Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 28, 2010 - First Sunday of Advent
[Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44]They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.....[Isaiah]
Each "New Year" brings with it new opportunities and new hopes. Today the Church begins its "New Year" - the first Sunday of the Advent season. The ancient Greeks spoke of "time" in two ways. The first is the kind of time that we measure with our clocks ["chronos"] and the second is the kind of time we refer to as "opportunity" [''kairos"] - as in, "This is the right time to do....." It seems to me that we can use this "New Year's day" to look around at the opportunities that present themselves. The scripture from St. Paul and the Gospel today speak of being "alert" and "staying awake!" That may be the first thing we have to resolve to do. We can look for opportunities to bear witness.
Another opportunity constantly presents itself and we have to work hard to make the best advantage of it. This is the constant opportunity to put aside violence of all kinds and embrace peace. Isaiah's words, quoted above, speak of a day when humanity can exchange the instruments of war for instruments of making things grow. What a wonderful vision - beautifully painted by Edward Hicks in "The Peaceable Kingdom" - that presents to us! Yet, as I write this the world is wondering if the conflict in Korea between north and south is going to erupt into full scale war! Our own nation is still at war in Afghanistan! Violence in the Middle East seems never to cease! Perhaps some of these things seem well beyond our own feeble individual efforts, but I think we have the opportunity to intentionally embrace peaceful actions in our own lives as a small contribution to bringing peace to the whole world. Could we make this our "New Year's resolution" for this new Church year? Can we embrace peace and pray every day for it? Now is the time! AMEN
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