It's About Time
Today, the apostle Paul's message from Romans 13:11-14 helps us say, "Advent is here, and It's About Time!" December 2, 2007.
Although three and a half decades have gone by, I can still remember what it was like for a college student to begin a new school year. There’s a feeling of excitement and anticipation. What will the new classes be like? What will the professors be like? What kind of assignments will I have? But by the middle of November the idea of cranking out another essay and studying for another exam begin to hang out. The Thanksgiving break couldn’t come at a better time. I recall thinking, “It’s almost December. The semester will be over in a couple weeks. It’s About Time!”
Today the apostle’s message from the second lesson for this day, Romans thirteen, helps us say, “Advent is here, and it’s about time!” The key for understanding what he means has to do with understanding the Greek word for “time” which Paul used here. Actually, there are two different words in Greek for “time.” One has to do with the read-out from your watch as in seconds, minutes, and hours. The other has to do with what we might call the right time, the proper time, the appropriate time – like the farmer who looks at his ripened fields and says, “Now’s the time for harvest,” or like the real estate broker who looks at a buyer’s market and says, “Now’s a good time to buy a house.” That’s what Paul had in mind in this portion of Scripture. After urging the Roman Christians to love one another, Paul wrote,“And do this, understanding the present time.” His words lead us to join him in calling out – Advent’s here and, It’s About Time!
Time to Wake up
Let’s say you got home after a long, long day at work. You’re so tired that you barely have enough energy to cram some food into your mouth. You just want to get some shut-eye. So, you crawl into your jimmies, pack your head snugly into the cool side of the pillow, pull the covers up under your chin, and start to doze off. Pretty soon Mr. Sandman has cropped-dusted your eyeballs, and you’re fast asleep, catching some major Zzz’s, sawing logs, floating in the arms of Morpheus, drifting in dreamland. Then, before you know it, “Rrrringg!!” the alarm goes off. “What’s going on? What time is it? What day is this? Where am I?”
The apostle Paul was keenly aware of the human condition. He knew that every descendant of Adam and Eve battles what he calls spiritual slumber. That’s when a person gets lulled to sleep spiritually and either doesn’t know or has forgotten what to believe about God, how to think godly thoughts, how to behave. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians and to us, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber.” It’s time to wake up from spiritual slumber. Don’t doze off spiritually because, if you do, you may slip into sin and do things you’ll be sorry for. Worse yet, you might get used to doing bad stuff, and after a while begin to think, ‘That’s not so bad. Besides, I can control my sinful behavior and stop whenever I want’.” But Paul says, “Wake up! You’re falling into a trap!”
Although we know that there are people in our world who are so corrupt that they commit crime in broad daylight, I think you’d agree that most evil and crime occur at night. People do bad stuff under the shadows of night thinking no one will see. What foolishness! Even if people can hide their wickedness from other people under the cover of darkness, God has better night-vision goggles than anyone could imagine.
Paul didn’t just fall off a turnip truck. He knew temptations are real, even for Christians. He was well aware of the temptations which appeal to people when darkness begins to cover the stark reality of sin and when the bright desktop of the conscience goes into screen-saver mode and eventually goes to sleep mode. In this paragraph Paul sketches a scene that is all too real – people partying all night. Then, as the first light of dawn begins to shine in the room, they say, “Oh no! Look at this mess! What have I done?” So Paul wrote, “Let us behave decently ... not in orgies [the word here refers to wild partying, carousing till late night] and (not in) drunkenness [you know what that is], not in sexual immorality [this word refers to the sin of intimate relations outside of marriage] not in debauchery [this refers to filthy words and suggestive body movements]. Then Paul adds a couple words that can tear at the heart of Christian love in a Christian congregation, dissension and jealousy. You’d almost think Paul lived in urban America.
