Oh, You’d Better Watch Out - Mark 13:26-37
It always feels strange beginning Advent in November. But the stores have been decorated for Christmas for three weeks now, so why not? I hope the department stores won’t think we’re trying to spoil their party by injecting a little religion into this busy season of the year.
It reminds me of an item that appeared in USA Today last year about this time. Authorities in Bal Harbor, FL outfitted the baby Jesus in their outdoor Nativity Scene with a GPS locator as a protection against thieves. The previous Baby Jesus was stolen even though it had been bolted down. “I don’t anticipate this will ever happen again,” said Dina Cellini, who oversees the display, “but we may need to rely on technology to save our Savior. The Mary and Joseph statues will also be outfitted with GPS.”
Interesting! Somebody stole the baby Jesus.
I’m not surprised.
They’ve already stolen Christmas.
I’m exaggerating, of course. Still, I’m thankful you are here today as we begin this years journey, seeking to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s coming into the world.
I thought, just to add interest to our services this Advent, we would use some popular Christmas songs to introduce our sermon ideas. After all, what would we do during Advent and Christmas without music? Studies show that listening to Christmas carols boosts our spirits. It also regulates our heart rate and breathing which, in turn, reduces stress. In other words, listening to Christmas music is good for us.
For these Advent sermons, we’re going to use popular as well as standard religious music as a means of focusing our thoughts on the great themes that this special season suggests.
Now, there are some Christmas songs that I decided to eliminate from consideration right from the beginning. Songs like “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” According to one survey, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” is now the most requested Christmas song ever, and has sold more than 10 million copies. I would add, however, that some polls also rate it the most disliked Christmas song of all time. I can’t imagine why. Anyway, I decided not to use it.
I decided instead that the familiar first line of the popular song “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” would better fit this first Sunday in Advent. This Christmas tune sounds very much like an effort by parents to get children to behave themselves during the next few weeks: “Oh, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town.” And especially those lines, “He’s making his list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.”
Some people think of God that way. And they read the same kind of warning into our lesson for today from Mark’s Gospel. Speaking of his return, Jesus told his disciples, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Each year we begin the season of Advent focusing on Jesus’ words about his Second Coming rather than his first. Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for his death and resurrection. But he certainly wanted them to know he would be returning for them. Jesus says in our lesson from the Gospel that we are to live in a spirit of watchfulness like children eagerly waiting for Christmas Day. We are awaiting the return of our Lord. We need to put Christ’s words into perspective, however. Many well-meaning followers of Christ have abused Christ’s teachings about the day of his return. Let’s try to get a handle on this important issue this morning.
First of all, Jesus was insistent nobody knows when this climatic event will occur. The angels in heaven don’t know. Even Christ himself did not know.
There is an amusing Hasidic story about a rabbi who crossed a village square every morning on his way to the temple to pray. One morning, a large Russian Cossack soldier, who happened to be in a vile mood, accosted him, saying, “Hey, rabbi, where are you going?”
The rabbi simply said, “I don’t know.”
This infuriated the soldier. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Every morning for twenty-five years you have crossed the village square and gone to the temple to pray. Don’t fool with me. Why are you telling me you don’t know?” He grabbed the old rabbi by the coat and dragged him off to jail.
Just as the Cossack was about to push him into the cell, the rabbi turned to him, and softly said, “You see, I didn’t know.”
Someone asks, when will Christ return? When will history come to a climax and a new world order, an order straight from God, be introduced? The answer is, we don’t know. The early church thought it would be in their lifetime. It’s now been 2,000 years. “Why does the Lord delay?” many ask. We don’t know.
Think back to September 11 and the number of people who survived that carnage because of some minor change in their morning routine. For example, one fellow couldn’t get a cab and was late for work. Imagine this person cursing his luck that he was going to be late, only to discover his seemingly bad luck had saved his life. Be careful about how you evaluate your life. We live in an uncertain world. Don’t waste time listening to someone who has got it figured out just when Christ will return. We don’t even know for certain what this evening will bring.
Let it go. Trust God and let it go. Jesus was insistent nobody knows when his return will be.
