Ominous
First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
The signs of Advent are first visual and then aural. As we come into church we notice a new color, the paraments, hangings, are purple or blue. The opening hymn may be the haunting plainsong of Veni, veni, Emmanuel, “O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.” Our prayer, the Collect for Advent Sunday at least as far back as the middle ages, is eschatological, speaks of the End of Time and the Second Coming of Christ. In our Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus warns of the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory, a disturbing image from the night visions in Daniel chapter 7. There is a an ominous sense of finding oneself in darkening twilight and with no way to escape and little time to prepare for the unexpected.
It is Advent. The Christmas tree is not up yet, much less is it lighted. At least give the darkness a moment to sink in, and with it the realization that whatever comes next is beyond our control and we are at the mercy of the Divine.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
TW+