Did You Send That E-mail, God?
Sermon
Holy Email
Cycle A Second Lesson Sermons for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany
Object:
E-mail
From: KDM
To: God
Subject: Knowing When To Wake Up
Message: Did you send that e-mail, God? Lauds, KDM
I am passing on to you today the first of a series of notes transmitted by electronic mail. These notes came to the message board of a colleague early last week. Apparently they were composed by one sender, who uses the alias, KDM. Somehow, my friend got on KDM's mailing list. As best as I can tell, these notes are addressed to God. I do not know when KDM will become aware of the mix-up, so who knows how long we will be privy to this conversation.
Here is the first message: Did you send that e-mail, God? Lauds, KDM.
That's it -- a one-liner, a query addressed to God. We have a little more to go on -- a clue found in the topic box. KDM assigns the subject of this e-mail as follows: Knowing when to wake up.
Advent is about waking out of sleep to a bright star that fills the night with light. Let us take a moment this first Sunday of Advent to consider what time it is in our lives by asking three questions:
1) In what ways am I asleep to the present reality of my life?
2) In what ways am I asleep to the people around me whom I care about?
3) How am I asleep to my role in the global definition of world?
Advent is about moving from the gray shadows in our life into the light. Christ is that light. Advent salvation is about recognizing the movement from darkness to light, that is, God's entering our life -- the life of a newly reborn individual as well as the life of the newborn in the manger.
A passage in today's scripture from the letter to the Romans catches the ear. The Apostle Paul assigns to us the responsibility of jumping out of bed. Paul, the great practical Christian, has just been telling the Roman Christians what they can do to live in God's realm. So after his long list of tips, Paul adds, "Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep."
What intriguing words. Let us consider them, phrase by phrase:
"Besides," Paul says. Paul prods the early Christians with this word, besides. Come on, be honest with yourself, he might say today. True up. Stop the ignoring. Acknowledge what you recognize as true.
"[Y]ou know what time it is," Paul says. No one needs to tell you. You will know. No one else can tell us. We can know, however, only when we recognize that the time has come to wake up.
"[N]ow," Paul says. He speaks like a parent who wants a child to take responsibility for maturing but who also sees the necessity to point that child in the right direction. Paul gives the early Christians custody of responsibility. Then, lest they miss it, he nudges, "... [I]t is now..."
Sometimes, we need the opinion of another person to confirm what we sense might be true. Sometimes we need an alarm clock to signal us into immediate awareness. We cannot count on raucous birds of April to wake us before dawn in late, nestless November.
Paul says, "[Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now] the moment." Not some moment, not any moment, not many moments, but this one moment presents itself to us. The signs will make sense. Some event may trigger the aha of this moment. It might take form as an itch, an imperative calling, a yearning too strong to ignore. It might come as a whisper. However it comes, if we are ready, we will recognize the moment.
"Was this e-mail from you, God?" asked KDM. The source of the moment Paul speaks of is God.
"It is now the moment for you," Paul says, addressing the people of the Roman church in the plural form of "you." We, too, hear the message as a congregation. Then, as now, many singular "you's" comprise the collective "you." Each one of us first hears God's message as an individual. Like all of God's messages, it speaks directly to us. Then, it draws us beyond ourselves toward a wider community.
"[It is now the moment for you] to wake from sleep," Paul says. Sleepwalking does not count. We are not just to rise from the bed. Paul is talking fully awake here. Clear to the soul, our whole being wakes up. Wide awake and ready for action. "Besides," Paul says, "you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep."
A woman with diabetes told me how she learned in her lighter, early morning sleep to recognize a significant and potentially dangerous drop in her blood sugar level. She said a telltale nightmare would wake her. Now, according to her, this was no bland "bad dream" but a significant scare. Its signature was a terror or an unsolvable predicament. At times, it showed as a totally frustrating situation that drew her further and further into its chaos.
Despite its jolt, she said the nightmare assisted her. It roused her to sufficient consciousness to drink the fruit juice that would quick-raise her blood glucose level. At first, she said, she automatically tried a formerly reliable strategy. She would reshape the dream in her half-sleep to make it less menacing. However, even that semi-conscious effort began to pull her toward realizing her body was in trouble. She became so adept at this way of responding that she woke herself earlier and earlier in such a dream.
She began to appreciate the collaboration of her mind with her body. Her internal warning system followed this pattern: As her body approached dangerously low operating power, it must have shouted the threat to her brain. Her brain apparently invented the dream that startled her awake. Some part of her made the choice to come awake, to come out of the darkness into the light while she still could.
What strange, unexpected happenings draw us through the darkness of our lives into the light. Is this not God's promise for our welfare at work? With such magnetic power, God draws us to let go of the seductive dark.
What unusual armor God provides to enable us to wake from another sleep at the right moment. God awakens our curiosity about choosing life. Is this not also what Paul is telling us in this "wake up and pay attention" passage?
What invites us to wake up? Something from deep within us turns us around to address God. What is it that causes us even to think of God? What draws us toward God? No one knows for certain the answers to these questions. We do know that when we sense the ripe moment, it is no time to roll over. It is time to jump out of bed.
Christmas starts in Advent with the discernment that God is active. God acts in the dark, womb-like, getting-ready places. God reaches out to us to deliver us from whatever darkens our life by bringing that shadow into the light and by drawing us forward into the light.
