Today's Scripture Readings
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the LORD!
Psalm 122 (BCP., p.779).
Romans 13:11-14 (NRSV)
You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV)
Jesus said to the disciples, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 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."
Blog Reflection
In our fast paced society of IPhones, super fast internet speeds and quick fix meals; the idea of waiting for anything seems like ancient history. Think of the days when if you were so unfortunate to have a break down in your automobile and found yourself in the breakdown lane of a highway, if you didn't have access to a pay phone, you could be there a long time. Thanks to the miracle of the cell phone, IPhone and now the IPad, it is very possible to call for help right where you are and someone will find you. As a result, our waiting is very passive. We expect something to happen without us having to do too much.
I have come across a really great book entitled Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas. It is a collection of writings each with their respective dates. Each date has a reading from a different author. This past Thanksgiving Day, November 28th I found a very intriguing reading by Henri Nouwen entitled: Waiting for God. In the reading he talks about the waiting of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon and Anna. Each of these had a very personal encounter with God concerning the coming of Christ. Nouwen says that they each had an experience of God and received a message that sounded a lot like this. "Do not be afraid. I have something good to say to you." Nouwen reminds us that we read about waiting for the Lord to act in the Psalms. Psalm 130:5-7 reads "My soul is waiting for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning. More than watchmen for the morning." The kind of waiting we learn from this Psalm, the key Biblical characters I have named, and even in our Gospel today are invited along with us, to spend some time in active waiting that anticipates something amazingly wonderful from God.
During this time of Advent we are told to stay awake, and be at work at the things God has called us to do. Advent is a period of prayerful discernment as we actively wait for the return of Christ at the end of time, as we are preparing to celebrate His first coming at Christmas. St. Paul urges us to recognize this as the time to wake up, and pursue those works that lead us and others closer to God and to avoid those that are part of the age of darkness and despair.
In many ways, the discernment I am going through with the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict as a Novice is an Advent. It is a time of prayerfully waiting for God's will to be revealed in the here and now to help me know whether or not becoming a Benedictine Vowed Member of the Community is the right thing to do. I am not going to receive that answer in the same way I can order a cheeseburger at a drive through and get it in the next ten minutes. No. This prayerful discernment means following the instructions of my Formation Master, praying the Offices, doing Lectio Divina, getting better acquainted with the Community, and learning to be obedient to our Abbot. As they provide me with excellent and sometimes difficult feedback, they too are an important part of God's call on my life. They are part of the prayerful discernment of God's will for both the Community and myself.
As we begin this new Liturgical Year in which we are told to stay awake, prayerfully discern and actively wait for the coming of Christ, we are told to be busy doing the work that we have before us. We must continue to be a voice for the greater inclusion and equality of all marginalized persons including LGBTQ people in the Church and society. We are preparing a place for Christ to come among us and find us at work for His honor and glory. By listening to the Holy Spirit this Advent, we will be able to hear Jesus call us to work together to relieve the poor, hungry, thirsty, the injured, the hopeless and the oppressed. We can be actively waiting for the coming of Christ, by helping others to prayerfully discern how our attitudes and actions suggest that we are concerned about others who are different than ourselves, or are we just as biased as anyone else, and quite frankly, much too pleased with ourselves being there.
Stay awake! Be attentive to the needs of people around us who are victims of injustice and prejudice.
Prayerfully discern what is our role in making the Church and society a better place to receive Christ at His coming both at Christmas and at the end of time.
Actively wait! Do not just sit there and fall asleep in the easy chair and act like there is nothing we can do.
Be willing to write a letter to our Congressional leaders about why we must approve unemployment benefits by the beginning of the new calender year.
Tell others around us why we should have required background checks and limit the sale of dangerous military style weapons.
We should actively listen to what is happening to people who live with some kind of mental illness, and stress the importance of a better health care system that addresses their needs with those who have been elected to decide our laws.
We should celebrate those States, and support others that are passing the freedom to marry for all people including LGBT people.
To call for an ending to racism, sexism and religious based discrimination of all kinds.
We should do our part to address the inequality of our immigration laws and economic inequality.
We can and must do our part to address our poor stewardship of the resources of this planet, and do something about climate change.
These and many more causes and issues can be part of our Advent and Christmas story.
As we await the coming of Christ, let us stay awake and prayerfully discern how God is calling each of us to the work of God's mercy that prepares a place for Christ in all of us.
Amen.
Prayers
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on 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; 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 the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.211).
Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p.816)
Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, p.260).
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