Sleepers, Wake!
Preaching
The Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
Crafting The Funeral Homily
A Funeral Homily For Advent
Canticle: Benedictus Dominus Deus
Music: Sleepers, Wake!
One of the most powerful hymns I have ever experienced is the Advent hymn, ''Sleepers, Wake!'' It was written and composed by a pastor in Westphalia during an epidemic rage in which over 1,300 of his parishioners took ill and died.
As he stood by his flock, watching them collapse to the epidemic one after the other, he wrote ''Sleepers, Wake!'' It is nothing short of a wake--up call in the face of death: a summons to prepare for our death, and to be ready for the advent, the coming of Christ.
Listen to these words:
Sleepers, wake! A voice astounds us, the shout of rampart guards surround us: ''Awake, Jerusalem, arise!'' Midnight's peace their cry has broken, their urgent summons clearly spoken: ''The time has come, O maidens wise! Rise up and give us light; the Bridegroom is in sight. Alleluia! Your lamps prepare and hasten there, that you the wedding feast may share.''
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
''Thy time has come, O maidens wise.'' The end is here. Your lamps prepare. In the face of death, the pastor/songwriter urged his parishioners to wake up. Sleepers, wake! Are you prepared to meet Christ?
Are You Ready To Meet Christ?
We are, of course, in that season of the church year when we ask precisely that same question. We are in Advent, that
season of waiting and watching, waking and preparing, getting ready to meet Christ once more on Christmas morn. Advent asks, are you prepared to meet Christ, not just as an infant in a manger, but as ruler of the universe? Are you able to join in verse three of the hymn,
Lamb of God, the heavens adore you; Let saints and angels sing before you ... No eye has known the sight, no ear heard such delight: alleluia! Therefore we sing to greet our King, forever let our praises ring.
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake! Are you prepared to meet Christ?
That is the question the parishioners in Westphalia faced; it is the question that Advent asks every year; and, it is the question before us today, in this time of being saddened by the death of your loved one, N. Sleepers, wake up! Are you ready to meet Christ?
Ten Maidens
Jesus had some things to say about being prepared for that final day. In the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, we read that the disciples said to Jesus, ''Tell us when the end of the world will take place and what signs will accompany it.''
Jesus, as he often did, replied with a story. He told a story about some young women who were ready to meet Christ, and some who were not. ''The kingdom of heaven will be like this,'' he said. ''Ten maidens took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.''
Now, in Jesus' day, the maidens kept the bride company while the bridegroom negotiated the marriage with his future father--in--law. The five foolish maidens thought the negotiating would be over before dusk, so they didn't bother to bring along extra oil for their lamps. But the five wise maidens brought flasks of oil along just in case.
When the bridegroom was delayed in coming, all the maidens fell asleep. Suddenly the bridegroom's best man came shouting the good news: ''Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! The time has come, O maidens wise!''
All the maidens hurriedly got up and began to light their lamps. The foolish ones, who had not brought enough oil, said to the wise maidens, ''Rise up and give us light: the Bridegroom is in sight'' (The Hymnal 1982, 61).1
The wise maidens refused. ''Go buy some for yourself,'' they insisted. While they were off to find oil, the bridegroom arrived and the wise maidens joined him, going together into the wedding feast.
Later on that evening, as the festivities were really getting going, the foolish maidens returned from their search for oil. They knocked on the door and pleaded to come in: ''Lord, Lord, open the door to us.''
But the bridegroom replied, ''Truly, I tell you, I do not know you.'' And Jesus concluded the story by saying, ''Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.''
Sleepers, Wake!
Sleepers, wake, indeed. We are, all of us, like the maidens waiting for the bridegroom to come: waiting, in these long days of December darkness, to greet Christ on Christmas morn. And more importantly, waiting, in the long shadows of our lives, for Christ's coming at the end of time.
One day the time will come for us, as it has come today for N. The question is, ''Are we prepared to meet Christ?'' Will we be like the wise maidens who were prepared, their extra stock of oil ready, awaiting the bridegroom's coming? Or will we be like the foolish maidens, who thought, ''We do not have to be prepared. We can take care of things at the last minute. We will not worry about being ready when the bridegroom comes.''
This season of Advent and this time of death both remind us:
The time has come, O maidens wise!
Rise up and give us light; the Bridegroom is in sight, Alleluia!
Your lamps shine and hasten there, that you the wedding feast may share. (The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake! The wise maidens who have longed for Christ's coming and who prepared for it will join the great throng in singing, as harps and cymbals swell the sound.
Twelve great pearls, the city's portals: through them we stream to join the immortals as we with joy God's throne surround.
No eye has known the sight, no ear heard such delight: Alleluia!
Therefore we sing to greet our King: forever let our praises ring.
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake!
Amen.
