Matthew 24:36–44
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 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, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 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. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
I saved a BC cartoon from years and years ago.
The baseball coach is talking to a glum looking guy who's holding a bat, and says:
“Son, you’ll never get a hit with such a negative attitude”
The next frame - everything goes black, you just see two sets of eyes, one surprised, one glum.
The last frame, the coach says: “What the heck was that?” and the ballplayer glumly drolls - “Lightning”
I love that cartoon.
Anyone I’ve shared it with, however, looks at me - (glumly) - and wonders what’s wrong with me.
It seems to me that when I read a text like this,
“But about that day and hour no one knows”
“But about that day and hour no one knows”
I get caught up in the threatening nature of it. “One taken, one left.”
I begin to worry “Who will be taken?” “Where will they go?” “What will happen to them?” “How can I not be taken?”
Further, I worry at all the knot-headed ways this text is read by the You-Know-Who’s out there. . . (I digress)
Might we find in this text a call to wakefulness - a call, not to fear, but to delight in the gift of life?
Three years ago, the Vicar of Vice led us off with a reflection that caused me to think about this in this way.
Be awake for his appearance!
I might add this as well.
Take note of this one detail. . .
He is already here!!!!
4 comments:
I posted these two quotes 3 years ago:
"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary." -Aaron Rose
"Food is the sacrament of unnecessary goodness ordained for a continual reminder that the world will always be more delicious than it is necessary." Robert Farrar Capon The Supper of the Lamb
The Vicar quoted from Mary Hinkle Shore - and I used this in my sermon. (I wonder if ANYONE got anything out of my using such a complex line)
“The intervention of God into our human affairs cannot be managed
or scheduled the way many of the events of our days can be.
Whether God’s advent is as manageable as a heart attack,
or as manageable as falling in love,
either way, you know that you are not in control,
and you can be fairly sure the rest of your day will not go as planned.”
It could be interesting to wonder what might one title a sermon this coming Sunday - maybe some of those titles you probably wouldn't actually use. . .
like
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
- or -
If I Told You, I'd Have to Kill You
- or -
What Do You Know? - alt. = What-d-ya-know
- or -
On Knowing and Not Knowing
- or -
You'd Rather Not Know
I can see some possibilities there, about how knowing something isn't always that great. Like when you know you're going to leave a parish and you can't yet tell people, and one or two people do know and they sort of want to talk to you and . . .
- or -
Ready or Not!
- or -
As a Facebook user, I both appreciate and am dissappointed at postings that show up on my page. Particularly today as people update their profiles with strategies on making the best of Black Friday. These are folks who are otherwise sane, rational, faithful people who say they are going to Best Buy at 5:00 AM to get in line and race for the bargains.
Is it too jarring a contrast to come to this text after a national holiday of gluttony (our turkey, by the way was fabulous... and 4x the size we needed) and consumer madness? Perhaps the best message for the day is not to proclaim apocalyptic alarmism, but to hold our own Rally to Restore Sanity. What a refreshing concept - sanity. Somewhere between the disturbing events of the evening news and the disturbing delusion of "reality television," we dwell in the greater presence of a God who is working to bring hope to the hopeless, purpose to meaninglessness, insight to the perplexed, and relief to those bearing heavy burdens.
And the image of being taken/left behind... I still don't get it. Either taken/left behind could be grace... and could be judgment. Could it be that those who are taken are welcomed with the words "well done, good and faithful servant." ...and those left behind are given the job to continue in discipleship?
I was at a David Wicox concert last week and heard again his song "Start with the Ending" which is about the messiness of relationships. It's often at the disintegration of a relationship that people can feel the freedom to be honest and truly open with each other - saying things they have been bottling inside for far too long. The end is where the truth comes out - sometimes painfully so.
Seems that's what the Advent texts are doing for us... starting at the ending - it's the best place to begin.
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