e-vo for week of December 1

Dearest e-votees-

Blessed Advent to you. I hope and pray that you find yourselves surrounded by friends and family during this time of preparation and waiting that is Advent. If your church offers special worship services during Advent I would encourage you to be part of those experiences as you and your whole community of faith prepare for Christ again in the manger as well as Christ to come again with finality to usher in the kingdom in its entirety.

Peace,
Karl

----------------

11 Besides this, 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; 12 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; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 13:11-14, NRSV

This week’s appointed epistle text is short, sweet and to the point.

It is ironic that while some of us are still rousing from a tryptophan induced coma from all of the Thanksgiving turkey and all of the other fixings that we are called to be alert and wakeful. It is ironic that we are called to make no provision for the flesh when some of us just added to our ample supply with second helpings of everything. It is ironic that we are called to not spend time quarreling and being jealous as we move into what can be prime family squabble times as the holiday gatherings commence. It is indeed ironic.

Or maybe not so much ironic as timely.

We live in a world and a time and a country where we are often drowsy and bloated and quarrelsome and quite able and willing to take license. There are so many things that tickle our fancies and distract our spirits from the one thing that is needful.

Salvation is near. It is near liturgically as we are about to enter into the nativity scene again as word becomes flesh and dwells among us. Salvation is near as we don’t know how many more sands there are in our hourglasses or those of all of us collectively. As Alexander Gee Jr. posted on Facebook this morning “Gotta give it our best today. Tomorrow is NOT a guarantee. Live purposefully & thoughtfully.” We all would do well to live with an urgency and an expectancy and a reverent fear and a hopefulness which is really what Advent is all about.

Mostly we ought to live in high and holy expectation because Jesus came into our world and gave it his best. Our future is guaranteed. Because our futures are secure in the sure and certain promises of Jesus we can dare to live with purpose and with reverent and prayerful thought.

In baptism we were clothed with Jesus (see Galatians 3:26-27). We have put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Daily we are invited to remember our baptisms and put on Christ again. When we die we are covered like a funeral pall with the sure and certain promises of resurrection to life eternal.

May we all be wakeful and alert and hopeful and share that good news with a drowsy, quarrelsome, jealous, petty world that all too often we stoop to join.

God, shape us into the Advent people that you have called us to be. We wait and trust. Amen.