YOU  KNOW  THE  TIME; 

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.