Are you ready? (Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36)
Listen.November 29th, 2009
Rev. Dr. Craig A. Wagner
Introduction
I really don’t want to make you feel guilty, but I want to ask you a few questions: How many of you are ready to celebrate Christmas? Are your Christmas decorations up including your Christmas tree? If you answered yes to that, then I ask are your Christmas card addressed, signed and mailed?
Still with me? Have you purchased all of your Christmas gifts, prepared for all the parties and get-togethers, wrapped the gifts and cleaned the house? OK there is a still lot to do and some time to do it. For many of us since it is not December 24 there’s still lots of time!
Of course, the bottom line is that whether or not we’re ready, Christmas will arrive on December 25th. We can be prepared and waiting or we can procrastinate and do everything at the last minute, but the day will arrive.
Today is Advent 1. This is the first Sunday in the new liturgical year. Advent signals a time of preparation in anticipation of the arrival of Jesus. Normally, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas and most of our celebrations are centered in the birth narrative with the manger scenes and nativity accounts, but we need to realize that our greatest need in preparation is as we await Jesus second arrival as the Kingdom of God break into human history in all of its fullness and grandeur. At that moment Jesus arrives as judge. Are we ready for his arrival; are we ready to stand before the one who will judge the living and the dead?
Vengeance day
At first ready our passage for this morning is a rather scary narration of the end times. There will be natural cataclysmic disturbances along with distress among nations. People will be fainting from fear and foreboding. It will be a bleak time for many people. But for those who live in Christ and who are found faithful it will be a time when there will be great joy as the Son of Man comes in power, glory and majesty; raise up your head, stand tall and receive Christ joyfully.
For those who do not believe and for those who have rejected or abandoned Christ it will be a difficult and dreadful time. Jesus reminds his followers to be alert at all times because this will take place even before some of the present generation has passed away.
We know that much of this turmoil, fear and dread did occur during the destruction of Jerusalem and that most of the people listening to Jesus still would have been alive. Given that, the text still serves to remind his followers that Jesus will arrive again, and that when he arrives, he will arrive as judge. So then this passage is about more than simply what happened during the destruction of Jerusalem and the destroying of the temple.
This is about the end times of human history. Many of the warning signs that Jesus speaks about to his disciples can be seen in every age and every generation: wars, distress among nations, natural disasters and so on will be present; people can see those things, experience those things and use them as a warning to be prepared.
When Jesus will return we do not know. The promise is that he will and so we need to stand alert and ready to his arrival. We are not to allow our expectation and anticipation to be dulled by the things of the world. Worries of this life, drunkenness and other issues come into the life of people and they begin to worry about all sorts of things that are really not of ultimate concern.
This passage reminds believers throughout the ages to be ready, to be alert and not to allow the things of this life to get in the way or to sway his people from the truth, or to water down the gospel, but to be ready and to stand faithfully before the Son of Man. Terror and confusion, anxiety and worry are for those who do not know or believe in Christ. In faith believers stand ready, joyful and looking forward to that great day when Jesus returns in glory.
Be ready
Friday morning I was watching the early news on TV. It was “Black Friday.” That is the day that shows the economic strength of our stores. If they have a good “Black Friday” that means they will end the year in the black. As I was watching the broadcast from the couch, drinking my coffee, the reporters and broadcasters were showing pictures of people lining up outside of the many of the stores, especially the big box stores in order to get a good deal on some highly sought after piece of merchandise. Some of the people literally had camped out the night before by the doors of the store, others had arrived at midnight to wait in line. There was one mall that advertized the first 500 people who showed up in pajamas would receive a free bag of gifts. The people looked tired; eyes glazed over but ready to BUY!
Are we dulled by the world? Are we dulled by the promises that with the right gift Christmas will be successful? Of course, I love celebrating Christmas as much as anyone else, but I also remember Christmases when we would buy the right item, the most sought after gift for our children. The excitement was great, the anticipation overwhelming, the gifts opened, the eyes sparkling and everything was right with the world until the present broke, the batteries failed, the anticipation of a glorious item was smashed by reality. If we are dulled by the expectation of the world on Christmas, it will be an empty celebration.
We need to be alert and have the sharp edge of expectation – that is a celebration of Christmas that is faithful to Christ and the story of Christmas as well as being alert to that message of the end times. The apocalypse is about the end times and this passage urgently reminds us that the end will happen and in that final moment Jesus will come again in the clouds. Are we ready? Are we alert from that first breath in the morning until our last breath before we fall asleep? Think about your life and your celebration as we enter into the season this year. Are you alert and ready; do your Christmas celebrations reflect Christ and his attitudes or the world’s?
It is generally agreed that the writer of the gospel of Luke was Luke the physician, but after reading this passage, someone suggested that perhaps he should have been a college professor or even a high school teacher. A teacher gives out an assignment to the students with a deadline attached. Some students will dig right in and get the job done; others will procrastinate and wait until the night before. Then they have to cram and stay up the entire night working feverishly to finish. Have we procrastinated in our faithfulness to be ready for the Christ of the World to arrive?
Has Christmas preparations become synonymous for parties, drinking, and shopping? Invite God into your life and celebrations this year, right now, so that we may be found faithful when he arrives.
A joyful passage
The bottom line in this passage is a message of hope and encouragement for God’s people. We understand that there are problems in the world. There are natural disasters; flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, drought and the list goes on. We experience wars and nations in disagreements; we are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq; weapons are being built in Iran and North Korea; there are economic disasters and of course violence in our own country.
It appears that things are spiraling out of control. And of course, in people’s personal lives we find struggles related to finances, health, emotional issues and these things are present even though we are in the holiday season; not too bright for some people.
But this is a text of hope and promise that Jesus will arrive…at the end, in the Christmas celebration and in our hearts even as we struggle. Unfortunately, there are those who will miss this joy and this hope; there are those who firmly place their faith in the things of this world and they will find their hope coming up short and leading to further depression and despair and ultimately fear. In Christ look up in faith and be ready for the glories of the son of Man and the life and salvation that Jesus has for those faithful.
As much as the world seems to want to snuff out any religious aspect of Christmas, they will not be able to do it if we as God’s people stand firm. We know the truth of the celebration, but we need to reflect that truth in lives that are lived faithfully. Faithful lives are lives that are ready, prepared and alert for the coming of the Lord; they are lives lived faithfully in the celebration of Christmas and in anticipation of the coming of the Christ. This season welcome Jesus gladly into your celebrations and then be ready for that great and glorious day.
Conclusion
Each year as we decorate the Christmas tree in our home, I reflect on the ornaments that bring back wonderful memories. We have a few ornaments that our children made, we have old K-Mart ornaments that we purchased when first married; we have old ornaments from my grandmother’s tree, I even have one that is shaped like a saxophone that still plays and that my grandmother used to place on her tree – all bring back important memories – these are special ornaments to me and help prepare my heart to celebrate Christmas. These memories unite me with people present and past and all unite us around Jesus to celebrate his birth and to be ready for his second arrival. Are you ready?
May we be found faithfully awaiting his return in joy and gladness! Amen.