First Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 24:37-44
SEVERAL YEARS AGO I TOOK CARE OF A PATIENT WITH A FATAL LIVER DISEASE. HE HAD A FEW YEARS LEFT, BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE VERY MUCH SINCE HE WASN'T THAT OLD. THE ONLY CURE WOULD BE A LIVER TRANSPLANT, SO I ARRANGED FOR HIM TO SEE THE TRANSPLANT PROGRAM AT A BOSTON HOSPITAL. THERE THEY DID ALL KINDS OF TESTS, SOME TO DETERMINE HIS TISSUE TYPE – SOMETHING LIKE A BLOOD TYPE, SO THEY COULD SELECT A COMPATIBLE DONOR; AND SOME TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE TO HIS HEART AND LUNGS BY THE LIVER DISEASE, SINCE IF THERE WAS TOO MUCH DAMAGE, IT WOULDN'T MAKE SENSE TO TRANSPLANT A NEW LIVER. AND AFTER THAT, THEY TOLD HIM TO WAIT. AND WAIT HE DID. HE HAD TO CHANGE HIS WHOLE ROUTINE. IN THE DAYS BEFORE CELL PHONES, HE MADE SURE SOMEONE WAS ALWAYS HOME TO ANSWER THE PHONE, AND HE CHECKED IN EVERY HALF HOUR WHEN HE WAS AWAY. HE COULD NO LONGER GO ON TRIPS OUT OF THE AREA; HE HAD TO BE WITHIN AN HOUR'S RIDE TO THE HOSPITAL AT ALL TIMES. HE HAD TO BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL ABOUT CATCHING COLDS, SINCE THEY WOULDN'T DO THE TRANSPLANT IF HE WAS SICK. AND TWO YEARS WENT BY, AND ONE NIGHT, HE RECEIVED THE CALL – A PERSON HAD BEEN IN A FATAL CAR ACCIDENT, HAD ARRIVED IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM BRAIN DEAD, AND HIS LIVER WAS BEING RUSHED TO THE TRANSPLANT CENTER. AND MY PATIENT GRABBED THE BAG THAT HAD BEEN PACKED AND READY, AND WENT TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE WITHIN A FEW HOURS, HE HAD A NEW LIVER.
WHAT IF, AFTER A YEAR OR SO OF WAITING, HE HAD SLACKED OFF, HE HAD STOPPED BEING READY? WHEN THE CALL CAME, WOULD HE SAY, “I CAN'T MAKE IT NOW, HOW ABOUT FRIDAY?” OR HE MIGHT HAVE MISSED THE CALL COMPLETELY, AND THE LIVER WOULD GO TO THE NEXT AVAILABLE PATIENT.
TWO THOUSAND YEARS HAVE GONE BY, AND WE ARE STILL WAITING. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS HAD A MUCH GREATER SENSE OF ANTICIPATION; WHEN YOU READ THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE MESSAGE SEEMS TO BE, “THE LORD IS COMING SOON!” AND WITH THAT IN YOUR MIND ALL THE TIME, EVERYTHING TOOK ON A NEW PERSPECTIVE. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES DESCRIBE THE EARLY CHURCH HOLDING THINGS IN COMMON. WHAT GOOD WOULD IT DO TO HOARD UP RICHES IF THE LORD WAS COMING SOON? AND MARTYRS WENT TO THEIR DEATHS JOYFUL AND SOMETIMES EVEN SINGING – WHAT DID A FEW MORE YEARS OF LIFE MATTER IF THE LORD WAS COMING SOON? AND MEN AND WOMEN WENT OUT ON MISSION TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, LEAVING THE COMFORT OF HOME AND FAMILY – THOSE THINGS DIDN'T SEEM THAT IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE LORD WAS COMING SOON.
TWO THOUSAND YEARS HAVE GONE BY AND WE ARE STILL WAITING. BUT JESUS TELLS US TO LIVE IN EXPECTATION, TO BE ALERT, TO BE READY, TO HAVE OUR BAGS PACKED. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO MEN IN THE FIELD OR THE WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN IS THAT ONE WAS WAITING, ONE WAS NOT.
ADVENT IS MEANT TO RESTORE THAT SENSE OF EXPECTATION IN US. THE OPPOSITE OF BEING WATCHFUL, BEING EXPECTANT, IS TO BE IN A RUT. AND WE ALL GET INTO RUTS. I GET UP IN THE MORNING, GO THROUGH A ROUTINE; I READ THE PAPER AND DRINK SOME COFFEE; I GO TO WORK, DO THE SAME THINGS DAY AFTER DAY, COME HOME AND ENTER MY EVENING ROUTINE. WHEN SOMETHING DISTURBS MY ROUTINE, MY RUT, I GET BOTHERED. AND I EXPECT TOMORROW WILL BE A LOT LIKE TODAY, AND NEXT WEEK LIKE THIS WEEK.
