Advent 1B December 3, 2017
Sermon Text: Mark 13:24-37 Panzer Liturgical Service, Stuttgart
Get Ready… Get Set… Wait, But Stay Awake…
Think about all the things you’ve had to wait for in your life… vacations, graduations, weddings, the birth of children, reunion after deployment, moving, yes and even dying. Waiting is hard!
And here we are, making you wait again. I know that some of you were hoping against hope that we would sing at least one Christmas carol today. This year, Advent is at its shortest since the 4th Sunday in Advent is on Christmas Eve, but still, we have to wait a little while. But trust me, we are not waiting in vain. There are things to do during this season of waiting, this time of preparation. It is a time when we get ready for the coming of the Christ child, and at the same time, we’re waiting for Jesus to come again.
I think that living overseas draws out the complexity of Christmas shopping and mailing… the process always needs to start sooner than it does in my house. But one of the best pleasures of living in Europe is the Advent market. A little commercial to be sure, but there are many signs of the season involved… greenery and wreathes signifying everlasting life, lights signifying the defeat of darkness, the gathering of family and friends to enjoy fellowship together.
But Advent is not just about the coming of Baby Jesus. It is a time when we are reminded that Christ will come again, to reign in glory and in power. For a few minutes, let us look to see how ready we are, and what kind of place we are inviting the Christ child, Christ Triumphant, to come and live.
If you were listening to the lectionary lessons for today, you should have noticed something right away. Upon first reading, you might only hear about darkness, fear, doom, and gloom. Today’s gospel lesson seems weird to us because it is not about the baby Jesus at all. In fact, Mark didn’t really care about baby Jesus. That’s why he didn’t write about the birth in his gospel.
What Mark did care about was Christ’s return. The gospel of Mark teaches the people of Christ the need to be prepared when he comes again to reign eternally. Mark wrote to a people who were constantly “ready.” How ready are we?
Of course, we don’t think about Christ’s coming in the same way that first century Christians did. The destruction of the Temple that Mark alludes to has already happened. Most of the first Christians lived while the first apostles were still alive… they followed Peter or John or James. Those who came later were at the very least disciples of Paul and Barnabas, second generation disciples who talked with Peter, and traveled with Mark. These Christians expected that when Jesus promised to return, he meant in their present time rather than later, and they looked forward with great anticipation to the day of his coming.
But like a seven-year-old waiting for Christmas vacation, the people got weary and frustrated in their waiting. They began to doubt it would happen. They began to think He might never come. Some of them reverted back to old ways and gave up on this idea of the risen Messiah. And Mark uses Jesus’ words to remind them of the absolute necessity of always being ready for his coming. “Keep awake. No one knows the time or place. Keep awake!”
How many of you have every worked third shift? These are the hours between “going to bed” and “getting up” time, and there’s a reason why these folks often get paid a little bit more. For over three years, I worked third shift on Friday and Saturday nights in the blood bank at Duke University Hospital to support myself during seminary. And I found that it was hardest to stay awake when there was nothing to do. We thought we wanted nights when we could read a few chapters in the books that we brought along, or looked forward to being able to get a few stitches in on our needlework. But inevitably, those were the nights when we wanted most to sleep. It was actually the work of the job that kept us awake and alert. It was crossmatches and blood typing and getting the hospital ready for the next day’s work that kept us going all night. Those were the nights I felt really needed and necessary to life in the world around me.
And that’s pretty much the same advice that Jesus gives here. Stay awake and ready by doing the business of the kingdom. Be prepared. Do the things that need to be done. Represent the Lord. Don’t get carried away by the hustle and bustle of the outside world, because it will take you to places you do not want to go.
How is this possible, we ask? And how do we translate Jesus’ directions into something meaningful for the Advent of 2017? Bombarded from all sides by “commercial Christmas,” it is sometimes hard to remember what Christmas and even Christian faith are all about. People stand up and say, “Merry Christmas,” but their lives do not reflect God’s grace and love. The Christmas trees and wreaths and gatherings are beautiful, but if that’s all our Christmas celebrations are about, we are missing the point. The presents and shopping and running are exhausting unless we use some of that energy to help others to know some of the comforts, peace, and love that we know.
