Times Running Out

First Sunday in Advent – Year B

Baptism of Aidan Frushour

November 30, 2014

Mark 13:24-37

[Jesus said:]
"But in those days, after that suffering,
   the sun will be darkened,
   and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
   and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

The weeks are winding down, there isn't much time left. Every day the pressure seems greater and greater. The commercials and ads seem to never end. Two days only! Hurry, sale ends on Friday! Just a few days ago, millions of people gathered outside of stores in the dark of the night waiting for the stores to open so they could race one another through the aisles, in the hopes of being able to buy the television for that super-low price (that we won't see again until sometime in the Spring!) Time is running out, The signs are everywhere. Christmas is a month away.

It's hard to miss that fact isn't it. We walk into just about any store, and we see it decked out in green and red, garlands and blinking lights. We see the mannequins dressed up as Santa Claus, or the elves. We see the reindeer prancing in the store fronts, behind the signs seeking to draw us in after the newest seasonal items, and unique items that we simply “must have.” There are countdowns on the news channels, telling us how many shopping days there are until Christmas. People that work in the retail world find their hours being extended, or find they suddenly have a number of new coworkers brought in just for the holiday season.

We end up spending most of the next month in a time of frantic rushing. Rushing from one gathering to another, from one family event to another, from one holiday work party to another, from one sale to another, from one store to another. Rushing here and there. And, the whole time we are aware, the clock is ticking, time is getting away from us. The stores close in just a few hours, the sale ends today, Christmas is how many days away?

Welcome to the beginning of the season of joy and happiness! We enter into Advent, into our preparation for Christmas with joy and hope – except our readings are far from joyful; they are downright terrifying. The sun will be darkened, the moon will go black, stars will fall from the sky, and all the powers of the world will be shaken. Merry Christmas! The clock is ticking!

Advent is the season in the church year when we prepare, we prepare for the coming of Jesus. But, our passage this morning from Mark isn't about preparing for the birth of a child, it's about preparing for the return of Jesus. This passage is about Jesus' 'second coming.' The promised return trip when he will bring final judgment on humanity and all those things we read about in the Bible about God's final kingdom and reign will come to pass. This passage is about the so-called, “end times.” In recent years, there has been a lot of press about the end times.

There have been many books, both theological and novels, that have explored the time that is yet to come. There have been movies. There have been television shows and specials. I can pretty much guarantee that I can find at least one show on television interpreting the events happening around us as signs of the imminent return of Jesus. We all can remember individuals and groups through the years that have declared that Jesus is coming back on a specific date; and the fact we are around to talk about them is all the proof we need to know they were wrong in their predictions.

But, even after many wrong predictions, people keep looking for the return. When things are going badly, or it feels to us like the world is falling apart at a faster and faster pace, we want to have it all come to an end. We want the slide to stop. And, so we look for a Savior, and what better Savior to appear than the one who said he would return and make the world perfect once again?

If we look around, it's easy to see how people can look for salvation. Wars are tearing apart countries in the Middle East and in Africa. Children throughout the world are being sold into slave labor or the sex trade. We see churches shrinking and closing throughout our country. We look at our country and we see disagreement and fighting between the politicians, the news pundits, our neighbors, and within our own families. We see the quality of life not improving the way we may want it to. We wonder about the lives our children have to look forward to. It's easy to throw up our hands, and look to the horizon, watching for our salvation to appear in the rising sun.

But, the message of scripture is clear, "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." But, we still make our predictions. We still try to interpret the proverbial tea leaves. And then, we have Jesus' words, "Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake!”

So we watch. And many people watch with a mixture of fear and eagerness. Looking forward to being united with God, and seeing the destruction of all those 'other' sinful people who have been such thorns in their flesh throughout their lives. Finally, God is going to do something about it, and they will have the best seat in the house to watch the tables turned; the final victory of God.

Jesus' words of keeping awake though, aren't ones that should prompt us to watch and wait. They are words that should prompt us to watch and work. Jesus tells his disciples they will not know the time. The master could return at anytime, and the slaves have been given their responsibilities.

Being ready at a moments notice is something I am trying to get used to. With our house finally being on the market, there have been a few days when our Realtor has sent me a text message telling me that there is a viewing that afternoon at 4. I suddenly have 3 hours to make sure the house is picked up and ready to be presented. It's stressful. I run around in panic mode, stuffing stuff into drawers and cupboards. Scrubbing and sweeping, dusting and cleaning. Thank goodness that our Realtor let us know, it would be a disaster if the potential buyer simply showed up on our front steps for a tour.

Yet, that's very much like the situation Jesus is presenting to the disciples. They have been given a task, they have their responsibilities, and he could come back at anytime and he is telling them to be aware of the jobs they have been given. How are they doing? Are they ready for their showing? Jesus is seeking to show the disciples, and us, that it is the duty of the servant, our duty, to care for the house, the gifts, we have been given in such a way that if the Master were to show up on our front steps today or in a thousand years, we would be ready for our showing, the Master would be pleased with the stewardship we have provided, with our care for what has been entrusted to us.

“If this world, our lives, are gifts from God, entrusted to us, then simply, it matters deeply to God that we believe in Him and obey Him; that we proclaim Him in word and deed. It matters that we take seriously the call to follow Jesus - because that was at the core of His teaching. It matters how we treat this world of ours, because God calls us to care for His creation. And it matters - matters deeply, how we treat one another - how we live with our families, spouses, children, friends; how we care for our colleagues and work mates; and how we treat strangers, the hungry, the homeless - the lonely.”¹

I strongly believe that Jesus' words are less about his coming back, than about the work we are to be about as we watch and wait for his coming back. We know the time is coming when Jesus will return, it will happen. The question is, are we focusing on his return – watching and waiting for the first sign on the horizon, or on being ready for when he returns?

When we focus more on being ready, on our tasks as servants of the Most High, rather than on the return itself, we live in an awareness, that each minute is an opportunity, a gift, to receive, to give, to live in a way that says I believe in more than what is going on around us, in the things that seem to be collapsing around us - I believe there is something bigger, someone better, more powerful than any darkness we humans can devise. It says, I believe that someone is Jesus and He has come, He is here, and He is coming again!

Now, the bad news is that we don't seem to be doing a great job – whether we are talking about the church or the world. A quick glance through the newspaper can be a rather depressing reminder of how much work there is still to be done. We are far from perfect, and there is a huge amount of work to be done if we are to be ready for the return of our Master.

Yet, we cannot allow the amount of work to cause us to throw our hands up in despair. This last weekend, there has been a lot of football on television. There were games that were decided by close scores, some in overtime, and others where the eventual victor was never in question. Yet, each and every game had something in common. They all had a final two minutes. Whether your team is in the lead, or trailing, the Two Minute Warning, alerts you to the fact that the game isn't over yet, there is still time. History has shown us that the final two minutes of a football game can often be the deciding factor in the game itself. Last minute heroics bring about victory where defeat seemed a sure thing.

So, when we look around and see the situation of the world, the pain and hardship, the oppression, the poverty, the hunger, the strife, the inequality, the fighting. We should without question see them as signs to remind us of Jesus' imminent return, and the work we have yet to do. We should see them as are our Two Minute Warning. Time is running out, Jesus is coming, get your head back in the game.

This season of Advent, as we prepare for Christmas, as we prepare to welcome the Christ-child. May we also be aware of our duty to prepare for the coming of Christ the King. May we be reminded of our calling, our gifts, our tasks to declare to the world the love of God, to be the hands and feet to our neighbors and the stranger, to do all we can to make the Reign of God, the presence of God, felt here and now. So, that when Jesus does return, when he shows up unexpectedly on our front steps (which he likely will), we will be ready, we will be awake, and he will welcome us into his kingdom as his faithful servants. Amen.

1http://day1.org/3358-twominute_warning