Nov. 30 | Advent 1, Year A
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
Despite all the advances of modern science, babies still come when the time is right. And as any mom will tell you, that time is always somewhat after the mother is ready for pregnancy to be finished. I have heard it said that a pregnancy lasts eight months plus an additional interminable time before the birth. Regardless of the specific moment of arrival, the family knows that a new little one is coming and the family’s attitudes and activities are transformed by that knowledge. The period of the pregnancy is characterized by waiting, anticipating, and preparing.
The waiting is a mostly passive affair. There is not much one can do about the arrival of a baby. But the waiting is an acknowledgment that the event will take place in the future. In that way it is an attitude of faith—the knowledge that what is yet unseen will become manifest at an unknown time in the future.
The anticipation has more to do with the questions that arise in the minds of the family members. What will the baby look and be like? Will the baby be mentally and physically healthy? What will the arrival of the baby mean to my life and the lives of those around me? How will I know when the time has come? Will we be ready for this new family member?
It is in preparation that we launch into action. We modify our habits, whether of exercise, eating, drinking, or socializing, to do all we can to assure a safe and healthy birth. The mother goes into “nesting” activities—decorating the nursery and rearranging the house to accommodate a new little one. Friends and family “shower” the parents with gifts of baby clothes, towels, diapers, strollers, car seats, and the like. The family and close friends all participate in the preparation so the anticipated baby’s needs will be met. Yet the rest of the world goes about its daily business as usual. When the baby is born, the announcement comes in the middle of everyday lives and schedules.
Pregnancy is a good metaphor for the biblical “last days”—that period of waiting between the first and second comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Advent is the liturgical season of waiting, anticipating, and preparing. Each week we light another candle to remind us that he is indeed going to return, like a prisoner who ticks off the days on the wall of a cell in anticipation of the sentence’s end. Advent reminds us that we are pregnant—we are living in the “last days.” Just as the child was born to Mary in obscurity, the Son will return when the time is right according to the hidden calendar of God. What we know is that the return will be sudden and we must be prepared.
Jesus allows us no middle ground as he teaches about the Second Coming through a series of parables, making it clear that this is an either/or proposition. There will only be two categories of people: those who are prepared and those who are not. Will we be awake and ready? Will we be prepared through obedience like Noah? Or will we be too busy with our own agendas, like those who knew nothing until the flood washed them away? Will we be so connected to our Father that we will drop everything when the Son returns? Or will we have so isolated ourselves from God that we will merely continue our daily routine?
Look It Up: Romans 13:11-14
Think About It: What is the proper garment we are to wear as we await Jesus’ return?
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
