Nov. 27, 2016

Isaiah 2:1-5

Matthew 24:36-44

 

First, I would like to think for a little bit about “keeping awake” and what this call to wakefulness might mean. If you read on in Matthew you’ll see that it’s less about right belief and right understanding and more about right work, actions that coincide with the master’s agenda.  Blessed are those who upon the Master’s return are found busy with their intended employment.  Not so blessed are the ones who see that the Master is delayed and take the opportunity to employ themselves in other ways, ways that often do damage to others or damage to themselves.

What comes to mind are the stories of a couple of men – one I know and one whom I don’t.  The first comes from Glennon Doyle Melton’s memoir “Love Warror,” which is the pretty dramatic story of what Glennon would call her “unbecoming,” in order to become again.  Without covering all the details, I’ll tell you that it reveals her addictions as well as her husband’s; it deals with their separation, and also the new creations that they become individually and together.  Though the book is mostly about Glennon, what comes to mind here is her husband, Craig.  His addictions have included infidelity, and at this point in the book Glennon is unclear whether they will permanently separate or not.  Glennon goes out to get the mail and she finds a card addressed to Graig.  It is in a colored envelope and the handwriting on the envelope is clearly that of a woman’s.  Glennon hesitates to open the card because she knows there will be no going back if it reveals what she is afraid it might.  But, she can’t resist.  She needs to know, so she opens it up.  It said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “Dear Craig, on behalf of all the women who live at our shelter thank you so much for all your work.  You’ve been a great blessing to us.”

Glennon confronts Craig, “I didn’t know you were volunteering at a shelter.”  And he replied matter-of-factly, “I’ve been trying to be a better person.”

The other story that comes to mind is about a former parishioner.  Before his time at my church he was police officer, but he got himself into some trouble and lost that job.  He became active at the church, not just attending worship, but volunteering in all sorts of ways, helping with the properties, driving kids around for youth group.  This was maybe a year or two into knowing him, and we were trying to organize some sort of a pre-church activity (maybe a breakfast or something) when he told me that he wasn’t available.  When I wondered what plans he had early on Sunday morning he told me, matter of factly, that every Sunday before he comes to worship he goes to another church in Bridgeport where he feeds the homeless.  It was a commitment; it was what he did.

I suppose you could argue that both of these men where simply making amends.  And, perhaps they were.  (I’m not sure than any of us are actually prepared to receive pure grace or forgiveness.)  But, I don’t believe that’s the full story.  Neither man was trying to prove anything to anyone else.  I think rather that their crises awakened them to the divide between what they had become and what they were meant to be.  I believe that their circumstances opened their eyes to the better option of living according to the ways of service and love rather than self.  And so, they bravely put themselves to the work of pursuing that better option.

In Jesus’ preaching here the second coming talk serves as the same kind of crisis.  It’s God’s reality breaking in upon the world’s reality.  It is God’s vision interrupting the status quo and calling people to recognize the difference between the two, and seeing the difference, to devote their efforts, mental and physical, to the ways that would enable them to be their best and truest selves.

But, what are we to make of the second coming?  How are we to think of it?

It’s been over 2,000 years in the waiting, after all, and even those biblical writers who thought it was immanent seem to have been wrong. If it’s been this long already, who knows when it is coming and honestly, who cares? That’s one approach.

Then there’s the opposite extreme. There’s that Christian fixation on all things second-coming that has occupied the attentions of so many books and movies. There is an entire culture of Christianity that has made the heart of its faith the judgement of the second coming and being on its right side, which is generally determined by one’s claim to have been born again by accepting a particular version of Jesus.

The first approach leads to apathy and the second leads to anxiety, or self-righteousness, which seems a little worse to me. In both cases, the now hardly matters. In both cases this present life lacks the rich sense of meaning that would correspond to the passion of a God who chooses to share (His) Her very life with us.   To ignore the second coming with all its victory and judgment is ultimately to render this life hopeless. It is to say we are headed nowhere. But to focus exclusively on it is to make the now a waste of time. Why not skip all this?

My friend was very discouraged by the funeral he just attended. He said, “The priest kept telling us over and over again that we should be happy that Bill died. Bill’s in heaven now, so let’s celebrate.” Has the world not lost something in Bill’s death? Did Bill’s life not matter? If the whole point is to end this earthly existence why are we spending our time living it?

Jesus tells his disciples that no one knows the date or the time. Even he doesn’t know, which may surprise us. But, it doesn’t seem important to him to know. What is important is to know that it will happen. Jesus gives us a third approach that is different from the previous two. In this approach, the second-coming matters because it assures us of a victory that gives meaning to the present. It assures us of a victory that judges the godless ways of our world and promises the peace of God’s heavenly kingdom. We can live now with peace because we know that one day all shall be well. Swards will be plowshares, nations will not war, and evil shall be no more.

And, here’s the key. Here’s why Jesus says, “Stay awake!” Seeing that end, knowing its promise, its vision and its victory, helps us to see the comings of Christ that happen all the time. Knowing the direction in which we are headed helps us to live our lives in that direction now.

There are saints in this world who love profoundly (perhaps you know some of them) because they know that in the end, love wins. The amazing thing is that as they love, they know much of that ultimate victory right here and now. They are their better selves because they are awake.