Time flies is isn't it? I was just the other day we celebrated Christmas and it is Christmas again in less than a month. And then a few weeks later we will start the season of Lent and then Holy week, and Easter. As we go thru these seasons and celebrations, what happens to us? Does anything really change in our lives or are we just going thru the motions?
My feeling is that we are doing all this because that is what we are supposed to do as Christians. These seasons and celebrations are part of being a church. But beyond that, I am not sure what does all this mean?
This year we are entering Christmas season in the shadow of the Paris Massacre. The huge tragedy that shook Paris a few weeks ago. I was watching TV and this breaking news came on and sat there and began weeping...this deep sadness pervaded my heart...sadness for the suffering of those innocent victims who were enjoying a meal in a restaurant or music in a theater.
What saddened me even more is the fact that it was done in the name of God. As they were shooting, the terrorists were chanting Allahu Akbar which means “God is great.” I have no ideas who that God is...but they are convinced that their God wants it this way. What are we to do? How are we to process a horrific event like that? What are we to think of a God like that?
So, on an international level, we have ISIS wreaking havoc—Beirut, Paris, Mali. There is a huge refugee crisis going on in Europe where families are displaced, lives are lost and hope for a peaceful world seems to be diminishing each day. And we are entering a season of of Advent in the middle of all this.
And then there is more. Look at what is happening nationally here at home. The election season is heating up and it is nasty out there. A certain segment of the population is extremely angry and you can see that anger and frustration finding voice thru the vitriolic speeches from some candidates. It is cut throat competition out there in the campaign field.
So we have international problems, National problems and thee is at least one more thing we have to add to that. Our personal problems. I don't know what you may be going thru, but I am sure we all have something, right? Cheryl is taking care of her ailing mom, which is a very difficult job.
In the midst of all these unrest and uncertainty, problems and challenges, what is the season of advent and celebration of Christmas going to do for us?
If the past is any indication, the answer is, nothing much. Today we will observe the first Sunday of advent and will light one candle, next week, 2 candles, and then three, and four and a then during Christmas eve ,..all four candles will be lit, Christmas songs will be sung, we will wish merry Xmas to each other...go home open our presents..watch some parades or sports...enjoy the weekend and Monday morning..back to work. I know the drill, because I have been there. We all have been there.
This year I want it to be different for us. I don't want you to go thru another traditional advent and Christmas season. So, I am going to propose a few changes. Change is hard, but stay with me, have an open mind and watch what happens. What is the harm in trying something new. We have done the traditional stuff for so long and nothing much changed. So let us give it a try. We have nothing to lose. So be open minded and be excited.
In fact, I am not going to say anything new. It is very old, as old as the scriptures..Either you have not been told the real meaning of things or you have not really understood some basic stuff about being a christian.
I promise you one thing. I will stick with Jesus..If anything I say in this church during the weeks and months ahead, is against the teachings of Jesus and what you read in the four gospels, I want you to challenge me and even ban me from coming back.
Don't argue using a verses from the Old Testament or a single verse from St. Paul's letters to contradict something I might say. Stick with the four gospels, because that is where we meet Jesus. Even there, we won't be able to meet the 100 percent real Jesus because Jesus is presented there thru the eyes of Mt, Mk, Luke and John. That is why they are called gospel “according to”
Having said that, let me propose a simple change..it is just the change of a word..but the implications are huge. This year, let us delete the word “advent” from our vocabulary and our consciousness. Where ever you see the word advent, replace it with Awakening.
Now, why is that important you might ask. It is important f because words do matter.
Let me tell you a story. There is an experiment about the power of words. A man sat at the corner of a NY subway station with a cardboard sign which said: “I am blind, please help”. Some people threw money onto plastic cup placed on the sheet in front of him. In one hour he collected $15.37.
Then he changed the words on the sign. It read: “It is a beautiful day, but I can't see it.” Now throngs of people began putting money into his plastic cup and it overflowed into the sheet on which the cup was placed. In one hour, he collected $123. 10 cents. That is the power of words.
So how is replacing the word advent with awakening going to help us spiritually? First let us look at the meaning of the word advent. It literally means, coming or arrival. It comes from the Latin word venire, to come.
So what we have been doing for centuries is, set apart four weeks before Christmas to prepare ourselves for the coming or arrival of Christ. On the first Sunday of advent we usually read about John the Baptist preparing the the crowd for the coming of the messiah.
The notion of “coming” or “arrival” of Jesus masquerades the reality that Jesus is already here. It perpetuates the notion that we have to “wait” for him rather than “witness” to him. When you are expecting Jesus, you fail to experience him. The fact of the matter is that Jesus has been already here for 2000 plus years. The question is not, “How to prepare for his he coming?” but “Have I met him?” So instead of “waiting” for his arrival, we need to “wake up” to his presence within us and around us.
Now you know why the bulletin says First Sunday of Awakening. Jesus is in your hearts already. He was born in your heart the day you were formed in your mother's' womb. You need to wake him up..commune with him, consult with him, take him with you where ever you go. You have to make a conscious decision to do that.
Jesus—that is a powerful name. The man behind that name is the savior of the world. There is no other name given under the sun by which man may be saved, says apostle Peter.
We don't have to wait for another four weeks to meet him. You don't have to do extensive preparations to welcome him on Christmas night. Jesus said to his disciples: And surely, I am with you always, till the end of times.” Those are the last words of Jesus according to the gospel of Mt. That is the last verse of the last chapter of Mathew's gospel. It is a promise and a guarantee from the Lord. I want you to wake up those words.
I am with you always. Jesus didn't say, I was with you for 3 years, now that I am dead, I am sorry, I can't help you, you are on your own. He didn't say, I “will” be with you at a later date, in the future. If you get into trouble, or you can't manage things by yourself, call me and I will help you in the future.
He said. I AM with you Always...now in real time..There is not a moment in our lives when Jesus is away from us. We may be away from him plenty of times during the week, but he is not.
So, wake up to those five powerful words: I am with you Always....Don't wait any longer and be miserable and unhappy in the meantime. Waking up to those words mean, become conscious of it.
When you become conscious of the presence of Jesus with you and around you all the time, advent and Lent will become unnecessary. You will feel like Christmas every day; you will live risen life every day. Not just 4 weeks before Xmas and 6 weeks before Easter.
On the other hand, if you are aware of the presence of Jesus only during Xmas and Easter time, that is a tragic way to live a Christian life.
Waking up to Jesus means two things. It is not actually two separate things, but two aspects of the same reality. First, you have to feel the presence of Jesus inside you.. Don't live your life feeling empty inside or fill the inside with feelings of anger, jealousy, frustrations and bitterness and all those negative stuff.
When you do that, Jesus is dead inside. With a dead Jesus inside, you cannot see the living Jesus outside.
What you see outside is a reflection of yourself. You see the world as you are, not as it is. That is why Wayne Dyer said: A happy person lives in a happy world, a miserable person lives in a miserable world.
When Jesus is alive on the inside, you will start seeing Jesus in others. “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did it to me.” Those words of Jesus would become alive for you.
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