Advent
1
Mark
13:24-37
11/27/05
“A Time For Wakefulness”
Two
internet colleagues had this email exchange Thanksgiving morning:
John
in
tonight.
What is happening to this world of ours?”
Bill
in
John:
What? Have you been away so long to think that Thanksgiving
just
happens? That some Native Americans materialize on your
doorstep
with a feast all prepared? I mean, there's things to do, stuffing doesn't come
in a box, cranberry sauce doesn't come in a can, turkeys don't defrost
themselves, wine can't be served without making sure it's appropriate.
Crimony, I do have a personal life, you
know.
And
is it “Keep awake” or “Be alert”, anyway?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John’s
final question is a good one to ponder as we enter a new year on the liturgical
calendar and as we enter the frenzy of Christmas preparations.
“Is it Keep awake or Be alert?”
For
some people caught up in the frenzy of Christmas preparations it will be Keep
awake. Keep awake
baking,
shopping, partying, etc. There just
won’t be enough hours in the day (or night) to get it all done.
Parents
know this Keep awake experience very well. Who
among us with children hasn’t stayed up way past bedtime putting some toy
together? Others may know the
experience from having given in to the pleas of friends to stay at a late night
party just a little longer. A few of
us may even
know
the experience of wending our way home on a crystal clear starry night after
attending a midnight (or near midnight) worship service.
Yes, there are many things that make this a time for wakefulness.
My
colleague, John, was really playing with the words, “Awake” and “Alert”
for another reason. There was also a
friendly debate over whether the word, “Awake” meant not sleeping or an
awareness of the signs of the end of the world, as recorded in our Gospel for
today.
Jesus
certainly didn’t mean that His disciples were not to sleep.
Even Jesus slept. But, there
is an interesting nuance here that we get only if we read the further in the
Gospel. In the very next chapter, we find the scene in Gethsemene where Jesus
commands the disciples to stay awake and pray for the hour of his betrayal has
come.
As we know, the disciples do not stay awake.
Jesus warns them three times and at the third time even says, “Could
you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will
not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak”
Thus, the disciples are unprepared for the
cataclysmic events that are about to take place.
They will act foolishly and faithlessly.
Of course, it was not just being physically awake that Jesus
was commanding. They were to be
spiritually awake so that they would be alert, aware, prepared, and ready for
what was ahead. If they had been
truly awake they would have been ready to help Jesus as He needed, and might not
have fallen into temptation.
Hopefully, you can now see the connection between the
wakefulness of chapters 13 and 14. But
we are tied into this command in chapter 13 too.
These words were also addressed to the Church.
The Church – Christ’s disciples of every time and place – are to
see themselves in a time of wakefulness. We
also are to be alert for the enemies of Jesus.
Furthermore, as we see from the brief parable about the
master’s charge to his slaves, we have been given work to do, and are to be
prepared for the Master’s return at any time.
Each of us has been given gifts and a job to do that will
help carried forward God’s plan of salvation.
Some are to do the work of evangelizing, some to refresh the
people’s spirit by leading worship, some to care for those in need, some to
teach. Whatever our gift, we are to
do our part so that all is ready for the return of Christ.
And whatever our work in the Master’s house, all are to be awake.
This is a charge given with great seriousness to parents in
the Church, as well. This is a
message for you Laura and Kaley, along with other parents.
You have an even more important charge.
In addition to using your gifts as disciples in the Church, you are given
responsibility and authority over the next generation of disciples.
It will be your solemn duty, carried out with support from your family
and fellow members, to see that
The dangers disciples face are subtly different today.
In the time of the writing of the Gospel, disciples needed to be aware of
people who would betray them to the persecutors of the faith and to false
prophets who claimed to be Christ returned.
The Church that grew up in the early years after Jesus’ resurrection
and for whom the Gospel of Mark was written believed Jesus would return right
away. This, both gave them hope and
made them vulnerable.
Today, our busy schedules betray us and our belief that all
the stuff of life must be done and had or we have failed are our persecutors.
Our false prophets are TV commercials, print ads, and internet banners
that say “their” product will save us from eternal social death.
A deodorant will make us acceptable
A dating service will find our true love
An I-pod or Xbox will bring excitement
A pill or alcoholic beverage will take our pain away
A Botox injection will give us eternal life
And the list could go on and on.
These false saviors whisper in our ears and scream in our faces day after
day. They make all kinds of promises
– promises that won’t even last till the warrantees run out.
In time all these things, along with heaven and earth, will pass away,
but Jesus’ word will never pass away. It
will endure and show itself to be completely true. It is Jesus word of
acceptance, unconditional love, joyful wonder, healing and eternal life that we
must cling to as we battle to keep alert to the enemy.
This is a time like no other.
This is a time for wakefulness. And
Jesus says to us all, “Keep awake!” Amen