IT IS NOW THE HOUR
FOR YOU
TO AWAKE FROM SLEEP
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “You Know The Time; It Is Now
The Hour For You To Awake From Sleep.”
Those are the opening words of today’s second reading
from Romans - Chapter 13, Verse 11. Paul says, “Brothers and sisters: You know
the time; it is now the hour for you to awake from sleep.”
It’s a very appropriate challenge as we begin another
church year - this First Sunday - that begins the Season of Advent.
THE HAND WAVE
How many times has someone taken their hand and waved it
[HAND
GESTURE] in front of our eyes.
We were elsewhere and someone spotted us. Or how many times have we wanted to
do that to someone else - who seemed to be somewhere else?
Hello! Wake up in there!
Standing up here in the pulpit, I often see people
elsewhere. Smile.
I heard of a priest in Buffalo who shot a gun off in the
pulpit. He used blanks of course. I wonder if anyone slept through that.
I assume that the readings are to get people off on
something and then they don’t hear a word the preacher is saying. They only
hear Isaiah or Paul or Jesus - and hopefully themselves.
I assume that the readings and a good sermon put people
into another space and place - to ponder - to be challenged - to wake up to a
new way of doing life.
I assume this happens - sometimes very dramatically - as
in hearing a gunshot - but most of the time conversion - change - comes slowly.
How do people wake up?
The rooster crows.
The alarm clock rings.
Some people jump out of bed and get
rolling. Some slowly reach over their hand to hit the snooze button on their alarm clock for another
10 minutes of sleep - 10 or 20 years of same old, same old.
Conversions? Changes?
Some happen slowly; some happen quickly - without us having any clue of about
what is happening.
What wakes us up?
A sudden death….
the need for an emergency operation …. the discovery of having cancer …. a loss
of a job …. a divorce in the family …. a mistake …. an accident ….
Sometimes
one of those screams can be a wake up call.
Wake up! [WAVE HAND!]
MOUNTAIN
MOMENTS
Today’s first reading from Isaiah uses the image or the
metaphor of climbing a mountain - as important for our spiritual life. [Cf. Isaiah 2:1-5]
A mountain can do that….
So too an airplane ride - window seat - can do that as well. So too stopping a car at a scenic
overlook. Or getting to the observation deck of a tall building like the Sears
Tower in Chicago - or I have - maybe you have to - the memory of taking the elevator to the top
of the World Trade Center in New York City before September 11, 2001. I’m glad
I got the chance to do that 2 times.
On a clear day one can see forever.
It’s important at times to draw a line on a piece of
paper and put on one end today’s date and on the other end our birthday - and
then fill in the blank spaces. What happened?
What did we learn? Where have we come from? Where are we going to? Or draw the
line to the edge of the page - guessing on how many years we think we have
left.
Our story is worth looking at. Our story is worth writing
- but especially being read by us.
Isaiah in today’s first reading says, “Come, let us climb
the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us
in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.”
I assume that’s the purpose of coming to church on the
Sabbath - to come up the steps into God’s house - to look at our week - to look at our life - to
look at how we did as a kid, or a brother or a sister, as a husband or a wife, as
a mom or a dad, or as a grandparent or
as a worker. How am I doing?
Mountain moments are big picture moments.
GARDEN MOMENTS
Today’s second reading as I already said begins with the
comment: it’s time to wake from sleep. [Cf. Romans 13: 11-14.]
It’s the famous text from Romans that Augustine picked up and read when he was
in a garden in Milan, Italy. He heard a little kid saying, “Take. Read!” “Tolle! Lege” in Latin. [Cf. Confessions Book 8.]
He picked up the words of Paul the Apostle - who was
converted - by being knocked to the ground - and thrown into darkness - into blindness.
And he wasn’t able to see for a few days.
When he woke up he saw how blind - how dark he had
become.
Later reflecting on that moment Augustine wrote in his
Confessions:
“Late have I loved You, O Lord.
Behold, You were within
and I was without,
and there I sought You.
You were with me
when I was not with You.
You called. You cried.
You burst my deafness.
You did gleam, and glow,
and dispel my
blindness.
You did touch me,
and I burned for Your peace.
You have made us for Yourself
Our hearts are restless
till they find their rest
in You.
Late have I loved You,
Beauty ever old and ever new.”
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Isaiah takes us up a mountain. Paul takes us to
a road to Damascus. Augustine takes us into a garden.
In today’s gospel from Matthew, Jesus takes us to the image
of Noah - how everyone was blind when the flood was about to come. [Cf. Matthew 24: 37-44.]
Jesus also
presents images of sudden disasters when people are killed by sudden storms: two men are at work out in a field, one is killed, the other is spared; two women are working at the mill - one is
killed, the other is not harmed.
Or Jesus talks about house robberies. If we
knew when a thief was coming we would be ready - even if it means we stay awake
all night.
CONCLUSION: ADVENT
The Advent Season begins this Sunday.
It can be missed with the Christmas season
already started.
I’m not going to rant about that.
We have to figure out ways to see Advent in the midst of Christmas rush.
One way would be to think about or reflect upon darkness.
Listen to Simon and Garfunkel's song, “Hello darkness
my old friend.”
When we closed down Daylight Savings time and shorter days are upon us, darkness has appeared in front of us in our front windshield in afternoon car drives.
Listen to the songs of Leonard Cohen who just
died at the age of 82. His last Album was “You Want It Darker.”
I read a few of the obituaries about Leonard Cohen and commentators said he was off on religion - aloneness - darkness -
sin - being cracked - broken - and that’s the way the Light shines in - through the cracks - through the hurts and sufferings and broken relationships of life.
Maybe this Advent to pause to see the Darkness of December - and see
all the Lights shining in that darkness - and seeing Jesus - not the baby Jesus
- but the Adult Christ - the Light of the World in the darkness - the I Don’t
Know parts of our life.
Okay, enough for starters, light starts small - like a Baby - and
babies reach for the Light.
So too us. Amen.
