Advent 1                                     Matt. 24:36-44                                           11/28/04

                                                    “Keep Alert”

I’d like you to imagine for a moment that you are a believer in Jesus living in 75 AD.  Some of you may have heard Jesus preach or seen him perform a miracle.  You or someone you know may even have seen him crucified.  On the other hand, living in a small town and rarely traveling to the capital of our country you may base all of your belief on hearsay.  Now, that isn’t so bad in many respects, because lacking television or the internet or even a newspaper or history books, people are much more careful about accurately reporting events to each other.  It may be through this hand-me-down system of knowledge that you came to believe in Jesus as your Savior.

But, it has been 42 years since Jesus died and was raised.  It is getting harder and harder to believe his promise to return.  To make it even harder, you have been kicked out of the synagogue because your beliefs are just too far from regular Judaism and some people are claiming that it was people like you (other Christians) who brought down the wrath of Rome on the country, especially Jerusalem and the temple.  Yes, the temple, that wonderful symbol of your roots, your heritage, your pride and spirit as the people of God has been reduced to rubble by the Roman army as retaliation for constant rebellions by some people.  Ever since the Romans destroyed the temple, you (along with all Jews) have felt a degree of anxiety you’d never experienced even in the worst of times before.  And now, you have added this very real fear that the Romans may come and get you and throw you and your family into prison, because all the talk is that it was the Christians who were the rebels, trying to overthrow the occupation government.

Sometimes you wonder if you should give up this new faith, maybe even bow down to foreign gods.  Some of the other believers in your group have drifted away.  You’re not really sure that if you are arrested and tortured you will be able to stand fast in your belief that Jesus will come again.  And then, this document is read at the worship service.  It is an account of Jesus life and death.  It is said to be a record of Jesus own words not long before he was arrested, tortured and killed. 

The part we reflect on today is just a small section of a much longer teaching of Jesus.  Jesus had been telling about the “woes” that would be suffered by the religious leaders of the Jews who refused to believe what he taught, how the temple will become desolate and that he will return – presumably to take over.  He finishes what he is saying and leaves – probably disappears in the crowd since you can bet those leaders would have liked to get their hands on him then and there. 

Anyway, shortly after that as Jesus and his disciples are walking around the temple area and the disciples are admiring the structure, Jesus warns them that the temple will be destroyed.  Like any human would, they want to know the date and time – I guess so they can be prepared.  Jesus goes into all these signs of the end and warns of false prophets who will claim to be him.  He can’t really tell them when this will happen, as the temple (and all else) belong to the Father and are His to deal with as He chooses.  Even He, Jesus, the Son of God, doesn’t know.

The important thing – the only thing that matters – is to always be alert for the end.  Jesus followers must always be prepared for His coming.  They need to be well schooled in the apostle’s teachings, able to identify Jesus from a thorough knowledge of His word, strong in the faith from regular exercise of it in witnessing and good works.  That way they won’t be led astray or fall by the wayside in tough times.

Today, over 2000 years after Jesus presence on earth, we are still waiting.  For some, the wait has been way too long.  They don’t expect Jesus in their lifetimes.  They may even wonder secretly if the talk in church of a second coming with all those fireworks is to be believed.  Maybe Jesus won’t ever return or maybe He meant something else when He promised to come back.  

On the other hand, for some others the anxiety may be nearly as great as for those first followers.  These believers may be expecting Him at any time.  They may read the signs of the times – the natural disasters, the war and rumors of war, and all the rest – and feel that the end of the world is very near.  Especially, if they don’t have a firm grasp on the faith and have been suckered in by those “Left Behind” novels, they may fear being caught in some terrible rapture experience.  They may even worry whether they will not be considered good enough to be taken up, or might instead be left behind to suffer through some final cataclysm. 

Let me assure you on that point right now.  Those books and the human theories behind them have absolutely no basis in Scripture.  The idea of a rapture is a very modern one and Scripture is clear that no one – not even Jesus when he walked the earth – knows what or when the end will be.  We are saved entirely by grace and should live our lives in confidence of Christ’s love for us and His intention to take us to Himself when the time comes.  And that is all that matters.

That doesn’t excuse us though from the command to keep alert and be prepared for Jesus coming.  While we don’t have to fear His coming, we certainly want to have our lives and our hearts ready.

While the descriptions of the end may seem spectacular, we can see that throughout history those same signs have existed.  Surely the people who experienced or heard of the eruption of the volcano, Vesuvius, in 79 AD, which destroyed huge cities in Italy and buried thousands of people in lava and ash, must have felt that the world was ending.  Or when 40% of the population of Europe was wiped out by the plagues of the 16^th Century, people were sure that the world was coming to an end.  Some people definitely believed the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by an atomic bomb was the beginning of the end of the world.  And surely, people who were anywhere near New York, Washington or even Somerset, Pa. on Sept. 11, 2001 must have felt the end was upon us.

Yes, there is a long history of signs, but that is all they are.  They point to the need to keep alert for we don’t know what may happen at any time.  And though the Father may choose to have Christ return thousands of years from now, He may also come this afternoon.  There may be a great cataclysm that can’t be misunderstood, but He may also come quietly while we are in the midst of our ordinary lives, just like Jesus describes in our lesson and just like the flood came in Noah’s time.  The times weren’t any more (or less) wicked or chaotic than they are now.  People were working, getting married, having families, etc. when the flood came, just like today.  Jesus description of them doesn’t make them sound any more wicked than Noah...or us.  But, it was Noah who was open to hearing God’s command and obeying.  It was Noah who was ready to keep alert.

Life in modern times may be just as normal and ordinary when Jesus comes. It is up to us to do those things that will strengthen our faith, witness to His coming and prepare a welcome for him.  And this alertness is commanded for you, Jon and Vicki, especially in your duty as parents.  Parenting seems much harder today than in times gone by and to make it even harder, there are increasing demands on your time, along with false prophets of our society who will try to tell you what your child raising priorities should be.  As Isaac grows you will be tempted to let school or sports activities to have first place in your schedules.  You will need to build a family foundation beginning now, of regular worship and Bible study, loving care for others and service in Christ’s name as a model of life for Isaac.  And you will also need to keep alert for Christ’s coming, not just at some future time, but every day of your lives.

We must all be alert, for we know not the day or hour, only that Jesus will come.  He may come after a long series of divine cosmic happenings or in an instant while we are in the midst of our ordinary lives.  In fact, He may just slip in very quietly in the person of our neighbor in need, just to see what His followers are doing in His name.  However He comes is up to God and it is our duty to make keeping alert to His coming our first priority.  We keep alert, not in fear for not having been good enough, but in loving longing for the One who came as an ordinary baby in a Bethlehem stable, and died an ordinary man on a cross outside Jerusalem, but lives eternally that we might live also.  Amen.