Our Christmas weekend schedule

Because of how the dates fall this year, the Fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve and the schedule of services will be different.

         Sunday, December 24      9:00am 
             A Service of Lessons & Carols, Trinity Anglican Church
            (The Sunday morning service at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
             has been cancelled for this Sunday. Those who wish to join in communal
             worship are invited to Trinity Anglican for the Service of Lessons
             & Carols.)
       Sunday, December 24       7:00pm 
              Christmas Eve Worship Service with Holy Communion at St. John's
       Sunday, December 24      11:00pm 
              Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist at Trinity Anglican
       Monday, December 25      9:00am 
              Christmas Day Holy Eucharist at Trinity Anglican
                          (This will be a quiet "spoken" service without singing.)

Trinity Anglican and St. John's Evangelical Lutheran are working toward a shared ministry in the town of Aylmer. More news about this will be forthcoming shortly.

The Third Sunday of Advent --- 17 December 2017

John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.  Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."  This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

·       The delegation sent to inquire about John the Baptizer wants an answer. The answer they receive will help them and the ones who sent them decide what to do with John and how to react to what he’s doing and what he’s teaching.

·       But that’s not what they really want. What they really want is an answer that fits the categories they’ve already prepared. They don’t seem to want to know who John really is; they want to know what pigeon-hole they can file him away in, especially since they’ve defined the categories and lined up the pigeon holes.

·       False prophets they can have stoned. False messiahs they can handle; they can always get Rome to help with that. They will decide who the real messiah is since they have set the prerequisites, and all the candidates had better toe the line. It’s as if they were saying “We’ll tell you who you can be in our narrative, since that lets us control you.”

·       To these powers-that-be control is far more important than a fresh message about the mercy of God, or compassion, or justice. All that mushy stuff is too hard to quantify, too hard to set in a balance sheet.

·       The delegation and the committee or group that sent them has forgotten an important point, namely that God is in charge rather than them.

·       To their credit, the people who sent this delegation of priests and Levites desired to keep their religion pure. They didn’t want some strange influence meddling with the people of God and some heretical beliefs splintering the people of God.

·       What they forgot in their desire for purity and perfection was the fact that God does not look or act like them and often does not have the same outward values. They made the mistake so often made in matters of faith: they took themselves as the example of what is best and judging all others by the standard they based on them.

·       We can see from John’s answers (“I am not the messiah… nor Elijah… nor the prophet. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness”) In effect, he is saying that he is the unexpected voice that announces the words they’ve all known for years and years. He goes on to say further mysterious and confusing things about the one who is yet to be revealed.

·       We might wonder how all this was received by the delegation and those who sent them, especially if they had already decided what John was to be.

·       Do we have our own pre-conceived categories, pigeon-holes, or ready files? I’m sure I have and I still do. I won’t presume to speak for you.

·       The truth is that God will not fit our notions and ideas. There is always more to God than we can perceive or understand. It’s even been said that the Scriptures reveal God to us, but only what is needed for salvation and not everything about God in every aspect. Quite often, when we think we have everything about God figured out, something teaches us that we are not even close to having everything figured out.

·       This is not necessarily a bad thing. To be reminded that there will always be mystery about God and that we are not complete in our knowledge of the world and creation, let alone of God, lets us remember that we are and remain creatures created by God who stand in the created world and remain in awe of all that God has done and all that God is.

·       Paul advises the Thessalonian Christians that they should Rejoice always. We could say that as well, even if we do it through tears. We can rejoice that God remains in control and not our fallible and limited selves. None of us is God and none of us is in control of God. There are still surprises in store… and not just on Christmas morning. God will always be more than we can imagine or understand and God will neither dance to our tune or be confined to our categories.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

The Second Sunday of Advent ---- 10 December 2017

Mark 1:1-8

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' " 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

·        The wilderness…

·        It almost like a character in the story rather than the setting. The messenger cries out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" The wilderness is the place, but the message might not be able to come from anywhere else.

