Matthew 24:36-44
36 "But about that day and hour no
one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the
Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them
all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one
will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken
and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your
Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in
what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and
would not have let his house be broken into.44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is
coming at an unexpected hour.
Jesus said "But about that day
and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. “
·
To me, one of the strangest parts of
the season of Advent is the emphasis on the end of the world that appears in
the readings assigned for the Sundays of Advent. Compared to all the
preparations that take place around us, all the lights and sounds and smells
and tastes of the Christmas season, it’s a splash of cold water and a twist to our
thinking.
·
It does remind us that the coming of
Christ is the beginning of the fulfillment of the will of the Father for the
entire creation. The coming of Jesus Christ into the world of what we call the
“First Century” is such a powerful event that it has changed how the followers
of Jesus see the world. Notice we even measure the time in the years using the
birth of Jesus as a pivot for world history.
·
What bothers us is the uncertainty of
what is to come. We don’t know the day or the hour or the how’s and why’s and
what’s. We don’t like that. We all like to maintain the illusion that we are in
command when it comes to our lives. Still, in our uncertainty, we are in good
company. Jesus said that the angels of God don’t know and he does not know. That
knowledge is reserved to the Father. If that sounds strange, think of it this
way: It’s not a matter of trust, but a matter of sovereignty. Jesus is telling
his disciples who is fully in charge.
·
If the knowledge of the
day and hour is reserved to the Father, then we say again that the
Father is ultimately in charge of all that exists – space and time and all that
means.
·
This is the message that Matthew is
proclaiming to his readers. As terrifying as the idea of the end of all things
might be, with its signs and portents, its frightening images and what our
imaginings add to it, God remains in charge and the will of humans will not be
the ultimate decision maker.
·
Matthew also councils that confidence
in the power of God does not permit the faithful to lay aside watchfulness and
fidelity. All the examples and figures Matthew uses in today’s Gospel reading
stir up feeling of uncertainty, particularly around our own ability to know and
see what God wills for us and for all creation. That uncertainty could lead us
in one of two directions.
·
It could lead us to panic and terror.
We could live in terror of what might come and in that fear, interpret each and
every event as the first step in everything falling apart. The fear could even
lead us to living our lives in a sort of “bunker mentality”, where we care only
for ourselves and – maybe – those who are familiar to us or similar to us. In
this way of thinking, enemies abound and those who are not “in the bunker” are
enemies, no matter who they might be.
·
The other direction we might follow
allows for our uncertainty about things to come while at the same time
directing our certainty toward God, the One in whom we can be certain. Many
years after the Gospels were written, Luther wrote this in a time of great
uncertainty and upheaval that we call ‘The Reformation’ - “I know not the way God leads me,
but well do I know my Guide.”
·
Believe it or not, the frightening
words of Matthew were actually written to comfort the struggling church of his
time. Those early Christians were struggling with persecution of some sort,
dissention within the congregations, differing views of the structure of the
church, and even competing theologies, even to the point of arguments over who
and what Jesus was. Add to all this, people saying that these events and ideas
were signs of the end of days. For Matthew to say to them that these problems,
as real and troubling as they might be, are not the end of days, nor are they
definite signs of the end. Nobody - but nobody! – knows except the Father. To remind
Christians that they are to remain vigilant and ready for the Son of Man is coming at an
unexpected hour assures them that God has the final say and that
their fidelity to the Gospel means something.
·
Do you remember a few years ago, a
preacher made a lot of noise about the end of the world coming at an exact hour
on a certain day. He and his congregation even hired trucks to drive around
with placards announcing this. There were signs and billboards along Highbury
Avenue going to London and the trucks I spoke of were seen in London. As you
know, the predicted end didn’t happen. This was not the first time for this.
Such groups can be seen all through-out church history, in the Middle Ages, in
Luther’s time, in the century just passed. Some have said that the present
terror groups are fighting to bring about the end of days, according to their
own understanding. No doubt, we’ll see such groups again.
·
Matthew does write for the comfort of
the Christians of his time. That comfort extends to us. God is ultimately in
charge and whatever end there might be in store for all of creation, it also
means a new beginning for what is to come.
·
Our celebration of Advent – of “The
Entry” – includes the tension of vigilance for what is to come. As the prophets
and the faithful of Israel watched and waited, we too watch and wait, with
trust and hope that what God has promised will be fulfilled… just as what was
promised to Israel was fulfilled at Bethlehem… and on Calvary.
Jesus said "But about that day
and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. “
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