From time to time you hear me point out how our Christian faith is in opposition to contemporary culture. Perhaps I should be more realistic, and recognize that is a half-truth. Because American culture still is, to a limited extent, built on a simplified, watered-down version of our faith. I am thinking of the days when social status was given to church membership, when the whole message was, “be nice, look respectable, come to church regularly, at least on Christmas and Easter”. Those days are long gone in California, but may be alive in other parts of the country.

American culture is also built on the celebration of Christmas, in a hyped-up kind of way. How could we possibly have the economic boom of Black Friday, without the imperative to purchase gifts? We would have to invent another reason for the parties, the travel, the glittering performances of music and drama. As Christians, trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and yet living in this culture, we face a challenge at this time of year. Yes, there is absolutely and eternally every reason to celebration the Nativity of our Lord. And no, the pressure to feel happy, and to create happy events for family and friends, is not a true expression of why we celebrate Christmas.

It may surprise you to hear that we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, precisely in order to compete with, and to supplant a very different holiday called Saturnalia. This was a Roman festival of the sun god, Sol Invictus, which in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, was observed with parties and drinking, parades and carousing. No one knows when Jesus was born. Clement of Alexandria suggested May 20th, probably because the shepherds were in the fields, where they would not have been in December! The earliest mention of a celebration of the birth of Jesus on Dec 25th is in 336, not long after Christianity became a legal religion in the Roman Empire.

Ever since then, the church has been trying to shift the emphasis to making a spiritual preparation for the birth of Jesus. In the 6th century, this spiritual preparation began to be called Advent, and various practices developed for this season. At St. Thomas, we shift our worship to a quieter more contemplative style; we do not have flowers at the altar, we use blue hangings and vestments because blue is the color of divinity, and is associated with Mary. In our readings and collects, we begin by hearing about the Second Coming of Christ, and then shift to that first coming in Bethlehem. Because we are preparing for a birth, the church decided that today, the First Sunday of Advent, is the beginning of the church -- it is our new year’s day. Therefore today we have left behind Year C in our three year cycle of readings, and move on to Year A. During year C we have been reading the Gospel of Luke, now in Year A we turn to the Gospel of Matthew.

Let us look at the way each of our readings help us begin this season of Advent. The prophecy of Isaiah, our first reading is one of the most notable places in the Bible where God’s vision of peace is described. Although the word peace is not used, Isaiah tells of a future time when peoples of all nations will recognize the Lord, and seek to live according to God’s way. In light of the present situation in the Middle east, and especially of last week’s resumption of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, it is fascinating to hear that God expects people of all nations to come to Jerusalem. In some sense, God invites the diversity of different nationalities, languages,, and perhaps even religions. And the instruction God will give, is not about how to worship, nor is it the true doctrine, but rather it is how to live together in peace.

God’s priority seems to be an end to war, to conflicts, and to terrorism. In the vision, Isaiah saw the people beating their swords into plowshares, and re-shaping their spears into pruning hooks. How would we say this in 21st century terms? That people will melt down their guns and turn the metal into irrigation sprinklers? Or that the production of helicopters will be converted to production of solar panels? The important theme to see here is a shift from the means of destruction, to tools that support life. God’s intention is that we all should live, and live in harmony. So the vision is about more than an end to war, it is also about the practice of cooperation, the production of food, and the creation of community. This message of hope for peace in the world is the one we need to hear on this new year’s day. At the moment it may seem highly unlikely, and yet it is God who says, peace is coming one day.

I’d like to give you, and me, an assignment for observing Advent this year. I invite each of us to ask ourselves, how am I contributing to peace? Are my choices and actions contributing to conflict, or to peace? Ask yourself if you are harboring any feelings of anger, or resentment, or offense. You might try to guess how much psychological energy you have tied up in such feelings. Then, even if you are quite sure your feelings are justified, take some time to explore an alternative response: perhaps you could forgive the person who has hurt you, perhaps you could initiate a conversation with someone you’ve avoided, or maybe you could simply be more patient. And then, go on from yourself to your communities: is there some peace-making you could do in any group you belong to? Finally, take Advent as a season of prayer for peace in the world, especially in the Middle East. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide the leaders of every state and group as they make decisions. Pray for a spirit of recognition and respect among religious and ethnic groups that are in conflict. Pray with God’s vision of peace in your mind and heart.

Our Gospel reading apparently describes a situation of conflict, in which Jesus simply asked his disciples to be alert. We tend to interpret this as a prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ, and it is certainly true that the early Christian community understood it that way. I think the two specific references to the coming of the Son of Man might have another meaning. Do you remember the vision in the Book of Daniel, where God, the Ancient of Days, is seated on the throne of heaven, and one “like a Son of Man” comes on clouds and is presented to God? These words of Jesus are surely based on that prophecy. It is quite possible, that Jesus is referring to the Son’s coming through his death and resurrection, to the Father. If that interpretation is correct, why would it be important for the followers of Jesus to stay awake, to be ready? Because our Lord is no longer confined within the limits of space and time, in his earthly body. Once he has risen and ascended to the Father, he is present wherever two or three are gathered in his name. He is present whenever we celebrate the Holy Eucharist. He is present whenever we visit the sick and feel the hungry. Therefore the call to keep awake and be ready means that we are to be actively looking for Christ’s presence among us here and now. We are to seek out those circumstances in which he told us would meet him. We are especially to be ready to recognize Christ when we are not in church, but going about our daily business--in first century terms, that meant working in the field or grinding the meal, but also eating and drinking. So I invite you to consider a second assignment for Advent: keep awake and aware, in your daily life, for that moment when Christ is present -- even when you are working in your office, or when you are buying groceries, as well as when you are eating and drinking at those holiday parties. Christ’s presence will be unexpected, and that is why you must be ready, and awake.

There is another pointer to the kind of readiness of which Jesus spoke, in the reading from Romans. St. Paul is using the image here of a coat or cape, which he urges us to lay aside. The coat we are to take off is the works of darkness, and he asks us to put on a new coat, which is the armor of light. The principal work of darkness to which he refers, is the Roman orgy, but there are other works of darkness. St. Paul is referring to evil in all its forms, whether it be assault and murder, or selling drugs and fixing prices, or the tragic evils of accidents, unemployment, disease. We can see such evils clearly, but many other evils are invisible, and appear to be innocuous. How many such evils do we acquiesce in, because we do not see, we do not know how to change it, or we do not have the energy to pursue it?

The darkness will tempt you and me to put ourselves first, to do what is expedient, to collect as much power and property and influence as we can: such choices will leave us empty and alone. To put on the armor of light, is to rely on the connection we already have to Christ and the whole company of saints. It is to trust that the God of peace will strengthen our every effort to be peacemakers. It is the spiritual readiness to see Christ in the midst of our daily lives, and to serve in whatever way he calls us.