[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Stay Awake

[Joseph Parrish]

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Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Frank R. Fisher" <f.fisher.obl.osb at comcast.net>
> Date: November 25, 2010 2:16:11 PM EST
> To: <SERMONSHOP_SERMONS.topic at ecunet.org>, "'St. Benedict's Abbey'" <sba at sbabbey.com>, "'Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary'" <PRCL-L at LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU>, <PROPERTALK.topic at ecunet.org>, <midrash at joinhands.com>
> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Stay Awake
> Reply-To: propertalk.topic at ecunet.org
> 

> This is my current draft for the 1st Sunday in Advent. I just finished a
> massive revision of my first draft. If something seems unclear, of you've
> spotted an error please let me know. Incidentally, the first sentence is
> accompanied by a two hand thump on the pulpit. ;)
> 
> A blessed Advent to you all.
> 
> 
> 
> PAX,
> 
> 
> __
> 
> Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
> www.ffisher.net
> Interim Pastor
> First Presbyterian Church of Kewanee, IL
> www.fpckewanee.org
> Elmira United Presbyterian Church of Toulon, IL
> www.elmiraunited.org
> 
> aka
> 
> Brother Oscar Romero
> Oblate of St. Benedict's Abbey
> Bartonville, IL
> www.SBAbbey.com
> 
> 
> STAY AWAKE!
> 
> I love doing that
> at the start of a sermon.
> 
> OK, I need a show of hands.
> How many of you 
> have ever fallen asleep
> during a sermon?
> 
> There's a wonderful story 
> circulating on the internet
> these days.
> In the story,
> a woman 
> was visiting a new church.
> She appreciated
> most of the service.
> But the sermon 
> seemed to go on 
> forever,
> and many people
> in the congregation 
> fell asleep.
> 
> After the service,
> she walked up 
> to a very sleepy looking 
> gentleman,
> extended her hand 
> in greeting,
> and said,
> "Hello,
> I'm Gladys Dunn."
> The gentleman looked at her,
> nodded,
> and replied,
> "you're not the only one 
> Ma'am.
> I'm glad 
> it's done too!"
> 
> All too often 
> it's difficult for us 
> to stay awake.
> We'd just as soon 
> nod off
> and be glad it's done 
> afterwards.
> That happens
> during Sunday services
> and it seems to happen 
> more often 
> during Advent.
> For Advent 
> can seem to be 
> a long 
> dreary time 
> of waiting.
> At least 
> it seems dreary
> when compared to the wonder 
> of the Christmas
> yet to come.
> But perhaps 
> we can wait 
> more patiently
> if we look back 
> into the lives
> of some 
> who might have 
> waited 
> with us;
> Waited
> as they struggled 
> to stay awake
> to watch 
> for the One 
> who came among us;
> the One 
> who died and arose;
> the One 
> who will come to us 
> once again.
> 
> Your name is Sapha,
> a woman 
> of the tribe of Levi,
> and a daughter 
> of the nation of Judah.
> But the nation 
> of whom 
> you're a part
> is faded now;
> faded almost
> into an sleep 
> of non-existence 
> as you and your family 
> dwell 
> in Babylonian captivity.
> It would be
> all too easy 
> for your country
> to fall asleep.
> For your captivity 
> is gentle.
> And soon
> your present home
> seems much more real 
> than remembered glory 
> of Jerusalem.
> 
> But somehow 
> you manage 
> to fight off 
> the sleep
> urging you 
> to become one nation 
> with your captors.
> "We are Judah,"
> you and yours 
> proclaim proudly.
> 
> And so,
> you stay awake.
> You stay awake
> by telling your children
> stories 
> of Jerusalem;
> the city 
> they've never seen.
> You stay awake
> by following the law;
> the law 
> which sets you apart 
> and reminds you 
> of God's path.
> And you stay awake 
> in worship.
> For the worship 
> of the Holy One
> uplifts the hope 
> that one day
> you will be delivered
> both from captivity
> and from 
> the endless wars
> through which 
> you've lived.
> 
> You stay awake
> by day and by night
> as you pray 
> for your deliverance.
> And one day
> it seems
> your prayers
> have been heard.
> For you hear the words
> of the prophet Isaiah;
> words promising 
> one day
> what you pray for
> will come to pass.
> "In the days to come,"
> says the prophet,
> "the mountain of the Lord's house
> shall be established as the highest
> of the mountains,
> and shall be raised 
> above the hills;
> all the nations
> shall stream to it . . .
> . . . they shall beat their swords
> into plowshares
> and their spears
> into pruning hooks;
> nation shall not lift up sword
> against nation,
> neither shall they learn war
> any more."
> 
> When your prayer 
> will be answered
> you don't know.
> But in your new 
> alertness
> you know 
> answered 
