Homily, Giving Up Control, Making Room for Christ
Advent 1, Year A, 2025
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So you’re on a road trip when suddenly you hear it: a funny noise coming from the engine. Next thing you know you’re on the side of the road waiting on a tow truck and your whole trip is postponed.
You been there?
Or perhaps you’ve been preparing for a grand Thanksgiving meal at a family member’s house. You’re contributing a few dishes of your own and ready to go when your 8 year old comes down with a 103 degree fever.
Had that happen?
It’s your brother’s wedding! Plans have been in the making for months. Friends and relatives are flying down for the big day. And a major hurricane cuts out power to the whole city.
You ever experienced something like that?
You’re living life, making plans, and suddenly everything is disrupted.
We never know what is going to happen or when something is going to happen do we?
It’s a truth that Jesus reminds us of in our gospel reading today. The passage is a continuation of a sermon we heard a couple weeks ago: it begins with the destruction of the temple, stretches through all kinds of disasters and upheavals, and ends with the coming of the Son of Man. And here Jesus says: just like in the days of Noah, we go about living our lives without any knowledge of what’s ahead. We don’t have nearly as much control as we like to believe.
And that’s true not only about the end of the world or Christ’s return. It’s true about our everyday lives. Inevitably our plans will be interrupted. Inevitably our lives will be disrupted. Our car breaks down. Our child gets sick. Our wedding gets postponed. A war breaks out. A storm comes. A terminal diagnosis is made.
We can’t control what’s going to happen and when. And that’s a hard truth to bear.
And yet in this passage Jesus offers us something other than control. We can’t always be in control, but we can always be ready.
We often hear those words as if they mean the same thing. To “be ready” sounds like we should have everything under control—have a plan, predict the future, prepare for every outcome. But that is exactly what Jesus says we cannot do. He repeats it over and over: you won’t know what will happen, and you won’t know when.
To be ready, then, is about the posture of our hearts. To be ready is about an open receptivity to the coming presence of Christ in that vulnerable place that we call the unknown. It is less an action and more an attitude. It is less a behavior and more a way of being. Control tries to remove uncertainty; readiness meets God inside uncertainty.
To be ready doesn’t mean getting your act together—though it may involve some actions in your life; to be ready means trusting that Christ has his act together. It means fixing your eyes not on everything that goes wrong around you but upon Christ who comes to you when everything goes wrong around you.
We can’t always control what happens in life, but we can always be ready to see the coming of Christ in the midst of what happens in life. We are often watchful and ready for whatever it is we fear, hoping that we might control it, but what would it look like to be watchful and ready for the presence of Christ, trusting in his control? What if rather than going through life trying to predict and control the bad things that could happen we focused on how Christ shows up in the midst of them?
In the middle of our daily lives, Christ is coming. When bad and unexpected things happen, Christ is coming. When things don’t go the way we plan, Christ is coming.
And when we are ready—awake, expectant—we can receive everything he brings to face the uncertainties of life. His peace. His strength. His grace. His love. Like Jesus walking on the water, though the storm rages around us, we walk with the confidence that whatever happens, Christ is with us. Coming to us when nothing goes as planned.
We can’t always control what happens. But we can always expect Christ to be there whatever it is. Being ready means letting go of control and taking hold of Christ—or better yet, allowing Christ to take hold of you.
Today we begin the season of Advent. For the next four weeks we will slowly make our way to Bethlehem where Christ comes into the world as a child.
And in the Christmas story we hear about the holy family arriving in the city of Bethlehem only to be turned away at the inn because there was no room. The story is about us. The inn is about our hearts. To be ready for Christ’s coming means to always have room when he comes to our door. Whatever is happening in our lives. Whatever plans we’ve had to abandon. Whatever surprises we can’t control. To be ready means to always make space for Christ to come and walk among us. As it says in the Christmas hymn, “Let every heart prepare him room.”
So as we begin this season, maybe the invitation is simply this: to loosen our grip a little. To stop living as though everything depends on our foresight or our strength. To let go of the anxious need to manage every storm, every surprise, every turn in the road. And instead to live these days with our hands and hearts open, awake to the nearness of Christ.
Because the truth of Advent is not that Christ will come if we prepare the way just right. The truth of Advent is that Christ comes — ready or not, planned or not, expected or not. Our readiness is not what brings him. Our readiness is what allows us to welcome him.
And so in the week ahead, when something doesn’t go according to plan, maybe let that be your doorway. Let that be the knock at the inn. Pause. Look up. Breathe. Ask yourself: Where is Christ coming to me right now? What grace is being offered in this very moment I cannot control?
That is readiness. That is keeping awake. Not a life of tightened vigilance, but a life of opened expectation.
“Be ready” Christ says. Not “be in control” but “be ready.” When nothing goes as planned, Christ is coming. In fact, maybe Christ is already here. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- In what areas of my life do I find myself struggling to let go of control, and how might I begin to embrace uncertainty with openness to Christ’s presence?
- Can I recall a recent situation where my plans were disrupted? How did I respond, and what might it reveal about my readiness to receive Christ in unexpected moments?
- How do I typically prepare my heart to welcome Christ, especially during times of fear or uncertainty? Are there specific practices or attitudes that help me remain expectant?
- When faced with unexpected challenges, what steps can I take to shift my focus from trying to control the situation to recognizing the grace and presence of Christ?
- As I enter into the Advent season, what might it look like for me to “make room” for Christ in my daily life, especially amid the busyness and demands of the season?
Thoughts on Faith 