Sermon

Slow down and stay awake

Scripture Text:

Mark 13:24-37 Jesus said to his disciples, "In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see `the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake-- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Sermon:

I’ve often thought that Jesus’ Second Coming and Santa Claus have a lot in common.  If we just change a few words in Mark’s gospel, the apocalypse sounds very familiar:

Then they will see ‘Santa coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the reindeer, and gather his elves from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Doesn’t that sound about right?  The thing is, we know when Santa comes, every year, and Jesus reminds us that we don’t know when he is coming back to us, (much as people love to try to predict it).  But another reason I want us to connect images of Santa riding his sleigh through the clouds and stars and Jesus coming on the clouds with angels is that I don’t want us to be feel that bible passages about the apocalypse are passages we should keep our distance from or be afraid of.  Not that Jesus will return to Earth with a sack full of presents and his eye out for a plate of cookies, mind you.  But if we believe that our God is a God of love, then Jesus’ return is something we look forward to as much with excitement and anticipation.

 

And that Advent is about preparing for Christmas and for remembering Jesus’ birth, but also for remembering Jesus’ strange promise that he would return. And so, instead of hearing passages about joy or peace, we hear Jesus’ talking about apocalypse.  Instead of passages about children or love, we hear from Isaiah about God’s anger and God’s hidden face.  Sometimes, the craziness of the Christmas season means that feels a lot more relevant, actually! Especially when we were the usual Black Friday stories about pepper spray, arrests and injuries!

 

Jesus doesn’t want us to focus on his return… he says he just wants us to “stay alert.”  “Keep awake.”  It’s not that what happens here on earth doesn’t matter until Jesus comes back and fixes everything.   It’s not that we have permission to sleepwalk until Jesus comes back.  We’re supposed to keep our wits about us.  We’ve been asked to “pay attention, please.”  No going to sleep so that Santa can come in the night and we can wake up to a room full of presents.

 

So, what are we staying awake for?

 

First, I want to say that “staying awake” doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the fun of getting ready for Christmas – if you enjoy shopping, decorating, baking, going to parties – there’s nothing inherent in those things that crosses the Christian faith or the meaning of the birth of Jesus.  On the other hand, sometimes we can get lost in how busy this season can be and activities that become obligations or duties instead of things we enjoy.  Or we can lose sight of what God most wants to say to us in the season of Advent:  I love the world I created, I don’t want you to sleepwalk through it, and I want you to stay awake because one day I’m coming back to it.

 

How can we stay awake?  First, we can take time to deliberately slow down.  Catch your breath.  Remember what’s really important to you… are your kids or grandkids or spouse really going to care in ten years what gift they got from you? Or will they remember the quality of time and presence you shared with them?  Will you remember the outfit you wore to that party, that all the lights got hung just so, that you got your Christmas cards out on time, or will you remember a glimpse you got of the starry night sky?  Or the feeling you got from making a really generous donation to a local homeless shelter?  Or sitting in worship and being struck by a piece of music, a verse of scripture, or a sense that’s God’s presence is close by?  Or by sitting with friends and family and feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for their love and presence in your life?

 

God is in all those things.  Jesus’ love is in all those things.  And yet, staying awake is something more than just stopping to smell the roses or putting a magnet on your bumper to remind yourself to “Keep the Christ in Christmas.”  Staying awake is also remembering that God is mysterious and beyond our grasp. God is God and we are human.  It’s so easy to imagine we know what God must be like.  And yet, the prophet Isaiah recalls to us that God remains just beyond our grasp, always:  you did awesome deeds that we did not expect.

And we may hide from God, or God may be hidden from us:

There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us.

 

Staying awake also means remembering that God tends to work upside down from the ways we do.  What looks insignificant, chaotic, or even scary can actually be a victory in God’s book: a refugee baby born in a barn, a little bread and wine, or a death on a cross.  God may be waiting in places we don’t expect, the Holy Spirit may be working in places and people we would never pick out of a crowd and might actually avoid, Jesus finds a new beginning in what might seem to us like total destruction.  God entered a human body and lived as we do; God entered into our world of death and decay to know it alongside us.  And so, we can find God in everything that it means to be human – even in death.

 

But the most important difference between God’s ways and our ways is that God always exceeds our expectations, even while turning them upside down.  That’s grace: what you thought you wanted in your life, except it’s 1000 times better and not what you expected.  God doesn’t just forgive us, God chooses us.  God doesn’t just enter into death, God wrestles new life and resurrection from it.  God enters our suffering and despair and makes a way through it to a new heaven and a new earth.

 

And so, this Advent, stay awake.  Be ready for God in places you don’t expect.  See the joy of the season and not just your to do list.  Feel love and not stress.  Remember the poor and suffering, for that is where Jesus’ heart is, and find a place in your holiday to remember our neighbors in need.  Look into your own heart, if you’re poor and suffering this December, and you will find him there, too.  Stay awake.  Believe that Jesus is real and among us, and coming back.

 

Amen.

 

Uploaded on November 27, 2011 in by RevHeidi

No comments yet