Expecting the Unexpected – sermon on November 27, 2016
Matthew 24: 36-44 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Sermon: Expecting the Unexpected by Rev. Doreen Oughton
Are there any Black Friday shoppers here? According to Wikipedia, the day after Thanksgiving has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the U.S since 1932. For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 a.m., but in the last decade or so, many had crept to 5:00 or 4:00. And then that was pushed further in the past 5 or so years, with stores opening at midnight. And then they moved right into Thanksgiving Day, initially at 8 p.m. then even to 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. This morning’s scripture passages are all about preparation and waiting, speaking to the human difficulty with waiting. Whether it was retailers impatient to get our money, or shoppers impatient for their bargains, this is just one example of the trouble we have with it.
The people gospel-writer Matthew was writing to were getting impatient as well. They had been told that Christ would be returning to usher in God’s reign. They’d been told it would happen within their lifetime, but everything around them seemed much the same as ever. And so we have Matthew, and all the gospel writers, sharing Jesus’ warning that the end of things as they know them would come unexpectedly. No one knows when, not even Jesus himself. So don’t be fooled by people who say they do know. And don’t give up. Keep believing, keep preparing.
We are in the church season of Advent, the season of waiting. And we may wonder what we are to be waiting for. Since it leads into Christmas, we may assume we are waiting for the birth of Christ, but of course that happened a few thousand years ago. We may be waiting for the birthday party. Our scripture passage talks about waiting for the return of Christ. But that implies that he left us. And we proclaim that Christ has not gone, but lives within and among us. Christmas is a celebration of what was begun, not only a few thousand years ago, but from the time of creation, and Advent continues in large and small ways as we wait for completion – completion of the work of creation, and completion of the work of incarnation. God made the world and declared it good; then took on human form and walked among us to show us what was possible – life in eternal, mutually-giving love. But we are not there yet, all of us living in that Beloved Community. So we have Jesus assuring his disciples, and us, that it there is indeed a fulfillment to come. We must wait and prepare.
Every year the lectionary assigns a similar text for the first Sunday of Advent, something involving the Son of Man coming, and some people being taken up and some left. Some people have used these texts to develop a theology of end times and rapture – with true believers being taken away to a good place, and non-believers being left behind to face trials and tribulations. But it is not clear from the text whether it is better to be taken or left. Notice that the people in the examples Jesus gives are not doing anything sinful. He refers to the time of Noah, when people are celebrating – out to parties and weddings and banquets. And he refers to men working in the field and women grinding flour – ordinary people going about daily tasks. He doesn’t say the righteous ones were taken up and sinners left. In fact, the word translated as “left” here, can also mean forgiven or let be, where the word translated as taken can have a connotation of being hauled off. And who was “taken” in the flood – Noah and his family, or everyone else?
In some ways, it may not matter. Jesus says not to spend time trying to figure out just when these things will happen, and maybe we don’t need to be too caught up in what it will look like, whether we will be taken or swept away or let be. What’s coming is completion and fulfillment in the ways of Christ – again, a way of love and justice and mercy for all. This passage was meant to assure the disciples and us, not to threaten or scare us. Because unexpected things happen to us all the time. Is there anyone here who’s life has gone according to plan? Is there anyone who was never surprised by a turn that was taken? What if we updated the examples Jesus employs just a bit? Two colleagues were working; one was diagnosed with cancer, another not. Two candidates applied for a coveted job; one was chosen, the other not. Two kids were navigating their way through high school; one succumbed to a drug addiction, the other not. Two couples were joined in marriage; one stayed married, the other did not. Two towns were built near a river; one was destroyed by flooding and one was not. Our lives are filled with unexpected, surprising, and life-altering events. And in the midst of all of this, we are invited – actually, commanded – to keep watch for the presence of the God we know in Jesus. This isn’t always easy, especially when the unexpected event is tragic. Sometimes you have to wait a while to see where God is at work and that can be painfully hard. Yet the promise throughout Scripture is that God reliably meets us at our point of greatest need and accompanies us even and especially in the most difficult of circumstances. Perhaps this is one place where church can make a difference – reminding us to look, to trust, to give us companions in the waiting.
We know that unexpected things will happen, and we try to protect ourselves from them. We have all kinds of insurance of course, but we seek protection in other ways as well. Maybe we avoid risks, or getting too close to people. Maybe we turn away from the suffering of others so that it doesn’t remind us of our own vulnerability. But the truth is that the precariousness of life is one of the things that makes it so precious. In our fear, we deny this. But I wonder, if we took to heart Jesus’ assurance about the fulfillment to come, if we might risk the vulnerability that brings us even closer to it. Jesus hasn’t left us after all. He remains with us and he remains for us, even, and maybe especially, in our most vulnerable, tender places.
These texts are not about trying to get a leg up on the so-called “second coming.” They are about how to live as followers of Jesus in the midst of chaos, and the challenge of living as faithful people in challenging situations. What is it we are to keep watch for? How can we expect the unexpected? Perhaps we can pay attention to the people closest to us. How will we give and receive love in those relationships? And we can pay attention to the people we encounter as we go about our daily living. How might our interactions aim toward being holy moments full of grace? Or we can pay attention especially to people who are not like us. How can we learn from them and about them? We can pay attention to God and to what God is doing in the world. How can we awaken our senses to notice goodness and peace? We can pay attention to ourselves. How will we be awake to body, soul, spirit, and values during Advent? How will that self-awareness translate into how we spend our time? Can we pay attention to the fact that we are not the masters here, just servants – people with the honor of serving our loving God and God’s plan for the kindom to come?
Everything I understand from scripture and my own experience with Christ is that preparation means giving up all our attempts to manipulate or control events or other people; and preparation means opening ourselves up, being vulnerable, even caught unawares. We will fall asleep to our lives sometimes. We will lose sight of God’s grace towards us, Christ’s presence with us, the Spirit’s movement among us. But we can come back here for the wakeup call. We can gather regularly for the nudge to pay attention again, to acknowledge God at work in the world and be assured of the kindom to come. May it be so.
