Stay Awake!

The time for any of us to be returned to ourselves is now. The ground beneath our feet is the Kingdom of God, the Pure Land…It’s here, it’s now, and it’s at hand and within our reach. And this moment is the only one available to us.

In Advent time, we are reminded over and over again; “Stay awake.” This is a not a warning that death is coming but a reminder that life is happening now. Now…is the day of salvation. We see as God sees: with amplitude, wideness, and mercy. The only moment left to us to participate in this larger love, this limitless, all-accepting love, is the present moment.

Can you hear it? The voice of the Beloved. – Fr. Gregory Boyle, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship

When I read these words of Jesuit Priest, Father Gregory Boyle, I was awakened to a renewed awareness and appreciation for Advent, which officially begins this Sunday, December 3. Before reading Fr. Boyles words, I had never before considered that Advent is a time when we are reminded to “Stay awake.”

Advent is traditionally observed as a time of preparation for Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I now see that the season also offers us the opportunity to stay alert for the Second Coming of Christ. In Unity, we believe that the Second Coming happens in each of us as we awaken to the Christ - our Divine Nature - that indwells us all.

As Fr. Boyle says, “The time for any of us to be returned to ourselves is now.” Advent can be for us a time to “Stay awake” to the Spirit moving in, through and as each of us. This moment, every moment, is an opportunity to come into the conscious awareness of the Christ seeking to be reborn in us.

In the biblical Christmas narrative, Mary represents the state of consciousness that is awake and ready to receive the message of the indwelling Christ. Her messenger, the angel Gabriel, told her that she would give birth to the Christ. Metaphysically, angels represent thoughts that come from our higher knowing and can appear to us as divine intelligence, understanding or intuition.¹ Mary was awake to the moment and was willing and able to, as Fr. Boyle says, “participate in this larger love, this limitless, all-accepting love” as she said, “Let it be done unto me.”

Looking at the Christmas story through this lens, I can now see that many of the elements of the narrative are such reminders. For example, the three kings, or magi, who came from a distant land to acknowledge Jesus’ birth, followed the star. The star, metaphysically, represents our inner conviction of our Christ nature.² These men were awake to the star’s message and followed where it lead, ultimately to their own realization of the birth of the Christ.

“The ground beneath our feet is the Kingdom of God” as Fr. Boyle says, and every moment is our opportunity to awaken to it. The master teacher and way-shower, Jesus, said, “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). It is right here, right now. We only need to “Stay awake,” listen for the call and stay alert to the signs of the indwelling Christ waiting to be reborn in our conscious awareness. “Now…is the day of salvation,” and the Christ within is the source.

The word ‘advent’ comes from the Latin advenire which most closely translates into English as “to come.” I encourage us to welcome this Advent season as a time of inviting the consciousness awareness of the Christ to come, to be reborn in our hearts and minds.

Each morning, set a conscious intention to welcome the awakening of the Christ within. Say silently or aloud,

My heart is pure and willing to be the birthplace of Christ.
My mind is still and ready to receive the message of Christ.
My eyes are open to see the image of Christ.
My ears are attuned to the song of Christ.
I am now awake and alert to Christ.

Make time and take time each day to sit in the silence to sense, hear, and see all the ways the Christ makes itself known to you. You may, indeed, hear the voice of angels, or see light. You may not. Don’t be attached to mystical experiences. Know and trust that in speaking the word, you have attuned yourself to the Christ frequency. In doing that, you have asked, and you will receive. Stay open and receptive. Stay awake!

Join us on Sunday for our 10:00 service. We will explore how the spiritual attribute of Faith helps us to “Stay Awake” during this Advent season.

¹ The Revealing Word - angel

² The Revealing Word - star