Tuesday, December 5, 2006
ADVENT TIME IS "HOUSE-CLEANING" TIME
Advent is a time for preparation and spiritual renewal. The violet paraments you see hanging from pulpit and lectern at church are reminders of this. They are symbols of the sorrow of Christian repentance. They preach a silent sermon on the importance of readying ourselves for the coming of our heavenly Guest at Christmas and for His coming on the Last Day.
What can we do to get ready for Jesus? When you prepare your home for receiving holiday guests what do you usually do? Don't you perform chores like vacuuming and dusting, getting rid of clutter, straightening things up a bit so your guests will find your home tidy and neat? Don't you "roll out the red carpet" to help make your guests feel welcome when they step through the door? That's how Scripture encourages us to get ready for Jesus. We're to give our hearts a house-cleaning by sweeping away the things that would offend our heavenly Guest (e.g. the clutter of bad attitudes, the dirt of sinful habits, the grime of spiritual laziness and lethargy). We can't do the clean-up work on our own, though. We need the Holy Spirit's help. He uses the Word to show us our sin and lead us to drown our old Adam through daily contrition and repentance. By the same Word He draws us to our Savior, comforts us with His forgiving love, and empowers us to begin living a new and nobler life to God's glory.
It's what we sing about in the well-known Christmas carol:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing.
