1AdventB/StAndrew’s, Sullivan Park
Care Center, November 30, 2014, by Sr Annette Fricke, OP
Today is the first Sunday of the new
church year, the season of Advent. When
the first Sunday of Advent occurs is determined by the feast of St Andrew. The first Sunday of Advent is the one closest
to St Andrew’s Feast. St Andrew was a
very ordinary disciple, much like you and me.
He was overshadowed by the much more prominent brother, Simon
Peter. Advent is from the Latin meaning “coming”
but has come to mean both a joyful and penitential waiting for the birth of
Jesus on Christmas Day. Watchfulness is
an important aspect of that waiting.
Beware and keep alert; for you do not
know when the time will come, St Mark’s gospel tells us. Advent is a time of active anticipation. We wait, especially when we are spiritually
dry and do not sense God’s presence.
It has been a rather harried and
tiring week for many. The full impact of
darker and darker days as well as the shorter and shorter days is being felt by
many. There is much rushing around. Thanksgiving Day with all the trimmings and
tone of giving thanks for what we have is completely overthrown by the mad rush
to get to the stores to find and purchase that perfect gift for that special
someone---something they just have to have.
The retailers have done it again rather successfully. They have tugged at the heartstrings of
unsuspecting, usually calm rational people and turned them into aggressive
shopping robotic machines. You might
pinpoint the beginning of all this retail madness to that story and sweet
innocent sounding song about Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, written to
increase profit.
Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment
for Chicago based
Montgomery
Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring
books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own
book would save money. May's brother-in-law, Johnny
Marks, adapted the story of Rudolph into a song.[1]
For those of you who have noted that
the retailers are targeting young children in their advertisements these days,
you have likely forgotten that this began several years ago. Pulling on the emotions and longings of the
kids of this country has been going on since before the economy picked up after
the Great Depression.
The Gospel text in Mark actually uses
imagery borrowed from the book of Daniel, yet interprets it in light of the
then current happenings of Mark’s time and culture. Also for us, what Mark has to say to his
generation equally applies to us. When
we read the thirteenth chapter of Mark, we will soon notice that it appears to
be confusing and disjointed. It is
difficult to follow with our linear-thinking minds. What the world teaches us in our culture is
much different that perceived reality for other cultures. The Jewish people noted long ago the almost
repetitious cycle of things being the same, yet not the same. With every cycle of events, what we actually
see is a bit different. Everyone handles
that information differently. One person
complains about having to turn the lights on more because even during the day,
there is sunlight filtered by fog and clouds or simply just not as bright as in
the other months. Another person doesn’t
see the point of talking about it at all because it is nothing new; this
happens every winter. Still others
mention it on the ride up the elevator that snow is in the forecast. And then there are those who point out the
extremes in weather and wars and rumors of wars trying to find answers to their
cosmic questions. Despite all our
preoccupations with the world about us, our best answers still lie not outside
of us, but with what the common threads of the Bible tell us. We should be looking beyond the retail madness
that has us by the tail and swings us to and fro. We should be going beyond the signs above and
below. Whatever it is that threatens to
overwhelm us and seeks to tear us away from focusing on God, we need to listen
and listen carefully to what God has to teach us. According to Mark, God has just two words for
us and they are, “Keep Awake.”
Once again, Mark tells us a
parable. This time, the master of the
house goes on a long journey, leaving his slaves and a doorkeeper in charge. Jesus has returned to the heavenly abode and
left us the responsibility of caretakers.
We are to take care of what God has given us on a day to day basis, ever
faithful, never wavering in that duty.
God has given us all things, so therefore we are to give God our thanks
and praise. Therefore we are to keep
alert to the deceptions and evil that corrupts our thinking and behavior,
sometimes unknowingly. We are urged by
God to watch out for others and to contribute to their welfare and their
well-being. We are invited to become
Christ’s body in the world, doing as he did to bring justice and healing to a
broken world. We are to be alert as we
watch for Christ to be born anew in each of us as we once again contemplate his
birth and what he accomplished here on earth.
Mark
reminds us that there is hope. There is
more to come. Jesus will gather us all
to himself and our joy will truly be complete as we live into eternity, an
eternity of everlasting peace. What is
it that you wait for in this advent season?
Is it your desire to be united with Jesus in everlasting life? Do you long for a closer relationship with
Jesus? Do you ever wonder what eternity
will be like? I imagine it is similar to
an inmate who is in prison who thinks about what it will be like when he is
finally released from prison. The world
outside changes a lot as the years go by.
Many people are shocked when they see how much it has changed since they
were free prior to imprisonment.
Although I am in agreement with Mark, that we ought to focus more on the
present than the future, with Mark, I believe that we also should think about
what is to come. What lies in the future
can be a motivation to take responsibility in the present. It can help us in the transformation process
to take our covenant with God seriously.
Advent can be a time to renew our commitment as disciples. We don’t know much about Andrew, the average
disciple, but we do know that he invited others to follow Jesus. Even if that small thing is all that we do,
that one small invitation can do much.
Andrew recruited one of the most effective apostles of early
Christianity. By doing a small thing, he
did a great thing. Not only is it a gift
to be a good and effective disciple, it is also a gift to recognize those
qualities in others. Therefore, keep
awake---for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the
evening or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you
asleep when he comes suddenly. What I
say to you, I say to all: Keep awake. Do
not be deceived and do not let your guard down.
Live your lives knowing that Jesus will return and live them knowing
that return can be at any time. Amen.
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