This passage is often called “The Little Apocalypse.” We think that the word apocalypse means “end times” but it actually translates to “revealing,” Keeping that in mind tells us that this is not a prediction about the end times or a description of the end of the world. Instead, it is a reminder that faith isn’t lived out only on high holy days. I’m sure that every denomination and congregation has C&E members… those who come at Christmas and Easter and feel like they have done their duty. And I’m certainly not saying that Christmas and Easter celebrations are not important. But authentic Christian faith is lived out every time we gather for worship, when we share coffee after service, when we practice our handbells or prepare a snack to share. It is about being ready to recognize Christ in the world around us…To see him in the faces of our neighbors and our enemies. Jesus’ words actually drive us back to the present, where we are called to see our present circumstances as the gift God has given us to serve the Kingdom in the world today.
And while it seems like a strange passage a few weeks before Christmas, there are a couple of things I’d like to highlight about gospel lesson. First, it’s super confusing, because their idea of time and ours are different. We think about nanoseconds… dividing time into smaller and smaller increments. But they thought of time in wide, grand swatches. Our days are marked by appointments on a calendar. Theirs were marked by four key observations of the day – evening, midnight, cockcrow and day.
Waiting for Jesus to come back wasn’t about sitting and waiting for the end of the world. It wasn’t about shedding day-to-day responsibilities. It is about believing the promise that the Savior is near. David Lose writes, “Mark, in other words, isn’t pointing us to a future apocalypse (“revealing”) but rather a present one, as Christ’s death and resurrection change absolutely everything. For once Jesus suffers all that the world and empire and death have to throw at him…and is raised to new life!… then nothing will ever be the same again. Including our present lives and situations.”[i]
God comes to us as we are, even if we think that we’re not yet good enough, or if we think that we don’t really need him. And he uses us to be the hands and feet of Christ – to share love and peace and grace, even when it feels pointless or fruitless or painful.
I encourage every family to take whatever opportunities are available to give others a brighter Christmas. Take a name from an Angel Tree. Figure out a way to share with people who have need… no gift is too small. Value your togetherness with family. Treasure your friendships with others. Know that the love with which God loved the world when Jesus was born is still alive today, living in each one of us.
I’ve said this many times, even to some of you in sermons I have preached within these walls, but it is the witness I bring. I had a plan for what my life would look like and I pursued it from the time I was in high school. And when I achieved that plan, it didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t enough to make me happy for the rest of my life. So, I made a new plan, seminary. And accomplished it, and was sent to my first church to pastor the good folks of SC and figure out how to get my Clemson football tickets back. And then I met this AF guy, and all of my plans went out the window. And it not only changed the way I thought about my career but also about what it means to be a pastor, a Christian and a child of God.
It took about 10 years for me stop grieving about not being someone's pastor, to start thinking outside of the ministry box and taking ministry as it came to me. It took almost 20 years for my beloved United Methodist conference to stop asking, “When are you coming home?” and to start asking, “What can we do to help you be engaged in life-changing ministry wherever you are?” I think that’s the way we should experience Advent. It’s not just about preparing for the coming of the baby in the manger. It’s about experiencing the reality of Christ among us, and Christ working in us, every single day.
In a real sense, Jesus is coming again. And each year, we have the opportunity to be better prepared, to share more love, and to live more joy than we did the year before. But we can’t do anything if we sleep through the season, unaware and unprepared.
One last story: on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go! We would have never made it out alive otherwise." They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, 'He may come today.'"
Are we ready for the Christ Child to come? Are we prepared for Christ to return in glory? Advent is all about getting ready. Get ready… get set… get ready to wait, but stay awake. For the Lord is coming … again. Amen.
[i] David Lose, In the Meantime… “Advent 1B: A Present-tense Advent,” posted Nov 27, 2017, http://www.davidlose.net/2017/11/advent-1-b-a-present-tense-advent/
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