Making no Provisions for the Flesh
I am a provisions of the flesh kind of girl. So when I read Romans and how Paul told us to “make no provision for the flesh,” I do tend to take it personally. Thanksgiving is a sort of “provision of the flesh” holiday. Our traditions are to stuff ourselves eating what we want, putting our diets aside and enjoying ourselves- eating and drinking what we want with little thought toward tomorrow. And then we follow it by Black Friday - another “provision of the flesh” sort of day, where we focus on scoring the big sale item. We are a nation focused on sales and items we cannot live without, intent on finding the item our loved ones must have for Christmas.
I am pretty sure these texts were not placed in our lectionary here to put a damper on our festivities, but rather they may serve as a sobering refocusing.
Today we find ourselves entering a magical time of year, (or a stressful time of year- maybe a little of both. We are beginning a new church year and we immediately find ourselves, turning our hearts and minds to Advent and Christmas, and all we have to do and all that we want to do. If you are like most, you may feel overwhelmed and too busy and even looking at the calendar may make you break out into hives.
We are promised so much at this time of year when we watch TV; the device and products that will make us younger, thinner, more hip - the Hallmark movies with the perfect family gatherings and love all around. But inevitably, the gathering didn’t turn out as planned, some relationship disappoints, our bank accounts may be suffering. Christmas really should be a God thing where we turn our hearts and minds toward Christ and our living Savior, but we tend to push it to the back of our to-do list. Somehow the church (and Christ) has lost the battle in marketing. I wonder how things would look different if we priests and pastors were in charge of marketing? I would hope it would look somewhat different.
But in turning our hearts toward Christmas, at initial glance, you think, “This lectionary doesn’t help”. This year we begin Advent with a decidedly unfestive message from Romans. People come to church during Advent to feel good. These passages are decidedly hard to work with as preachers to turn hearts toward Christmas. Paul begins by reminding us, “Let us live… not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
Where is my hope, love, joy, peace?
It is here; let us look closely. Today is about focusing on hope, we lit the first candle on the Advent wreath, focusing and remembering God’s forgiveness of man’s sins. We prayed saying, “We are waiting, O God, for the day of peace. Give us the will to bring that day through our own simple goodness and hope.”
Give us the will to bring that day through our own simple goodness and hope.
I want to turn our hearts towards hope. It can be hard to hope some days, we can become so focused on the things around us - losses we have experienced or are experiencing, our health which may be declining, our finances which may be tighter than we are comfortable with or maybe we are really struggling just to see our way ahead. Unexpected expenses, accidents - life. Hope can be hard for some of us to come by at times, and joy may seem out of grasp.
You may have purchased everything you want on Black Friday, you may have eaten all that you wanted at Thanksgiving, you may have shot that big buck you have had your eye on for awhile now, but having received your most longed for gift, having the most delicious meal, having shot that prized deer, rarely (if ever), do these things impart for any of us what we long for ultimately - joy and hope. Joy is at best at these times only momentary and fleeting.
Paul is not a grinch here in Romans. He doesn’t tell us to not be jolly here at the holiday season, but he does pull us back to a spirit of seriousness and soberness. He tells us to “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” For Paul, the desires of the flesh are not only sensual desires, (drunkeness, debauchery, and licentiousness), but all of the impulsive desires that rule us: the desire for revenge, or wealth, or to prove others wrong; or the desire to be seen as important - make no provisions to gratify these says Paul, but instead put on the armor of light, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The armor of light, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I like this imagery of Jesus Christ being the armor of light. When dealing with difficult people, people who are cutting and hurtful; when entering a difficult situation, what would it be like for us to imagine an armor of light around us protecting us? What would it be like for you as you go in to surgery or some other frightening situation to imagine the armor of light around you? To claim the armor of light around you? How might that fill you with hope?
Let us live honorably as in the day, not reveling in darkness. (Romans 13: 13) Make no provision for the flesh. In seeking hope, in seeking joy, let us live honorably.
In desires of the flesh, joy is only a passing moment, fleeting, if it is experienced at all. The only lasting joy for any of us is found in God. Advent is a season in which we are looking past Christmas and turning our hearts and minds to the day on which we will meet God face-to-face.