_____
1--Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Copyright 1982 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Canticle: Benedictus Dominus Deus
Music: Sleepers, Wake!
One of the most powerful hymns I have ever experienced is the Advent hymn, ''Sleepers, Wake!'' It was written and composed by a pastor in Westphalia during an epidemic rage in which over 1,300 of his parishioners took ill and died.
As he stood by his flock, watching them collapse to the epidemic one after the other, he wrote ''Sleepers, Wake!'' It is nothing short of a wake--up call in the face of death: a summons to prepare for our death, and to be ready for the advent, the coming of Christ.
Listen to these words:
Sleepers, wake! A voice astounds us, the shout of rampart guards surround us: ''Awake, Jerusalem, arise!'' Midnight's peace their cry has broken, their urgent summons clearly spoken: ''The time has come, O maidens wise! Rise up and give us light; the Bridegroom is in sight. Alleluia! Your lamps prepare and hasten there, that you the wedding feast may share.''
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
''Thy time has come, O maidens wise.'' The end is here. Your lamps prepare. In the face of death, the pastor/songwriter urged his parishioners to wake up. Sleepers, wake! Are you prepared to meet Christ?
Are You Ready To Meet Christ?
We are, of course, in that season of the church year when we ask precisely that same question. We are in Advent, that
season of waiting and watching, waking and preparing, getting ready to meet Christ once more on Christmas morn. Advent asks, are you prepared to meet Christ, not just as an infant in a manger, but as ruler of the universe? Are you able to join in verse three of the hymn,
Lamb of God, the heavens adore you; Let saints and angels sing before you ... No eye has known the sight, no ear heard such delight: alleluia! Therefore we sing to greet our King, forever let our praises ring.
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake! Are you prepared to meet Christ?
That is the question the parishioners in Westphalia faced; it is the question that Advent asks every year; and, it is the question before us today, in this time of being saddened by the death of your loved one, N. Sleepers, wake up! Are you ready to meet Christ?
Ten Maidens
Jesus had some things to say about being prepared for that final day. In the 25th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, we read that the disciples said to Jesus, ''Tell us when the end of the world will take place and what signs will accompany it.''
Jesus, as he often did, replied with a story. He told a story about some young women who were ready to meet Christ, and some who were not. ''The kingdom of heaven will be like this,'' he said. ''Ten maidens took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.''
Now, in Jesus' day, the maidens kept the bride company while the bridegroom negotiated the marriage with his future father--in--law. The five foolish maidens thought the negotiating would be over before dusk, so they didn't bother to bring along extra oil for their lamps. But the five wise maidens brought flasks of oil along just in case.
When the bridegroom was delayed in coming, all the maidens fell asleep. Suddenly the bridegroom's best man came shouting the good news: ''Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! The time has come, O maidens wise!''
All the maidens hurriedly got up and began to light their lamps. The foolish ones, who had not brought enough oil, said to the wise maidens, ''Rise up and give us light: the Bridegroom is in sight'' (The Hymnal 1982, 61).1
The wise maidens refused. ''Go buy some for yourself,'' they insisted. While they were off to find oil, the bridegroom arrived and the wise maidens joined him, going together into the wedding feast.
Later on that evening, as the festivities were really getting going, the foolish maidens returned from their search for oil. They knocked on the door and pleaded to come in: ''Lord, Lord, open the door to us.''
But the bridegroom replied, ''Truly, I tell you, I do not know you.'' And Jesus concluded the story by saying, ''Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.''
Sleepers, Wake!
Sleepers, wake, indeed. We are, all of us, like the maidens waiting for the bridegroom to come: waiting, in these long days of December darkness, to greet Christ on Christmas morn. And more importantly, waiting, in the long shadows of our lives, for Christ's coming at the end of time.
One day the time will come for us, as it has come today for N. The question is, ''Are we prepared to meet Christ?'' Will we be like the wise maidens who were prepared, their extra stock of oil ready, awaiting the bridegroom's coming? Or will we be like the foolish maidens, who thought, ''We do not have to be prepared. We can take care of things at the last minute. We will not worry about being ready when the bridegroom comes.''
This season of Advent and this time of death both remind us:
The time has come, O maidens wise!
Rise up and give us light; the Bridegroom is in sight, Alleluia!
Your lamps shine and hasten there, that you the wedding feast may share. (The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake! The wise maidens who have longed for Christ's coming and who prepared for it will join the great throng in singing, as harps and cymbals swell the sound.
Twelve great pearls, the city's portals: through them we stream to join the immortals as we with joy God's throne surround.
No eye has known the sight, no ear heard such delight: Alleluia!
Therefore we sing to greet our King: forever let our praises ring.
(The Hymnal 1982, 61)1
Sleepers, wake!
Amen.
_____
1--Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Copyright 1982 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
