Email from Church of the Redeemer

Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent

December 6, 2023

Invitatory

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come let us adore him.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Reading: Collect for the First Sunday of Advent

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

For as long as I can remember, this collect has been one of my mother’s favorites. She gets excited for the first Sunday of Advent just to hear the haunting, beautiful, cosmic lines about casting away darkness and putting on an armor of light. She loves the drama of “the time of this mortal life.” As a child, I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm. Now, I understand it.

These words come from Paul’s letter to the Romans. He writes with urgency that this is the time to “wake from sleep” (Rom. 13:11). As an evangelist, Paul’s goal was to spread Christianity and to equip those he met with a knowledge and love of Jesus that would broaden the reach of this new religion. “Let us then lay aside the words of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:11-12). Later he describes “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ:” rather than acting out of selfishness for their own desires, the Romans are to live honorably, outwardly - towards and for God and others above self.

The season of Advent is all about expectation and preparation. We tend to focus on the countdown to Christmas and the excitement it brings, but this is a season that begs us to quiet ourselves and prepare for the unexpected. We heard the parables these last few weeks about Jesus coming like a thief in the night, or when the bridesmaids are unprepared: the reality is that we are called to always be watchful and expectant because no one can know when Jesus will come again. We know that we will celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus on December 25, but what about the other advent we await? What about the return of Christ, in whatever form he takes, returning at whatever time he chooses? It is that for which we wait with hope and expectation.

The First Sunday of Advent marks the Christian New Year. What better time could there be to think about putting on Christ and living differently? We have no trouble listing out our New Year’s resolutions of diet and exercise plans, or ways we will give back to the community. Why not consider a Christian New Year’s resolution? Paul and the authors of our prayer book have given us one, plain and simple: cast away darkness and put on the armor of light. The incentive is given to us, as well, and it makes the case for changing our behavior pretty clear: “that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.” Life immortal as reward for small adjustments that orient us towards God? Seems a pretty good deal for us.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.