2020-11-29 _ Advent (1st Sunday)
● Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7 ● Psalm 80 ● 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 ● + Mark 13:33-37 ●
Title: Alertness.
[_01_] The title is ALERTNESS for Advent. Sometimes, getting someone’s attention is a very serious, very austere, very stern matter.
Years ago, a TV show
about southern-California and “CalTech” young physicists called The Big Bang Theory had an
episode about alertness or watchfulness.
In this The Big
Bang Theory episode, the character “Sheldon” interviewed another
character to be his future roommate, to live in Sheldon’s apartment.
“Sheldon” is the
interviewer and Sheldon is very watchful, very alert, very protective of his
space and suspicious of the new roommate.
Sheldon first quizzes his
future prospective roommate [Sheldon] about his job and his science fiction
character preferences before he allows him to enter [the apartment]. At this
point, Sheldon's apartment is almost empty of furniture, having only two lawn
chairs instead of a couch/chair and the TV is balanced on cinder blocks.
Sheldon gives a series of interview questions to verify “goodness” …
“worthiness”… and then gives him a tour, which includes showing him his future bedroom
with the [ominous and lamenting] message words: "DIE SHELDON DIE" painted on a wall by the previous roommate, which Sheldon
says he might want to repaint [over the words]. After working out seemingly
countless pages of the roommate [contract] agreement, they move in together.
[_02_] So.. Sheldon is bit too
intense….. too alert….
We can often laugh at people who are too intense or too
tense or too serious. We may laugh at ourselves when we get this way
[_03_] Is it possible to be
both watchful and joyful at the same time?
This Sunday begins Advent, a time of joyful watching or
watchful joy.
Jesus, however, seems quite serious – reminding us 5 times
– in this short reading to “to be watchful, to be alert.”
[_04_] I recently saw a lecture
by a business school scholar/student (Eric Tsytsilin, Stanford University Business School, Lecture: "Laughter: Serious Business") whose hypothesis about business and life
is that we live in a drought not of water or rainfall, but a drought of laughter.
He quotes this statistic that a baby/infant laughs 400 x /
day and an age 35-year-old adult laughs 15x / day.
[_05_] Jesus comes to
share his parables and teaching with us and life with us not to order us around
but to bring us joy.
The parable today refers to the menial and manual labor of taking care of
someone else’s house and the need for the servants to be watchful, well…this is
a metaphor for all of us. For the “house” symbolizes the gift of our own lives,
our own family, the house which has been given to us by God.
For we are all – by our lives – taking care of a house –
our own bodies/lives/persons – that belongs first to God. We are his
“roommates”.
There is a roommate
agreement. He wants us to stay!
Even when we take care of our own family, our own parents,
or taking care of our own children, we are still taking care of people who
belong to God.
Jesus speaks of watchfulness today, what is that brings
both joy and watchfulness, both joy and alertness. Consider what it means to
take care of a child, to bring up a child requires both joy and watchfulness.
Also, to love someone is to become like or similar to the
other. This applies equally – especially – in the Gospel Good News to care of
children:
Jesus says:
“Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me;
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is
least among you all who is the greatest”
(Luke 9:46-47; Mark 9:35-37)
[_06_] In our own lives to make
any real changes, any progress, we are called to both watchful and joyful.
This was also the message of the parable of the Prodigal
Son, of the merciful father who represents God, the father who is both watchful
and joyful for his child to return.
[_07_] I encourage you in
this Advent to pray intentionally and watch out for Jesus’ presence in your
life, to ask him to savor the joys you have.
Even to pray for more moments of laughter and to enjoy them
when they happen.
Watchfulness in our spiritual life can be a joyful pursuit
of perfection.
[_08_] In the lecture by
the business school student in which he quotes that babies laugh 400 x / day
and adults laugh only 15 x / day, he gets the attention of the audience by
putting up a video for them to watch.
Depending on your internet YouTube watching habits, perhaps
you have seen the video. It is in the “viral” at x > 107 million views
The video shows an infant – named Micah -- of about 3 or 4
months old sitting on a couch, in a pretty good mood.
Then, the baby Micah’s father tears up a piece of paper and
the child giggles, smiles…. Another piece of paper is torn, the child laughs
again. This goes on 7 or 8 more times, each to the greater glee and belly
laughs of the child. It is an example that laughter is truly contagious.
Also, laughter requires breath and breathing. As you know,
when you are really laughing you have to stop and catch your breath … the child
must do the same.
But, what was being torn up? What was the paper?
It was not just a blank piece of paper but one of the many
rejection letters which Micah’s father had received from potential employers.
So, even though Micah could not walk or talk … does not mean that
we cannot learn something from him. Micah can experience true joy in an
otherwise tragic situation.
which he had applied.
In this case, tragedy became comedy and comedy, laughter.
And, the laughter went far and wide: viral.
107 million views.
Look it up on YouTube: “Baby Laughing: The original” CLICK FOR VIDEO HERE.
Laughter – joy – does not make us forget, it helps us to
remember, to remember that he gave us life for us and became one of us, first
as a child. Pure joy.
And, Jesus wants you to be joyful and watchful and never forget
his love for you this Advent, this new year.
[_fin_]
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