·        There is a special reason for that. At this past week’s Bible Study, we briefly discussed what made up a wilderness and where they were in our world today. There ARE still wilderness areas around… and not just those places without decent internet connections or a Tim Horton’s nearby.

·        The far north of our country and even our province is still wilderness to a great extent. It’s hard to get there and hard to survive there. There are people who live there, but they have had to adapt to the environment, because it won’t adapt for them.

·        The Far North of Canada, Alaska, Lapland, and Siberia… the Sahara and the deserts of the western United States and Mexico… the whole continent of Antarctica… these are the wilderness areas that still come to mind and there are many others. These places were not known to the people of Israel or to Mark when he wrote his gospel. To them the “wilderness” was the Negev and the desert areas east of Judea, the land between the Jordan and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This was the wilderness that John the Baptizer walked out of with his message of repentance.

·        This action doesn’t really tell of the importance of the wilderness to the Jewish people of the time. True, the wilderness was seen as a wild place, populated by wild animals and strange people and possibly demons. It was a mysterious and terrible place.

·        It was also more than that. The people of Israel were formed by the wilderness, the wilderness they encountered after crossing the Red Sea as they followed Moses and the promise of freedom and of a promised land.

·        Although they suffered privation and confusion in the wilderness, they were sure of one thing in their wanderings: God was with them. They followed a column of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night and God was with them. They rebelled and sinned and complained and were sometimes punished and God was with them.

·        The wilderness as it’s seen in the Scripture is always a place of danger and temptation and chaos. The story of the Exodus shows that very clearly.

·        However, the wilderness is also a place for solitude, of nourishment, and for revelation from God. The prophets often received their revelation of God and God’s message in a wilderness setting. For the entire people of Israel, the wilderness might be seen as the place of their failure and of God’s success… for God remained faithful to God’s people despite all they did or didn’t do. It was God who remained faithful and continues to be faithful. In our own day, this wilderness time is remembered by the Jewish people in the festival of Sukkot, the “Feast of Booths” which reminds the Jewish people of their dependence of the will and mercy of God.

·        John and his message comes out of the wilderness to proclaim a baptism of repentance and to prepare the way of the One- Who-Is-To-Come, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The God who remained faithful all through wilderness wanderings of God’s people still remains faithful and the wonderful, powerful, earth-shaking news comes in a voice from the wilderness.

·        So where is our wilderness? Where are the places where we must depend on God and God alone? We could go into some wild and dangerous place to hear the Word of God and there are some who have done just that. Some have gone to the deserts of the world and some others have gone  to the deserts of hopelessness and despair that we humans have made for ourselves.

·        Yet there are still deserts and wild places in ourselves, some that require leveling or straightening and some that long for soothing and healing. John the Baptizer, John the Messenger calls out the Good News to those places and from those places, reminding us that God remains faithful and God remains active in leveling and straightening, in soothing and healing. The odd thing, the odd and beautiful thing is this: were we to look at those wild and wounded places, it would not be a case of bringing God there, because were we to look at those wild and wounded places, we would uncover God already there. The grace of God is still a surprise and always will be, just as was John and his message of God’s fidelity to God’s promises.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

W

First Sunday of Advent ---- 3 December 2018

Mark 13:24-37

24 "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27 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. 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. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven 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. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 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. 35 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, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.

·       Years ago, I took the advice of an older preacher, a man I trusted and counted as a friend. He said when he was going to preach he always “looked for the good news” in the readings. “Good news”, of course, is the meaning of “Gospel” and even the word “Evangelical” is drawn from the Greek word we translate as “gospel.”

·       However, the Gospel reading today appears to be anything but “good news” with all the talk of falling stars, a darkened sun and moon, and the shaking of the heavenly powers. It appears to be the end of the world. I’ve said it before that some among us and around us have seen what appeared to be the end of all things. Others may not have experienced the end but, from where they stood, they could see it. Where is the Good News here?