In today’s Gospel we read about the Second coming of Christ. In a modern “left behind” theology, there is the image of this being the worst thing that ever will happen to humanity, with fear of being “left behind” being preached and portrayed as something you must avoid and so fear is used to entice people into the Kingdom of God. For those in the Early Church, the second coming of Christ was seen as the best thing ever to happen to the world. We, along with the early church, don’t pray to be raptured away, instead we pray daily (or at least weekly hopefully), “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. We pray for the day that earth will be as in heaven.
The end of time is not the terrible destruction of the world, but its restoration, its healing, its perfection. In this life, we catch only a fleeting glimpses of the nature of God: in an embrace, in beauty around us, talking with a friend, in the kindness of others - but at the end of time, God, who is the source of all joy, peace, light and love, will permeate every fiber of creation.
St. John tells us that on that day there will be no light from the sun nor moon, because they will be as nothing compared to the light radiating from the face of Christ, from the throne of the Father, from the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus tells us to be ready to keep watch. How do we prepare for the end of time? How do we wake up this Advent? How do we prepare ourselves?
First, love God. Make your relationship with Him your top priority. I, unfortunately like many, live my life feeling as if I do not have enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do. I need to pray, exercise, study, dishes, shopping, building and having relationships with others, maintaining the yard, the car, the house, visiting the sick, making phone calls - I have to be intentional to make time to do that which I know is the most important thing of all - to spend time with God, alone and silent, reading and praying and listening. So I can be healthy and serve others. You too must be intentional.
Second, love your neighbor as yourself as we are commanded. Your neighbors are living icons of God, so love them. Give freely out of your means to those in need, overcome pride with acts of humility. Put others first. Maybe in loving your neighbor there is someone you struggle with. Maybe just being quiet is all you can do on any given day. To not criticize or judge or put them down. To just be quiet. Then do that.
Preparing ourselves for the end of time, is not so that God will reward us for being good little boys and girls, but we prepare ourselves so that we can detach ourselves from these impulses that haunt us and accept and look forward to the fullness of God.
We don’t need all that we think we need or even deserve on this earth.
We are beginning Advent. A season of expectation and hope. Let us prepare our hearts this season by looking forward in expectation to the Coming of Christ, putting aside provisions of the flesh and putting on our armors of light. Amen.
I am pretty sure these texts were not placed in our lectionary here to put a damper on our festivities, but rather they may serve as a sobering refocusing.
Today we find ourselves entering a magical time of year, (or a stressful time of year- maybe a little of both. We are beginning a new church year and we immediately find ourselves, turning our hearts and minds to Advent and Christmas, and all we have to do and all that we want to do. If you are like most, you may feel overwhelmed and too busy and even looking at the calendar may make you break out into hives.
We are promised so much at this time of year when we watch TV; the device and products that will make us younger, thinner, more hip - the Hallmark movies with the perfect family gatherings and love all around. But inevitably, the gathering didn’t turn out as planned, some relationship disappoints, our bank accounts may be suffering. Christmas really should be a God thing where we turn our hearts and minds toward Christ and our living Savior, but we tend to push it to the back of our to-do list. Somehow the church (and Christ) has lost the battle in marketing. I wonder how things would look different if we priests and pastors were in charge of marketing? I would hope it would look somewhat different.
But in turning our hearts toward Christmas, at initial glance, you think, “This lectionary doesn’t help”. This year we begin Advent with a decidedly unfestive message from Romans. People come to church during Advent to feel good. These passages are decidedly hard to work with as preachers to turn hearts toward Christmas. Paul begins by reminding us, “Let us live… not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.”
Where is my hope, love, joy, peace?
It is here; let us look closely. Today is about focusing on hope, we lit the first candle on the Advent wreath, focusing and remembering God’s forgiveness of man’s sins. We prayed saying, “We are waiting, O God, for the day of peace. Give us the will to bring that day through our own simple goodness and hope.”
Give us the will to bring that day through our own simple goodness and hope.
