The First Sunday in Advent
Being the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day
The Collect
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.
This Collect is to be repeated every day after the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas Eve.
This will be familiar to many, perhaps most, of you. It occurs on page 95 of The Book of Common Prayer. A contemporary language version can also be found on page 268 of The Book of Alternative Services. I have included the BCP version here because of the rubric in red just after it; so to remind myself, and to encourage you, to resolve this year, and in Advents to come, to follow that rubric and actually pray this powerful prayer every day through — in this case, what remains of the season of — Advent until Christmas Eve.
What is the armour of light we’re asking to be put upon us? It is “the full armour of God” with which we may cast off and be properly shielded from the “works of darkness” mentioned in the collect. In other words, so we can:
stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armour of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand (Eph. 6:12–13).
This is not just an expression of religious fanaticism or melodrama. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, in the universe there is no neutral territory. Every square inch is claimed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and counter-claimed by the devil. Our job is to choose whose “works” we will perform.
The Collect for Advent is an excellent helper in this regard so, as the Holy Spirit arrays you with that “armour of light,” piece by piece and day by day, you will be supernaturally protected, prepared and ready to take up that “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” and so you can, indeed, pray “at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17-18). Have a prayerful read of the whole passage in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 6:10-18.
While you’re at it and you have your Bible open — starting today — why not wrap yourself with an extra Advent layer of protection and strength by reading and reflecting on a set of daily Advent Bible readings that can be found in three places: near the beginning of the BCP on pages xvi and xvii, in the BAS between pages 452 and 454 and online at https://lectionary.anglican.ca?
This, surely, is exactly the kind of prayer and spiritual armour needed for saints like us in a church such as ours and for such a time as this.
Merry Christmas (when it comes)
