church that our society has hijacked… It has taken it, and rearranged it into a gluttonous feast followed by football and shopping. I am wondering if our forbearers, the ones who sat down with strangers to give thanks to God over a shared meal, would be proud of what we have become…
Instead of walking in the light of Christ, we are wandering around in the dark cloud of consumerism. The consumerism that has convinced us that we need this or that… it has become an artificial light in our darkness. And we wonder why this time of year is so difficult for folks that are dealing with depression and anxiety… It’s because, in our American way of life, we have replaced the true foundation in Jesus Christ with the “Stuff” that doesn’t satisfy.
We try to overcome our anxiety by trying to make it happen quicker by decking the halls early with all kinds of stuff… somehow trying to make that euphoric holiday feeling come, thinking that the artificial lights will chase away our darkness.
Jesus said that he will come back… and like the days of Noah before the flood, life has been one big party, not being concerned with doing anything to honor God, or giving God the glory… we all know what happened during the time of Noah – the flood came and swept them all away… so Jesus warns us to keep awake and be ready because we will not know when he will come… be ready, because one will be taken and one will be left… He will come like a thief in the night at an unexpected hour.
Our advice today from our Lord Jesus Christ, our Wonderful Counselor, as we start a new church year together, is to stay alert and live faithfully… Like the scriptures tell us, we should “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” – Be clothed with Christ as we take on his teaching and model his holy righteousness… This is our “armor of light” that repels the darkness…
We are the keepers of the watch… and what we do as Christians, our work in this world, is only accomplished in the spirit of wakefulness and watchfulness. We are called to faithful work, awareness and sensitivity, living in the mystery of things that are to come. And it’s not an easy place to be… it’s like living in the middle of the “already” and the “not yet.”
We are called during the season of Advent to a period of eschatological waiting, anticipating the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to vanquish the world’s darkness…
Today, we have a beautiful new advent wreath here, adorned with new oil candles that will be dedicated in a few minutes. With the passing of the Sundays in Advent, we light another candle, symbolizing the light of Christ that is coming into this world… growing brighter and brighter, casting away the shadows of darkness, until the day of the incarnation when the true light comes into the world and all the candles will be lit…
So keep watch my friends, put on the armor of light, and let the light of Christ grow in our hearts and in our lives… and be ready to receive our Christ at His coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment