Scripture Text (NRSV)
Romans 13:11-14
13:11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the
moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now
than when we became believers;
13:12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside
the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
13:13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and
drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling
and jealousy.
13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Comments:
I will be dealing with this passage in the light of the message that
precedes it in which Paul talks about owing a debt of love. How can we
truly appreciate the promise of a nearing salvation if we do not
measure our indebtedness to god's love, mercy, and grace? TN Mack
I'm drawn to the phrase, "now is the moment for you to wake from
sleep." Advent is a time to wake up. (interesting for us far north
Northern hemishpere folks in that it's the darkest part of the year)
Thinking about the little rituals people have for waking up in the
morning and then the rituals that we have (or need) to "wake up" in
our lives.
And then curious about what the "sleep" is that it's time to wake
from.
MS in WA
I'm drawn to the phrase, "now is the moment for you to wake from
sleep." Advent is a time to wake up. (interesting for us far north
Northern hemishpere folks in that it's the darkest part of the year)
Thinking about the little rituals people have for waking up in the
morning and then the rituals that we have (or need) to "wake up" in
our lives.
And then curious about what the "sleep" is that it's time to wake
from.
MS in WA
Repent comes to mind as I read this passage. Being conscious of what
we are doing as opposite of what we should do in order to light the
world. I suspect it doesn't mean hanging out the xmas lights! Vs. 14
talks about gratifying the desires of the flesh, over eating, over
partying, over booking one's time. just pondering, Nancy-Wi
To Nancy-WI
I like what you say about the call to repent, or Paul's admonition to
"Lay aside the deeds of darkness," and the various things we are told
not to do here. But I feel repentance must always be coupled with the
positive - "live honorably" and especially, "put on the Lord Jesus
Christ." Removing the garbage is one thing; but putting that which is
clean inside is another, and it is vital to genuine repentance, I
feel.
Peace,
JGinWI
JGin-Wi: I agree, it is sort of like the space on the counter you
clear off. If you are not careful and use the space appropriately
clutter finds it again. Deeds of the light. There is a good
benediction from Bishop White over in the Matthew section.
Sorry for the triple post. Shelly I have a cat that thinks my lap
while on the computer is his too! Nancy-Wi
Hi! Friends.... In vs.11 Paul writes: "Besides this you know what hour
it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For
salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed;....(NIV)
Time is deceptive. We think we have all the time in the world...but we
don't. One day we wake up and realize that we should have been more
kind to someone...but it's too late for that person, because they are
dead. To use a corny metaphor, time is like water in the bath tub; it
seems full, then the plug is pulled water swirls down the drain. There
is nothing you can do to bring the water back...it's gone! Something
else...Paul seems to assume that his readers knew what time it was. I
am not so sure. Oh, well...I'll be glad to hear from the rest of you.
Preacher in Ks. P.S. I'll have to teach my bassett hound to be
computer literate.
"It's time to get up!" I can still hear those words from my father
echoing down the stairs into my bedroom forcing me out of bed and
inviting me to breakfast. Sometimes I was in such a deep sleep,
dreaming in a world that did not exist. Sometimes my eyes were open,
there was a pulse, but I was dead to the moment and late for the
breakfast.
Paul announces God's spiritual alarm clock. It is time to get up. It
is time to take off our pajamas (clothes of darkness) and put on
something fit for the banquet that awaits us. Ever been caught in your
pajamas?
Fred in LA
Fred, I like the get up story. I think it is a good. At Christmas
scenes at family time, all are shown in fancy clothes of darkness (pj's)
Are we more comfortable in the dark than in the light? Nancy-WI
A friend shared with me the other day that he had a revelation come to
him while speaking to his pastor about the Christian life. He told me
that in a instant his life passed before his eyes and he realized for
the first time that God had been there with him in every moment. He
said this with surprise, the same sort of surprise you see in a childs
eyes when they open a Christmas present and realize what they have
received. In my experience I have not run into many Christians who
have had a revelation like his of God being with them always. This is
the point I believe the Apostile Paul is making to his Roman audience;
that they are not alone, the Savior is closer than they have believed
in the past. The new day is when we realize our Lord has been involved
in our life and will continue to be in every part of our future.
