Sermon: Advent 1

Advent 1 - Romans 13:11-14
Seminarian Darren Harbaugh

Today we had 8 hours and 2 minutes and 25 seconds of daylight, tomorrow we will have 5 seconds less and the day after that 5 fewer seconds. As we creep closer and closer to the official beginning of winter on the 21st of this month, we know that it is waiting eagerly on the doorstep. We are reminded of its presence by the sight of our breath, the chill of the piercing wind and those frigid temperatures but we especially know that winter is upon us by the ever-shortening day.

The sun set at 3:50 PM today. It gets dark so early that sometimes I want to go to bed at 5pm because it feels more like 11 to me. This part of the year makes it much more difficult to know what time it is just by looking around you. I don’t wear a watch and I don’t carry a cell phone so I am always searching for a clock or having to ask somebody, “What time is it?”
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“What time is it.” This is an important question for the apostle Paul in our reading tonight. St. Paul proposes a new way of ordering time, a new way for Christians that is. Time is ordered by salvation. And Paul encourages the Roman Christians and us with the words, “ Salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.” This is still true for us, 2000 years down the pike from Paul’s day. It is even more true for us. Yes, Paul was closer to that main event in human history, Christ’s first advent and his death and resurrection. But we are closer to Christ Second Advent, where he will return for both the living and the dead. What time is it? We are in the “In-between” time. Between salvation and salvation. Between Advent and Advent.

We know what time it is. Not by looking at a watch or the fading sun in the sky, but by the light shone on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We have been given supernatural time-sensing abilities. We have been given new eyes of faith to see what appears to be foolishness to the world. When the world sees darkness, we see light. We perceive day, when the world sees night.

What time is it? “The night is almost gone and the day is near.” That sounds like an “in-between” time to me. It’s daybreak. The sun has pierced darkness. But for us it is both night and day, at the same time. It is both darkness and light at the same time. And we are both sinner and saint at the same time.
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Even though we know the time, we like to stay asleep in the deeds of darkness. The Son has shone in our hearts indeed, but we often feel quite comfortable and cozy in the warm bed we have made for ourselves and are content to keep hitting the snooze button, thank you very much.

When you are asleep, you are not aware of anything. You have no idea what time it is. You are unconcerned about what’s going on around you, about your duties and responsibilities. Your eyes are closed; you can’t even see what is right in front of you. When Christians fall asleep, we become unconcerned about eternal matters. Oh, we’re very active about earthly matters. Our lives are filled with all kinds of concerns and pressing matters that consume our thoughts as we snore away in spiritual sleep.

This is always the struggle though. You remember in the Garden, Jesus asked the disciples to watch and pray. Jesus always knew what time it was. He said ‘The Hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” But the disciples couldn’t even stay awake. They grew weary. They gave into temptation and fell asleep when they should have been watching, praying and aware of what time it was. Sound familiar?

What time is it? It is the hour for us to awaken from our sleep. This can go one of two ways. Imagine your alarm goes off and you are late for an important meeting. Terror. Dread. Adrenaline. Now imagine your alarm goes off and it is the first day of your holiday and you are headed out to some exotic locale. Or the feeling you got as a child when you woke up and it was finally your birthday or Christmas. Excitement. Anticipation. Exhilaration.

That is our hope. We do not awake to dread, we have died to judgement through Christ. We awake to life and salvation. We are THE morning people. To know God’s hour is to be awake. We walk in the light as he is in the light. Our salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Let us cast off from ourselves those ugly deeds of darkness – drunkenness, sexual immorality, jealously, and their other nefarious friends who cater to the flesh and its lusts.
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We know what time it is and we know who we are. We are the ones who are clothed in the armor of the light, that is, clothed in Christ himself at our baptism. Though we remain both sinner and saint, we have our Jesus Coat on. When the father sees us, He sees us completely covered by the shining brilliance of His Son, who died and rose again for our sins. In baptism, we participated with Christ in His death and resurrection. It is our daily dress, our daily attire. This grace that washed over us at our baptism continues to keep us in the Lord Jesus Christ as we await his Second coming. It is continual, daily. Yet we see that the Christian life doesn’t come without a battle.

What time is it? It is time for a fight, between sinner and saint. Between darkness and light, between day and night. We have put on this mysterious battle gear, the armor of light (Eph 6) – which is righteousness, salvation, faith, the Spirit – as we daily clash with the forces of darkness. We also have fellow soldiers and the church. Our only hope, our only lifeline, is provided through the church.

Look around. Outside it is dark, but in here, the church, the light is shining. We, who are in the church, have been enlightened and armored by Christ. Our faith appears to be foolishness to the world, but it is the very gift of God given to us by the Spirit. In Christ, we live and move and have our being. We know that the battle has been won.

But appearances can be deceiving. We know that on that first Easter morning, the Son broke into the horizon, to vanquish the darkness, but from our perspective, there is still darkness around us. That is why this community of new creations, right here, is the most important place for you to be in the world.

We know that without a doubt, Christ is really present. Right here. Christ said, “Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you.” Christ comes to you through his Word. Know that right now, at this very time and at this very hour, Christ is present for you. Know that your sins are forgiven. And know that Christ is present through His Spirit in that forgiveness.

As soldiers of the light, we march through the valley of the shadow of death but we fear no evil. We know that despite appearances, we are in the light and we battle the darkness as we wait for the full revelation of God’s glory on the last day.
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So we keep pressing on to that day. Luther says “to advance is always a matter of beginning anew.” We new creations are always beginning anew. Don’t sweat the struggle. That will always be there. We live in that struggle. When you need to worry is when there is no struggle. That is a sure sign of someone who is asleep. We, however walk wide-awake in the light. Christ dwells in us and daily conforms us to his will. We let the power of the Gospel have its way.
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You know what time it is. Daylight seems to be in short supply, but really now is the day of victory. And you know who you are. You may at times look like a snoring sinner, but know that you are Christ’s own, clothed in the gift of his armor of light. And you know your hope. It is nothing that this world provides, but is seen only though holy eyes. Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. A day is coming better than any holiday or birthday. Every day brings us closer to the return of Christ when our struggle against the works darkness will be no more.
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Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.