Did you send that e-mail, God?
Welcome to Advent.
From: KDM
To: God
Subject: Knowing When To Wake Up
Message: Did you send that e-mail, God? Lauds, KDM
I am passing on to you today the first of a series of notes transmitted by electronic mail. These notes came to the message board of a colleague early last week. Apparently they were composed by one sender, who uses the alias, KDM. Somehow, my friend got on KDM's mailing list. As best as I can tell, these notes are addressed to God. I do not know when KDM will become aware of the mix-up, so who knows how long we will be privy to this conversation.
Here is the first message: Did you send that e-mail, God? Lauds, KDM.
That's it -- a one-liner, a query addressed to God. We have a little more to go on -- a clue found in the topic box. KDM assigns the subject of this e-mail as follows: Knowing when to wake up.
Advent is about waking out of sleep to a bright star that fills the night with light. Let us take a moment this first Sunday of Advent to consider what time it is in our lives by asking three questions:
1) In what ways am I asleep to the present reality of my life?
2) In what ways am I asleep to the people around me whom I care about?
3) How am I asleep to my role in the global definition of world?
Advent is about moving from the gray shadows in our life into the light. Christ is that light. Advent salvation is about recognizing the movement from darkness to light, that is, God's entering our life -- the life of a newly reborn individual as well as the life of the newborn in the manger.
A passage in today's scripture from the letter to the Romans catches the ear. The Apostle Paul assigns to us the responsibility of jumping out of bed. Paul, the great practical Christian, has just been telling the Roman Christians what they can do to live in God's realm. So after his long list of tips, Paul adds, "Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep."
What intriguing words. Let us consider them, phrase by phrase:
"Besides," Paul says. Paul prods the early Christians with this word, besides. Come on, be honest with yourself, he might say today. True up. Stop the ignoring. Acknowledge what you recognize as true.
"[Y]ou know what time it is," Paul says. No one needs to tell you. You will know. No one else can tell us. We can know, however, only when we recognize that the time has come to wake up.
"[N]ow," Paul says. He speaks like a parent who wants a child to take responsibility for maturing but who also sees the necessity to point that child in the right direction. Paul gives the early Christians custody of responsibility. Then, lest they miss it, he nudges, "... [I]t is now..."
Sometimes, we need the opinion of another person to confirm what we sense might be true. Sometimes we need an alarm clock to signal us into immediate awareness. We cannot count on raucous birds of April to wake us before dawn in late, nestless November.
Paul says, "[Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now] the moment." Not some moment, not any moment, not many moments, but this one moment presents itself to us. The signs will make sense. Some event may trigger the aha of this moment. It might take form as an itch, an imperative calling, a yearning too strong to ignore. It might come as a whisper. However it comes, if we are ready, we will recognize the moment.
"Was this e-mail from you, God?" asked KDM. The source of the moment Paul speaks of is God.
"It is now the moment for you," Paul says, addressing the people of the Roman church in the plural form of "you." We, too, hear the message as a congregation. Then, as now, many singular "you's" comprise the collective "you." Each one of us first hears God's message as an individual. Like all of God's messages, it speaks directly to us. Then, it draws us beyond ourselves toward a wider community.
"[It is now the moment for you] to wake from sleep," Paul says. Sleepwalking does not count. We are not just to rise from the bed. Paul is talking fully awake here. Clear to the soul, our whole being wakes up. Wide awake and ready for action. "Besides," Paul says, "you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep."
A woman with diabetes told me how she learned in her lighter, early morning sleep to recognize a significant and potentially dangerous drop in her blood sugar level. She said a telltale nightmare would wake her. Now, according to her, this was no bland "bad dream" but a significant scare. Its signature was a terror or an unsolvable predicament. At times, it showed as a totally frustrating situation that drew her further and further into its chaos.
Despite its jolt, she said the nightmare assisted her. It roused her to sufficient consciousness to drink the fruit juice that would quick-raise her blood glucose level. At first, she said, she automatically tried a formerly reliable strategy. She would reshape the dream in her half-sleep to make it less menacing. However, even that semi-conscious effort began to pull her toward realizing her body was in trouble. She became so adept at this way of responding that she woke herself earlier and earlier in such a dream.
She began to appreciate the collaboration of her mind with her body. Her internal warning system followed this pattern: As her body approached dangerously low operating power, it must have shouted the threat to her brain. Her brain apparently invented the dream that startled her awake. Some part of her made the choice to come awake, to come out of the darkness into the light while she still could.
What strange, unexpected happenings draw us through the darkness of our lives into the light. Is this not God's promise for our welfare at work? With such magnetic power, God draws us to let go of the seductive dark.
What unusual armor God provides to enable us to wake from another sleep at the right moment. God awakens our curiosity about choosing life. Is this not also what Paul is telling us in this "wake up and pay attention" passage?
What invites us to wake up? Something from deep within us turns us around to address God. What is it that causes us even to think of God? What draws us toward God? No one knows for certain the answers to these questions. We do know that when we sense the ripe moment, it is no time to roll over. It is time to jump out of bed.
Christmas starts in Advent with the discernment that God is active. God acts in the dark, womb-like, getting-ready places. God reaches out to us to deliver us from whatever darkens our life by bringing that shadow into the light and by drawing us forward into the light.
Did you send that e-mail, God?
Welcome to Advent.