Living a life with that sort of expectation is more joyfilled than any
fleshly desire. It changes your thinking to a spiritual life that is
filled with gifts from God. When we honor God by waking up to these
facts we begin our journey with God as our light and are saved. KB
KB, That is a helpful additional thought on "nearness." It also
reveals a kind of "waking up." As I watched CNN last night you could
see some of the "night fighting" through the use of night vision lens.
But there is still that element of something new coming, "the night is
far gone, the day is near." Without falling off into the holes created
by the "Left Behind" novels, there seems to be a helpful and hopeful
message here.
Several years ago I was in Colorado and climbed "Long's Peak" a 14,000
ft mountain. We started hiking about 3 am. By 6 am we had reached a
point on the side of the mountain where we could look down on the town
below. They were still in the dark. But from our point we could see
the sun rising. It would be a matter of minutes before the sun would
make it over the mountain peak and fill the valley. It was a moment of
grand anticipation.
The right side mirror on my car says it best: caution, objects are
nearer than they might appear. Believing is seeing. To expect,
anticipate, and prepare for God's new work in our lives and world
makes for a different life, full of hope and love.
I love Advent. That time just before the light dawns is the most
exciting time. The anticipation of Christmas may be better than
Christmas day. Christians live in both the "now" and the "not yet"
Happy Advent everyone!
Fred in LA
To MS in WA, I use a site from Australia that develops a liturgay
based on the lectionary readings. It was with great delight that I
read her opening for the lighting of the Advent Candle of Hope, "It is
the beginning of summer-- but more importantly, it is the beginning of
Advent." What a different perspective that gives us doesn't it? And
for everyone, what do you think of this translation of verse 11 from
"The Message": "But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and
exhausted in taking care of all your day-to-day obligations that you
lose track of time and doze off, oblivious to God."? This passage does
tend to challenge us to refelct on what do we do to set aside time for
our spiritual life, especially during Advent when we are so busy
preparing for Christmas. Rev. Tim, South Central Ontario, Canada
Fred in LA, Thanx for the wake-up story. Reminds me of my dad. The
foot of my bed was right at the door to my room. Dad would open the
door, flip on the light, grab the covers and whip them into the floor
as he said brightly, "Time to get up!" "No Duh!" wasn't in the
vernacular at the time, but even so...
Year after year, on April 1st, he would shake the bed and say
breathlessly,"Get up, get up! There's a parade coming down the
street!" I fell for it too many times. I still tend to get up right
away in the morning, no laying about. Thanx, Dad.
I don't know if there's any preaching possibility in any of this, but
it is good to think about my father, and how good growing up was with
loving parents. Thanx for the memory booster. tom in TN(USA)
- The main structural relationship seems to be this: Causation with
contrast.
- Causation with Contrast - The causation is this: Since the time of
salvation is near (the night is disappearing, the day is soon),
therefore let us put on the armor of light and lay aside the works of
darkness. This seems to be the main structure. But within this
structure is a contrast between works of darkness and armor of light.
Works of darkness involves these elements: , being asleep, and
further, being asleep means doing these things: reveling, drunkenness,
debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy. It means living
according to what one desires, according to the dictates of the flesh.
In contrast to living in the darkness, we are urged to put on the
armor of light. This involves living honorably and, to back up to the
immediate preceding context, it means fulfilling the law by loving
others.
Paul is rekindling something that the people already know, that the
time is nearer, that is, the time of salvation. Since it is nearer, it
is time to wake up from sleep. This implies an unspoken judgement to
those who are asleep when the time arrives. It is not stated here, but
is well attested elsewhere such as the Gospel lectionary scripture
from Matthew 24:36-44. Waking up is what one does in the day time.
Sleeping is for the night.
It is time to wake up because salvation is near. This implies that
being asleep when salvation appears means missing out on salvation.
Rather, be awake to greet the rising of the sun, otherwise you will
miss out on it. The motivation for living in the day and waking up is
because salvation is near and we may miss it otherwise. The time
earlier seems to refer to “salvation”. It is nearer now than when they
first became believers. That is a rather obvious statement. More is
probably meant than just that time has passed, which when considered
literally , is all that it means. No, it is likely that “nearer”
refers to a certain urgency. This urgency is underscored by the
following contrast: The night is far gone, and the day is near. It
appears that what may be in mind here is the twilight hours just
before the rising of the sun. The sun is not up yet, day is not yet
here, but neither is it total darkness either. The time is close
enough so as to cast light upon the our world. There is an overlap
even of day and night perhaps as the parable of the wheat and tares
indicates.
