Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44 Psalm 122

“But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.  Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” [Matthew 24:44]

Blessed Advent to you on this first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of our Church year.  The word “Advent” translates to “arrival.”  We get it, that this is the season in which we await the celebration of the arrival of the Christ Child – the Messiah – the babe born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn.  Most of us cannot remember life without this yearly enchanting treasured account of Jesus’ birth that we will hear again in the weeks to come.  Each year, at this time, we are pulled into the thin space in which the division between the spiritual realm of God’s heavenly kingdom that is to come and God’s earthly kingdom that now is indistinguishable.

Yet, as we begin this new Church year on this first Sunday of Advent, our Gospel lesson alerts us to a very different arrival – an anticipated arrival that leaves us with quite a bit more apprehension and uncertainty.  We know this anticipated arrival as the Second Coming of Christ.  For 2,000 years, humankind has been held in this state of suspense between this first Advent – the Incarnation, and this Second Advent – the second coming of Christ as he has promised.  As we hear in our epistle lesson, Paul writes to the Romans that the day is near.  We are to “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  For 2,000 years, humankind has been challenged to keep alert for this day when Christ will come again – this day that is “near.”

Thus, as we hang the tinsel and raise a cup of cheer amongst all the traditional fanfare of the coming of the first Advent – the Incarnation, we are not to dismiss the reality of the second Advent – the second arrival.  Both arrivals require our preparation; both require that we remain alert, not growing complacent.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the twentieth century martyr who spent the last weeks of his life in a German prison, places us in a jail cell as we wait.  Bonhoeffer writes that from a jail cell, we are dependent upon someone to free us.  And, at the same time, we are to be active waiters.  We wait there in a dark world that lacks the light of Christ, and we remain alert for the sound of the key turning the lock.

It is important that we spend time, especially in the season of Advent, intentionally seeking God’s guidance, reflecting on and addressing the darkness of the world that preceded the coming of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world.  In the same way, we reflect upon and address the darkness of our hearts, listening for the key turning the lock that has kept our hearts imprisoned and complacent to our call to ministry in the world.

Because, in reality, there is a third sense of Advent, a third sense of “arrival” that is present in our everyday lives.  That reality is the presence of Christ, the light of the world, that is everlasting, ever present in the here and now.  We, the privileged, know of the light that has come, we are called to bring others into the light that has come.

Week by week, through this season of Advent, we will light our Advent candle and celebrate the increasing light until, finally, we light the Christ candle in celebration of the coming of Christ at the first Advent – the Nativity, the Incarnation, the Word made flesh.  We prepare for that event, week by week, hopefully, with greater sense of spiritual preparation than with the ever-encroaching and distracting secular preparations for Christmas.  In preparation, we come to gather for worship and praise; we study and inwardly digest the scriptures; we spend time in intentional prayer; we listen and follow God’s call to our individual and corporate ministries.

Each week, as our celebration of Christmas draws nearer, our expectation and anticipation increase.  And, all the while a little voice is growing more perceptible – a little voice that reminds us that Jesus Christ has already come into the world.  And, physically, he promises to come again.  But, for here and now, Jesus Christ is present.  Can you see his humility in the stoop of a stranger on the street?  Can you see his eyes in the eyes of your neighbor?  Can you see his mission in the hands and heart of the person next to you?   Can you feel his presence as you go humbly about your ministry?

Within the light of the candle, focus on that part of the light that you bring into the darkness – that part of the light that is Christ reflected in you – that part of the light that is your ministry, too frequently unacknowledged and uncelebrated as we reflect on our blessings at the end of each seemingly routine day.  Take note of the light of Christ you have shared in a smile or a simple gesture of kindness.

Alfred Delp was a Jesuit priest falsely implicated, imprisoned, and executed for his supposed role in the attempted overthrow of Hitler in the final weeks of World War II.  From his place in a German prison in the winter of 1945 he wrote:

Light your candle quietly, such candles as you possess, wherever you are.

We all possess candles.  As we quietly go about our ministries, the light increases; Jesus becomes known to us, and we in turn make Jesus known to the world about us.

Light your candle quietly, such candles as you possess, wherever you are.

Blessed Advent!  Blessed arrival of the light of Christ that shines in the darkness – the light that radiates quietly from the candle you possess.