https://app.dropwave.io/episode/5600fcd0-5a7b-4a40-8e48-5e35e4858d17/ad-te-levavi-advent-1-wednesday-ad-2025.mp3

Romans 13:11–14 Brethren: You know the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent is a holy season of watchfulness and waiting, a season of holy longing and waiting upon the Lord. The whole order and structure of Advent is set around this one thing: Jesus comes. And if Jesus comes, then you must be prepared to receive Him. Our Epistle from this past Sunday teaches how to prepare. This preparation involves three things: Knowing the time. Using the time. Putting on Christ.

[Knowing what time it is.]

What time is it? Maybe you’ve asked yourself that question as you’re getting ready to go to church or to work or school. Or it’s what you’ve thought when you’ve been awakened in what seems the middle of the night. Or it’s what you want to know when you look outside and see it’s dark — already!

What time is it? You don’t ask this question because the numbers on the screen are dear and important to you. I don’t think anyone here is especially attached to the time 5:53PM. Knowing what time it is matters. But this isn’t information for its own sake. You want to know what time it is because it tells you how much time you have until there is some other demand on your schedule. Putting up decorations for Christmas makes a lot more sense in December than in April. Making and buying Christmas gifts now makes a lot more sense than trying to do that on Christmas morning. So you want to know what time of year it is before you go to do these things.

It’s good to know this liturgically, too. We are in the first week of Advent — the season that the Church gives us to prepare for our Lord’s coming. So Paul’s warning to us is a type of liturgical alarm clock. It’s as though he’s caught us dozing off while on duty. Get up! The night is ending. The sun is about to rise. You have things to do.

This coming Sunday, we’ll consider the signs of the Lord’s coming. …signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth… But we don’t read those signs like a calendar, as though we observe those events and then pull out our Bible calculator to find our exact position on the Lord’s timeline of history. We know rather that these signs mean that His coming is soon — even very soon. He is coming quickly. And whether quickly means today or a thousand years from now, it is still “nearer than when we first believed.”

What time is it? The time is nearer. The time is short. Your King is coming. And you aren’t as ready for Him as you could be. There is much to be done. Your preparation has been lacking. You don’t know the Scriptures, the Catechism, the Hymns as well as you ought. Your worship and prayers have faltered. Yet He will not look at your lack of being prepared and then decide to delay His coming. He will come speedily.

What time is it? Not enough time to accomplish all that we should. So when Jesus comes, our work will be incomplete. We know that He comes as the Judge. Our work will be incomplete, and He will be our Judge. Yet we aren’t overcome by fear of His displeasure and His judgment against us. For notice what Paul says is near. Not our condemnation. Not our judgment. Our salvation! Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. For He who redeemed you with His own blood —. He who visited you in the waters of Holy Baptism —. He who absolves you through His Word — He is the same One who is coming to complete the salvation He began in you. He began your salvation. He will complete your salvation.

So the nearness of His coming is not a cause for fear, but a cause for hope! Instead of a despairing ‘how long?’ that makes us wonder if it’s all worth it —. Instead of a panicked ‘how soon?’ that makes us frantic —. We are at peace. Hold fast a little longer. The King is very near. He will rescue you speedily.

What time is it? The finish line is in sight. The dawn is about to break. Christ will come to make all things new. Christ has already come. You already have peace with God. You hope for His imminent rescue. This hope is a gift from Him. And it’s a hope that He will very soon fulfill. You know the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Wake up! Let’s go! Our Lord’s nearness invigorates our hope. It is the last hour before His glorious return.

[Using the time]

The Lord Himself makes you peaceful and hopeful, not panicked. But the peace and hope you receive from the Lord also do not make you complacent. Knowing the time means you also make the most of it. You discern the best way to use the time He has given.

Saint Paul says right now it’s nighttime. Nighttime is for sleeping. But when the dawn breaks, it’s time to get out of bed. As inviting as your bed might be, you can’t live your whole life there. Nor can you prevent the sun from coming up by investing in blackout curtains.

Paul means night and sleep as spiritual terms. Night is the time when deeds of darkness happen. Paul says what the works of darkness are. Revelry and drunkenness, lewdness and lust, strife and envy. The three categories here are self-indulgence, impurity, and conflicts.

Self-indulgence has to do with a lack of self-control. Paul gives the example of unrestrained celebration and drunkenness. It’s one of the ways someone can lose self-control. But it also happens when you hand over control of your mind and heart to your computer or phone. It’s when you just let the algorithm serve up whatever it wants to, blindly following your heart from one shiny thing to another. It’s not merely engaging with these things, but it’s a picture of someone who has fully embraced his addictions.