Keep Awake!
Psalm 50 • Psalm [59, 60] or 33
Isa. 9:18-10:4 • 2 Pet. 2:10b-16 • Matt. 3:1-12
When does the Christmas season begin? For many of us it starts December 25th and lasts twelve consecutive days. For others, it begins right after Thanksgiving. For retailers, it begins before the Halloween candy has been distributed. And for others, it lasts year-round as they keep alert for sales and deals to buy their many precious gifts.
But does this materialistic frenzy, all under the watch of a portly man in red, really prepare us for the baby in swaddling clothes? John, with his camel hair and stores of locusts and honey, tells us—“Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near.” Repent literally means change your mind, change your attitude, become anew and prepare for God’s chosen, God’s beloved.
Advent is a time for spiritual renewal that not only prepares us for the birth of Jesus, but also to follow Him. It is a mini-Lent—a time of self-reflection, self-renewal but also re-connection with family and friends and reconciliation with God. It is a time to move towards a new mindset as we prepare for Christ’s birth; a time to give yourself gifts—days of silence and reflection, a reinstallation of the sabbath, additional time for God.
In this Holy season and beyond, rather than keeping awake for bargains, keep awake for ways to self-renew, to give to others through the Holy Spirit, to grasp that opportunity to serve God and to love others as Jesus Christ asked us to do. As was so beautifully spoken from our altar this third Sunday in Advent:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances as you make straight the way of God in our day. Hold fast to what is good and abstain from every form of evil that you may be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not quench the spirit but bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the broken hearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.
Written by Linda C. Jones
Linda has been an active member of St. Paul’s since 2000. Currently she serves as Associate Verger, Chorister, Lay Reader and vestry member.