News Redeemer The day is near…let us…put on the armor of light
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is
nearer to us now…the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light… put on the Lord Jesus Christ… -- Romans 13:11-14
“The day is near…let us…put on the armor of light.” These words from Paul remind us of Christ’s nearness, of God’s desire to arrive in the midst of human woes and a world aching and groaning in despair. God’s song in the form of the Christ child beckons and calls us to believe again in the miracle of new life, of God-life, the true good life. And as Advent has begun, what better time can there be to have our faith renewed!
If retail sales are up slightly over last year’s at Thanksgiving, let’s make sure that our devotions at Advent are even more full and rich than they were last year. Maybe putting on the armor of light will mean restarting or beginning a time each day to stop and pray. Maybe putting on the armor of light will include holding an image of Christ’s arms around you and your family, around your friends and the world – for thirty seconds or five or ten minutes.
Don’t worry about doing enough to put on the armor and thereby worship God in Christ, just get started. Put aside excuses and begin somewhere. As a child I remember at this time of year “The Sound of Music” would be shown on television, and I was allowed to stay up late to watch it. In the scene where Maria, nursemaid to the Von Trapp children, teaches them to sing, she begins a song with “When you read you begin with ABC, when you sing you begin with do, re, mi.” The faith journey begins with one prayer, and continues with a lifetime of new beginnings, learning the humble song of expectation for God’s grace to appear again and again in our lives.
This text from Paul is calling us to begin again, to trust in God who is the light of the world, and allow our lives to be changed by God’s grace. Put on the armor of light, setting aside all things of darkness. Just as the alphabet is learned one letter at a time and armor must be painstakingly forged in the fire, so our faith life begins one prayer at a time, one act of hope made possible by God at a time. So get out and pray beneath the beautiful blue sky on a crisp, clear day; dedicate a day of service to others more in need than yourselves during December; leave a list of prayers by your bed and get out and kneel each morning and remember those prayers; do random acts of kindness and radical acts of charity. In all these things and more, allow yourself to be changed by the Advent of our God, who is coming to change the world and our hearts and lives, one moment and one precious day at a time.