> it will be.
> You realize
> you may not see
> that day.
> But you also know
> if  you,
> and your people,
> stay awake 
> long enough,
> you will be ready
> when God  once again
> walks
> among God's people.
> 
> Your name is Marcelus.
> You're a senator.
> In fact,
> you're one of the 
> most important citizens
> of Imperial Rome.
> Your life,
> you think,
> is quite enjoyable.
> For with your overseers
> running your estates
> you have no need
> to work
> to make a living.
> So your time
> away from the duties
> of the Senate
> is filled by
> the frenzied bacchanals
> held at the Emperor's court
> and in the villas
> of your fellow senators.
> 
> Yes,
> it's a good life.
> But over the years
> you begin to wonder
> if your life
> is really as full and rich
> as you think.
> Sometimes you wonder
> if all you're doing
> is an attempt 
> to fill up the emptiness
> you find
> deep inside.
> 
> In a search
> to find something
> to fill up this void
> you begin to devote
> some of your time
> to the mysteries
> of the gods.
> In turn
> the cults of Apollo,
> Jupiter,
> Sol,
> and Mithras
> welcome you
> with open arms.
> But in each case
> you find
> nothing there
> to fill
> the emptiness 
> within you.
> 
> But then
> one day
> you start to notice 
> the behavior
> of another senator.
> He seems to be uninterested
> in the endless rounds
> of feasting.
> And there seems to be
> a sense about him
> both of peace
> and alertness.
> 
> So when you get a chance,
> you draw him aside
> and ask him
> about the change
> you see in him.
> He tells you
> the story
> of Jesus the Christ
> and how faith in Christ
> awakened him
> from the life
> he'd been living
> 
> Within a few short weeks
> you began 
> the same journey of faith.
> It know
> it will be years yet
> before you become fully a part
> of Christ's church.
> But already
> you've find yourself
> awakened
> and beginning
> to make ready
> for the day of Christ's return.
> For who would want 
> to be asleep
> when one 
> could be watching;
> watching for the Lord 
> to come 
> once again.
> 
> Your name
> is your own.
> But although you live 
> thousands of years
> after Sapha or Marcelus.
> you probably share 
> their difficulty.
> Its likely
> you have trouble 
> staying awake.
> You may be lured to sleep
> in exhaustion
> by the hectic pace 
> of our present life;
> a life which contains 
> precious little 
> time to rest.
> You may also
> be lured to sleep
> by the demands 
> of the upcoming season;
> a season 
> once intended 
> to allow us time
> to prepare 
> for Christ's coming 
> into our lives;
> a season 
> in which the Christ child 
> now seems pushed aside
> by endless 
> commercialism.
> 
>  But perhaps most of all
> you're lured to sleep
> by modern mind sets;
> an attitude
> which denies
> the miraculous.
> And in this 
> modern mind set 
> some may dismiss
> today's Gospel lesson
> as mere fable.
> 
> Yet to Christians 
> throughout time
> this is no fable.
> This is the Apostolic hope;
> the greatest mystery 
> of our faith.
> For Christians 
> of the last two-thousand years
> have proclaimed
> Christ has died,
> Christ has risen,
> Christ will come again.
> 
> The choice is ours.
> Will we fall asleep
> or will we stay awake 
> to await the day
> when we will see
> the glory 
> of Christ's promise;
> a promise 
> which will likely 
> come
> in a way 
> we could never expect.
> 
> Maybe the day
> we're waiting for,
> will be today.
> Maybe as you'll
> walk out the church door
> today,
> you'll notice someone
> who looks like
> he's begging.
> He's standing 
> at the side of his car,
> and pointing at his very pregnant wife,
> as he asks people
> for money for gas.
> His wife, he says
> in halting English,
> is about to deliver her baby.
> But the car
> has run out of gas
> and they have no money
> to buy any more.
> 
> Many people
> seem to be 
> passing by the man
> while turning their heads
> to avoid seeing him.
> 
> But something
> about the man draws you
> to him.
> "I'll drive you,
> and your wife
> to the hospital,"
> you tell him.
> Then
> suddenly
> you see a strange light
> in his eyes;
> a light 
> flashing 
> into the skies,
> and thundering 
> from the east 
> to the west.
> 
> And a noise, 
> sounding like
> an army of trumpets
> fills the air,
> as you sink to your knees
> in wonder and awe.
> 
> Maybe the day
> we're waiting for
> will be today.
> 
> But until we see
> that day
> arrive,
> Lord 
> we obey your command.
> We stay awake
> as we echo the prayer
> of the saints
> who've gone before us.
> 
> Come Lord Jesus.
> Even so come.
> 
> To God alone be glory.
> Amen.
> 
> 
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