Matthew 24:36-44
Good morning. We just celebrated the Thanksgiving Day two days ago. And now, we are in the Advent season. Suddenly, we are in the New Year. Yes, you heard me right. According to the liturgical calendar, today is the first day of the New Year, the beginning of Lectionary Cycle A.
Everybody measures time differently. There are plenty of calendars that shape our lives: school calendars, national calendars, election calendars, fiscal calendars…. Then, there are planting and harvesting calendars, even boating and fishing calendars. Ours (that we use in the church) organizes itself around Jesus. That is why a “new year” is properly launched when we begin tidying up our lives in anticipation of his coming.
So, let me say…, Happy New Year!, my friends.
Surely, time flies. No matter which season we are in, we believe (that) we live in the presence of God. Even if we were on Good Friday today, we would live in the presence of God. This is a statement that I make on faith. But, this is also a reality that I can quickly and easily ignore. I can become immersed in the patterns of daily life and lose touch with the rhythms of grace.
It is so easy to lost track of time reading today’s headlines. For example, if you are fed up with impeachment hearings, structural problems such as rampant corruption, political skullduggery and so on, there is a strong chance that you already lost your touch with the rhythms of grace.
Before I know it, I have
lost touch with a very different way of life, what the scriptures speak of as
“evening and morning, the first day…,” and so on…, a way of life that connects creator and
creation, work and rest. Over a longer
period of time, I can also become immersed in the schedules of my favorite TV
programs or even in election cycles and even in the midst of doing many
religious things, I sometimes find myself wondering: Where is God in all of
this?
Yes, time flies and we have been so immersed in the routines/patterns of daily life that we could not recognize the kairos-time, the God’s time. During this Advent season, may all of us rediscover the God’s time and live in Kairos!
God’s time clock is certainly out of sync with ours as Little Johnny learned one day as he was laying on a hill in the middle of a meadow on a warm spring day. Puffy white clouds rolled by and he pondered their shape. Soon, he began to think about God.
“God? Are you really there?” Johnny said out loud.
To his astonishment a voice came from the clouds.
“Yes, Johnny?
What can I do for you?”
Seizing the opportunity, Johnny asked, “God?
What is a million years like to you?”
Knowing that Johnny could not understand the concept of infinity,
God responded in a manner to which Johnny could relate.
“A million years to me, Johnny, is like a minute.”
“Oh,” said Johnny. “Well, then, what’s a
million dollars like to you?”
“A million dollars to me, Johnny, is like a
penny.”
“Wow!” remarked Johnny, getting an idea.
“You’re
so generous. . . can I have one of your
pennies?”
God replied, “Sure thing, Johnny! Just a
minute…”
Little Johnny wasn’t ready for that response was he? Our text this morning seems an unlikely
scripture for Advent. It has nothing to
do with Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, of shepherds watching their flock. Instead it is story about being prepared,
getting ready. In that sense then this
is an Advent story, for this is the season of preparedness.
Consider
with me a moment that. . .
Advent is about God identifying with the human situation. God came in the form of human flesh and lived
among us. Paul worded it this way in 2
Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that through his poverty you might
become rich,”
God came to earth in the form of a person… Incarnation! God became one of us… Immanuel! And because God lived among us, there is no
feeling, no experience that you can encounter that God does not
understand. Our God, Immanuel, fully
understand what we are going through, God has been there first.
Secondly, advent is about getting ready for the return of Christ. Jesus put it this way, “Keep awake…, for you
do not know on what day your Lord is coming….
You must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Our text says, ‘Be prepared for his return.’ In a word: Repent.
It
is a busy time of the year. The
activities and mood of the season make it difficult for the most necessary
thing to occur—repentance. Repentance
seems inappropriate at Christmas. After
all, “Tis the season to be jolly.” Talk
of sin and judgment and repentance and turning away from our comfortable world
of self-indulgence runs counter to the season.
We like the season to be upbeat.
However, the Gospel message is clear.
Without repentance, Advent can become just like the Mardi Gras before
lent. The pre-requisite for us to
receive the Christ child is the willingness to give up our selfishness,
idolatry, and self-seeking. Unless we
repent, we cannot accept God’s good news of coming among us.
I have often wondered why so few recognized the baby Jesus. Perhaps it is the same reason why so few
recognize him today. In order to
identify the child, we must first make a stop at the Jordan River and be
baptized. We must repent of our sins. By the way, the Greek word that was
translated into repentance in the Bible is metanoia. It means change of heart; change of
mind. We must stop our ways and see the
ways of God. And we have to remember Advent
is about repentance and waiting for salvation with hope.
Perhaps you have heard the fascinating story of Marie Krassman. Marie Krassman was a Polish Jew who, during
WWII, was rounded up along with thousands of others, and put to work on the
German war machine, in forced labor. She
was sent to the Volkswagen factory, that at that time was making Tiger
Tanks. She was pregnant and soon gave
birth to her baby boy. The child was
immediately taken away and sent to the Volkswagen Children’s Home. She never knew what happened to him; she was
never allowed to visit.
One night in desperation she snuck out of the camp and hiked eight miles to the
children’s home. If she were caught, it
would have meant instant death. She
found her child. He was skin and bones. She kidnapped her own child and literally
walked away from the home and never came back and, remarkably she was never
caught. Of the 300 children who entered
the Volkswagen Children’s Home, this one child survived. Over the years, the child Vladimir Krassman
and his mother Marie have been interviewed many times to tell their incredible
story.
That was a rescue mission. It was a
salvation mission. Let me tell you. God is coming on a salvation mission and the
sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will
fall from heaven, and the power in the heavens will be shaken. You will see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with great power and glory. And he will
gather his elect from the four winds, from the four ends of the earth to the
ends of heaven. And we shall
survive. Not just one child but all
God’s children.
As we begin the season of Advent, let us remember to wait with confident hope in Christ, our Lord and Savior. May this Advent season be truly a holy and special time of renewing your anticipation and hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let us change our hearts and minds to welcome the baby Jesus among us, the prince of peace for the world! Amen!
