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Rev. Emily Owen
24"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27Then 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.
28"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. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34It 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. 35Therefore, 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, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."
I have to admit that I find it difficult to preach on a text that ends in the words “Keep Awake.” Especially at this time of year of extreme busyness, I would find it easier to preach on something like Slow Down…or Take a Rest. I imagine that many of us have already had our daily cup of coffee or tea or maybe two or three. We probably have a pretty good idea about what we are doing the rest of the day and even the rest of the week if not month. We live in a caffeinated and over scheduled culture. We may even be cutting sleep to make sure that we make it to all of our appointments, that the errands get done, the house gets cleaned, the leaves are gathered, and on and on. I often hear people say and even find myself thinking…there is always something to be done. So I think we are awake…. perhaps more hours than we want to be some days.
I think it is safe to assume that this isn’t really what Jesus was getting at. We aren’t supposed to cut sleep, drink more coffee and make more detailed schedules and to-do lists. These are not things that help us to be more attentive to what is happening around us…if anything they pull us away from really paying attention. Jesus is speaking of a different kind of awake.
In my first apartment in college, it was move in day that I first noticed how much the apartment shook when the trains rolled down the tracks which were probably only about 100 yards away. I remember thinking …hmmm …that is going to be interesting in the middle of the night. It took about two weeks and I never noticed the trains again. I slept through them – I really didn’t hear them. There were times that I would be on the phone and the person on the other end of the line would say, “What is that noise?” It would take me a few moments to realize there was a train. I was just so used to it. It was so much a part of my everyday life that it blended in and went unnoticed.
Later when I went to seminary and was moving into my apartment there, I heard a bell ringing, then the fire engines and sirens started up. I had no idea how loud fire trucks were until I lived next door to a very busy downtown Austin fire station. Station #3 to be exact…I could hear that over the loud speaker. After hearing those sirens and seeing all the commotion on move in day, again, I thought to myself…well, this will be interesting when there are fire calls in the middle of the night. But, in less than two weeks I never noticed the bells or sirens again and I’m pretty sure it isn’t because the fire calls slowed down.
How often do we let things blend in…how often do we let events and moments in our lives become part of what we expect…part of the norm. The train always comes by, so we no longer hear it… the sirens always blare, so we tune them out…the leaves always change in the fall, so we no longer see them with same awe…a family member tells you they love you, and without even thinking, you respond that you love them too and you do, but you don’t stop and let it sink in all the way… Advent comes and you notice the Christmas music, the decorations and the sales advertised in the paper, and it becomes so easy to forget just what this season of Advent is all about.
These are all things and events that are part of our lives…things that can roll on by, just like the train, without even being noticed. But perhaps when Jesus says to keep awake, we are being told to pay attention…to do whatever it takes to take notice…perhaps to slow down, or take a breath…to leave room for silence and prayer – the possibilities are endless. We are being challenged this day and this Advent season, to take time and space each day to notice things that otherwise might pass us by.
The word advent literally means coming. It is a time of preparation and expectant waiting. We look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ as we continue to wait on the return of Christ as judge. During Advent, we get ready…the paraments have been changed, we lit the first candle of our advent wreath…tonight we will hang the greens. We are a people of symbols and a people of meaning. Advent carries a lot of both symbols and meaning.
Our scripture for today, like last week’s text, turns our minds not to the anticipated birth of Christ, but instead to the last things…to the end times…to the final judgment when Jesus Christ will return in glory.
It seems to me that this is an interesting place to start this first Sunday in Advent – a time when we usually think of beginning to hear the story of Christ’s birth. Instead we skip past his birth and life to the point where he is telling us what is to come and what the future holds – he tells us about his glorious return. And it seems somehow when we set Christ’s coming into the world next to Christ’s return, we are able to see how much we as those waiting for Christ’s return, share with those who first awaited his birth. We do not know when he will come; they too didn’t know when he would come. Scripture tells us, “"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.”
And so as we begin this Advent Season today, we can see the connection between Christ’s coming and our waiting. We should consider what it means to wait for Christmas and what it means to wait for Christ. Waiting for Christ to come requires this keeping awake that Jesus talks about…it is careful watchfulness…it is holy mystery. We are called to a different kind of waiting this advent season– an active waiting.
Waiting is a funny thing to think about. For example, waiting in line to get your first driver’s license after you turn 16 and waiting in line to renew your license any year after that are two completely different kinds of waiting. A fisherman waiting on spring to come and that same fisherman in his favorite fishing spot waiting for the fish to bite are two different kinds of waiting.
One of the main differences is being present in the moment. When you are 16 and in line at the DMV, you think about what it will be like to drive somewhere by yourself…you think of freedom… there is a whole new world of seemingly endless possibilities. On the other hand, waiting in line to get your license renewed, you think of all the places you would rather be, you think of things to add to your ever growing to-do list and you often get irritated with the people around you. What would life be like if we could live in the moment with that sense of joy and fulfillment that we find in active and participatory waiting. How can we wait in this way both for Christ’s birth and for his return?
Being intentional is a good way to start. Make time and space for this active waiting. Create ways of reminding yourself to foster the joy, excitement and anticipation that active waiting seem to bring out in us. Gather together with friends and family and enjoy one another – give them the things that cost the least and are worth the most – your love…your time…your attention.
So keep awake…not in the sense of being over caffeinated and over scheduled, but in the sense that you are more keenly aware of your surroundings. When you are awake in this way, you also become aware that in this advent season we are waiting not only on the birth of our Lord and Savior, but we are awaiting his return. And we aren’t waiting like we do at the Driver’s License office to get our license renewed...we are waiting with joy…with anticipation and with hope that this season is sure to bring.
In the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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