Advent I
Bishop Ray Sutton

Several years ago, in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place late one afternoon and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date. The young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken--over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back to the restaurant. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here." Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Oh, great, let me call the newspaper. I'm gonna have your picture put in the local newspaper. You're the most honest man I've heard of." To which the guy quickly responded, "Oh no, no, don't do that!" Then he leaned closer and whispered, "You see, the woman I'm with is not my wife...she's uh, somebody else's wife."

There’s an old saying I remember, “We are to be morally transparent because we will eventually become morally transparent.” Our behavior does catch up with us one way or the other. Today we begin our journey toward Christmas. But in the historic Biblical pattern, we don’t jump into Christmas. We start with Advent, which means coming, as in coming of the Lord. The wisdom of the Church is that we prepare for celebrating the first coming of the Lord by being reminded of the realities of the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus’ return is the time when all becomes morally transparent one way or the other. The collect for the season of Advent prays, “Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put on us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal . . . .”

The idea here in the collect is that we are to lay aside “works of darkness,” as they’re called. And we are to wrap ourselves in the “armor of light” because Christ will come again. This language of the prayer comes directly from Scripture, specifically the Epistle lesson for the day in Romans 13:8-14. It speaks of waking up spiritually and morally. It talks of the “night being almost gone” and the “day being at hand” (13:12). The language is metaphorical describing a moment when all will come into the daylight, that is a day of reckoning when moral transparency with occur. Because this day is closer than it was yesterday, St. Paul, the author of our Scripture, goes on to say, “Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (13:12).

This emphasis may seem a morbid way to enter the holiday season. Actually, it is the true path to joy. If we will become morally transparent, shape up our lives spiritually and morally, and use this special time of the year to make new commitments to walk uprightly with the Lord, we’ll find real joy of the Savior in a manger. We will be ready to meet Him. And if we meet Him traveling in the light and not in the darkness, we won’t be sad from disappointment. We will be able actually to enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. The festivities will not simply be about getting presents but Jesus Christ. So the First Sunday in Advent tells us the first step is to become morally transparent because all will become morally transparent.

A year or so ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, "You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it." Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet." When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change." The driver, with a smile, replied, "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday." When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, "Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter."

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test! Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself "Christian.” Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. Amen.