Almost there*

“Almost there” is how I feel. Christmas is almost here, not quite, but almost. Someone asked me about a week ago whether I was all ready for Christmas. I just said “well, I’ve done everything I was supposed to do, now I can do what I want to do.” And that is how I feel now. Presents are in the house, if not yet wrapped. Cards and stamps are ready, that will be an evening’s work. The house is lighted, the tree is decorated, and now I can get focused on real Christmas.

This is the sense in this week’s lessons too. Our collect asks God to “purify our conscience” so we can be ready to receive Jesus when he really does finally come into our lives. The wonderful lesson from 2 Samuel (7:1-11, 16) about who gets a house of cedar and when is just delightful. This is exactly how I fell all the time. I am ready to build a real house, a permanent house, a house in which God will dwell with me. When can I do that? God says “go for it, in fact I will build such a house for you” and you will be established forever. Wow, from a prayer about God coming into our conscience to a lesson about God building a permanent place to dwell with us, there is a continuum, a highway as it were, a path made straight, for us and for God. And it is almost here; we are almost there.

We hear this lesson from Luke’s Gospel every year at this time, as though the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy could go by in a liturgical week, as indeed they will yet again this year. What do we hear in this lesson? We hear about Mary of course, and we hear about how God’s angels speak to us. And we hear about how humility before God is the way to erase sin.

But what else? We hear “almost there.” We hear the promise of the angels, that God will come among us as a human child. Almost there, we hear, God is almost among you. We hear that the angel says that nothing is impossible with God. Almost there, we hear, God is almost among us. And we hear that we should not be afraid. Almost there, God is almost among us.

Now look at Paul’s letter to the Romans (16:25-27). “Now to God, who is able to strengthen you … according to the revelation … [that] now is disclosed … to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.”

(You do know that “amen” means “so be it,” which is why when a priest says a prayer, you are supposed to shout out “amen” – “so be it” at the end?)

So be it. Almost there. So be it. Almost there.

See? It is a journey. God is always with us. God is always coming among us. God is always going to be coming among us. This action is constant, eternal. We must meet it with a sober “amen,” “so be it.” We must meet it with humilty “here am I, let it be according to your word.” We must learn to be open to the messages angels bring to us “Fear not” they always say.

Is there a message for gay people here? Of course. We are God’s angels on earth. We are the forefront of the angel troops, bringing the presence of purified conscience—consciousness with no restraints—not only before God, but for our brothers and sisters we bring this heightened consciousness to the whole of reality. We stand before God as people God has made in God’s own image to be lovers of one another, and a source of joy in the whole of creation. Almost there, already here …..

And there you have it, the true meaning of Christmas: almost there, already here ….

We have a week to go. This is the week to enjoy it. Sing the carols, light the candles, lift the glasses, wrap packages and send cards and plan the true feast, for the night when God will sit at our tables—Emmanuel, God with us.

Almost there ….

4 Advent (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Canticle 15 The Song of Mary Magnificat; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38)
©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.