First Sunday of Advent
Is 2:1-5; Col1:1-12; Rom 13:1-14; Mt 24: 37-44
Deacon Larry Brockman
Are you asleep? Now you may be thinking to yourself that’s silly because you are all physically awake or you wouldn’t be here. But what about spiritually? Are you spiritually asleep? St. Paul was talking about people who were spiritually asleep. He tells them the time is right for them to awake from their sleep. Paul is acting as a prophet- warning people to mend their lives because their day of salvation is near. He advises the Romans to put aside the things of the world, and to “put on the armor of light” so they will be ready for that day of Salvation.
Jesus is also talking about people who are spiritually asleep. He uses the analogy of Noah and the flood to make that point. Now this is interesting, because there wasn’t any prophet in Noah’s day like Paul in his day. .There was just Noah- Noah read the signs and prepared for the flood. But he was all by himself. Everyone else thought he was crazy. They were eating and drinking and marrying. In other words, they were just living life, enjoying the good life.
So, the question for us is this: Is that so wrong- just living our life and enjoying the good things of life? Paul was talking about deeds of darkness, and he lists them- drunken parties, sensual pleasures, sexual immorality, quarreling, and jealousy. But Jesus was just talking about eating and drinking and marrying. These are things we all do, just like two men working in the field, or two women grinding some meal for a dinner. These people were doing the ordinary things of life, not the dark things that Paul mentioned. That’s why spiritually asleep seems to me to be such a good description for what Jesus is warning us about.
Most of us don’t go through life spiritually dead- consciously doing evil and seeking pleasure; denying the existence of God and the coming of the kingdom of God. But we are often spiritually asleep- preoccupied with basic things of this world; unconcerned with the fact that some day we will die; unprepared for the fact that at any time we could be called by God. Yes, we could be the person in the field or the woman grinding flour. In today’s world, we could be the person in the path of a Tsunami or Hurricane or Tornedo; a bystander along the street of the Boston Marathon; the victim of a heart attack or stroke or tragic auto accident. And life is suddenly over for us, and we are standing before Christ the King in Judgment.
It’s not so much that there is anything wrong with living life, but rather, it is foolhardy to be spiritually asleep while we live our lives. We need to be prepared and ready for the Coming of Christ at any time.
That’s what Advent is all about, the four weeks before Christmas. It is our time to wake up spiritually, and train ourselves to be constantly aware of our mortality, of our first priorities; and of our relationship with God so that we will be prepared at any time for the coming of Christ.
The preparation is twofold. While we live, we need to walk in the light of Christ, living our lives to the fullest, but in the pattern laid out for us by Jesus in the Gospels. And secondly, we need to be constantly aware of our calling to a higher life, a life in the kingdom of God. Isaiah describes this hope for us in very poetic terms, the heavenly Jerusalem on Mount Zion; the house of the Lord, where there is no more war or strife, only the peace of God.
So, this morning, let us resolve to use this next four weeks of Advent to awaken spiritually to get ready for the coming of Christ. We may be shopping and decorating and feasting and visiting and doing all the other rituals of the season at the same time. But, let us be constantly aware and ready spiritually of the coming of Christ.