- This indicates that Salvation is not yet here. It is near, but it is
still future. Here salvation seems to be treated as an event in the
future rather than a personalized possession.
Since it is true that day is near and night is far gone, and since to
live in the darkness when the day appears is to miss out on salvation,
therefore lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of
light. Whereas earlier night seemed to refer a time preceding the
salvation event, here the deeds of darkness refer to actions that are
consistent with a dying and decaying age. Since you are of the light
that is soon coming, do not live in the darkness and do not do the
works of darkness. “Works” indicates that these are acts or behavior
of people who are anchored in the old and dying age. We are called to
“lay aside” them as like a garment perhaps.
- It seems that putting on and taking off clothes is what is in mind
here. Lay aside the clothing dark deeds, put on the armor of light,
put on the lord Jesus Christ, make no provision for the flesh. This
seems to be the case from the word enduw..
- Armor of light would indicate that light is a weapon to be used
against something, perhaps destruction (the opposite of salvation) or
perhaps the forces of darkness. But it is most likely something that
equips one to be able to enter into salvation when the time appears.
Doing deeds of darkness is to be without help or weapons on that day.
One will be vulnerable to the wrath of God.
- Laying aside and putting on refer to actions needed in order to
participate in salvation. If these actions are missing one might be
left sleeping when the day appears. The point is that to participate
in salvation, putting on light (love) is required. Not that merit is
needed for salvation, but that works is a necessary and natural result
of faith.
Having explained the necessity of putting on the armor of light and
putting off the works of darkness he goes on to further define what it
might mean to do this. He contrasts walking in the day with walking in
the darkness by first introducing having the armor of light as living
“honorably”. Honorably may mean decent, orderly, respectable. If a
contrast is in mind, the following 6 traits of one who lives in the
darkness will be the near opposite of honorable.
walk – aorist active – the manner of one’s whole life, not just
periodic fixes to damper the guilt of a bad life. Plus the word
implies an ongoing lifestyle that consistently typifies Christian
character. So, here we are not talking about occasional bad behavior,
but what is typical of someone. All Christians sin occasionally, but
what is our life like as a whole. If it is consistently like this one
may be asleep.
Rather than living in the darkness, committing sins like those
mentioned above, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thereby don’t make
any provision for the flesh. Do not do anything to leave the door open
or encourage sin. The person of the flesh seems to just do what his
hear tells him. He follows his desires. This life lived after the
pursuit of pleasure lulls him/her to sleep and not awake to the
reality of God’s Kingdom having dawned and soon breaking in to bring
salvation in full. Instead of doing what the flesh wants, we should
make no allowances for its desires and its loud demands, but rather
put on another garment, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
This “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” Does it mean to immerse one’s
self, totally cover oneself like garments with the life of Christ?
Perhaps.
ph in al
Armor is not only protection, it's an identifier. Armor lets everyone
know who you stand with. And that identifier is so strong, individual
features are are covered by it. Someone meeting a group of people
wearing roman armor didn't see Fred, Joe, Harry, etc, they saw Rome.
Likewise some one meeting a person wearing the Armor of Christ meets
Christ. MS in WA
If the FBI and CIA believed there was a real danger of someone
crashing a plane into a tall building here in the US of A, they
probably would have noticed more clues before 9/11, and maybe even
prevented it from happening. Does this teach us anything about staying
awake spiritually? How do we keep from falling asleep (without
threatening hell...there must be a better way...) I do know that
people tend to wake up in the face of death.
DGinNYC
Just found some notes from a retreat lead by Deborah Smith Douglas on
"Staying Awake." Some quotable quotes she found: "You cannot wake
someone who pretends to be asleep." (Chinese Proverb). and "God's
greatest glory is a human person fully alive." (Iranaeus)
She also cited three traditional (by which I think she means the
desert fathers) remedies for staying awake: 1- Work- Some people use
work to escape reality, but work that is an expression of faithful
presence, that is a deliberate renunciation of apathy, that
relinguishes the sin of indifference will keep you awake. 2- Prayer -
that is, focusing our attention on God. 3- Humility - that is,
affirming our reliance on God, that we are still "on the way," and
need help.
