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“Da duh, da da duh, da duh, da da duh . . . .” On certain mornings in my childhood, my
dad would walk into my and my siblings’ bedrooms, and he’d make his voice mimic a trumpet,
and he’d sound that melody to wake us up. I have mixed feelings about that sound, for it was
no fun getting woken up out of sleep but it was still pleasant to know that my dad only did that
bugle sound when he was in a good mood and for good reason, because we had a family
vacation ahead. If I stayed in bed, I would have missed out on everything. If I woke up and got
out of bed, a family fun day was in store for me. My dad didn’t just make up that melody that
he serenaded us with. It’s called Reveille. It’s the tune traditionally played by buglers in the U.S.
military to wake up soldiers at sunrise. An appropriate tune for the purpose, very lively.
Praise the Holy Spirit that he gives us a lively text this morning for the first Sunday in
Advent. The message is – get out of bed, grand things are drawing near! Wake Up, the Day is
Almost Here.
It’s good to be forewarned. When I was little, if my parents hadn’t told us the night
before that we were going on a trip, then I wouldn’t have known why my dad was waking me
up out of my sleep on a vacation day, and I would have been confused and upset.
So if sinful human parents can be loving enough to prepare their children for a big day,
then certainly our perfect heavenly Father knows how to prepare us for what’s to come. And
the beginning of Romans 13 explains why we are to Wake Up.
Paul had just been talking about the ten commandments and said that they are summed
up in this one command. “Love one another.” Love is the fulfilment of the law. We want to
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obey the ten commandments so that we don’t sin against our neighbor and so that we don’t
cause him or her to sin against God.
On this first Sunday in Advent, we see why it’s so important that we obey the ten
commandments and love our neighbor. Because the day is almost here. “The hour has come
for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we
first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.”
Ever think of that? We are still in the night. What’s oppressive about this time of the
year is how early it gets dark outside. At five pm already it’s pitch black. It gives us a certain
sadness when night comes and the sun is not shining. This whole world is stuck in the night. We
and our whole world have never seen the daylight. Bu the day is almost here. We have never
seen daylight, meaning we have never seen a world not dominated by sin and influenced by the
devil. We live in a world of permanent nighttime. The evidence is everywhere. Like how Black
Friday has begun to blacken Thanksgiving. Not that shopping in itself is sinful, but the zeal of
advertisements nowadays shows our world’s focus. You didn’t see people forming a line in
church parking lots Thursday before Thanksgiving worship but you did see people forming in
parking lots of department stores to get in for Black Friday shopping. That’s one sin we get
dragged into along with our world – at times we’ve had more of a desire to buy things than
we’ve had a desire to worship God. That’s the darkness of our world, a world that has turned its
back on its Creator.
But Advent is not a gloomy time. This is a time of joyful anticipation. “Our salvation is
nearer now than when we first believed.” God knows that we are people of the light who are
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trapped in a dark place. But we won’t be trapped for long. God is bringing salvation for us in
Christ. The day is almost near, so wake up. The Holy Spirit is sounding a lively tune today, to
wake us up out of the bed of our sins. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the
armor of light.
It is foolish to cling to the deeds of darkness. Just as it’s foolish for a kid to ignore his
parent’s morning wake up call. A kid can ignore that wake up call, but he’s not going to
succeed, because mom or dad are just going to come back, and they’ll be upset if you’re still in
bed. There will be a reckoning. To cling to the deeds of darkness is to ignore God’s wakeup call.
One can ignore the wakeup call to repent, but that is the height of foolishness because God will
come back. There will be a reckoning with the Lord God Almighty. Fortunately, God knows how
to wake us up out of the bed of our sins. When someone is still in bed in the morning, what do
you do to get them up? The obvious thing, turn on the light. Bright light shining into a person’s
face wakes up the drowsy slumberer. So what wakes us up from dark deeds?
The light of the Word. As Jesus said. “I am the light of the world” (John 8). The Word of
Christ shines in our minds and hearts and it wakes us up, it invigorates us. The Word shines with
blue light in this Advent season. Blue signifies hope, and our hope shines brightly. We look
forward to celebrating Christmas, and the birth of the Son of God two thousand years ago. And
we look forward to the Son of God, our Savior’s return, on the last great Day. Wake up, the day
is almost here! Let’s shake off the dark deeds of the world.
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual
immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Do you notice the sad thing about
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all these deeds? They’re mostly done at night, and for good reason, because they’re shameful.
When done at night, the light can’t shine on these deeds and expose their shame. But let’s shed
light upon them, so we can see the ugliness and wickedness of these deeds. Wild, drunken
parties seem like fun. With the holidays and New Year’s Eve, approaching, wild drunken parties
may seem like a pleasure, but they only bring pain and shame. Drunk driving convictions, car
accidents, fights, careless words, sexual sins, broken friendships, such evils spring from the
nighttime. Let’s wake up from our bed of sins. And if we shake our head at such sins and act as
if we are without sin, we are also in the darkness. Let’s shake off the deeds of night. Let’s
behave as children of the day, for that is who we are, as our verse shows.
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to
gratify the desires of the sinful nature. One of the most powerful things for waking up, one of
the best ways to get out of lazy sleep mode, is to change one’s clothes. When you’re wearing
your pajamas, a person just doesn’t feel like doing anything. That’s fine when we’re talking
about actual physical clothes, and you’re having a day to relax at home, but spiritually speaking,
let’s always put on our clothing of the day. Our spiritual clothing is the Lord Jesus Christ. He
clothes us with a wonderful thing. He clothes us with himself and his cleansing blood. Every
time you’ve stumbled into sin, clothe yourself with Jesus. That is, repent, and know that Jesus
has covered your shame. For Jesus lived as a young man, a real man on this earth. There were
wild parties, and hookups, and sexual sins among married and unmarried people. There was
jealousy when Jesus lived on this earth. The devil tempted him by these things, but Jesus never
sinned. The Son of God was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. He kept
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himself pure for us, as our holy Substitute. And he died for us, so that we may always wear him
as our righteousness, by faith. So let’s wake up!
“Da da dah dah dah . .. “. Every moment is a wakeup call from the Holy Spirit, because
every moment we are tempted by the dark world. Temptation has a way of causing torture. The
devil likes to torture our thoughts and make the forbidden look pleasurable. But let’s not let the
devil ruin our Christmas cheer. Advent and Christmas, this is a special season that the God of all
grace has given us.
Let’s rejoice that we can recognize the world for what it is. Our world is a place stuck in
the nighttime, with dark deeds that are full of gloom and despair. Though the darkness troubles
us, Jesus died for us. He rose for us. He baptized us. We have the Lord Jesus Christ to put on as
our clothing of the day.
Let’s live as people of the day, and walk in the blue Advent light of hope. Let’s enjoy this
holiday season. Let’s go to parties in the weeks to come, and let’s celebrate decently, not in
drunkenness and sin but in moderation, purity and joy, because our Savior has come, and he
will come again. When he comes again, we’ll be like the shepherds on Christmas night, looking
up at the glory of the LORD lighting up the sky. It’ll be the most exciting day. And the day is
almost here. Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen.