Sunday, November 27, 2016

Advent Raises an Alarm: Wake Up, Lay Aside & Put on

Listening to Romans 13:11-14

On this first Sunday of the new liturgical calendar, allow me to share with you that Paul when writing to Roman church in Romans 13:11-15 appeals in urgency to the early Christians to wake up and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, which comes to us with even more urgency with a challenge for our times. We have heard of advent calendars, advent candles, advent wreaths, advent decorations etc., allow me to introduce you to an Advent Alarm, which has begun its ringing, for Advent raises an alarm for us to wake up from sleep, lay aside the works of the empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ. During this season of advent, a time of waiting, we are called to listen to the alarm of justice and act on it. Let people that have ears will listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency.



1.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Recognise the Momentous Time:
Paul in verse 11, calls on the Church ‘to know what time it is’, for the time is ripe and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Advent raises an alarm to recognise this moment in time, as the time appointed by God to act and work. It is interesting to note that the word for ‘time’ used in Greek is ‘kairos’ rather than ‘chronos’. It is not the ‘chronological time,’ that Paul is talking about here, rather it is the ‘appointed time’, a time where God intervenes into our times at our end, a time for action, a time for introspection, and a time for an audit of truth. Advent therefore raises an alarm to recognise that God’s intervening time, the times at our end where the signs of our times calls us to wake up from our sleep and act for justice and liberation. Its time for us to install ‘Advent Alarm’ than feeling cool with our ‘Advent Calendar.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

2.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reaffirm in the Nearness of Salvation:
In verse 11b, we see Paul further exhorts that “for the salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.” The distance and affinity to salvation becomes closer to people of God in their journey of faith, in relation to their initiation into the faith. Salvation is a journeying gift that comes closer and nearer to those that wake up to stand firm in their faith. Salvation oscillates between believing and discipling, and the call today is that salvation gets closer in our true discipleship to Christ. Is salvation nearer to us than before? Most times we are comfortable in singing ‘nearer my God to thee…’ but the advent alarm is to reaffirm to pronounce that ‘nearer am I to your salvation of God.’ If salvation is nearer to us, then we are invited to act along with God at this appointed time in transforming our lives and our world. Advent raises an alarm to reaffirm in the nearness of salvation. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

3.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Reject the Works of Empire:
In verse 12, Paul further appeals ‘the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.’ In the context of the Roman empire, Paul explains in 13 verse the works of darkness as revelling, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarrelling and jealousy, which have been the order of the day, for those in power indulged in such acts and exploited the vulnerable colonized communities. In contrast to these acts of the empire, Paul urges the Christians to lay aside the ‘pyjamas’ of darkness and put on the ‘armour of light’, a vestment for the day, a vestment of the Kingdom of God, which primarily exposes those ungodly deeds, dispels darkness, and liberate people and communities with and towards light. Advent therefore raises an alarm to reject the works of our neo-empire of our times, which include exploitation, oppression, discrimination and exclusion and calls us to put on the ‘armour of light.’ Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

4.      Advent Raises an Alarm to Re-Cover ourselves with Lord Jesus Christ:  
In verse 14, Paul finally appeals in all urgency to put on Lord Jesus Christ, making no provisions to gratify the desires of flesh. In contrast to the Roman dress which is muddled with power, authority and exploitation, Paul urges the early Church to put on Lord Jesus Christ, who is stained in all dust and dirt to identify with those on the margins. ‘Putting on Lord Jesus Christ’ is an act of defiance to the colonial rules of ‘putting on Cesar’, the Lord of the colonial powers. Advent primarily raises an alarm to affirm in the Lordship of Jesus Christ in opposition to the Lordship of the empire. Putting on Lord Jesus Christ calls us towards defiance to the powers, and to identifying with the people on the margins. Those in power are called to pitch their tents among the vulnerable communities, for it among them God works and Kingdom of God happens. Advent raises an alarm to de-cover ourselves from the stinking chores of power and re-cover ourselves by putting on Lord Jesus Christ. Hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing. Let people that have ears listen to this alarm and respond to the urgency!!!

St. Augustine in the 4th century found this passage from Romans, and heard to the alarm from the text and responded to put on Jesus Christ in his life, and eventually turned to become great time theologians of all times. 

The relevance of Advent therefore is to swiftly act to the alarm that is ringing. The context of our times are so grim, for there has been a growing intolerance towards the other, increasing hatred against the stranger, increasing rise of consumerism where days like ‘black Friday’ are gaining their popularity forcing many people to invest on spending, increasing unaccountability of leadership in Church & society, an increasing refugee crisis, an increasing changes on our climate and planet, increasing poverty, increasing homelessness etc. and there is a sense of more urgency than ever to wake up to face and address the realities of our times. Paul’s words “The night is far gone and the day is near,” therefore conveys to us that this season of Advent raises an alarm to the church and to each of us as disciples of Christ to wake us up from deep slumber, to know the God’s momentous time, lay aside the works of empire and to put on Lord Jesus Christ onto our lives. Let us stop pretending to sleep and wake up with our eyes and hearts wide open to the ongoing acts of injustice and evil around us to raise an alarm for change, so that we can collectively partake and actively participate in transforming our world. Advent raises a justice alarm, hear O people of God, the alarm is ringing to go and act swiftly!!!

Wishing you all a very meaningful season of Advent. 


Rajbharat Patta,
27th November 2016


(Sermon preached at St. Peter’s Church and Chaplaincy, Manchester on the first Sunday of Advent.) 

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Interesting read, enjoyable as well.

Unknown said...

It gives me a new insight to provoke my thought to re-read Advent, the Coming of the Lord. Thank you so much Patta for re-inventing and re-routing the concept and context.

Unknown said...

Enjoyable and interesting article, keep up the work!

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