Hope this is helpful to someone. I am so grateful for your posts. I
find that each week ideas from this site find their way into my
sermon.
DGinNYC
Basset Hounds? Cats? How about the ultimate "pastor's puppy" a mini
dachsund!
Actually, I'm using the wake up call for the children's sermon based
on an old one I had read years back....using an alarm clock.
rokinrev- Albany NY
Din Nyc Thanks for the practical suggestions. Took a night off and
went to the concert last night and this morning your post added the
final touch. All the posts by the way are helpful in some way. Ph I
found your rewrite helpful too. Nancy-WI
Walking in the light even though it is cloudy!
In his commentary on Romans, C H Dodd recalls the impression that this
passage made on St Augustine. He was walking in the garden, brooding
in despair over his futile struggles to live a good life.
‘I kept ejaculating miserably: “How long? How long? Tomorrow and
tomorrow – why not now? Why not at this hour an end to my depravity?”
So I spoke, and wept in bitter contrition of heart; when suddenly I
heard a voice from next door, as of a boy or girl singing over and
over, “Take and read; take and read.”
I hurried back to where Alypius was sitting, for there I had left a
volume of the Apostle when I got up. I snatched it up, opened it, and
read in silence the first passage my eyes lit upon: 'No revelry or
bouts of drinking, no debauchery or sensuality, no quarrelling or
jealousy. No, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and never think how to
gratify the cravings of the flesh.'
I neither wished nor needed to read further. With the end of that
sentence, as though the light of assurance had poured into my heart,
all the shades of doubt were scattered. I put my finger in the page
and closed the book; I turned to Alypius with a calm countenance, and
told him.’
(Confessions, VIII. 12, abridged.)
Paul Weary Croydon, UK
Previous:
tHE wAY i sEE iT! In the above we are here taught a lesson of sobriety
and godliness in ourselves. Four things we are taught, as a
Christian's directory for his day's work: when to awake, how to dress
ourselves, how to walk, and what provision to make.
Sound like a camping trip? No, these verses need a lot of
contemplation: AWAKE: be concerned about your souls and your eternal
interest. DRESS: undress from darkness (sinfulness), and put on the
armour of light. WALK: honestly, decently and becomingly. Christians
conduct themselves well in those things men have an eye upon; and,
PROVISIONS: Our care must be for our souls. These verses forbid an
anxious encumbering care and indulging ourselves in an irregular
desire. The necessities of the body must be considered, but the lusts
of it must not be gratified. Natural desires must be answered but
wanton appetites must be checked and denied.
Makes a person kind of think, doesn't it? DRS
IN an epistle full of Doctrinal Truth, and holding forth to us the
Eternal Verities of the faith, Paul draws conclusions about how we
should live. From chapter 12 to the end he is discussing the
application of the Christian faith. It is never enough to know the
catechism it is important that we learn what it means to truly walk in
the way the doctrine we embrace demands of us.
Having looked at the behvior of the Christian within the Church family
and the behavior of the Christian with his neighbors in society in
chapter 12 he now takes us to task about how we behave ourselves in
the arena of the government and our relationship to it. That
relationship is made complex for us in America since by our
constitution we are partly Caesar. In the verses under consideration
Paul tells us that our behavior needs to be in line with the
profession we profess as Christians. That means the following things
in this context: 1) Waking up. (V.11) It is time to wake up. The alarm
has gone off. It is too easy to be satisfied with the fact that we
ourselves have been justified and brought into fellowship with him and
not press on to a deeper walk with him. We need to wake out of our
sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. The
Second Coming of Christ draws near. If Paul could say "Now is our
salvation nearer than when we first believed" how much more can we say
it in our own day? The night is far spent the day is at hand. That
leads to 2) It is Time to Get up. v. 12 Teen agers especially like to
push the snooze button on the alarm and fall to sleep again. Paul does
not want people to just wake up but to get up. To get up and cast off
the things of darkness and put on the armor of light. Far too many
Christians are enjoying the titilating things of this world rather
than putting them off. At least a decade before she died Lucile Ball
said "I am shocked at what I am not shocked at" It can be said of many
Christians today that they should be shocked at that about which they
find no shock. Many have forgotten how to blush. Materialism has not
crept in but stormed in to the minds and hearts of the majority of
Christians in the U.S. and it is time for Christians to wake up and
then to get up and put on the armor of light and put off the things
are darkness. 3) It is time to live up to the calling to which we have
been called. (vs.13-14)Look at the list of things we are to avoid.