At this time of the year, it would be foolish for a student to put the books on the shelf, stop studying, and fool around. It would be foolish for a retail store manager to cut back hours and ignore advertising options. This time of the year is a time for being prepared. For the Christian, Advent is a season of being alert, a season of the church year when we are tuned in to Christ’s coming, not just remembering that he came once, but looking ahead to his second coming in glory. As believers in Jesus we have seen the first rays of the dawn of his love. So, even though we live in a sin-darkened world – in fact, just because we do – Paul reminds us, “The night is nearly over; the day (of Christ’s second advent) is almost here.” Advent is here, and It’s About Time, time to wake up!
Time to get Dressed
But how do we do that? An air force pilot is sleeping in his bunk. Suddenly air raid sirens blast, “In-coming attack!” You would not expect the pilot to lolly-gag in bed. You would not expect him to saunter to his plane without helmet and parachute. A firefighter is dozing. Suddenly the alarm sounds. You would not expect the firefighter to roll over and hit the snooze alarm. You would not expect him to shuffle to his truck without boots, helmet, mask, and air tank.
Paul said, “You Christians may live in a sin-darkened world, but of all people, you know what time it is. It’s time to wake up, and that means it’s time to get ready for Christ’s coming. It’s time to get dressed.” The Christians who read this letter may have been ready to ask, “How will we get ready for the day of the Lord’s coming? How will we get dressed and equipped?” Paul anticipated that question and supplied the answer, “Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light ... Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus.” How do we do that? Well, we don’t go to a tailor to get fitted. To help us get dressed, the Lord comes to us. Listen to this, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). The Lord Jesus still comes to us through the promises of Scripture and through his promises of love in baptism and the Lord’s Supper and continually clothes us in his goodness.
Tomorrow, when you wake up, whether you’re in a hurry or have plenty of time, don’t even think of going out unless you first have on the right spiritual clothes. Ask yourself, “Am I still clothed in the Lord Jesus Christ?” If you’re not sure, then read the end of Galatians three or the middle of Isaiah chapter sixty-one – so you can be sure that you are clothed in Jesus, so you can be sure that nothing can separate you from God’s love. That’s what Advent is all about – four weeks of the church year to remind us of a pattern of living which lasts a lifetime, the pattern of getting dressed in the right spiritual clothes. Advent is here, and It’s About Time, time to get dressed in Jesus’ righteousness.
Time to look forward to the Day
The pilot is awake. He is dressed. He has checked his equipment. Everything is GO! He is ready for battle. He can fly off in confidence. The firefighter is awake. He is dressed. He has checked all of his equipment. Everything is in order. He is ready for firefighting, confident in his training and equipment.
Paul wrote, “Understand the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, the day is almost here.” We don’t know when Jesus will appear in glory, but that day is surely closer than when we were born, closer than when we woke up this morning, closer than when I started this sermon. Every breath we take and every step we make bring closer to that day when the full Son-light will appear so that we bask in his glory forever.
Some people get a little nervous when they think of standing before Jesus on that Day. Don’t be! You would have reason to be nervous if he hadn’t appeared the first time to remove sin from our record. If he hadn’t come to earth the first time, we would be fried to a crisp by the Son-light of his glory. But he has come, as our Savior. And he will come again, as our Savior.
What Paul gave to the Christians in Rome he gives to us, a sense of excitement and anticipation coupled with confidence. “You people live in a real world. It’s darkened by sin, and there may be times when you are tempted and caught in the darkness. But remember who you are and what you have. You are children of the day, clothed in Jesus’ right-ness!”
Imagine that you have a flight tonight to an exotic tropical location for n all-expenses paid vacation. You have awakened early this morning, even though it was still dark out, all excited, not just to come to worship on the first day of the new church year, but to get ready for your trip. Paul tells us, “That’s what it’s like for you Christians. Even though you live in a spiritually dark world, you have seen the first rays of God’s incredible love. So, even though you still live in a sin-darkened world, even though the darkness of sin can infiltrate your own heart, you can live with confidence and courage as though it were day because you know that the full unveiling of Jesus’ grandeur and love is surely coming and coming soon, and it will be a grand and glorious day for you!”
That’s what Advent is all about. Whether you are a student, a retiree, an employee, a parent, a child, take to heart these words of Paul, look closely at Jesus and what he has done for you, and enjoy the season. Advent is here, and It’s About Time! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on December 2, 2007
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