Happy New Year!
It is the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of the church year. Advent is the season where we wait for and anticipate Christ coming in history, mystery, and majesty. And this year we are spending a lot of time with the Gospel according to Matthew. We kicked off with Matthew 24:36-44 and heard Jesus charging his followers to “Keep awake!” and talking about how the return of the Son of Man like a thief in the night.
Christ comes to us in unexpected ways at unexpected times, in ways extraordinary and ordinary. Why does Jesus insist his disciples stay awake? Because many of us are walking around asleep. Asleep to the needs of our neighbors and to our own needs. Asleep to the truth of the world in front of us, too focused on a destination or to-do list to see what is in our midst. Christ comes to rouse us from sleep and wake us up to the presence of God all around us. The presence of Christ shines light in the darkest of shadows, brings hope to a world wrapped in despair, and offers life and love to a world that is good at losing itself in hate and death and violence.
In this Advent season, Jesus comes to us like a thief in the night, keeping us on our toes and stealing away the things that keep us asleep and covered up. Christ has shone in our hearts and lives and called us to be the light of the world. Yet we sometimes let our light grow dim, our worries, our possessions, the weight of the burdens we carry cover up and hide the light of Christ in us. Like a thief in the night, Jesus comes to steal everything that covers up the light of the world in us – our burdens, our worries, the possessions that possess us, the thoughts that contain us, the fear that inhibits our generosity of time and money, the disdain and prejudice that prevents us from encountering God in our neighbor who is different from us.
And this thief in the night, this Son of Man, this Jesus who is Messiah, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, comes again in this season when the nights are longest to light our hearts on fire and shine through us that the world sees our love for one another, our good works, and our hope and sees the grace of God, giving praise to our Father in heaven.
You are the light of the world.
Let’s light up the world as we share the life and love of Christ in word and deed and look with hope for Christ’s coming in history, mystery, and majesty.
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