FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Greeting:
Welcome to the first edition of my re-vamped blog!
Join me this year as I plan to use the traditional Sunday lectionary, most of which dates perhaps from around the 5th century, to meditate on faith, and explore different (and, in the truest sense, radical) ways of reading and telling our Christian story.
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Rom. 13:8: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
Matt. 21:5: “Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey…” (quoting Zechariah 9:9)
Reflection
So here we are again. December starts tomorrow, and that means Christmas is barely a month away.
Actually, for a large part of the world, the Christmas season has already arrived. Here in New York City, Christmas decorations have been up in stores since the day after Halloween (and, in some stores, probably a little before that!). The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was brought in about three weeks ago, to be lit this coming Wednesday. Lights, snowflakes, Santas, and reindeer adorn our sidewalks and our streets, and holiday music can be heard on the radio and television.
I don’t know about you, but one thing that characterizes this season for me is lists. I have lists for everything—lists of gifts to buy, stores to visit, cards to send. That last one grows increasingly complex for me, as I try not to send the same card to friends who may live near each other! And in this season of group gatherings, there are endless lists of whom to invite, what to cook, who’s bringing what and where… well, you get the idea. Sure, the stress may take away from the “Christmas cheer”, but we do all of this to make sure we’re as prepared as we can be—to welcome friends and family, and to lovingly exchange memorable moments with them.
In the world of the church, it is most definitely not yet Christmas, but our liturgy and our readings begin now to point that way. On this first Sunday of Advent, our preparation for Christmas, Paul reminds us that “salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed”. And even as the Northern Hemisphere sees increasing darkness, Paul claims that “the night is far gone, and the day is near.” In short, ’tis the season to wake up and get ready.
And just how do we do that? Well, you might be surprised to learn that Paul, too, had his own to-do list. But whereas ours can be a frantic collection of material gifts and social events, Paul had something else in mind:
- Owe no one anything, except love.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Awaken out of sleep.
- Throw off the deeds of darkness.
- Walk properly.
- Put on the armor of light.
- Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
For Paul, the best gift you could give to someone (and to yourself) was love, as he repeats in his famous “ode” to love (1 Cor. 13). And the best way to prepare for “the Lord’s day” was to ‘repent’. I admit I usually cringe when I hear the word “repent” because it’s often used in connection with harsh and tearful, usually public, confessions of sins in order to avoid hell and damnation. But in the truest sense of the word, all it means is to stop, examine yourself, review what you’ve done and left undone, and if you don’t like what you see, then—as Paul writes here—just wake up, throw away anything harmful, and resume your life again properly, never forgetting whose light clothes you for the journey.
Advent is a season of not only preparation and penitence, but also of hope and joy. Now, of course, Paul wasn’t really writing an Advent sermon; the church year came very much after his time. But if we devotedly read and listen to his words of advice, then we’ll truly be prepared to welcome the heavenly guest who visits us on Christmas Day, and every day.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, give us grace
that we may cast away the works of darkness,
and put upon us the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ
came to visit us in great humility,
so that in the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge both the living and the dead,
we may rise to immortal life;
through him who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
(The Book of Common Prayer, 1662)
Or,
Purify our conscience, Almighty God,
by your daily visitation,
that your Son, Jesus Christ,
at his coming, may find in us
a mansion prepared for himself;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Gelasian Sacramentary, 5th century;
translation from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979, Advent 4)
(Words: Philip Doddridge, 18th cent.
Tune: ‘Richmond’: melody, Thomas Haweis and adapted by Samuel Webbe, Jr., 18th cent.; harmony, The English Hymnal, 1906; descant, Craig Sellar Lang, 20th cent.)
Hark! the glad sound! the Savior comes,
The Savior promised long,
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song!
He comes, the prisoners to release,
In Satan’s bondage held.
The gates of brass before him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
He comes, the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of his grace,
To enrich the humble poor.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Your welcome shall proclaim,
And heaven’s eternal arches ring
With your beloved Name.
