Reflection for Advent I Nov 27 22 “Be Ready! Making Room for God”
“Be Ready! Making Room for God”
Based on Romans 13:11-14 (Wake up! The Day is Near)
and Matthew 24:36-44 (No One Knows the Hour)
Today is the beginning of Advent.
It’s all about getting ready for something important, the birth of Christ.
So, how do we get ready?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like housework much. I confess it here
today! I don’t usually do it very well unless I KNOW someone is coming to the
house! Then you would see me pushing the vacuum cleaner, washing, and
scrubbing, dusting, and cleaning…. In a great CHAOTIC WHIRLWIND around
the house!
While this was happening, my dog Peanut would go and sit by the front door
and stair straight ahead because it was the only time he KNEW someone must be
coming over!
I admit that’s not an ideal way to get ready for something important…
What if we didn’t know when the guest was coming? Then what?
What if they just showed up unannounced?
God forbid!
That’s like the Scriptures today.
Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “Be ready! Stay awake! Jesus is
coming!”
At that time, Jesus had already been crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and
ascended back into heaven. He was no longer with the people. Paul had only seen
him in a great vision and heard his voice. Paul expected him to return soon, but he
didn’t know when.
So, Paul was teaching about Jesus’s promise to return and trying to get the
people ready to give up their bad habits and live a more holy life, like Christ.
In Mathew’s Gospel, Jesus is still alive and with his disciples. He tells them
he will die, but he will return. They ask him when he is going to come back, and
he says, “No one knows, not the angels, nor the “Son of Man” (a title he gave
himself)– only God the Father knows. He doesn’t know, but he is getting them
ready, so they won’t be alarmed, and will stay focused on the path and the
teachings he is giving them.
So, we have a promise during Advent. One is the birth of Christ that we
celebrate at Christmas. We kind of know how to prepare for that. We run around
and buy lots of presents, deck the halls, prepare our sanctuaries, bake lots of
cookies for the bake sale, sing carols and trim the tree, right?
But how do we prepare for Advent as Christ’s light coming into our lives?
As CHRIST breaking in upon our world and way of life?
That’s something entirely different.
Paul answers this question, and he doesn’t mince words: He says don’t waste
your time partying and gratifying all your earthly desires. He says, “Put on the
armor of light.” This sounds awfully daunting!
What is Paul talking about?
Paul is talking about Christ’s light – and wearing it like a garment. Not for
war, made of metal, but out of light that is like a light in the darkness for others to
see by. Where we emanate love and compassion and represent Christ everywhere
we go. Can you imagine walking around “wearing Christ,” knowing Christ is with
you, shining his light to all the people around you? How different the world would
be…
Paul believed the world was filled with darkness, the opposite of God’s
light. If you think about it, this world is a place of competing desires, darkness and
distractions, while the light of Christ is giving hope for a new world. Today, we
still see suffering, with people on the streets, wars raging, and corporations putting
money before people’s welfare.
But Paul is saying side with Christ – be the Light now – as a way of
preparing the way for Christ’s return. Focus on love and live like Christ: loving
God first and loving everyone as himself.
So, how can we prepare for a life that is pleasing to God?
Paul responds, “Live honorably.” In other words, remember the teachings of
Christ. For example, Jesus says many things in the Scriptures:
– Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and strength, and
– Love your neighbour as yourself
– Forgive everyone
– Take care of the widow and orphan, the poor, the weak, the marginalized
– Don’t worry about anything, God will take care of everything
– Trust in God
– Follow Jesus, even when it’s hard
That sounds like a lot of hard work! And it is. We must prepare and follow
that path of Light, the way of Christ, every day.
THAT’s the message for this Advent season:
Be ready! Stay awake! Prepare the way for Christ.
Here’s an example of being ready and staying awake, preparing for something
important:
When I joined seminary at Emmanuel College, I knew I had about three
years to study. Unlike my housework phenomena, I knew I would have to study
every day because this was something important to me.
Many unexpected things would happen, great blessings and challenges.
If I wanted to succeed, to pass, and to become a minister, I would have to stay
awake (literally sometimes)! Be prepared! Get ready for every class.
I would have to pass many tests and write many papers.
It wouldn’t be easy.
Sometimes there were surprise quizzes you couldn’t prepare for – based on
how much you were paying attention.
Preparing for Christ is kind of like that. It becomes a dedicated way of life.
We must pay attention, stay awake, have a purpose, and prepare to fulfill it.
We are not only getting ready for something important in the future; we are
making Christ a part of our way of life.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus another metaphor of the owner of a house – the
owner being us – and he asks if we knew a thief was coming in the night, wouldn’t
we stay awake so they couldn’t break in and steal all our stuff?
What an awful parable! – it’s kind of the opposite of having a goal or dream
and preparing to accomplish it.
This is more like a warning.
What happens if we DON’T stay awake and prepare? – it would be like a
thief coming and stealing the good from our lives.
In other words, STAY AWAKE! BE PREPARED.
But Jesus is trying to prepare them to stay awake for his return. So in a
sense, he is the thief in the story. But instead of stealing all our possessions, he’s
offering us a new way of life. He is like the Good Thief coming at an unexpected
hour.
Are we ready for him to enter our lives?
I like to think of this like being the host of the house, and are we ready to
welcome Jesus, as the honoured guest.
Are we ready to welcome Christ, and those he loves, like an honored guest?
Coming back to my beginning story – the housework….
If I knew Jesus was coming to my house soon, you might see a very
different scene of me, preparing for such an awesome event.
Unlike the chaotic last-minute whirlwind, I would plan several weeks ahead.
I would clear my house from top to bottom – clear the basement floor of its many
cluttered boxes. And not just sweep dust under the rug! I would pull all the old
blankets and stuff out of all the closets and give things away anything we don’t
need, and I would ensure everything was immaculate.
Then I would prepare a room for Jesus, my honoured guest, that sparkled
and glowed as brightly as he did.
When Jesus finally arrived, on a day unknown to me, I would rush to the
door, and welcome him with arms open wide….
Of course, we’re not really talking about preparing our house or watching
out for a burglar. Paul and Jesus are talking about something entirely different:
preparing our hearts and minds for his presence in our lives – for the light of Christ
to shine in us and through us. Just like a house, we need to cleanse our hearts of
anger and fear; and empty our minds of distractions and worry, so we can focus on
what is important: loving God and the people around us. Being Christ’s light in the
world…
So, what would you do differently if you knew Christ was coming?
Maybe we could consider (Krista’s Three Things):
1. Spend time with God each day with a little prayer before bed.
2. Say hello to someone you don’t normally acknowledge.
3. Treat your next guest, stranger, or encounter as if they were Jesus – just
imagine how different the world would be if we all did that.
May we all be as ready to welcome Christ this Advent season.
Amen