-- BCP, page 212
Sunday's texts
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126;
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28.
Some call this Sunday "Stir-up Sunday," given the unusual format and tone of this collect.
Except for the Trinitarian doxology at the end, the classical structure of the collect is missing here.
It doesn't start with the usual and customary O/ merciful/gracious/Almighty/
There's
no time for that. The urgency of the moment requires getting straight
to the point. You're in your car, you skid on the ice and you're headed
toward a telephone pole. There's no time to start a prayer with: "O
gracious God, you gave us knowledge and skill to build and operate
machines: Strengthen therefore my ability to maneuver this vehicle that I
may steer it away from the danger before me..."
Yeah.
Right. Of course not! As a woman famously said some time ago in a video
that went viral on the internet: "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
About all we might manage is a plain cry: "Omygod!!"
Stir
up your power! Come! Deliver us! This is a collect from the heart in
the heat of the moment, not a literary composition in the cool of a calm
evening. We are sorely hindered by our sins. Right now. And headed for
trouble. Our failures of soul-strength are real.
Why
this focus on our sins in Advent-tide? Because Advent graces us with
the inescapable awareness us that no day of our ephemeral life can be
wasted with a business-as-usual attitude. The times are short; we are in
a crisis. We cannot afford to get weighted down with unnecessary
baggage.
I
am remembering Bishop Ted Gulick, quoting a source I cannot now
remember, who said: "Never waste a crisis!" Time to act decisively to
advance the God's Dream of a reconciled humanity gathered in love and
harmony around the King of kings and Lord of lords.
We
have work to do. And the work of Advent begins with our own hearts. To
make space for the Dream of God in our hearts, we need to discard all
the encumbrances that get in the way of living into God's Dream. We are
sorely hindered, like a backpacker carrying too much weight on the
Appalachian Trail. The miles are long, the grade is steep. Let us only
carry that which will sustain us on the journey: doing justice, loving
kindness, and walking humbly with our God.
What
is hindering you today? Is it the encumbrance of past failures? Is it
not coming to terms with the reality of current failures? Of what are
you having trouble letting go? Take the power of Stir-up Sunday to heart and pray fervently for the grace to be delivered from sin. Start with this collect. Or simply say, Help me, God!
Then, let us get off our knees and do something.
Under the Mercy,
Fr. Daniel+