·       Where, indeed! All this talk of cosmic upheaval and chaos does not seem comforting or hopeful. It involves change, to say the least! And change is always tough. Think of the changes in your own life. We could say “remember your birth.” Quite a change, but none of us could really do that. Think of the first day of school… or the time any of us moved to a place we didn’t know… or when you married … or if I dare to say it, when we lost a loved one to death. Any change is traumatic and often troubling. The change promised in the Gospels goes beyond anything we could imagine. It would seem like the end of the world.

·       And it would be. At least the end of the world as we know it. Of course, that brings uncertainty, anxiety, and even fear. It would be for the best if we did not know the exact time that all this would occur, for we’d all mark our calendars and shut down a few days or weeks before, complaining of the futility of doing anything.

·       The good news here is the story of the changes to come. Not when or exactly how they’ll come, but that they will come. The changes will not simply mean upheaval and destruction, but freedom and salvation. 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. Simply said, the changes are for us and in our favour. Matthew’s Gospel compared the troubles to “birth pangs” and we know that birth pangs – as painful as they might be - lead to changes and to new birth and new life.

·       Advent reminds us that the birth of Christ, that event we celebrate in a few short weeks. (Yes, a few short weeks!) is not simply the anniversary of a birth of a famous person, but a birth of new hope and the beginnings of a new creation.

·       This is one of the reasons the birth of Christ is heralded by choirs of angels and announced by archangels in Luke and a little less so in Matthew. It is such an incredible event that the powers in the heavens must be involved.

·       Mark’s Gospel tells of terrible and terrifying things yet to be because the presence of the Son of God a.k.a. the Son of Man has tremendous meaning. God isn’t dropping by for a visit, but is settling in for all time in the created world. This was not done so we’d be a little nicer to each other once a year, drop a few coins in a kettle or a collection can, or anything as short term as that. The Son of Man, the Anointed One, the Prince of Peace came to up-end everything, to make all the crooked ways straight, to right every wrong, and to reconcile all things in himself. If this were not so, all our favourite Christmas carols would be reduced to the “nice” melody, sentiment, and meaning of something like “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” Such a tremendous event requires such earth-shaking details as those spoken of by Mark.

·       Advent reminds us that what we still look forward to is not chaos and devastation, but new birth for all that is created. The time – that day or hour – is not ours to know, but the watchfulness and expectant waiting shown in the actions we heard about last week (Lord, when did we see you…) remains our mission, our imitation of Christ, and our way of being alert.

Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.

Sunday of Christ the King 26 November 2017

           

Matthew 25:31-46

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

"Lord, when was it that we saw you…”

·       The passage we’ve just heard is sometimes referred to by Biblical scholars as “Matthew’s Apocalypse.” These 15 verses carry a particular message about judgement, one that only Matthew’s Gospel has. The form of the passage is called “apocalyptic”, a peculiar way of writing that’s found in some books of both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. (The book of Daniel or the book of Revelation, for instance.) This sort of literature is usually written in times of trouble or persecution for the God’s people and are usually done to give comfort and hope to those people. The symbols are often weird and troubling to the reader and we might have difficulty distilling comfort and hope from those writings.

·       In this passage, the righteous “sheep” receive reward and the “accursed” “goats” receive punishment, both because of how they acted. There is no mention of faith or grace or anything like that; just what they did or didn’t do.

·       Whom does this action or lack of action effect? Those who are poor – hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, a stranger – are the ones mentioned. Yet the king calls them the least of these who are members of my family. Are they the world’s poor… or are they the followers of Christ? Matthew says the king gathered all the nations before his throne for judgement. The title “the nations” implies the world of the Gentiles. By extension, the members of Jesus’ family would be his disciples and the nations would be judged on how they received Jesus’ disciples.

·       This may be new to a few of us. To those who heard it from Jesus’ lips, it would be hope and comfort. It would also place the disciples in a certain position to the rest of the world.

·       Simply put, the world could encounter Jesus Christ through them.

·       This is true today as well. We’d hope that all the world could encounter Jesus Christ in us who are his modern day disciples. This also means that we can encounter Jesus Christ in each other… and in disciples we don’t even know. How those around us treat us is not something we can control. How we treat others is certainly something we can control.

