(A necessary “pause” from current events today.)
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A giant turn of the wheel on this day in the Christian calendar; a big click! into the notch that brings the rotating gear back to its beginning point.
As you guys know, a gear is for turning. This may be a cog wheel, but I don’t really know the difference. Things act on it and then it turns, notch by notch, each notch slipping for a moment into its proper (and useful) place.
And as we all know, today is the first day of Advent. Christians follow a Liturgical Year not too far in concept from a gear:
As the world revolves around the sun, so have we devised calendars to mark the passing of time – with religious significance. God, through various instruments, acts upon the universe, and with each revolution of our calendar year, there are stops or pauses as these divisions rotate to the top, and they are useful to us.
I put a blurry black dot at the top of this circular calendar where that dark vertical line is. Proceeding clockwise, this upcoming season is called Advent, represented by the four candles.
On this first Sunday in the Advent season, we light one of the candles on an Advent wreath.
Just one candle. It’s just the first week and there are many things to experience, to think about, and to learn during this first week of Advent. You’d miss out if you don’t keep Advent. You’d miss out on all the new insights and wisdom that you could receive . . . You’d miss out on the possibility of having having faith, increasing your faith, enjoying your faith in God.
So don’t. I care for all of you.
You’d also “miss out” if you lump the whole season together without pausing at each week to see what the Church presents to you.
It can be “clothing” I think, this week. Advent (meaning the Coming) is a purple (penitential) time to prepare ourselves properly for the First Coming of Christ. According to the Readings from the Bible, we are to “clothe ourselves” with Jesus Christ Himself: “Wake up! Pay attention! The End is sooner than we thought! So cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of Light. . . Walk honestly, not in immorality and sinfulness but put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
That’s what we heard in church today. “Put on” refers to an act like that of “putting on” clothing.
What are we to wear now?
Both the word “Light” and the words “Lord Jesus Christ” refer to the same Being, the Second Person of the Trinity — “I am the Light of the World.”
Learn who He truly is.
If any of us are going to call ourselves a Christian and claim safety and salvation at the end of our life, then now is the time to learn of Christ, learn what He is truly like, get to know Him, form a relationship with Him so closely that it is like we are “wearing” Him every day.
Because, even though this is the “beginning” of a year and it seems like we have a whole year ahead of us, we don’t. In the full words of the beginning of our Reading today:
“Brethren, knowing that is is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past and the day is at hand…”
We’re really kind of just about out of time. The Gospel Reading for today makes that very very clear.
That apocalyptic picture means that the Second Coming of Christ is approaching:
It could be good — if you have a good Advent!
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