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Be WatchfulNovember 27, 2005 First Sunday in Advent Rayford Steele’s mind was on a woman he had never touched. With his fully loaded 747 on autopilot above the Atlantic en route to an A.M. landing at Heathrow, Rayford had pushed from his mind thoughts of his family. Over spring break, he would spend time with his wife and 12-year-old son. Their daughter would be home from college too. But, for now, with his first officer dozing, Rayford imagined Hattie Durham’s smile and looked forward to their next meeting. Hattie was Rayford’s senior flight attendant. He hadn’t seen her in more than an hour. Rayford used to look forward to getting home to his wife. Irene was attractive and vivacious enough, even at forty. But lately, he had found himself repelled by her obsession with religion. It was all she could talk about. God was OK with Rayford Steele. Rayford even enjoyed church occasionally. But since Irene hooked up with a smaller congregation and was into weekly Bible studies and church every Sunday, Rayford had become uncomfortable. Hers was not a church where people gave you the benefit of the doubt, assumed the best about you and let you be. People there had actually asked him, to his face, what God was doing in his life. “Blessing my socks off,” had become the smiling response that seemed to satisfy them, but he found more and more excuses to be busy on Sundays. Rayford tried to tell himself it was his wife’s devotion to a divine suitor that caused his mind to wander. But, he knew the real reason was his own libido. Besides, Hattie Durham was drop-dead gorgeous. No one could argue with that. What he enjoyed most was that she was a toucher. Nothing inappropriate, nothing showy. She simply touched his arm as she brushed past, or rested her hand gently on his shoulder when she stood behind his seat in the cockpit. The question of the darkest hour before dawn, then, was whether Rayford Steele should risk a new, exciting relationship with Hattie Durham. He suppressed a smile.... If only Irene hadn’t gone off on this new kick. Would it fade, her preoccupation with the end of the world, with the love of Jesus, with the salvation of souls? Lately she had been reading everything she could get her hands on about the Rapture of the church. “Can you imagine, Rafe,” she exulted, “Jesus coming back to get us before we die?” “Yeah, boy,” he said, peeking over the top of his newspaper, “that would kill me.” He hadn’t meant to offend her. He was just having fun. “Come on, Irene, tell me thousands wouldn’t just keel over if they saw Jesus coming back for all the good people.” Thus begins the first chapter of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’s The Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days. And there are other titles: The Regime: Evil Advances (Before They Were Left Behind); Silenced: The Wrath of God Descends; Shadowed: The Final Judgement. The series has become number one on the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists. It has sold more than fifteen million copies, which speaks to the world’s fascination with matters of the end times and the signs by which they will be known. We have seen the same thing following the many disasters of the past year: the devastating tsunami last December 26; the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; the earthquake in Pakistan and India; Hurricane Wilma in Florida and Mexico; tornados in Indiana and Kentucky. How many have speculated about what God was doing in the midst of these things, and what they really mean? And, whether or not these were signs of the end times. In the gospel lesson Richard just read, we discover that the early disciples were just as fascinated about it as we are. Jesus had been teaching about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and other events that would happen in the future. Wanting to press further, Peter, James, John, and Andrew sought him out for a private consultation. They wanted to know when the prophecies would be fulfilled and what would be the signs of their coming. And so, Jesus gives them a series of predictions and signs of what will happen, what the signs will be, and what the signs will mean. The last days will include religious deception, conflict among nations, earthquakes and famines, the persecution of Christians. Well, ok... But, while Jesus is willing to give them some information about the what of things in the future, with the same breath, he alerts them that the when of things is information only God knows. No one knows– not even he– the exact day, nor the hour, when the Son of Man will come in clouds with great power and glory. So why then do we consume ourselves trying to figure out such matters? And, I think it’s a good thing we do not know, don’t you? I mean, really? Do we really want to know when the end will come? Can you imagine the mess we would make of things if we really knew when the end of the world would be? Or even when the end of our own lives would be? Instead, Jesus says: Stay alert! Be watchful! Do not fall asleep! Keep awake! Be ready! Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the Christian year. It kicks off our celebration of Christmas, and we long once again for the coming of Christ into the world and his coming afresh in our own hearts. We rejoice because God has come to us. And, we know him because he came and lived among us, and communicated himself to us through the infant born so long ago. As difficult as it is at times to receive, this is our claim and our hope. God has come to us, and dwelt among us, and we know him. Advent is about Jesus coming into the world. The Lord has come. But, it is also about looking forward to the Jesus that is coming. In the end times, yes, we long for that day when the King will rule the world with truth and grace. But it is also about the Jesus that is coming to us every day. Jesus has come and is also coming, and his coming is good news which fills us with blessed hope, instead of fear and dread. As we prepare ourselves and as we watch, the question becomes, “What are we watching for?” I think what really matters. The real point of this text is that we should not be overly concerned with the final judgement. We can rest with confident hope that the Lord will come again. I think the heart of the matter is how we will live our lives in the meantime. What will we be doing while we wait? Will we be sitting around being passive? Or will we be alert to what is going on in the world, in our lives, and will we aggressively seize the moments to live out our claim to faith? Are you expecting Christ in your life this holiday season? Are you ready to receive him as if it were the very first time? Are you paying attention so that you will recognize him when he appears? In the embrace of your son or daughter? In the love of your spouse? In the face of a stranger on the street? In the ones we walk past every day? And, will you be ready to say “yes” to God in some new way, some surprising, wonderful way? In a few minutes, we will come to the table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We will the Advent of Christ into the world and into our lives. Thanks be to God! We come still watching for him. Waiting, expecting, hoping, anticipating his glorious return over and over again, until that day when he returns in final glory, and things will be made well forever and ever. Amen. Previous sermon: Fat Cats or Sheep? • Next sermon: Now Is Our Time All past sermons |
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