The Advent prayer…casting off the works of darkness…

This past Sunday we began our worship service with this old Cranmerian “Collect”, which is a prayer Thomas Cranmer wrote for the First Sunday in Advent. Cranmer (1489-1556) wrote this prayer for use in the Church of England as that church went through the Reformation. It is based on Romans 13:11-14.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility so that on the last day, when he will come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

We do not often use written prayers in our acts of worship, but this week we did. We prayed it in unison as our invocation, and the sanctuary resounded with its words–our people really participated in it and took part in praying it, and I was mighty proud. I included this old prayer in our order of service because it has such good teaching and its teaching was perfectly in line with the Scripture readings and message for the day. In case the term “collect” is unfamiliar–a collect  is a special type of prayer that has developed over the centuries. It is short, concise and usually features an invocation (Almighty God), a petition (give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility so that on the last day, when he will come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal,), and an ascription of praise (through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen).

 

Note: You can get the full definition for this and many other Christian terms in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Paperback Reference Edition), by E.A. Livingstone, which is a good reference to keep on hand if you are wanting to learn more about historic terms in the church’s life.

 

Our Scripture readings for the day and for the message were Isaiah 51:1-11 and Luke 12:35-40.

 

In both passages, preparation is the demand. God calls Israel to listen, listen, listen: He is about to do something BIG–namely, send the Messiah. We know from history that despite His pleas for their attentiveness and preparation for the Messiah’s coming, they did not pay heed. Then, in the Gospel, Jesus calls His followers to listen and “be ready.” He calls on His followers to be prepared for something BIG–namely, His second coming. It struck me that just as the First Advent caught people unaware, and after it happened many refused to acknowledge it and live accordingly, the warnings Jesus gives about the Second Advent will go unheeded, too. People do not listen to God, and this is to their own spiritual hurt.

I wonder: what is the Lord telling us this Advent season that we are not hearing? How is He speaking to us through His Written Word, and are we heeding His demands?

 

The Prayer we used to start our worship service offers very practical advice on how to be prepared for the Lord’s Return as believers. It counsels us to “cast aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, NOW in the time of this mortal life.” If we heed that counsel, I think we will be ready for the Lord’s Second Advent.

May this Advent season (and all the year) be a time of real spiritual preparation on our parts to live EVERY day in awareness of our Lord’s Return. May we be fully committed to casting aside the works of darkness, while putting on the armor of light.

 

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