Sometimes I just want to walk around my apartment yelling CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Yes, it’s a Harry Potter thing. It’s also a Jesus thing. Not that he walked around his corner of the world yelling it, of course, but it was a theme of his – not his most major one, perhaps, but it was in there.

Alright. Sometimes I DO walk around my apartment yelling CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Happily, my husband just yells it right back. We have that kind of relationship.

Anywhoozle, back to Jesus – the thing about the bible is that it’s subject to interpretation and sometimes that interpretation can be pretty divergent, and while some people really enjoy telling others how wrong they are, some of us just get on with the business of our lives, secure in the knowledge that we have an interpretation that helps us to be better people. I say this because the readings of today (the first Sunday of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas, and the start of the Church Year) could (if you choose that interpretation) lead you to believe the Apocalypse is coming and it’s going to be just like Hollywood has always warned you it would be. And, you know, that’s one interpretation. Kind of a dramatic one, but easier to swallow in some ways than my interpretation. Because come on; most millennials I know are totally prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse and wouldn’t be terribly surprised by it should it come to pass. But asking people to seriously, genuinely cultivate gratitude and loving-kindness to themselves and everyone they meet or ever think of, including the president/president-elect you don’t like? 24-7-365? Let’s be honest: chainsaws are easier.

Want more? Watch the sermon.