Bells of Advent:  Bbrriinngg!  Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thess 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

November 30, 2003

 

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Theme this year is BELLS

For many years at St. Andrews > Sundays of Advent have been tied together by some sort of theme

This year’s theme is BELLS >     

        I had not realized how little I knew about bells

        I did not know the when and the where of bells > I’ve just taken them for granted > always been around

                I suppose that’s true for everyone > do you remember your first bell?  I don’t either

        I did a little research and discovered when and where bells came into existence is lost to history (or lost in history)

                But there is much historical evidence that they’ve been around a long time

                Golden bells adorned the mules used in the funeral procession of Alexander the Great (350 BCE)                  

                Archeologists have dug up about eighty small bronze bells in the ruins of Nineveh > dating about 655-612 BCE)

                A Roman historian wrote that King Solomon had sizable gold bells on temple to drive off the birds (950 BCE)

From the mundane to the sacred

        From mourning to joy

                From funerals to weddings

                        Bells have call people to chow and bells have summoned people to church

                        Bells have aroused people from their stupor and awaked them from their sleep

ALARM BELLS

Define ‘alarm bells’

Bells that arouse people from their stupor and awaken them from their sleep are both called ALARM BELLS

        Alarm bells are signals that warn us or alert us to something

I remember my daughter’s first alarm clock

        She was about 7, I suppose

        Had seen on TV advertisements for a Raggedy Ann Alarm Clock

                On TV it sounded kind of cute > so we got one for her for Christmas

                At appointed hour it would make brassy ringing sound and obnoxiously happy little voice would say

                        ” Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!      

                        It’s time to get up out of bed.”

                                We all grew to hate that alarm clock

                                        But no one hated it more than my daughter

                                        She was a sleepyhead in her early years

                                                Never quite ready to get up

                                                Never wanted to make that transition from sleep-headed to wide-awake and ready-to-go

Where Would We Be Without Alarm Clocks?

For all we hate alarm bells, though, where would we be without them?

        Still asleep I imagine > Alarm bells get us ready for what lies ahead each day

        Without our alarm clocks > no telling what we’d miss!

PURPOSE OF BELLS OF ADVENT

Major purpose of Advent is to get us ready for what lies ahead > to keep us from missing what is to come

All three scripture readings focus on getting ready > for something is about to happen . . .

                “The days are surely coming,” the Lord said to Jeremiah, “when I will fulfill the promise I made!”

        Luke quotes Jesus himself

                “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down by the difficulties of life,

                [distracted] by self-indulgence and hangovers and being pulled in different directions.”

It’s hard to stay awake while we’re waiting, isn’t it?  We’ve waited so long for Christ to come to us again

        Best way to stay awake is to set an alarm clock

These words from Jesus suggest three times to set the alarm so we will stay alert

1.       Set your alarm to go off when you begin thinking more about yourself than others

                When the alarm rings > Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!           

                        That’s the signal to go to the mall and get an angel off the angel tree > buy a gift for unknown child

2.       Set your alarm to go off when you’re bothered by something somebody said to you > or you said to somebody

                [Jesus said “hangover” > but living in the past can produce as much of a headache as any alcoholic drink]

                When the alarm rings > Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!           

                        That’s the signal to go to that person and straighten it out > works better than Alka-Seltzer]

3.       Set your alarm to ring when advertisements and parties and preparations make you lose focus

                When the alarm rings > Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!           

                        That’s the signal to go walk the labyrinth in the garden or spend quiet time in prayer

YOU HAVE A BELL TO RING

Now, it may be that you are already awake and alert and ready to go

        You have already bought gifts for needy children

                And only yesterday patched up a relationship in need of repair

                        And you did all your Christmas shopping last July

Find someone who is not ready > someone who actually does need an Advent Alarm Clock

        Someone you fear may be left out of the joy of Christmas

Go up to that person and say “Bbrriinngg!  Wake Up!  Wake Up, You Sleepyhead!

        Wake up and watch for what lays ahead!”