Those things which will lead to debauched living. In the place of that
we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the
flesh. Putting on the Lord Jesus is the way to living a godly life.
Not one of us can say that we have no need to increase in godly
living. Put on the Lord Jesus then that means that I must learn to be
obedient to the Spirit of God speaking through the Word of God to my
soul. That means that daily I must like the Bereans search out the
Scripture and discover God's will for my living of these days. That
means that I must be occupied with those things so that I can not be
occupied with the things of the flesh to fulfill them. The negative is
to starve the flesh to death by not allowing for it. The positive is
to put on the Lord Jesus and thereby live an energized thankful life
in His power and Glory.
Glen in Pa.
I think that this passage can be faithfully used to address the
behavior of Christians during Advent. Here we are, trying to prepare
ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas and at the end of
history, and yet many people are involved in all sorts of wild
partying, etc. It is a good "kickoff point" for a sermon on living
Advent as preparation, keeping the Christ in Christmas, not giving
into materialism,etc. JD in WI
DRS, Glen and JD,
Preach it brethren, for it surely will preach!
I'm blessed by your words, keep them coming!
Rick in Va
Something about this text reminds me of the baptismal practice of the
early Christians. After their three-year period of catechesis, they
entered the baptistry (a separate building next to the church). They
faced the West (place of darkness) and renounced the devil and all his
works (as they removed their old garments). Then they entered the next
room of the baptistry, entering the water and immersed. Upon coming
out of the water they were anointed with fragrant oil and dressed in
the new clothing that symbolized the purity of their new life. This
all happened very early on Easter Sunday morning. Then they received
lighted candles and entered the darkened church for their first
communion. The other worshipers were already there waiting for the
newly baptized to enter, whereupon the Easter sunrise service began.
Stan in northern Wisconsin.
I like Eugene Peterson's fresh twist on this passage from The
Message..."But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted
in taking care of all your day to day obligations that you lose track
of time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn
is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is
putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we
first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander
these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping
around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight.
Get out of bed and get dressed ! Don't loiter and linger, waiting
until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and
about ! " VMRT in CT
Stan in Northern Wisconsin: It IS baptismal imagery. I think that's
the point. It may well also make sense though to deal with "darkness"
and "light" not as stand-ins for "evil" and "good" but in the sense of
rest/creativity/seeking and discernment. What do you think? Liz
Obviously, Paul is saying wake up! He is in the middle of a three
chapter long lecture about things we should do and the way we should
behave since we are Christians. I noticed that Paul wants us to put on
an armor of light. That's an intersting image and follows along with
Isaiah's swords being changed into plow shares. Those old weapons
won't serve any useful purpose in the day to come. The armor of light
is not intended for war, but only to protect us as the faithful battle
with evil and struggle to live as Christ taught - and Paul instructs.
Christian living requires us to think and act in new ways with new
images and understandings. All of these scriptures are convinced there
will be a time of wholeness, peace and justice for our world. Are we?
And how would we live our lives differently if we were convinced of
the same thing? Iowa Star
As I see it, Paul is saying wake up! It's important to remember this
passage comes from a three chapter long lecture where Paul is spelling
out the things we should do and the way we should behave since we are
Christians. I pick up on the image of the armor of light. I think it
follows the same train of thought as Isaiah is on when he dreams about
swords being beaten into plow shares. The armour of light is not meant
for war, just to protect us (like a seat belt does) from the evil that
wants to pull us off of the path.
All three readings point to a time of wholeness, peace and justice
that is coming for our world. Are we as convinced about this as the
scriptures are? If so, I think these scriptures are saying we need to
be looking at the old world with different eyes. We need to think and
act in new ways with new images and understandings.
Liz,
I think you are brilliant. I think it is very post-modern of you to
bring in light as rest/creativity/seeking and discernment. I think
this is very helpful. It also makes a good connection to Advent as we
prepare for the Christ. How do we properly prepare for the coming of
Christ? Why, with rest/creativity/seeking and discernment. You go
girl. Thanks, I can work with this now! Kelly in Alberta
Liz, OK - from earliest Chr'ty to Post-Modernism. Tell me more about
"rest/creativity/seeking and discernment." Stan
