St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
November 29, 2015
Year C: The First
Sunday of Advent
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Thessalonians
3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
The Armor of Light
From
the words of today’s collect: “Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the
works of darkness, and put on the armor of light…”
I
want to begin by saying that we had such a beautiful Thanksgiving here at St.
Paul’s.
Thanksgiving
at St. Paul’s began last Saturday when we hosted the Jersey City Homeless
Advocacy Group’s Pre-Thanksgiving Day of Giving. It was so moving to see all
these generous Jersey City people work hard to offer a delicious meal to those
in need. And, St. Paul’s made some wonderful new friends that day.
And
then on Tuesday we gathered at Christ United Methodist Church for our third
annual interfaith Thanksgiving service. Since, now more than ever, it’s
essential that people of goodwill from different faiths and even no faith at
all gather to give thanks and to celebrate community, I was very glad that
there was a good turnout from St. Paul’s parishioners.
And
I was so proud that our choir along with our friends from Incarnation formed
the core of the choir on Tuesday night. You all sounded really good. And,
thanks so much to Gail for her usual brilliant leadership.
Then
on Thanksgiving Day itself we welcomed volunteers from God’s Love We Deliver
who used Carr Hall to organize themselves before distributing meals to
homebound people.
At
10:00, twenty of us gathered for a simple and beautiful Eucharist service in
the chapel.
And
then starting at 2:00, Trish and her amazing band of volunteers began serving a
spectacular Thanksgiving feast to the community.
During
the week I was so moved to see many people – parishioners, neighbors, friends,
strangers who heard about it through Facebook or by seeing a flyer, some of the
boys from our cooking class – so many people pitched in to make this event
better than ever.
After
all of this, I feel so much gratitude that I’ll just echo St. Paul’s words to
the Thessalonians that we heard today:
“How
can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before
our God because of you?”
Amen.
Amen, indeed.
But
now the world and the church have moved on.
We’ve
moved on but in different directions.
While
pausing at least for a few hours of Thanksgiving, the truth is that the world
has long since moved on to what it calls “Christmas.”
Most
stores have had Christmas decorations up for quite a while. Once again people
were lined up outside stores on Thanksgiving Day or early on “Black Friday,”
though that seems to be fading a little.
Last
week when I visited someone in the hospital I found that the powers that be had
already put up Christmas trees and other decorations and were already piping in
Christmas music.
I
know that is all very well-intentioned but I couldn’t help thinking that if you
weren’t already depressed about being in the hospital, all the fake festivity
would do the trick!
Because
there is a kind of fakeness – actually, almost desperation - to much of what
the world calls Christmas.
Last
week Pope Francis said that Christmas this year would be a “charade” because
“the whole world is at war.” He said, “It’s all a charade. The world has not
understood the way of peace.”
Hard
words to hear and say. But true.
We
don’t really need reminding that the world is a mess and that we haven’t
understood – or haven’t chosen – the way of peace.
On
Friday, while we’ve been worrying about possible terrorists arriving here from
Syria, one of our all too familiar homegrown terrorists, a deranged white man
armed to the teeth, presumably someone who would describe himself as pro-life,
attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, killing two civilians and a
police officer before he was subdued and arrested.
Here
in Jersey City, especially in the southern part of our city, the violence
continues with shots fired and blood spilled on our streets, with gang
territory marked from corner to corner, with residents living fearfully behind
bars in their own homes.
And,
there’s the lack of peace in our own lives.
In
the midst of Thanksgiving, Juliana Eddy has been mourning the death of her
sister, Hildred. As more than a
few of us know, it’s so hard to be far from home at times like this.
There’s
the lack of peace in our own lives.
There
are concerns about our own health or the health of those we love. There are
frayed and broken relationships. There’s regret and fear.
During
our stewardship campaign several of you have talked to me about economic
anxiety, about lost jobs and debt, about downsizing going on all around you,
all around us – about waiting for the axe to fall.
Yes,
the world and the church have moved on from Thanksgiving.
We’ve
moved on, but in different directions.
The
world has long since moved on to what it calls “Christmas.”
While,
here in church we’ve moved on to Advent, this beautiful blue season when we
prepare for the birth in great poverty of Jesus two thousand years ago; this
beautiful blue season when we prepare for Christ’s return in glory.
During
this season we’ll be reminded of John the Baptist boldly challenging people to
repent – to repent and allow God to turn around their lives in a new and
life-giving direction.
During
this season we’ll be reminded of Mary, a young girl who courageously said yes
to the angel, yes to God, and carried Jesus into the world.
During
this season we’ll be reminded of Joseph, who, at great risk to himself and his
place in society, faithfully stood by his pregnant fiancée.
Yes,
the world is a mess and often our lives are a mess.
But,
during Advent we’ll be reminded that we’ve already been given all that we need
– that we’ve already been given the grace to cast away the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
We
put on the armor of light when we’re bold like John the Baptist and call one
another and, especially, our leaders to change our ways – when we call out
leaders who seem to ignore the bloodshed on our streets – when we call out
would-be leaders who lie and mock and divide.
We
put on the armor of light when we’re courageous like young Mary and say yes to
God, yes to carrying Jesus into the world through our prayers and our sacrifices
and our actions.
We
put on the armor of light when we’re faithful like Joseph, sticking with one
another when times get tough, sacrificing for one another even when, especially
when, it can really cost us a lot.
During
Advent we’ll be reminded that we’ve already been given all that we need – that
we’ve already been given the grace to cast away the works of darkness and put
on the armor of light.
And,
by the end of these four Sundays, we’ll be ready, not for a charade, but for
the real thing – the real Christmas. By the end of Advent, we’ll be ready to joyfully
celebrate the birth of Jesus and carry Christ into the world.
By
the end of Advent, we’ll discover that God has given us the armor of light –
the armor of light that is more than enough protection for the troubles of the
world - more than enough protection for the worries of our own lives.
And,
you know, by the end of Advent we just might discover that actually
Thanksgiving isn’t even close to being over!
Almighty
God, this Advent, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on
the armor of light.
Amen.
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