Wake Up! It’s Advent
Romans 13:8-14
Have you ever overslept! What a horrible feeling it is to wake up and realize that you have only a few minutes to get somewhere or worse that you are hopelessly late! If this has ever happened to you then you know that you live with the constant fear that since it happened once, it could happen again any time. If something important is coming up, you will probably toss and turn all night, worrying about oversleeping. If you do get to sleep you will probably dream about the disasters that will surely happen when you oversleep. It all comes down to a desire on your part to not miss something very important. You want to be up and prepared for whatever special event is coming in your life.
Today we begin a new church year. As we observe the first Sunday in Advent, there are a few things that are different. Some can easily be seen in the church. We light the first Advent candle. The colors have changed from the green of the Pentecost season to the blue of the Advent season. Where the green reminds us of the new life that is ours through the power of the Spirit, the blue now calls us to look to the sky and be prepared for the coming of the Lord. We prepare our hearts to celebrate the first coming of Christ but we are also called to prepare for the time when He will come again. The hymns we sing also call us to prepare for the Lord’s coming. There is something else that has changed since we last celebrated Advent and even since the last time we came together to worship. Paul says in our text that our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. Now I know that Paul wrote those words over nineteen hundred years ago but they are still true. Our salvation is closer than when we first believed. We don’t know when Jesus will come again but we are closer to that time than we have ever been in our lives. As we heard last week, the Lord is patient with us. He is giving us more time to get ready. We can react to that in two ways. We can just relax and figure that we will always get more time or on the other hand we can give thanks to God for His mercy and use the time that the Lord gives us wisely and prepare our hearts for His coming.
As we begin another church year, we know that we will be starting over in the cycle of observances of important times in our Lord’s life. Advent reminds us of the first coming of the Messiah and at the same time calls us to awaken from our spiritual slumber because the time is coming when the Lord will come again in all His glory to judge the world.
Awaking from our slumber is another way of saying its time to get our act together. Did you ever think about what that statement implies? Get your act together. You might think of children who want to put on a show for their family or friends. They have every intention of putting on a great show but they just weren’t quite ready when show time came. They hadn’t practiced. They didn’t know their parts. They needed more time to get their act together. That describes many people as they get ready for the time when Jesus comes again. They have every intention of straightening out their lives. They have every intention of coming to church more often. They have every intention of being more generous with their material blessings. They have every intention of doing a lot of things but they never seem to get around to it. They are still in the dark about what they are going to do next. Paul tells us to put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
The light comes from the Lord and the armor of light would be those things that would be useful for us in deflecting the attacks of the devil, the prince of darkness. Since this is the beginning of the new church year, it would be a good time to put on the armor of light and make some new year’s resolutions that would reflect the light of Jesus Christ. Where would you start? One resolution would have to do with the use of our time. You would certainly want to dedicate time for worship. The people of the Old Testament dedicated a whole day to the Lord. The hour or so that you come to God’s house can be just the beginning. You can worship the Lord any time that your thoughts are directed to the praise and worship of our God. That could be in private or family devotions, Bible study in a group or by yourself or simply listening to music or reading books that give honor and praise to God.
Another resolution could be that you dedicate more of your talents to serving the Lord. Whenever you see work that is not getting done for the church, for example, you can be sure that someone is not using the talents that God has given. Scripture tells us that each one has been given gifts and talents that are to be used for the common good. God has distributed those gifts and talents as He sees fit so that the work of the church can be done. Is the Sunday School in need of teachers? If it is, it is because someone is not using their gifts. Does the nominating committee have to struggle to find willing people to fill the spots when the church has elections? If that is true it is because someone is not willing to use the gifts that God has given. The same thing can be said of any area of work in the church. If the church is not able to carry out all of its functions, each part of it needs to repent and look to the Lord for forgiveness and then use the power of the Spirit to discover and put to good use the gifts and talents that have been given to everyone.
A third new church year resolution would be to grow in your understanding of generosity. As you look through the New Testament, you find that Jesus spoke about this often and so did St. Paul
Another image that Paul uses to help us understand what it means to be prepared for Christ’s coming is that we are to put on or clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. A new year means a new wardrobe. If you are going to have a wardrobe makeover you have to start with the basics. When you think of your clothes, you have to begin with undergarments and then you also consider the outer garments. The undergarments are generally not seen but the outer garments are chosen with great care because people will see them and learn things about you based on what they see you wearing.
If we think of the things that people can not see, we can compare that to our faith. Your faith helps you to see who you really are, a child of God who has been declared righteous by God’s grace for Christ’s sake. You see yourself as the servant of the Lord, responding to His love. You look for ways to serve others instead of expecting people to serve you. That is an idea that is radically different from your sinful human nature and its selfish attitudes.
The outer wear in your new wardrobe can be seen as your witness to your faith by the things that you say and do. When you put on Christ, you are putting on the attitudes and actions of someone who is dedicated to following Jesus’ great commission to go and make disciples of all nations. Your new wardrobe includes the power of the Holy Spirit who works in you through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.
A new wardrobe often indicates a new lifestyle. As we start a new church year, that’s not such a bad idea. That is what Paul is saying in our text, “Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Wherever you are in your spiritual maturity, you can all stand to grow. There are old ways that can be put off and new things to put on. The image of waking up from your slumber is another way of saying that it is time to grow. If you would rather just stay the same, you are on the brink of falling asleep. The new church year is a time to wake up. Greet the new year with its challenges and opportunities for growth. Wear your new wardrobe with confidence and joy. Wake up! It’s Advent! Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
First Sunday in Advent
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