Loading...Emmanuel Episcopal Church, San Angelo Texas
The First Sunday of Advent
November 28, 2021
The Rev. Dr. William B. Wright
Lesson: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm: 25:1-9
Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-13
Gospel: Luke 21:25-36
This is the first Sunday of the Church Year. So, Happy New Year! We have a chance once again to begin anew; to watch and wait and look for the coming of Christ. The word Advent is Latin for the Arrival. We remember the arrival of Christ and await his arrival once again.
Our lessons today give us a fine introduction to the meaning of the season. Our reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that there was a time before the coming of Jesus that the Jewish people looked for the arrival of the Messiah as they suffered from warfare and sorrow. The lesson from Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonica reminds them that Jesus was with them even as they awaited his return. The Gospel lesson from Luke is one in which Jesus speaks of what will happen before his return at the end of time. There will be wars and rumors of wars and all manner of floods and earthquakes. My experience of over fifty years of preaching on this Sunday is that there has never been a time when these events have not been happening.
In short, we are encouraged during the first portion of the Church Year to remember that there was a time when people desperately wished for a Savior. We also remember that Christ is with us and reveals himself to us through the Holy Spirit. We also remember that he will return again either after our deaths or at the end of time.
As we watch and wait, we are encouraged to be prepared for the return of Christ.
All too often we are so wrapped in preparing for Christmas that we forget we await the coming of our Lord.
The seasonal colors at Emmanuel are blue. It is a color of repentance in addition to Mary’s color to remember her participation in making the coming of the Messiah possible. We will also remember a bishop of the early church by the name of St. Nicholas. Santa Claus was bishop of Myra, Turkey and gave of himself to the care of children, and the poor and downtrodden.
Often, we forget about the religious meaning of the year as we rush to prepare for Christmas.
I remember the story of a man in West Texas who always put up a very big and gaudy plywood decoration on the roof of his house complete with lighting. It was simply the word NOEL. The neighbors complained about it and grimaced each year when he put it up. Then one year, it happened. He did not get the decoration up – for some time. The neighbors complained. It just did not seem like Christmas without the NOEL sign on the top of his house. He decided that the day had come that he had to put the sign on the roof of his house. It was a very windy West Texas day, but he finally got the letters in place and went into his house to turn on the lights. He plugged them in and his message blared across the land – LEON; which is Noel spelled backwards. He had put in all that work and got it backwards.
That is easy to do this time of the year. We get swept up with all the preparations for Christmas and simply forget why it is celebrated. We can even become testy and exhausted as we deal with all the many things that are required of us. So many parties, shopping, etc. It becomes real exhausting.
I remember the story of a pre-school class that was performing in their Christmas extravaganza. They had reached the point in the story when it was time for the appearance of the Christmas star. Four children had been lined up by their teacher. They were to come onto the stage with large letters and turn toward the audience. The letters spelled the word STAR. The children went onto the stage and turned to face the audience, and the audience roared with laughter as they read the message, RATS; which is, of course, Star spelled backwards. Like LEON, they got it backwards and probably mirrored how many of the parents in the audience felt about then. We can so often get tangled in the events for the preparation for Christmas that we forget what it is about. Advent reminds us that we are preparing for the arrival of our savior and celebrating his birth. Perhaps, Advent can help us to focus as we prepare for the Christmas season. Then we will be prepared to celebrate the twelve-day Christmas Season when we join in Christmas songs and remembrance of the birth of Jesus.
Some years ago, while I was Rector of St. Paul’s-on-the-Plains Parish in Lubbock, Pat and I took a short break and went to Albuquerque for a couple of days. We remembered, while we were there that one of the families from a parish I had served in Austin, lived there. So, we called the Millhollands. They invited us to dinner. The time was set, and we were to meet them at their home to go out to their favorite restaurant. We arrived on time, but then, strange things started to happen. We rang the doorbell, and it was a long time before the door was answered. Mrs. Millholland apologized and said she was in the shower. Also Mr. Millholland had not arrived from work, and their son was playing in the park down the street. We had a fine visit as everybody finally arrived and then went out for a meal at their favorite restaurant. We had a wonderful time remembering our times together at the Church of the Resurrection in Austin and catching up on family and friends.
We had an opportunity to go to Albuquerque a few years later, but knew that the Millhollands had moved to Arkansas. Then it happened. As we reached the Arizona state line, we encountered the sign welcoming us to Arizona and the Mountain Time Zone. It was only then that we realized we were the cause of all the confusion with our friends. We were an hour early, but on time if we had been in the Central Time Zone.
One of the themes of Advent is that Christ will come again; perhaps when we least expect him. It’s a little like inviting the Wright family to dinner, you never know when he will arrive.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
AMEN.
