Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 1:01am
Ready or not, here comes Jesus
Column: New Houses from Old Bricks
Last year for Christmas, I got a new alarm clock. Instead of loud beeps or bells, it has a gentle light that blinks on and off. If I don't respond, there's a bell that rings a minute later as backup. But almost always I wake up to the light. There's something about a light in the darkness that gets my attention.
Last Sunday we began the church's liturgical season of Advent, and we lit the first Advent candle. "Advent" means "coming," and for these four weeks before Christmas, we will light another candle each week. These little lights wake us up as we await the big light to come at Christmas: Jesus, coming to be a light in the world's darkness (John 1:5).
In the world's darkness — war, sickness, loneliness, injustice, loss — it can be difficult to imagine the light of Jesus coming into it. In the darkness, it's hard to believe Jesus ever came as a baby, and it's hard to believe he'll ever come again at the end of time. Most difficult of all can be believing that he comes into our daily lives at any time, in any season.
It's difficult to talk about and fully understand any of these "comings." More important than our talk, however, is our Advent practice: Through the light that wakes us up, we practice becoming awake to Jesus' presence. As it turns out, most important on this Advent journey isn't where we end up, but who we become on the way. Through practice, we become people who can recognize Jesus whenever and wherever he comes.
We need lots of practice especially to be able to recognize Jesus in daily life. How does he show up? Well, for one thing, Jesus promised to be present in Word and Sacrament. For Lutherans, this means Scripture read and heard, and the sacraments of baptism and communion. So we practice seeing Jesus whenever we read and hear the Word and participate in the Sacraments.
The paradox of Advent is that while we await Jesus' coming, at the same time Jesus is already with us here. His coming again will surprise us, but at the same time his coming is predictable and dependable, as routine as eating the bread and drinking the wine and telling the story of Jesus giving his life for us, as we do in church each week.
This week my church celebrates its 60th anniversary. For 60 years now, people have faithfully shown up here, week after week, looking for Jesus, waiting for his coming, and celebrating his presence with friends and strangers alike. In 60 Advent seasons, as a church we've learned something about recognizing Jesus. We've seen him in Word and Sacrament. And we've seen him, too, in the hungry and hurting people we've been privileged to serve in our ministries over the years.
Jesus has faithfully shown up, too, in the body of Christ: the community gathered in his name. Over 60 years we have seen Jesus in each other, in prayers and companionship and meals delivered and even in the midst of disagreement. Through the years the church's people have been a light to each other in the darkness of loss or trouble. In and through the "body's" ministry to each other and the wider community, Jesus has come, again and again.
In the body of Christ we have the amazing privilege of being on this journey together, but there is always room for more traveling companions. Just think: If it's hard to recognize Jesus without practice in community, imagine how much harder it is to recognize him when you're on your own.
On this Advent journey some things can wake us up and help us practice. Lighting a candle is a good start. Many people like to have a simple Advent wreath at home, and each day they light the number of candles for that week, and say a prayer or read some Scripture or both. Secondly, we spend time with the body of Christ, sharing the Word and Sacrament, because Jesus absolutely promises to show up there. And finally, we look for Jesus in the friend or stranger who needs us. (It's probably not a coincidence that this is a busy time of volunteers and donations for social service agencies.)
The Advent season calls us to wake up to God in our midst. Ready or not, here comes Jesus, but it takes practice to see him. We don't need to worry if we don't recognize him right away, especially when he doesn't come with an alarm bell. Sometimes "O Little Town of Bethlehem" describes it perfectly:
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear him coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still, our dear Christ enters in.
Advent calls us to wake up, sometimes with an alarm bell, but more often with the gentle, silent light seen in a baby in a manger, the light of body and blood lovingly given for us, and the light on the faces of our companions on this journey, the faces of the body of Christ — the light come to be with us once again.
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Schlatter.
Last Sunday we began the church's liturgical season of Advent, and we lit the first Advent candle. "Advent" means "coming," and for these four weeks before Christmas, we will light another candle each week. These little lights wake us up as we await the big light to come at Christmas: Jesus, coming to be a light in the world's darkness (John 1:5).
In the world's darkness — war, sickness, loneliness, injustice, loss — it can be difficult to imagine the light of Jesus coming into it. In the darkness, it's hard to believe Jesus ever came as a baby, and it's hard to believe he'll ever come again at the end of time. Most difficult of all can be believing that he comes into our daily lives at any time, in any season.
It's difficult to talk about and fully understand any of these "comings." More important than our talk, however, is our Advent practice: Through the light that wakes us up, we practice becoming awake to Jesus' presence. As it turns out, most important on this Advent journey isn't where we end up, but who we become on the way. Through practice, we become people who can recognize Jesus whenever and wherever he comes.
We need lots of practice especially to be able to recognize Jesus in daily life. How does he show up? Well, for one thing, Jesus promised to be present in Word and Sacrament. For Lutherans, this means Scripture read and heard, and the sacraments of baptism and communion. So we practice seeing Jesus whenever we read and hear the Word and participate in the Sacraments.
The paradox of Advent is that while we await Jesus' coming, at the same time Jesus is already with us here. His coming again will surprise us, but at the same time his coming is predictable and dependable, as routine as eating the bread and drinking the wine and telling the story of Jesus giving his life for us, as we do in church each week.
This week my church celebrates its 60th anniversary. For 60 years now, people have faithfully shown up here, week after week, looking for Jesus, waiting for his coming, and celebrating his presence with friends and strangers alike. In 60 Advent seasons, as a church we've learned something about recognizing Jesus. We've seen him in Word and Sacrament. And we've seen him, too, in the hungry and hurting people we've been privileged to serve in our ministries over the years.
Jesus has faithfully shown up, too, in the body of Christ: the community gathered in his name. Over 60 years we have seen Jesus in each other, in prayers and companionship and meals delivered and even in the midst of disagreement. Through the years the church's people have been a light to each other in the darkness of loss or trouble. In and through the "body's" ministry to each other and the wider community, Jesus has come, again and again.
In the body of Christ we have the amazing privilege of being on this journey together, but there is always room for more traveling companions. Just think: If it's hard to recognize Jesus without practice in community, imagine how much harder it is to recognize him when you're on your own.
On this Advent journey some things can wake us up and help us practice. Lighting a candle is a good start. Many people like to have a simple Advent wreath at home, and each day they light the number of candles for that week, and say a prayer or read some Scripture or both. Secondly, we spend time with the body of Christ, sharing the Word and Sacrament, because Jesus absolutely promises to show up there. And finally, we look for Jesus in the friend or stranger who needs us. (It's probably not a coincidence that this is a busy time of volunteers and donations for social service agencies.)
The Advent season calls us to wake up to God in our midst. Ready or not, here comes Jesus, but it takes practice to see him. We don't need to worry if we don't recognize him right away, especially when he doesn't come with an alarm bell. Sometimes "O Little Town of Bethlehem" describes it perfectly:
How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear him coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still, our dear Christ enters in.
Advent calls us to wake up, sometimes with an alarm bell, but more often with the gentle, silent light seen in a baby in a manger, the light of body and blood lovingly given for us, and the light on the faces of our companions on this journey, the faces of the body of Christ — the light come to be with us once again.
— — —
Rev. Rebecca Schlatter is an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Reno, Nevada. You can contact her at {email newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com}newhousesfromoldbricks@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Schlatter.