BUT IF I WANT TO RESTORE MY WATCHFULNESS, MY SENSE OF ANTICIPATION, I HAVE TO BREAK OUT. THERE ARE THREE STEPS.
FIRST, WE IDENTIFY TIME IN OUR DAY THAT IS BEING WASTED, OR THAT WE ARE DEVOTING TO TASKS THAT ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY. YOU MAY SAY THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO IS NECESSARY, BUT WHEN WE STEP BACK, WE ALL NOTICE THAT MAYBE WE COULD BE MORE EFFICIENT, MAYBE WE DON'T REALLY NEED TO VACUUM THE CARPET EVERY DAY NOW THAT THE KIDS ARE GROWN UP; MAYBE WE AREN'T REALLY GETTING TOO MUCH OUT OF THE TELEVISION PROGRAMS IN THE EVENING ANYMORE.
SECOND, WE CREATE SPACE IN OUR DAY – WE REMOVE A PART OF THE RUT WE ARE IN. IF WE NORMALLY TURN THE TELEVISION ON AT EIGHT, MAYBE WE TURN IT ON AT NINE.
THIRD, HAVING IDENTIFIED AND CREATED SPACE, WE CONSCIOUSLY AND PRAYERFULLY INTRODUCE SOMETHING NEW INTO THAT SPACE. NOW IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD USE THE TIME TO MEDITATE OR PRAY OR READ FROM SCRIPTURE; BUT IF YOU DON'T DO THAT ALREADY IT MAY NOT BE THE BEST PLACE TO START. INSTEAD, THINK OF SOMETHING YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT YOU'VE PUT OFF BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAD TIME. I LIKE TO GIVE MYSELF A PROJECT, USUALLY INVOLVING LEARNING A NEW SUBJECT. SOME PEOPLE MAY TAKE UP A NEW HOBBY OR RESUME AN OLD ONE. YOU MAY WANT TO LEARN HOW TO USE A COMPUTER OR PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT IF YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW; YOU MAY WANT TO DELIBERATELY SET OUT TO FIND YOUR OLD HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATES, OR DIG INTO YOUR GENEOLOGY. THE IDEA IS TO PUT SOMETHING IN THAT SPACE WHICH ATTRACTS YOU, WHICH SHAKES YOU UP, WHICH MAKES YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT TIME. NOW OBVIOUSLY IT'S A GOOD THING AS YOU ENTER INTO THE SPACE YOU'VE MADE TO OFFER A LITTLE PRAYER OF GRATITUDE; THAT KEEPS IT HOLY.
WHAT I'VE DESCRIBED IS AN EXERCISE. IT ISN'T A SUBSTITUTE FOR YOUR PRAYER LIFE, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT'S IMPORTANT. ALL IT IS IS A WAY TO BREAK OUT OF YOUR ROUTINE SO THAT YOU WILL BE MORE WATCHFUL.
MAYBE YOU THINK THAT THIS ISN'T VERY SPIRITUAL. ACTUALLY, GREAT SAINTS WERE ALWAYS SHAKING THEMSELVES UP, BREAKING OUT OF RUTS IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THOMAS AQUINAS COMPOSED POETRY AND HYMNS WHEN HE WASN'T WRITING THEOLOGY AND TEACHING. SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND TAUGHT POOR YOUNG WOMEN HOW TO MAKE LACE SO THEY WOULD HAVE A MARKETABLE SKILL. JOHN PAUL II AS WE ALL KNOW, LOVED TO GET AWAY TO SKI OR HIKE OR CAMP UNTIL HE GOT TOO OLD AND FRAGILE TO DO THESE THINGS ANYMORE.
IN OUR ADVENT LITURGY WE CHANGE TO PURPLE COLORS. IN LENT, THIS SYMBOLIZES PENANCE, BUT IN ADVENT, IT IS A SIGN OF WAITING, OF HOPE, OF THE ROYAL PURPLE OF THE KING WHO IS TO COME. OUR ADVENT WREATH COUNTS DOWN THE WEEKS, ANOTHER SIGN OF ANTICIPATION. AND OUR READINGS ARE FULL OF SUCH THOUGHTS.
THIS YEAR, AS YOU BEGIN ADVENT, FIND A WAY TO SHAKE UP YOUR LIFE, TO RECOVER SOME OF THAT SENSE OF ANTICIPATION, SO THAT YOU WILL BE AWAKE, SO THAT YOU WILL BE READY. WE MAY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS, BUT AS SAINT PAUL TELLS US, “OUR SALVATION IS NEARER NOW THAN WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED.”