·       This apocalyptic passage from Matthew places the tiny, every-day things we do into the great plan of God for all of creation. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it? Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner are raised from simple good manners and kindness in everyday things to participation in spreading the Gospel.

·       This is not new. This is found in today’s Gospel and it has been echoed down through the years by teachers of the Faith.

·       Here’s one from a few year ago: “He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other [men] the kind of life He has…  Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

·       And again from the 1500’s: “[A]s our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians…” Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (1520)

·       And from the poetry of the early church:

I met a stranger yest’re’een;
I put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place;
And, in the sacred name of the Triune,
He blessed myself and my house,
My cattle and my dear ones,
And the lark said in her song,
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise;
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.

·       In our own day, we might ask where we could find Jesus. Matthew has both the sheep and the goats ask the same question when faced with the judgement of the Son of Man on his throne. I began with that question and I’ll end with it. The answer is "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Or we might say “Right in front of you.”

"Lord, when was it that we saw you…”

The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ---- 19 November 2017

Matthew 25:14-30

14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' 21 His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' 23 His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 26 But his master replied, "You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Well done, good and trustworthy slave… …enter into the joy of your master

·       All this talk of weeping and gnashing of teeth does not seem like good news, which is what the Gospel is supposed to be. Yet there may still be some good news here once we unpack some things.

·       Talents are not what we might think they are. We know we all have talents – things like cooking, sewing, knitting, baking, cutting hair, growing plants and flowers, athletics, singing, making faces, building snowmen, or keeping track of the game while napping.

·       However, these are not the talents being given out in today’s Gospel reading. A “talent” is a measure of weight, roughly 60 to 75 pounds in Jesus’ time and place. When used in an economic way, a talent was could be 20 years wages for a farm worker, so the slave given five talents received a sum somewhere around 100 years’ pay for a farmhand. The “slaves” who were given stewardship of the money were not field slaves as we might think of slaves. In that time, slaves were often given responsibilities in households and businesses and were often trusted to raise, care for, and educate the master’s children. They could have their own money and some even owned slaves themselves. Slavery was rather different then, but it still meant that a person was owned by another and it’s still quite distasteful to us.

·       Enough of a history lesson. The master leaves and puts his three top slaves in charge of sums of money with the expectation that they will manage it properly, which means turn a profit.

·       Two do just that and are complimented, while the third simply returns the coins after digging them up from where he hid them. We all know what happens then.

·       This parable is one of return and preparation again. The characters in the parable are not all that pleasant. The master is a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed and the third slave was fearful and maybe rightfully so. The first two slaves make all kinds of money… for their master. We don’t know how they made that money. Honest or shady? Just or exploitive? Who knows? That’s focusing on the stage dressing rather than the play. The parable asks this: what place does God’s grace have in your life?

·       First off, let’s remember that we are saved by grace as a free gift from God. This isn’t something earnable, buyable, or sellable. It always remains a free gift. This is reflected in the charge given to the three servants when the master goes on a journey. The first two do something with what they’ve received and are complimented and told to enter into the joy of your master. The third is not complimented and is tossed out on his ear.

·       Worse than that, he is thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is not unemployment and poverty; this is an apocalyptic removal to the outer darkness, a rejection put in vast, cosmic terms.

·       Although the parable is pointing to the return of Christ and the judgement of all creation, there is a point of good news for us today. Why was the third man tossed out? Because he didn’t make use of the gift he was given. Is this an acknowledgement of the person’s refusal to respond to the gift of grace in how he lives? That is one possible explanation. To refuse to live a graced life because of fear of the giver of grace could be called a rejection of grace. To figuratively dig a hole and hide the grace a person has been given is a shame and a rejection of the gift.

·       The first two used what they were given and were not only complimented but told to enter into the joy of your master. This goes far beyond any reward for faithfulness or success. It sounds like an invitation to family, to become part of the household of the master, in a place far beyond that usually held be a slave. This is a level of acceptance equal to that of the rejection of the third man in the outer darkness.