And we really can’t say much about what will happen when that day does come.
I know there are some people who are enamored with the Left Behind series of books and movies. And don’t forget Hal Lindsay’s classic, The Late Great Planet Earth, first published in 1970. And my favorite, Eighty-eight Reasons Why the Rapture Will Definitely Occur in 1988. I’m sure these books were written by well-meaning individuals, but their attempts at biblical scholarship are quite lacking. The scriptures provide us with very few details about the nature of Christ’s return, and much of what we do have is written in a kind of code that can be widely interpreted, or misinterpreted as the case might be.
In other words, don’t let the fear mongers cause you undue distress. We have very little information about the end of time. Certainly if the return of Christ means the end of life as we know it, then it will be dramatic. But other than that, we don’t know when it will happen and we certainly don’t know the details of what’s coming.
Therefore, rather than sitting around worrying about it, let’s focus on how Christ wants us to live here and now. That’s the purpose of today’s lesson from Mark. It is to remind us of two essential truths: One, the future is in God’s hands, not ours. And two, we can trust God for the future.
Let’s begin with truth one: the future is in God’s hands, not ours. Just as we don’t know when Christ’s return will be, so also we don’t know what the future may hold. Some people are excited about the future. They see cures for cancer and all manner of diseases. They see human beings routinely living in good health 100 years, 200 years or more. The World Future Society released their forecasts for the next 25 years a few months ago and some of those forecasts were upbeat. For example, they forecast a new process to remove salt from seawater and make it drinkable at a much lower cost than thought possible. They predict drastic improvements in artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics. These advances will improve every aspect of our lives.
But they also report that the threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States. Also of deep concern is climate change with the disappearance of much of our bio-diversity, widespread flooding and water replacing oil as the most precious commodity on earth. How much of this will occur? No one knows. But here’s what we do know.
The same God who sent a tiny babe 2,000 years ago to redeem our world is the same God who holds the future. “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” God loves His creation with a love that cannot be comprehended. Here’s what you and I need to do. Make good decisions about the future to the best of our ability and then trust God.
The future is in God’s hands, not ours.
The century in which Jesus spoke these words were just as turbulent as ours. In 70 AD, about the time Mark was writing his Gospel, the Roman army did the unthinkable it destroyed the great Temple in Jerusalem to punish Israel for an earlier insurrection. At the same time, the tiny Christian community was being severely persecuted. The times were dark, so dark that most Christians believed that Christ would surely return in their lifetime. There is much evidence of this belief in the New Testament. But it was not to be. Instead Christ instructs his disciples not to be afraid.
The future is in God’s hands, and we can trust God for whatever may come.
This is not to say that we should ignore Christ’s words about his return. He wants us to live expectantly, but it would be a travesty if slipshod biblical interpretation should cause fear in the ones who love him – cause fear in those whom he came to save. Christ will return someday, but it will be an occasion of rejoicing, not of heartbreak and fear.
John Phillips, in his book Exploring Revelation, tells about the return of Richard I, the Lionhearted, to England. It was during the time of the crusades. While Richard was away doing battle in the Mideast, his kingdom fell on bad times. His brother, Prince John, justly vilified in the tales of Robin Hood, usurped the kingdom and misruled the realm. The people of England suffered under John’s rule and longed for the return of their rightful king. They prayed that it might be soon. Then one day Richard returned. He landed in England and marched straight for his throne. John’s castles tumbled before Richard like the pins in a bowling alley. Richard the Lionhearted laid claim to his throne, and none dared stand in his path. The people shouted their delight. The bells rang. The Lion was back! Long live the king! they said.
John Phillips adds these hopeful words: “One day a King greater than Richard will lay claim to a realm greater than England. Those who have abused the earth in His absence, seized His domains, and mismanaged His world will all be swept aside.”
That day’s coming, friends, and it will be a grand and glorious day. Get ready. No one knows when it will be. But get ready. No one knows what shape it will take, but we know this: God’s in charge and God can be trusted. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” because he “has the whole world in his hands.”
