Wondering with the Word: watch!
We are called to wait determinedly, purposefully and to trust in God’s promises. We cannot afford to become complacent
Luke 21: 8-11, 25-28, 34-36
8 Jesus replied, “Keep watch! Be careful that you are not fooled. Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am he!’ And they will say, ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9 Do not be afraid when you hear about wars and about fighting against rulers. Those things must happen first. But the end will not come right away.”
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. 11 In many places there will be powerful earthquakes. People will go hungry. There will be terrible sicknesses. Things will happen that will make people afraid. There will be great and miraculous signs from heaven.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be in terrible pain. They will be puzzled by the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Terror will make people faint. They will be worried about what is happening in the world. The sun, moon and stars will be shaken from their places. 27 At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud. He will come with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up. Hold your head up with joy and hope. The time when you will be set free will be very close.”
34 “Be careful. If you aren’t, your hearts will be loaded down with wasteful living, drunkenness and the worries of life. Then the day the Son of Man returns will close on you like a trap. It will happen suddenly. 35 That day will come on every person who lives on the whole earth. 36 Always keep watching. Pray that you will be able to escape all that is about to happen. Also, pray that you will not be judged guilty when the Son of Man comes.”
Advent is a bit of a yearly curiosity. It straddles two realities: preparation for the Incarnation - when God became human at Bethlehem - and for the Second Coming, when all the crises of human life are resolved.
Advent will not let us dive straight into all the hype and fascination with birth stories so we don’t lose sight ofd God’s masterplan: sending the Son of God to become a baby and live among ordinary people; then to go to the cross and defeat death; later to return in glory and reclaim all of Creation for God.
So as Christians we can decide whether we make Advent a blur of Christmas events - even those religious ones - or to pause and understand the cosmic scope of what God is up to here.
It doesn’t take much listening to the news, or even a conversation with friends to make us only too aware of the pain and sorrow in the world. God has promised that the time will come when Christ’s reign of righteousness will begin. The promise is ours now, but the fulfilment is not yet.
Our reading is one of a number in the Gospels where Jesus warns his hearers not to miss what God is doing because they are weighed down by the weight of the world.
We are called to wait determinedly, purposefully and to trust in God’s promises. We cannot afford to become complacent during these ‘not yet’ times – in fact, Jesus says, we have to be ready; to be ‘on guard’.
In daydreams things are always good and you don’t have any problems. It’s when you wake up that reality catches you unprepared. I remember a colleague telling me of a time he sat with distinguished Christians – fell asleep and woke to discover one of the eminent theologians looking straight at him and asking: ‘and what do you think of that?’
It isn’t so much knowing that society is in uproar: everyone would agree with that. It isn’t in knowing that people’s lives are frequently in a mess: you wouldn’t find many who’d argue with you.
The point is in the quality of our response.
Our task is to be loving and faithful, watchful and prayerful - to see where God is moving and to join in.
The Message version of the Bible has a lovely way of setting out what our behaviour as Christians should be like, especially through Advent and Christmas when people may just decide that Church should play a part in their celebrations.
Matthew 5: 13-16
13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
I wrote a hymn more than 20 years ago which, at first glance, may seem like a denial of the Advent/Christmas stories, but it isn’t.
We do not look for angel choirs or visions in the sky, but simply pray that peace on earth comes nearer through the Christ child’s birth: God’s wisdom laid in straw, God’s wisdom laid in straw We do not look for frankincense or wise ones at our door, but simply ask our prayers be heard and that our restless hearts be stirred by Jesus’ newborn cry, by Jesus’ newborn cry. We will not rest until we know that God makes all things new; until our search for answered prayer transforms the lives of all who dare to put their trust in you, to put their trust in you. But still you send us songs of peace and wisdom whispers near. You call us to the way of Christ, that in our living hope will rise from Bethlehem to here, from Bethlehem to here
Gareth Hill. Copyright 2004 © Gareth Hill Publishing/Song Solutions CopyCare, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, TN22 1QG www.songsolutions.org
It seems to me that sign-spotting is the last thing Christians ought to do. The angel choirs and Magi, who form a significant part of our nativity retelling, did not appear because people were watching for them. They turned up because God wanted to get the attention of human beings who were going about their ordinary business - watching sheep and giving birth.
What is the Church’s role in Advent and Christmas? Surely it is to model lives of faith, generosity and consistent worship so that God can surprise those who wouldn’t expect to meet God in their Christmas.