What does this sound do to you? <<Ticking clock sound >>
• For some, that is the sound of emptiness, boredom. It brings to mind that feeling of the class or meeting that will never end. After sitting through as much as we think we could stand, we check and – only three minutes have passed! For some younger ones, it is the painful realization that Christmas is still ELEVEN MORE SLEEPS away. Time moves so-o-o slowly.
• <<Ticking>> For others, this sound produces the opposite reaction: “Oh no – there’s not enough time. It’s all going too fast! Like a time-bomb ticking down, we feel, “Time’s a-wasting. So much to do … so little time”
• <<Ticking>> For some, time moves much too slowly; for others much too quickly. But for fully-awake Christians in Advent, this is the sound of hope.
<<Ticking>> My brothers and sisters, that is an important Advent sound. For Advent is all about time. And Advent teaches us “Time is pregnant.” Time is pregnant. Time is pregnant with God.
We light our third Advent candle this weekend, and those candles are more than “counting down to Christmas”. They are a reminder that God has entered into time and transformed it. God is there to be birthed into EVERY MOMENT, for those who are awake. Each moment, whatever the circumstances, whatever we are doing, God is there to be birthed for those who are awake.
There are those who have discovered this, those who have learned to find the presence of God in time. Today’s scriptures give us three: Isaiah; Paul; John the Baptist. None of them had easy lives. As a matter of fact, they each knew great hardship and rejection. Yet, here we have: Isaiah saying: “God is the joy of my soul.” St. Paul telling us: “Rejoice always. In ALL CIRCUMSTANCES give thanks…” And John the Baptist trying to wake us up to the presence of Christ in time! “There IS one in your midst…” even now. Be aware of him.
In spite of the challenges – even heartaches – of their lives, these three are known for their hope; their joy; their urgency; their vitality: They came to see GOD IN TIME…
How do WE do that? I suspect for most of us, we spend a great deal of our time living in the past or the future. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an app on our phones that would beep if it found us living in either of those times? — that would remind us to wake up to the NOW.
So how do we do that? How do we move from time as obstacle, or even as enemy, to time as pregnant with God?
The key discipline is mindfulness … awareness … learning to be awake to NOW. It is something we only get better at through practice. For me, a quick closing of my eyes, a deep breath, a pausing at the top of that breath, with a whispered prayer: Now, Lord, let me be aware of NOW. Let me become aware of what this moment holds.”
Each year, Advent comes with its invitation to be awake. Some here are living their 14th, 64th or 104th Advent. However many Advents any of us have had, it is time to wake up to THIS one… So what if – these next two weeks – every time we looked at a clock, or heard one tick, we tried to become aware of NOW?
• Brushing your teeth; paying a bill; waiting at a stoplight? Stop the mind for just a second and become aware of NOW.
• Writing thank you notes after a funeral; putting a textbook into a backpack; bundling the kids into the car? That moment is pregnant with God.
• Vacuuming the hallway; sending a text; putting on our socks: become mindful of that moment
Whatever we’ve got to do … as well as whatever we choose to do… Advent invites us to be awake as we do so.
<< Ticking Clock Sound through rest of homily>>
Perhaps you can’t wait for something to be over, or to get here, and it seems that time will never end
Perhaps, it all seems to be going by much too quickly.
But when we are awake Christians, this is the best sound in the world. For one of the gifts Advent teaches us: time is pregnant. THIS MOMENT HOLDS GOD…
… << Clock louder for ten seconds, then slowly fades away >>