I want to turn our hearts towards hope. It can be hard to hope some days, we can become so focused on the things around us - losses we have experienced or are experiencing, our health which may be declining, our finances which may be tighter than we are comfortable with or maybe we are really struggling just to see our way ahead. Unexpected expenses, accidents - life. Hope can be hard for some of us to come by at times, and joy may seem out of grasp.
You may have purchased everything you want on Black Friday, you may have eaten all that you wanted at Thanksgiving, you may have shot that big buck you have had your eye on for awhile now, but having received your most longed for gift, having the most delicious meal, having shot that prized deer, rarely (if ever), do these things impart for any of us what we long for ultimately - joy and hope. Joy is at best at these times only momentary and fleeting.
Paul is not a grinch here in Romans. He doesn’t tell us to not be jolly here at the holiday season, but he does pull us back to a spirit of seriousness and soberness. He tells us to “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” For Paul, the desires of the flesh are not only sensual desires, (drunkeness, debauchery, and licentiousness), but all of the impulsive desires that rule us: the desire for revenge, or wealth, or to prove others wrong; or the desire to be seen as important - make no provisions to gratify these says Paul, but instead put on the armor of light, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The armor of light, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I like this imagery of Jesus Christ being the armor of light. When dealing with difficult people, people who are cutting and hurtful; when entering a difficult situation, what would it be like for us to imagine an armor of light around us protecting us? What would it be like for you as you go in to surgery or some other frightening situation to imagine the armor of light around you? To claim the armor of light around you? How might that fill you with hope?
Let us live honorably as in the day, not reveling in darkness. (Romans 13: 13) Make no provision for the flesh. In seeking hope, in seeking joy, let us live honorably.
In desires of the flesh, joy is only a passing moment, fleeting, if it is experienced at all. The only lasting joy for any of us is found in God. Advent is a season in which we are looking past Christmas and turning our hearts and minds to the day on which we will meet God face-to-face.
In today’s Gospel we read about the Second coming of Christ. In a modern “left behind” theology, there is the image of this being the worst thing that ever will happen to humanity, with fear of being “left behind” being preached and portrayed as something you must avoid and so fear is used to entice people into the Kingdom of God. For those in the Early Church, the second coming of Christ was seen as the best thing ever to happen to the world. We, along with the early church, don’t pray to be raptured away, instead we pray daily (or at least weekly hopefully), “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. We pray for the day that earth will be as in heaven.
The end of time is not the terrible destruction of the world, but its restoration, its healing, its perfection. In this life, we catch only a fleeting glimpses of the nature of God: in an embrace, in beauty around us, talking with a friend, in the kindness of others - but at the end of time, God, who is the source of all joy, peace, light and love, will permeate every fiber of creation.
St. John tells us that on that day there will be no light from the sun nor moon, because they will be as nothing compared to the light radiating from the face of Christ, from the throne of the Father, from the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus tells us to be ready to keep watch. How do we prepare for the end of time? How do we wake up this Advent? How do we prepare ourselves?
First, love God. Make your relationship with Him your top priority. I, unfortunately like many, live my life feeling as if I do not have enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do. I need to pray, exercise, study, dishes, shopping, building and having relationships with others, maintaining the yard, the car, the house, visiting the sick, making phone calls - I have to be intentional to make time to do that which I know is the most important thing of all - to spend time with God, alone and silent, reading and praying and listening. So I can be healthy and serve others. You too must be intentional.
Second, love your neighbor as yourself as we are commanded. Your neighbors are living icons of God, so love them. Give freely out of your means to those in need, overcome pride with acts of humility. Put others first. Maybe in loving your neighbor there is someone you struggle with. Maybe just being quiet is all you can do on any given day. To not criticize or judge or put them down. To just be quiet. Then do that.
Preparing ourselves for the end of time, is not so that God will reward us for being good little boys and girls, but we prepare ourselves so that we can detach ourselves from these impulses that haunt us and accept and look forward to the fullness of God.
We don’t need all that we think we need or even deserve on this earth.
We are beginning Advent. A season of expectation and hope. Let us prepare our hearts this season by looking forward in expectation to the Coming of Christ, putting aside provisions of the flesh and putting on our armors of light. Amen.