Happy New Church Year! Today, we are celebrating both the first Sunday in the church year AND the first Sunday in Advent; and so, yes, the Christmas jumpers have been got out.

And in Matthew, Jesus tells us to “Stay Awake…”. I don’t know about you but I am most definitely going to need more coffee!!!

We are told that, if the house owner knew in advance exactly what time the thief was going to break into his house, then he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. He would be prepared! He would have made plans to protect his home and for the thief to be caught.

Likewise, if we were to receive a warning that something would happen at a certain time then we would prepare and make sure we were ready. If an electricity company says at this time on this day we are turning the electric off then we would make sure that batteries were charged, the torches were working and so on.

We would be ready and alert!

“Keep awake for you do not know on what day or at what hour your Lord is coming.”

We know Christ will return – this is promised and God keeps His promises. What we do not know is the timing – and God’s time is not the same as ours.

So we must be ready and watchful.

Be prepared.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparation.

Are we prepared?

When I ask you “are you ready for Christmas” what do you think of?

Is it whether you’ve got all the presents?

Is it whether they are all wrapped or how much wrapping you need to do?

Is it whether the Christmas cards are all written or who you’ve still got to send one to or whether they’ll be posted in time with the planned postal strikes?

Is it when the decorations will go up or whether they are up already or when they’ll be got out of storage?

Is it whether the Christmas pudding and Christmas cake are made or when they’ll be made?

Be honest – when asked if you are ready for Christmas – who actually interprets this question as:

Are you ready for Jesus?

Are you ready for His birth?

Are you ready for Him to come again?

!!!

“Keep awake for we do not know the hour He will return.”

Thankfully, this does not mean that we all must become insomniacs. It means we need to be Spiritually awake. To be on our guard against spiritual distraction. To pay attention. To spend time with God in prayer and growing our faith. To be more fully alive in Christ.

I was writing Christmas cards this week. I’ve been writing quite a lot to give hope to people who would otherwise be forgotten. And I got quite cross because I found a range of cards that have the greeting “Happy Holidays”.

Now this really annoys me. It’s the same with a lot of television adverts on at this time of year.

Let me share why…

It misses the point!

It doesn’t just miss the point – it totally avoids it with an enormous detour.

And what is it that these Christmas cards and adverts are all missing out?

Well, the clue’s in the name. The reason for the season – Christ. The greatest gift of all.

So we must stay spiritually awake so that we do not commit the crime of leaving Christ out of Christmas. We must be alert and watchful to make sure that we do not demote Jesus to the bottom of the list. We must be on our guard to ensure that we are not just giving Him a cursory nod/brief acknowledgement or lip service just so that we can “tick that box”.

We must be prepared and ensure that we are putting Jesus at the forefront of our lives. Before everything else. First.

So this year let us use this time of Advent to wait patiently for Christ.

Waiting can seem boring. It can be hard to be patient. Especially when there are so many other distractions.

But waiting does not actually mean doing nothing!

It is an opportunity to prepare our hearts, our minds, our souls.

It is an opportunity to put our trust in the Lord. To truly repent, to forgive and to accept forgiveness. It is an opportunity to seek God more deeply in prayer and to surrender to His ways – becoming more alive in Christ.

I’m going to deviate slightly to quote from a Christmas film, which due to this quote is, in my opinion, one of the best Christmas films:

Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts.

We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells and with gifts. But especially with gifts. You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe.

We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled…all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we are celebrating. Don’t ever let us forget that.
Let us ask ourselves what he would wish for most…and then let each put in his share. Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.

The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

So let us use this advent to be ready for and to remember Christ this Christmas as we pray:

Lord, grant that we may stay awake, remain watchful and stand firm in the faith out of our love for you. Amen.