EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and the deepening of my theological mind. This sermon originally took place on Dec. 8, 2019.
Think back to a moment in your life when you were waiting in anticipation of something life-changing to happen.
I’m talking about something that kept you up at night … that give you goosebumps to think about. … The very thing you knew that after which life would no longer be the same.
The births of our two boys would make my list. … My wedding day with Shelley. … Waiting to hear back from the council here at Faith Lutheran after met to talk about whether they might be interested in me serving as a S.A.M.
I could go on, but I wonder what comes to mind for you … because today’s gospel is all about anticipation. And it’s also a text that can bring up a whole host of emotions for many.
So, let’s call out some of those most troublesome aspects of this text.
First, the text poignantly reminds us that Jesus WILL return one day, and his return could mean devastating things for some. ... The text tells us so. “ … and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Second, the text suggests that when Jesus does return, that some here on earth will be among God’s chosen, and others won’t. … “Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
Third, we simply have no idea when or where or how Jesus may return, and we all know how terrifying the unknown is. … It is in our nature as human beings that we’d much rather have a full accounting of what’s to happen in the future, rather than to just place our faith and trust in God about that future. … Simply put: We are not a people who enjoys ambiguity?
Fourth, in the text, there is this semi-vague reference to the catastrophic event that led to Noah setting sail in his ark, and eventually landing on dry land to begin the work of re-populating God’s creation. … Yikes! … What is that inference supposed to tell us?
Yes, so much to unpack here ... but I hope that when you leave today, you feel some sense of peace with this challenging text.
Because at its heart, this passage is about waiting, anticipation of Christ’s return. And it is an absolutely fitting gospel text for the season of Advent, as the word “Advent” actually means coming.
But, as you may know, we all too often associate Advent with the coming of the birth of the child Jesus, when in reality, the coming referred to in the word Advent is the second coming of Jesus. … And the meaning of Advent has everything to do with the season when light and life are fading, such as the climatological season we are going through right now, then it does the cheeriness and joy of the Christmas season. … This true meaning of advent is forgotten by many.
As a matter of fact, in the early church, Advent was a four-week period when the faithful were urged to fast, give and pray … to strip down their lives, and in anticipation of Christ’s return, allow their bared souls “to recall what it knows beneath its fear of the dark, to know what Jesus called ‘the one thing necessary’: that there is One who is the source of all life, One who comes to be with us and in us, even, especially, in darkness and death. One who brings a new beginning,” as writer Gayle Boss writes.
And at the heart of it, that is what this text is really about today: The return of Christ, and the ushering in of a new creation, one cleansed by God and given new life. ... One that topples over the earthly kingdoms and overturns the values that keep us bound to this life. … And that, admittedly, can be frightening.
While we often associate the beginning of Advent with the gaiety of the Christmas season, the birth of a baby king in some lowly manager in a little known village who would grow up to shake the entire earth, the fact is that Jesus in this gospel is talking about a whole other coming.
“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” Jesus tells us.
In other words, His return is going to come, but the only one who knows when that will be is His father … our Father. ... Abba. ... And He’s certainly not letting us in on the secret.
And then Jesus reminds us that the coming will happen during an ordinary time, when we are just going about our business, as the people in Noah’s time were. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
And that is a discomforting thought for some. … That you might be toiling along on some everyday chores, preparing dinner at home, working in the field, taking out the trash, and all of a sudden God will break into this world, and everything we know will be turned on its head. … “Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.”
Making matters worse, next in this text, comes Jesus’s foreboding warning: “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Well … all told, this does not make for a very pleasant-sounding event, does it?
Jesus is coming back. … We don’t know when. … Only the father does. … Some are going to be chosen, and some aren’t. … Oh, and the coming could be like when God wiped out all but Noah’s family and a few animals with a flood.
Whew, I don’t know about you, but that’s not a passage that instills in me the joyful anticipation of a delightful life-altering change. … Doesn’t inspire me to wait with baited breath for our Savior’s return.
But what if … what if this passage wasn’t scary at all. … What if Jesus, in this gospel, was trying to remind us again of that lesson we learned a few weeks ago that what matters is what we are taking care of today … because God is in charge of eternity anyway. … Remember that message from a few weeks back?
So what if --- and I’m going to suggest something alternative here -- what if … Jesus isn’t referring to some grand entrance of his, with the sky ripping open, and a host of angels descending, singing and playing trumpets to announce his return. … A singular, course-of-history-changing event.
What if, instead … he was issuing a warning for us to stay awake for the little moments for when God breaks through to this world?
Think about that for a moment. … What if Jesus wasn’t referring to the ultimate end of our time here? The end of creation as we know it. … But rather he’s warning us that God sneaks into our daily lives, and gives us miniature opportunities to see Christ returning.
Just like a thief in the night. … He breaks into our lives, gives us the opportunity to see Christ in someone else or better yet, gives us the chance to let Christ shine through us. … And it’s happening in little bits, every day, all around us.
Would you notice it? … Are you awake enough to recognize if God is making himself apparent to you through someone else you’ve come across?
Are you awake enough to know when God is giving you the opportunity to let Christ’s light shine on someone else?
Or are you asleep like so many of us are?
True confession: I worry myself that I am not awake enough. … At least not the awake that Jesus is referring to in this passage. … I can fully admit that my schedule requires me to rush from one moment to the next, complete one task so that I can check that one of the long list every day. … And so often amidst the busy-ness of my day, I worry that I am missing the opportunities when God is unveiling himself to me.
I worry that I may miss the opportunity to witness the grief a coworker may be experiencing because I am so focused on accomplishing a goal at my day job.
I worry that I may miss the opportunity to spend 10 minutes talking with one of our kids because there is always something I have to get done, whether it be a work project, homework or a sermon to write.
I worry that when I am talking with our neighbor, a lonely gentleman who loves to talk with others, and only gets out a couple of times a day to walk his dog, I am so focused on moving along to complete my own walk with our dogs, that I am missing Christ.
And that is exactly what I wonder if Jesus is speaking about in this passage. … What if it is not a dire warning about preparing to stay awake for one final moment when Christ will triumphantly return, riding some gilded chariot being pulled by a team of elegantly white horses, with a host of angels behind him?
But what if, instead, Jesus is just asking us if we are “awake” enough to recognize in the motions of everyday life, the moments when God is showing Jesus to us, or perhaps giving us the opportunity to introduce Jesus to others.
And wouldn’t that be a twist? … Because, if that were the case, Christ’s return wouldn’t at all be about praying enough or storing up enough good works or giving enough to those in need to prepare us for one final judgement day.
Christ’s return actually would be about how we are living and conducting ourselves on a daily basis. … Here and now. … Are we awake enough to witness Jesus’s return here today?
Are we able to see his return in the man holding out a cup, asking for money on the street corner?
Are we able to see Christ in that family member who drives everyone else crazy at the Christmas get-together?
Are we able to see God in the eyes of that coworker who has no meaningful relationships in their life, so they tend to talk your ear off when you go to get coffee in the staff lounge.
Are we able to see Jesus in that reckless driver that just cut you off?
Are you able to see God in that person whom you’ve held a grudge against for years over a simple misunderstanding?
Well, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t say yes to each of those questions, because most of us can’t. … But Jesus knows this, and yet he still extends us his grace … God’s grace.
And that is the good news on this Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent. … Amen.
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