Forgive me if I’ve already told this story, although if I have, welcome to Sara’s version of storytelling where I forget which stories I’ve told, and people have to hear the same ones over and over again! At this point though, they at least aren’t numbered, like one of my professor’s spouses did for all of his stories because the same 40 were told with varying frequencies. But, as I hear the news coming from the Holy Land right now, I hear a resonance with our opening to worship and our Gospel acclamation. And, it reminds me of the time when we were standing in the grotto at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the supposed site of Jesus’ birth, in the middle of January as Franciscan monks chanted O Come, O Come Emmanuel in Latin.
And, yes, we are now officially in Advent, when we will hear O Come, O Come Emmanuel many, many times, but I also think about all the times we pray for God to be with us outside of this period of waiting. It isn’t just about the freedom of captive Israel, a people who were constantly being conquered by empire after empire, but it is a cry that comes from so many around the world. Including both Israelis and Palestinians today. What does it look like for us to sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel in the middle of January or as war rages around us. It takes on a different meaning for me when I think of it this way, instead of just the countdown to how long until it is liturgically appropriate to decorate the Christmas tree. Spoiler alert, our little tree is already decorated at home and is lit up behind me at 9 A.M. on a Friday when I’m writing this!
But, what does all of this have to do with today’s Gospel of keeping awake? It’s a common theme in Advent, waiting and watching, staying awake. There are two different ways I want to approach this today. Because, this Gospel reading would sound very different to the people Jesus is preaching to than it does to us today. In Jesus’ time and shortly thereafter, his followers are persecuted for their faith. They met secretly in houses, I’m sure with someone guarding the door who needed to stay awake if the authorities decided to pay a visit so that they could warn those worshipping inside. And, as I’ve mentioned before, people like Paul and Martin Luther genuinely believed that the world was going to end in their lifetimes. That Jesus would come again and all the promises of the end-times in Scripture would be fulfilled, so the faithful were called to stay awake and watch so that they didn’t miss it. This thinking is underneath so much of their theological writings.
Now, this staying awake metaphor is helpful, but I think it also has a deeper meaning than being physically awake. Because, as I’ve also mentioned before, it is possible to be awake and yet not really pay attention to the world. This is how I am hearing the reading for today. I think about the conflicts happening around the world, those that we talk about like Israel and Palestine or Russia and Ukraine, and those who have managed to avoid the media spotlight like the violence happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I know that for me, it’s really easy this time of year to focus only on the things necessary for getting ready for Christmas, both in the church and outside of it. I have the great excuse of being a pastor and Christmas is one of most important church services of the year, but in reality, I just love this time of year. The lights, the presents, the trees and all the decorations! Christmas feels like such a joyful time, and we need that in the midst of long, dark days and weeks without seeing the sun (at least in Seattle in a normal weather pattern year). But, it also means that I tune out everything else that is happening in the world because I am so busy preparing for Christmas celebrations that I forget about why Advent and Christmas matter. I forget sometimes that Advent isn’t just a countdown to Christmas; the church and life aren’t a Hallmark movie marathon!
I don’t want it to sound like I’m trying to put a damper on our Christmas joy, but I think that a part of Advent is slowing down and reminding us why we even gather in this season anyway. Why does it matter that we cry out for God to be with us? Why did it matter that God entered into human midst in the form of a baby? What is today’s Gospel calling us to stay awake to and why? As Lutherans, we very heavily lean on the both/and of theology and life. This season that we are now entering is a season of both/and. It’s a season of waiting and watching, while also being a season of joy and anticipation. It’s why things like Advent calendars are so fun because each day we get to celebrate a small joy. But that joy doesn’t negate the waiting that we are also experiencing.
Advent is the season of waiting, which can be really hard in our world of instant gratification. Even just in my lifetime, so much more is able to be done with a click of a button, from renting movies to buying Christmas presents. I’m notoriously bad at waiting, whether it is something for me or even if I buy someone a present I just can’t wait for them to open. So it’s helpful to get the reminder to take a moment, breathe, and slow down. There is so much in life that will pass us by even by doing so, but we’ll take in a whole lot more if we aren’t just rushing second after second until we hit the exhaustion point. I think keeping awake is part of that reminder too; to not overwork ourselves to the point of exhaustion that we miss out on the life that is happening around us. Because keeping awake is so much more than just keeping our eyes physically open. It’s remaining attentive to the world around us and that takes energy too. But it is a call to not just retreat when the world gets heavy, but to remain present with one another as we wait for Emmanuel to be present among us, whether that is during Advent or any other time of need. Because we are a people that trust in God’s dwelling among us, but we also have to keep awake to see all the ways that God is doing so in the ways we might least expect. May this keeping awake to the world guide us as we begin our Advent journey.