December 1, 2019
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44
We live in a time of
uncertainty. There is certainly plenty to cause us anxiety these days. There is
the rising tension between the U.S. and China, and Russia. There is ongoing war
in the Middle-East. There is economic unrest and unemployment, farmers have
been hit hard by weather and tariffs. Things seem pretty fearful in the world
right now. Are the nations beating their ploughshares into swords, and their
pruning hooks into spears? It seems that way sometimes. And it seems as if
there is little we can do about it except worry.
I worry about how I’m going to
pay for college for Zach and Nathan. I worry about the health of my parents,
the condition of my dishwasher, and the political divisions driving us apart.
What does it all mean? Where are we headed? And is there anything I can do
about it? Sometimes, dare I say it, I fear for the future. I’m sure there are
times when you do as well. Change comes faster and faster these days, and it’s
hard to keep up with it all.
Part of that fear, I suppose, is
because I think I’m supposed to know the answers. I’m a faithful person, I
believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Church Universal, and
etcetera. I’m supposed to have it all figured out, right? But my faith doesn’t
always help me figure out the right thing to do. There are times when I have no
idea what God would have me do in a given situation. There’s nothing in the
Bible about cell phones, Facebook, pesticides, electric automobiles, or noise
pollution.
The disciples lived with
uncertainty too. In this story from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has entered
Jerusalem and cleansed the temple. He has just finished a lengthy denunciation
of the scribes and Pharisees in chapter twenty-three. The disciples, who know
who Jesus is, are starting to worry that things are not going how they
expected, and in their fear they anticipate the end times. They ask Jesus,
“Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of
the end of the age?”[1]
There have been many predictions
of the end of time, and all of them (so far) have not come true. Jesus tells
them about many signs; but more importantly he says, “about that day and hour
no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son.”[2]
There is some mysterious day in the future when the judgment will come, but
even Jesus doesn’t know when that will be. Yes, Jesus doesn’t know everything;
and you know what? We’re not supposed to know everything either. Uncertainty is
to be expected. It is nothing to fear. And faith certainly doesn’t mean living
without uncertainty, not for the disciples, and not for us.
It is possible to live with
uncertainty, to keep moving steadily into the future with no guarantee that
we’re on the right path. Jesus points us toward the everyday tasks of living –
eating and drinking, marrying, working in the fields and grinding the meal –
doing them faithfully in wakefulness. Keep living your life, keep an eye on
what is to come, but keep your focus on the here and now, live a faithful life,
and keep awake.
“You know what time it is,” Paul
wrote to the Romans, “how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.”[3]
Things seem pretty troubling in the world today, but “the night is far gone,
the day is near.”[4] It
may be dark now, but a change is coming. When the doorbell rings, it is too
late to clean the house. Jesus is coming; quick, everyone look busy!
Yes, we should do good works. Yes,
we should do the best we can, uncertain whether we are right or wrong at times,
faithfully going about the work we believe God would have us do in this world.
But fear not! We’re not supposed to do everything ourselves. We’re not supposed
to save the world. That job is already taken. Our role is to be God’s hands in
the world, to work toward the realm of God, and the work that we do will be
enough. Our task is to keep faith, joy, and love alive in the midst of uncertain
times, and watch for the signs of hope.
What we must do is choose how we
go about that work. The Rev. Mark Yurs, a pastor in Wisconsin writes, “The key
element for Jesus is not the work, important as it is. The indispensable part
of faithful work is [what] Jesus names as watchfulness or wakefulness.” [5]
As we do good works in the world, the way we do the work, the watchfulness that
we maintain, is what really matters. And what is it were supposed to be
watching for? The disciple is the one who is watchful for the signs of the
coming realm of God. “Hope will come,” Rev. Yurs continues, “the deepest, best,
and highest shall come – not from our work but from somewhere outside and
beyond it.”[6]
The disciples don’t bring the hope, they point out where hope is present.
We are faced with an uncertain
future. Things look grim, for many people around the world, for people in this
community, and for people in this room. We are at a decision point. We can’t go
backward, searching for halcyon days that weren’t as golden as we like to
remember them. We can’t stick with the old reality. If we do that, things will
only get worse. We have to start living into the future. The decision is
whether we fear the new reality, or if we face it with hope. Do we trust the
signs? Do we trust the prophets? Do we trust Emmanuel?
How do we live into that future?
Do we allow ourselves to be driven by fear, or do we watch for signs of hope?
Do we point out all the things that give us reason to give up, or do we keep
our eyes open for ways in which we can make a difference? Do we turn our backs
on people in need, or do we work together as people who have faith that things
can be better? As Christians, we live into the future with glad anticipation,
with hopeful urgency, awake with expectation of the dawn. “In days to come the
mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the
mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to
it.”[7]
Let us pray. O come, O come,
Emmanuel. God be with us. Cheer our spirits, disperse the clouds of night. Show
us the path of knowledge, give us hope, and fill the whole world with heaven’s
peace. Jesus, as we come to your table, take from us our fear, and give to us
your hope. Amen.
[1]
Matthew 24:3. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]
Matthew 24:36.
[3]
Romans 13:11.
[4]
Romans 13:12.
[5]
Mark E. Yurs, “Homiletical Perspective” on Matthew 24: 36-44 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised
Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 1 (Louisville :
Westminster
[6] Ibid.
[7]
Isaiah 2:2.
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