Walking with Jesus: First Sunday of Advent

For Sunday, November 27, 2022

Isaiah 2:1-5, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:37-44

We have seen stores with Christmas decorations up for quite a while. I wonder if this is just an advertising gimmick to draw our attention to all the new products on which we can spend our hard work and life savings to show our LOVE for the special people in our lives. The stores want to insist that we HAVE TO GET this and that because our “loved person” just NEEDS this article … clothing … device … special gift ... to know they are loved and appreciated.

The more stores spend on their advertising, the more they distract us from God’s eternal and unending presence in our lives. They seem to imply that we can’t live without these “things.” But do they ever say that we must have these “things” to be aware of God and His blessings, coupled with His desire to lead everyone closer to Himself and our eternal home? They don’t — but the hint is definitely there. What has happened is that Christmas serves as a marker for milestones: our first Christmas together … our child’s first Christmas … our last Christmas with a loved one … the Christmas we spent wherever with whomever that we met at some place we believed was so special. We continue these remembrances as we prepare our greetings and changes to our mailing lists.

The time of Advent should become a challenging one, confronting us with the reality that our lifetimes are precious, our bodies are fragile, our times to readjust and reassess our priorities are more pressing. Our God is proclaiming, “I am here” … “you are loved” … “do you know how important you are to Me” … “come now and live in My love.” Is this the time I can pay more attention to God and me? Is this the time I can live in a way that signifies that I am God’s instrument of peace and love in my world? “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” [Matthew 24:42]

Isaiah starts off by seeing God reaching out and drawing all nations to Himself. Isaiah’s God is a God of justice who badly desires the elimination of weapons of destruction, instead transforming them into tools for the betterment of God’s people. God's people have learned these deep lessons of God’s love and devotion, and have the potential to be transformed into a model of God’s love and care for all. They can instruct others in God’s way. The end portions show how the people can be God’s light, bringing peace. Nations will no longer need to seek security through military strength as they once did. Swords will cut into the earth to prepare for planting, spears will prune trees, and plants will increase their fruit production. Can we look at what's happening around us today and see that we have the same capabilities — but wars continue?

Paul  asks us to remember that the Day of the Lord is closer than the first believers thought it would be. Now is the time! We are so comfortable putting off until tomorrow something important; Paul is saying NOW is important — urgent even. We must put away the deeds of darkness that turn us inward and distract us from a unified love of God, self and neighbor.

In his gospel, Matthew recites an important lesson from history to his Jewish audience. People in the time of Noah cared for only themselves and were living in comfort and affluence. They were careless with things pertaining to God. They had received warnings about the flood, but they didn’t put any credence in it actually happening. They seemed to treat it as an interruption to “business as usual,” confident that things would go back to normal where “… eating and drinking, carrying on and giving in marriage …” would carry on as before. [Matthew 24:38] What is at stake here is a very important lesson that has consistently failed to be learned: Are we listening to God? God is God and humans are not. No human knows the time of the second coming: Only the Father knows. Matthew urges us to stay awake: We must be on the lookout for God’s coming. It is different from our approach to Christmas; to finishing all our shopping “on time.” We don't know the time of this event, only that it indeed will come. Am I reflecting on my life? What am I doing? How am I living? What is my purpose in living? Am I ready for Christ? I receive His direction each day: Am I listening? Responding? Am I striving to live His life?

So I reflect on:

• Advent comes from the Old English meaning “holy” + “day.” Am I reflecting often on how I can respond to the many kinds of invitations that come in making my days holy by loving?
• Jesus comes to me each day. Do I open my heart to Him? Do I reflect on His gifts … His light … His peace? These gifts are freely given by Him. Do I realize why? 
  

Sacred Space 2023 states:

“Jesus is not asking us to stay awake all night, but to live in the present, so that we can recognize the Lord when He appears in our lives. He shows Himself in the unrehearsed moments, the interruptions and accidents that can throw us off balance.

“Teach me, Lord, to recognize Your face wherever I encounter You.”