Put on Jesus!

Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent (A RCL 11/28/2010), offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Happy New Year, my friends! Happy New Year! And so, once again, we find ourselves at the start of another cycle of the Christian year, back at the beginning. And what is it that we hear now as that first initial call that the Church sends out to us at the start of this new year? What message do our appointed lessons give us here at the beginning of Advent? They are all a call to return to consciousness, to deep and continual awareness. What did our Lord command in this reading from Matthew’s Gospel? “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42).

Jesus uses the story of Noah as the framework for his discussion here. Let us think for a moment about this reference to the days of Noah. While Noah worked diligently at the building of the ark, those people around Noah continued on with their usual daily activities, oblivious to and unaware of what God was doing. “They knew nothing”, Jesus says, “until the flood came and swept them all away.” But they knew nothing because they chose to know nothing. It was a question of awareness, a matter of paying attention.

This is where it becomes personal for us. Do we not all struggle with paying attention? Do you not find it challenging and difficult to maintain awareness, to sustain focused consciousness upon God and upon what God is doing around you?

Our strategy for accomplishing this is given loud and clear in our reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

Put on Jesus. Put on the Lord like you put on your clothing each and every morning!

Have you heard of the famous Saint Augustine of Hippo? Do you know the great story of his conversion? Though he was born into a poor family in present-day Algeria in the year 354 AD, Augustine had a brilliant mind. He was a gifted young man, but also troubled in many ways. As a master of speaking and of classical literature, Augustine became a teacher of rhetoric. After moving to Rome and to Milan, and he was very much sought-after as an excellent teacher for the children of the wealthy.

Augustine’s mother had become a Christian and she prayed for him. Augustine himself was very much impressed by the writings of the apostle Paul, but his was a divided soul. He was attracted by the wisdom and beauty of the Lord. He could see that truth was in Jesus, but he was afraid to give up his past life, afraid of the changes that God would require of him once he committed his life to Christ. Augustine did not want to give up the pleasures of his easy and successful life, but deep down he knew that he was being a coward. He knew that he was forsaking eternal truth for the sake of silly falsehoods of this world, and he despised himself for it.

Until one day, in July of the year 386, when this tension within him became too much. Pacing in a garden in Milan, Augustine heard the voice of a child calling out in Latin “Tolle, lege! Tolle, lege!” “Take and read. Or pick up and read.” He could not see a child and he could not tell from where the voice was coming. So Augustine accepted this as the voice of God calling him to return to his book of the letters of St. Paul which he had left nearby. He picked it up and turned to this very passage from the Letter to the Romans: “Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14).

These very words struck him to the heart. These words chased away his cowardice, his lack of awareness. And right there, Augustine decided to take up the light of Christ and to leave behind the darkness of his sin once and for all. And immediately, he was overcome with joy and peace. He had been so afraid of letting go of his petty pleasures and secret desires, but once he had crossed this line – once he had reached out to Christ in faith and in trust – he could see right away how foolish his fear had been. When Augustine put on Christ, his eyes were opened and he could see himself for who he really was (Read Book VIII of Augustine's Confessions for the entire story).

Keep awake, the Lord calls to us. Wake from sleep, the apostle calls to us. But how? How are we to find the strength to do this? We cannot just buck ourselves up and make it happen. That might work for a while, but it can’t last. So where do we find the power, the energy, the strength to make this happen?


We put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And how do we do this? Through prayer. Through continual prayer in the name of Jesus, the Lord, the Messiah, the coming Prince of Peace.

Is it possible actually to live our human lives with this continual awareness of God? Is it possible to stay awake and alert at all times? Some may wonder: how can I maintain this consciousness of God at all times, even when I am stuck in the midst of the crazy business of life, or when other tasks demand my full concentration?

Yes. It is possible, and you can do it. During this season of Advent, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of the Lord once again, let us welcome this season as a time when we can maintain the name of Jesus on our lips, and in our hearts, at all times, in all places. In this way, we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ and so stay awake and aware. Amen.