·       The third man fearfully acted to preserve the gift he’d been given, without a thought of anything more. He preserved what he had and didn’t use it or to use what the narrative gives us, invest it.

·       For us, grace goes far beyond our daily lives and our great or meagre talents for doing things. Whether one, two, or five talents, we have all received a share that has been given freely. Grace is our salvation and our hope. Grace is our motivation and our energy. Grace is our intimate connection with our God, our invitation and route to God’s own life. Simply put, grace isn’t a little prayer you say before a meal, but a way of life.

Well done, good and trustworthy slave… …enter into the joy of your master

The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost ----- 12 November 2017

Matthew 25:1-13

1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise replied, "No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. 

·       We’ve reached the point in the Church year where we hear a lot about the end of things and the coming of the Kingdom.

·       We may even consider heaven in that mix. We are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven after all. We might even wonder what it might be like.

·       When I was a young boy, thunder was something frightening to me. My grandmother said it was just the angels rolling the beer barrels in heaven. I didn’t question whether or not the angels drank beer; the answer was sufficient for me. Why would I question my grandmother?

·       Later on, in seminary, one of my professors said he had a good idea about heaven. He said the best expression of what heaven was like was found in a TV commercial of the time. In that spot, a little boy walks toward a house as an older woman opens the door. Immediately the little boy is swamped by a tremendous wave of puppies who do what puppies do to little boys – namely, knock him down and jump all over him while he laughs uncontrollably.

·       This is all very cute and fun to think about. Still, we are faced with the Scriptural words about being prepared for the Kingdom. Matthew relates the parable of the so-called foolish and wise bridesmaids who are waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. I’m sure you know that this reflects the marriage customs of the Jewish people of Jesus’ time. We have to look at the story from that point of view. The bridegroom is on the way and the bridesmaids wait with lamps lit. As the delay becomes longer, they all doze off. Note well: they ALL doze off. When the bridegroom is announced, some are ready and some are not. Before we get all in a knot about why the prepared five didn’t share with the others, remember – it is a parable and sharing is not the focus; the focus is preparation.

·       Do we prepare by staying awake and scanning the horizon of our times for signs of the coming of the Bridegroom, whom we know to be Jesus? Should we prepare by staying in a bunker we’ve built “just in case”? Should we scour the Bible for hints, clues, and suggestions about when all this will come to pass? Ultimately, should we live in fear of the Kingdom of Heaven?

·       Living in fear is not the way to go. It robs us of any possibility of progress or action or direction. Shutting ourselves up in a cave or a bunker hasn’t worked for other groups that have tried that over the years.

·       Even studying the Scriptures for the day and the hour of Jesus’ return will not help, since Jesus himself said he did not know, that only the Father knows.

·       So what are we to do? We all know the answer: we’re to be about the business of the Kingdom, the Kingdom that is already here, although not quite yet; the Kingdom that is already among us, yet is still to come.

·       It sounds contradictory and it can be confusing. Probably the best way to say it is to acknowledge that Jesus brought the Kingdom to us in his life among us and now we await the fullness of that Kingdom.

·       In short, the prophet Amos tells us what the business of the Kingdom is. Amos tells the people of Israel that God is not pleased with their rituals and observances, but God would be pleased if the people would let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

·         Paul writes to the Thessalonians about this as well, calming their fears about the coming of the Kingdom. He tells them to share his teaching on this and encourage one another with these words.

·       When all this will happen or what it will look like is completely unknown. We know however that the reality we live now is nothing less than the grace and mercy of the Kingdom of God. The reason is –to use Matthew’s example- the bridegroom is always close at hand. This is our hope for the present and for the future. Even if the course of the future is unclear, it is still our hope. As Paul would say Therefore encourage one another with these words.

·       Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. …let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. This is the Kingdom of heaven present now and our work, today and tomorrow and the next day, for (we) know neither the day nor the hour. … with or without the beer barrels and the puppies