Is 64:1-9; Ps 80:1-7; 1 Cor 1:3-9; Mark 13: :37). With the First Sunday of Advent coming on Thanksgiving weekend,

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1 Is 64:1-9; Ps 80:1-7; 1 Cor 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37 First Sunday of Advent Nov 27, 2011 The Rev. Linda Spiers Trinity Episcopal Church Jesus said, And what I say to you I say to all: keep awake. (Mark 13:37). With the First Sunday of Advent coming on Thanksgiving weekend, we experience one of the biggest tensions in the Church year. We re living in the shadows of Black Friday, which began on Thanksgiving Day and extends through the weekend. The Thanksgiving Day Hartford Courant was bigger than most Sunday papers with ads weighing several pounds. Family time was tempted with all night sales like no other. Coupons filled the paper and my mailbox all enticing buyers to come out, to keep awake for the best sales ever. Some people camped out at stores. Some ended up with pepper spray from the hand of a greedy buyer in California. Some left with exactly what they wanted. Some were disappointed when their prized purchase- to- be ran out. I don t think Jesus words, keep awake, were aimed at the ads with which we ve been bombarded. I joined the ranks of entering a retail store yesterday but only for a brief moment to pick up one item I needed. And then I made a fun stop in Harwinton at an alpaca farm where a couple raise two kinds of alpaca as pets and for their wool and to occasionally show their animals. Their ad had 1

2 enticed me for over a year, but I had never had the time to go when their limited hours were advertised. Saturday afternoon opened up the opportunity. The owner came out of his house with a bag of little carrots, introduced himself, and led me into the alpaca pen. The curious animals heard his voice and saw him and came immediately to him. He asked if I wanted to feed them and gave me some carrots. Most of these females were friendly; although one was prone to spitting. Fortunately it was not a day for her spitting! They readily ate the tiny carrots from my hand and let me pet them. There were about 10 grown females and five or so babies, ranging from 3 weeks to 3 months old. When the carrots were gone all but one drifted back to the far side of the pen. The one remained as I rubbed her head and neck. The owner told me all about them. As we continued to talk the one alpaca that remained knelt down as if to settle in for the rubbing she was receiving. I asked about their being bothered by wild animals, for the pen was open and fairly accessible to a wild animal threat. He said he occasionally sees deer scale the fence and wander through the pen. Fox and wolf are a threat, especially to the baby alpaca. When they come, the adult females circle around the babies to protect them, and wolf and fox don t mess with the adults. The alpaca appear gentle and yet there is a fierceness about them to 2

3 protect their young. I was especially struck by their penetrating eyes. With their long neck and small head (that is compared to their body), their eyes are very large and very engaging. They are almost eye- level with a human, and they look right into your eyes. I immediately thought that these are eyes that give a powerful image of Jesus words, keep awake. These beautiful animals keep awake to protect their young. They keep awake to greet a stranger. They keep awake to be fed. They keep awake to be loved and cared for. Yes, there was an opportunity to purchase alpaca items, and I bought some yarn. They indicated they are really open more than their advertised times of open house. Just give us a phone call to be sure we re home, said the owner. If you don t have enough yarn, you can always come back. I asked about dye lots, and they indicated that the lots are by animal. So, my yarn is from the animal named Katrina, who is a suri alpaca the kind that looks like she has dread locks. I can still vividly see those alpaca eyes and hold them as a Gospel image for keeping awake. This portion of Mark s Gospel is the conclusion of what is often known as the little Apocalypse because of its likeness to John s Apocalypse. When God comes again, all will be changed every part of creation will be affected. 3

4 Jesus was teaching his disciples Peter, James, John and Andrew what the end of times would be like. When the Gospel of Mark (circa 70 AD) was written, Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins. There were persecutions at the hands of religious and political authorities, civil strife, false prophets and false messiahs. Jesus said to those early disciples and to us, And what I say to you I say to all: keep awake. Only God will know the day or the hour of Christ s coming again. Keep alert and keep awake. We are to use our eyes as if they are the large beady eyes of the alpaca to watch, to faithfully keep doing our work as followers of Christ, to see Christ in the face of others, to allow others to see Christ in the face of ourselves. It s not a passive wait and see. Rather it s an active life of living into Jesus teachings and being awake to Christ s mission in our world and to being hope. Let us pray. Behold, I make all things new : come then, Lord Jesus, and begin this work of renewal in us. Let this be the resolution of our new year, that we will recognize you in the poor, the oppressed, the homeless, the unhappy, the prisoner, the ensnared in sin; and there, where our judgment is always taking place, so also, at the same moment, is our redemption: the hands which we take hold of to support and encourage those in need (Christ in the poor) are 4

5 exactly the hands which deliver us the bread of life and the cup of our salvation Christ in us, the hope of glory. Amen. 1 1 John Bowker, A Year to Live (London: SPCK, 1991), 12. 5