Valois United Church

December 2
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44     
"You know the time - that it is now the moment to awake from sleep."

So Paul spoke to the people in the city of Rome.  
He wanted them to get with the program.
He wanted them to show forth their faith.

And he wanted some changes in their behaviour.

People shake their heads in our day and age about morals and ethics and behaviour and “what is the world coming to” with this and that.

Paul did the same.  He was far from impressed with some of the behaviour that he saw.
Behaviour that he saw amongst church members.

Read about their immorality.  
Read about their arguments and their power struggles.
Read about their divisions and their short-sightedness.

Paul shook his head and spoke out - wrote to the congregation in Rome, the congregation in Corinth, the congregation in Ephesus, and others - letting them know that they were not the people that they were called to be.

One of Paul’s motivations was the clear faith that he had that the end times were near, that the return of the Messiah was near.  

And so his message was not: “You should think about shaping up”.  
It was “You need to shape up NOW!”

And so he rang the bell in their ears: “Wake up NOW!”.  

We could get into a discussion about end times.
For some United Church folk, the second coming is very important.
For others, they’re not sure what to do with it.

I’m not going to get into that big discussion today.

It’s one of those things that I think works better in a Bible Study - (let me know when you’re available, starting January, and then we can decide if this is one of the topics!) - last time I led a Bible Study we delved right into the book of Revelations.

I’m not going to get into that discussion today.
But I will say that we still need to WAKE UP!
We still need to get with the program.

We’re still not the people that God intended.
We still have a ways to go as a community of faith.

Do we need to think that the world might end at midnight to think that it matters what we do today?  I don’t think so.

No matter what your position is on the second coming of the Messiah, let’s be clear that God wants us to look deep within ourselves and honestly find the places where we need to straighten out.  Today.

And that is what this Advent season is for.  
Four weeks of preparation.  
No, it’s not Christmas yet - which is why the service is not filled with Christmas carols.  We’ll sing a bunch of those on Christmas eve, and more again on the 30th when we join together for the West Island service.  
This is Advent, four weeks of preparation.
Preparation for the arrival of Jesus long ago.
Preparation for the arrival of Jesus in our hearts.
Preparation for the arrival of Jesus in the future.

And the time to prepare is now.
Because what we do now matters.

If Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation....
I try to think of anything parallel....

What happens when you want to sell a house?
    Repairs that are put off are done.
    Walls are painted.
    Things are kept in better order than what might be normal
    Might even get a building inspection done to be sure that all is in order.

    Because you never know when the real estate agent might phone and say “We’re coming over”.

So it is in this time.
    Repairs:  
        We need to make reparations - make things right with each other, with the people around us, with God.
    Painting:
        We need to show forth our faith - not by painting walls,
        but by painting our world with love, justice, and peace
    Keep things in order:
        Not the surface stuff, but paying attention to the things that God is looking at.
    Building inspection:
        Advent is a time for introspection
        a time to look within
        to examine, to inspect ourselves
            To honestly consider where we are doing well
            And to honestly consider
            where we have a little mould or mildew
                in our faith-based action,
            Where there are any cracks in the foundations of our faith
            Where there are leaks in our loving

This is Advent.  This is the time.

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.