ADVENT IV 2005

ADVENT IV 2005
“He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” (John 1.10)
When a sports team is preparing to take to the field or the ice, literally the instant before, the coach will be heard delivering a passionate exhortation. The idea is to focus their minds on the matter immediately at hand so that there can be no opportunity for distraction and to pump some additional adrenaline into their bodies so that the athletes take the field in a heightened state of readiness. If not so prepared, the probability of “obtaining the prize” as St. Paul was wont to say, is much reduced.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” (Ps. 19.1)
Immediately prior to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the priest and his assistants pray something called The Preparation. In our parish, this is done in the Sacristy; in some parishes it is done in front of the altar. The purpose of The Preparation is manifold: to confess any sins prior to presuming to celebrate the Divine Mysteries; to ask God to inspire our minds and hearts to a measure of worthiness that we humans are incapable of attaining by our own merits, and to focus our minds on the matter at hand – the aforementioned celebration of the Divine Mysteries.
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John1.29)
In both of the aforementioned examples, the “pumping up” for want of a better term, necessarily occurs just before the event in which the participants will be engaged. Even a small amount of time lag between the two would have a measurable negative impact.
“He shall come down like the rain upon the mown grass, even as the showers that water the earth.” (Ps. 72.6)
This year is one of those that occurs every six or seven wherein we have the longest Advent Season possible. Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, which means that, rather than just a few days after the fourth Sunday in Advent, this year a full week transpires before Christmas Day. I don’t know about the rest of you, but in my case, the older I become, the less I remember of last Sunday’s sermon as any week progresses, whether I delivered it or one of the other priests.
"This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Tim. 1.15)
Advent IV, today, is the last opportunity prior to Christmas for a preacher to close off the Advent theme of preparation for the Second Coming, and rather focus the collective attention of the faithful on the awesome feast that is this year seven days away. We don’t take the field, as it were, for another week – no coach to pump us up immediately before the service; will the Exhortation that we just heard read still resonate in our minds in one week? Will our attention still be properly focussed? With today possibly being the last opportunity for prayerful corporate preparation, will our minds and hearts be completely “dialled in” to the nature of this first day of obligation in the Church year?
“Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” (Advent Prose)
This is not a misplaced exhortation, aimed at those who aren’t in church today, and may not be on Christmas Day. Rather, the intention here is to encourage each of us to recognize that next Sunday, is not “just another Sunday.” Not that any Sunday shouldn’t be the most special of days in any week!
“He goeth forth from the uttermost part of heaven … and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” (Ps. 19.6)
Therefore on this, the last sermon prior to the central feast day of the first part of the Church year, my duty is to attempt, as a coach just before an athletic contest, as The Preparation before a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, my duty is to encourage each of us, looking ahead over seven potentially very distracting days, to approach Christmas in a state of heightened spiritual readiness. Perhaps, aided by one or more of the well-known Scriptural quotations that I have interspersed in my thoughts this morning, each of may spend some time between today and next Sunday in prayerful anticipation, contemplating the significance of the Feast of the Holy Nativity.
“He was in the world, and the world was made by Him.” The God Who created not only this tiny planet on which we live, but the entire universe, takes on human flesh. How did John Donne phrase it in his poem Annunciation, addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary? “Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.” (the last line of Annunciation, and the same words with which he began the next poem in the series, Nativity)
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” The heavens, a very significant part indeed of His general revelation, always have declared His glory. One star, of the hundreds of billions in His creation, one star at His behest, led the way to His birthplace.
“He shall come down like the rain upon the mown grass, even as the showers that water the earth.” Like a rainstorm, saturating everything, the Birth of God Incarnate was not just for Jews and Christians, a few blades of grass as it were, but for every blade, every grain of sand, all the stars of heaven. This helpless infant born in the garden shed next door, is the God of heaven and earth. Sadly, though His redemption was for all mankind, all the blades of grass, “the world knew Him not.”
“Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” One week from today, He Who is righteousness itself, drops down as the saturating rain to take on human flesh.
“He goeth forth from the uttermost part of heaven … and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” In one week, He comes not just as a tiny Child, but as the One Who created my soul, created it for Himself; and I am not hid from Him. May each of us come to Him, fully prepared, in a state of spiritual readiness, in lowliness and adoration.
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." And as we come to gaze upon the Child of Bethlehem, let us remind ourselves that He was born into this world for one purpose only – to be the Sacrifice for sin, to redeem us from sin; as echoed in that Comfortable Word, "This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
Therefore, in awesome anticipation, “My soul truly waiteth in silence upon God, for of Him cometh my salvation.” (Ps. 62.1)
ANNUNCIATION OTTAWA 2005 CLR+