Get Up and Get Dressed!

First Sunday in Advent (1)
Romans 13:8-14
© 2009 Rev. Matthew L. Whitehead

Most of you know that deer hunting is a favorite past-time in my family. Perhaps you have seen the two skull mounts that hang on the wall in my office. If you know much about deer, you know they like to feed at dawn and at dusk. If you want to hunt deer at dawn, then you have to be in place long before daylight breaks. You have to find your way to the tree-stand in the dark, when it is hard to see the path; Darkness has a way of adding a frightening element of uncertainty to climbing a tree, especially when there are firearms involved; Once you get in place you have to sit still, so you get cold; There is nothing to look at, because everything is hidden in the darkness. But then the eastern horizon starts to get a faint glow of light. Once the bright disc of the sun pops up, all of sudden the beauty of your surroundings is displayed, the sun’s rays bring back warmth to your body, and when it is time to go home you can safely climb down and easily find the path out of the woods.

Experiences like those make the Biblical imagery of darkness and light come alive. Darkness and evil are scary; Goodness and light are beautiful. Saint Paul uses this imagery to describe how we wait expectantly for the second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God is about break the horizon of this world’s dark sinfulness, shining the Light of his Gospel into every dark recess. Our response to the dawning of this Eternal Day should be exactly as that of any other day – we should get up and get dressed.

As naturally as we associate darkness and light with evil and good, the precise meaning of Paul’s usage in Romans thirteen, today’s epistle lesson, is not clear. One side wants to make the night stand for the time before the Incarnation of Christ in his Nativity, and the Light for all of time and eternity since. Another side makes the night stand for all of time, with Christ bringing his glorious Light on the Last Day when he returns to judge. I suppose it depends on when one considers that the Divine Light of God’s grace began to cut through the world’s darkness. With that in mind, I think we can say that both are true: Certainly we can affirm that the Light of the Gospel has been shining upon Man since Christ walked among us, but we must not think that the Gospel’s Light shines now as bright as it will when all things have been restored. We could say, then, that the First Advent of Jesus Christ was the dawn, when the light first began to creep over the horizon; but the full brightness of Light of the Gospel Day will not be experienced until his Second Advent, when he returns and places all things under his feet.

We should consider this Light of God in several respects. First, we should consider that true Light proceeds from God, and not from any other source. He is called the Father of Lights; it is He that created light by His very word (which He did before He created the sun, moon, and stars); His glory will be the only source of light in the eternal Kingdom.2 God in His glory is the source of all light, and all other lights are to be understood as reflections of His glory. Perhaps the analogy of the moon will be helpful in this regard: it produces no light on its own, but gives forth light by reflecting the sun. Likewise, God’s holy Light is reflected throughout His creation, however dim it may have become because of our Sin.

We should consider how we are to live and walk in God’s Light. This is a constant theme in the writings of Saint John the Apostle, and it is only common sense. If we desire the warmth of Divine Love, then we must come out of the shadows where evil lurks. But when we come out of darkness into Light, we are able to see just how filthy with sin we are. Living in the Light of God’s presence drives us to repentance, because His holy Light exposes our sins.

Finally, we must consider how we are to be lights before the world. Our Lord said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”.3 Like the moon reflects the sun’s rays, so we who live in the Light of God’s love should reflect that Divine Light for the benefit of others.

As Saint Paul wrote, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand”. The darkness of this sinful world is about to be overcome by the Light of God’s glory when Jesus Christ returns. All of the dark shadowy places will be exposed as His Divine Light breaks forth and overcomes the evil night. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep”. Daytime is here, so we must rouse ourselves from the fog of slumber, and get about our labors for God’s Kingdom.

What do we do when we wake up each day? We all have our own routines that include things like: shower, brush teeth, comb hair, eat breakfast, read the paper, and so on. At some point, before we go out the front door, we change our clothes. We take off our pajamas and put on clothing that is appropriate for going out in public. There is an image here that is helpful for the spiritual life. The clothing we wear at night – in the darkness – is not the same clothing that we would wear in the light of day before other people. Darkness and the fog of sleep hide our old worn out pajamas. But when the daylight comes, and hazy dreams give way to clear thoughts, we put on our day clothes. Likewise, as the Eternal Day is about to dawn, we must rouse from our slumber and get dressed for the Day. We need to get out of our pajamas, what Paul likens to “the works of darkness”. If we want to look presentable before God, then we must dress appropriately.4 The official uniform for God’s Kingdom is not made of cloth; we must put on Jesus Christ, for he is the one who covers us with his grace. There are at least two senses in which we must put on Christ: we must put on his merits, and we must put on his manners.

By his Passion, our Savior Christ knit for us a garment of salvation. This is symbolized in our baptism by a white robe. In another layer of symbolism it becomes the wedding garment we wear as the bride of Christ. This garment is given to us by Jesus Christ, but with spiritual hands of faith, we must receive it and fit it to ourselves. Salvation is indeed the work of Jesus Christ, and him alone; but he calls us to labor with him, to take an active part in his meritorious work.

So we clothe ourselves in Christ, but we must go beyond playing dress up. The outward appearance of Christ upon us must be accompanied by the inner presence of Christ within us. If our inner character does not match our outward form, then we are like play actors wearing a costume; it makes a nice show for others, but it is not reality. We must put on Christ, that we may be covered with his merit and changed by his grace.

When Jesus Christ returns, the darkness of this world will be overwhelmed by the Light of his glory. Therefore, because the dark night of this evil world is about to experience the dawn of the New Creation, rouse yourselves out of your spiritual slumber; get up and get dressed. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ as your garment, that you may be presentable when your King comes.

1 The outline of this sermon is borrowed heavily from the exegesis of the Rev. John Boys. See: Stewart, Kensey Johns, ed. The Works of John Boys. Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997; 133-134.
2 Jas 1:17; Gen 1:3-5, 14-19; Rev 21:23ff.
3 Matt 5:16.
4 Matt 22:1-14.