Matthew 24:36-44
Psalm 122; Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:5-14
“Are You Ready?”
Did you know that the motto of the Boy Scouts is “Be Prepared”? I understand it is also the Girl Scouts' Motto. It is important to always be prepared. Just think what might happen if we were crossing a busy street and not paying attention. We could be seriously hurt or worse. We always need to be prepared! We should always be prepared to listen for God because sometimes he comes to us in places where we do not expect to find God, in persons, places and things, even in a still small voice. During this season of Advent we need to wait for the coming of Jesus and we need to be prepared.
The coming of Christ is what Advent is all about: a season of watching and waiting, where we remember and celebrate his first coming, meditate on how he may come to us at any time, and look towards his final coming in glory. We may think of it as a time to wait, to ready one's soul by prayer, one's faith by reflecting on the prophet's hope and the prophet’s final fulfillment in Jesus' coming again. Advent is a season when, with actions that are just, merciful, and loving, we get our lives and world ready for Christ's coming today.
Our Old Testament lesson speaks of a future bright with promise and hope, a day when our one God will be acknowledged, war abolished and all people will live in harmony. This prophetic vision invigorates all whom worship our God and Jesus Christ as we look forward to the coming reign of justice, love and peace.
The Romans scripture and the Sabbath morning proclamation scripture build on the vision of peace by speaking of watchful waiting: a kind of eternal vigilance. Both Paul's letter to the Romans and the Gospel of Matthew were written in a time and to a people who expected Christ to return soon -- before the next generation. We know that Paul and the [Gospel] writer were not correct in their understanding. Two thousand years have passed and still Christ has not returned, we could say, except for those who have died in Christ. Does this mean that such words have nothing to say to us today? No indeed!
We, I believe, like our ancestors in the faith, live in a time of tension, anxiety, and delayed hope. We could say we live between the times, between the already and the not yet. We look back with fond remembrance and forward with hope. As Christians we stand in the dark with our faces lit by the coming dawn as we look to Jesus. Eternal life, which we have not yet fully realized, has already dawned in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. We can live today as if that Eternal life has already dawned for each of us, choosing paths which may sometimes appear foolish to others because we know what the final outcome will be. Things are always darkest before the dawn.
What do we need to do as we prepare our hearts and souls this Advent? First, we need simply to watch, to keep awake, as our Gospel writer puts it. We need to live in anticipation that God will do something. The early church was convinced that in the life of the church the experience of the reign of God had already begun. They lived in the firm expectation that one day the unity of all people under God would become a reality. When this happened there would be universal peace. Do we have such bright visions and bold dreams?
During this Advent time, our hearts and our lives must be filled with such watchful waiting. Now is not a time of limited goals and loss of vision. So many people live lives of utter desperation as they ponder their personal futures, as well as the future of the planet on which we all reside. We Christians are realists. We know that things are not great, but we know that God is still in charge of things; and that hopeful expectation should be the order of the day. Despair and pessimism condemn us to operation from fear rather than from faith. Hopeful expectation turns the tide.
Second, we need to be patient. Patience is indeed a virtue, especially today. We know how hard it is to wait, whether in bank lines, in restaurants, or for the results of some medical tests. And yet to fully experience Advent, and indeed Christmas, we need to wait, in fact to savor the waiting.
Eager to cash in on the Christmas trade, many merchants decorate the stores before the last notes of “Come Ye Thankful People Come” have died down. -- Before Thanksgiving! Sometimes before “All Hallows Eve.”
We have lost the art of patient watchful waiting. In our impatience, I believe, we have paid a price, which is mental and physical illness. Our lives are lived in such a hurry and when we do this with Advent, we miss out on the true meaning of the season. We need to get in touch with God's clock!
Finally, we need to repent. This is a tough word to hear for all of us. The Greek means to turn around, to make new, a new start unencumbered by the constraints of the past. This is difficult to do. The past chains many of us, and sometimes we are more comfortable with the chains than with the unknown future. We need to stop, to get in touch with the changes that need to be made and then to move out in faith, knowing that the power of the Holy Spirit is with us.
To live prepared and be prepared is the lesson of Advent. We are called to wait expectantly, patiently, and repentantly, for only in these ways will we be prepared to receive Jesus who comes to us lowly and in a manger, our Lord and Savior! I repeat: we are called to wait expectantly, patiently, and repentantly, for only in these ways will we be prepared to receive Jesus who comes to us lowly and in a manger, our Lord and Savior!
Additionally, we may share in the prayer of the early church while we wait. A very important prayer: The prayer is Marana tha, and it means “Our Lord, Come” or “O Lord, Come!” or “Come, O Lord.” and we will pray this prayer during the four Sabbaths of Advent.
Are you ready?
PRAYER: We are in your holy presence this Sabbath Day. As we enter into this Season of Advent, help us to prepare our minds and hearts for your coming. Help us to look forward with excitement toward where we are going. Remind us to be ever watchful and true to your word as we await your coming. May all that we do and say in this season be pleasing to you, we pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
