Matthew
24:36-44
In the secular world, the holiday
season has begun in earnest.
Shopping frenzy, Christmas Adds, seasonal music pumped through store
speakers, and the round of Holiday parties will soon be in full swing. It won’t
be long before many partake in an
annual office, or work, Christmas party. Many people really love work Christmas
parties, and for good reason. It’s an opportunity to decompress, let your
hair-down and engage in some good-old fashioned merriment amidst the green,
red, and white decorations which have transformed the hum-drum of everyday
work-space into a little slice of
winter wonderland.
But
in the last few years, it has come to the attention of many that while office
parties can be a time for celebration, they can also be a time for trouble.
Employers have traditionally sponsored office parties to give employees an
opportunity to celebrate, to relax, to enjoy food and drink. But some have
taken the office party as an opportunity to take things too far. Instead of having a jolly drink or two,
they get inebriated. Instead of engaging in friendly banter, they get obnoxious
and insulting, and even aggressive. Instead of having a polite dance, they make
inappropriate and unwanted advances to colleagues. They have taken things too far
because they operate under a false impression. The false impression is that
because the employer has sponsored the party, anything goes. That because the
company has given its employees a few hours to make merry, it is time to take
advantage of that time for selfish purposes. The false impression can lead to
costly consequences—it can lead to serious embarrassment, discipline, and has
even led to termination. In recent
years some employers have issued warnings in advance of the party, just to let
people know that they are still at work, that the boss is still watching, that
company standards still apply, that people are still accountable for their
actions. And it is important that employees anticipate potential consequences.
Now,
while the secular world is beginning to enjoy the secular celebrations of
Christmas with activities like office parties, the church places special
emphasis on Advent as the season of anticipation. Advent celebrates two kinds
of anticipation. The first is that it
remembers and celebrates Israel’s historical anticipation of the Messiah
come into the world. Through our hymns and liturgy, including the lighting of
the Advent wreath, we move through the space of that anticipation, leading to
the Messiah’s arrival on Christmas in the form of the baby Jesus. From the
perspective of that understanding, we anticipate what has already happened. But
the second kind of anticipation speaks to what is going to happen, what has not
yet occurred—this is the second arrival of Christ into the World. This is the
anticipated event about which today’s lessons speak. These lessons contain both
a marvelous vision, and an ominous warning. The marvelous vision is of reality
created anew, an age of unending and everlasting peace. “They shall,” writes
the prophet Isaiah, “beat their swords into plowshires, and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war anymore.” The house
of the Lord will be established and will be clearly visible. There will be no
more death, or dying, or suffering. Christ shall reign for eternity. Jesus will
preside at an unending feast when all will be fed with God’s unending love.
But
the pathway to that new reality will not be an easy one. Scripture tells us
that there will be much tribulation, and the people of God will be put through
many trials. And in the midst of those trials, the people will be called on to
trust in God’s promise that the new day, beyond the pain will arrive. And God will continue to
feed His people with the Word of promise. God will be faithful and steadfast.
In that great and long in between-time, between the passing of the Old Age,
characterized by sin and death, and suffering, and the emergence of the New Age
ruled over by Christ, God will feed his people, will feed his people with food
from the great eternal feast of love. During that great and long in between
time, those who trust in Christ will live in the light of his promised return.
We
live in that time, brothers and sisters—the time between Christ’s great victory
over Sin and Death, and his coming arrival. Through God’s Word proclaimed, we have been fed with this
promise. We have been given the gift of eternal life, and the promise of
victory, even when it seems that death is triumphant. This is the greatest
cause of celebration ever. This is the source of Christian freedom and
confidence and joy. By forgiving our sins, God has made us part of this kingdom
which will last for eternity. This
is the marvelous vision all Christians are called to proclaim.
But what about the ominous warning? What is
that all about? In today’s
Gospel Reading Jesus describes what will be a great age of complacency, and
self-satisfaction, days much like those before the great flood which swept away
all but Noah and his family. The complacency of the present will also be swept
away. Jesus is coming to establish his rule, and this will catch many people
unexpected. Just like the folks who don’t expect the boss to step in and
exercise discipline at the out-of-control office party, most will be caught by
surprise. Jesus warns his followers
not to be caught by surprise—not to live as if the world as it now exists will
always be this way. When Christ arrives to establish his kingdom in fullness,
things will not be the same. When Christ arrives the second time, he is not
arriving to go to the cross. He is coming to run things according to God’s
total and complete will—and there will be no room for anything which opposes
God’s will. There will be no more room for the old ways of being. In today’s
epistle reading Paul issues a stern “wake-up call” to the Christian community
in Rome. As we read this, we have to realize that Paul does not know exact
dates or times. As our Lord tells us—this knowledge is held by the Father only.
But Paul knows that it is going to happen. He also knows that while each and
every Christian has been internally renewed by faith, sin still has power in
their lives. Sin, though ultimately defeated on the cross, still has the power
to draw believers into trouble, draw believers into the worship of self, where
self-satisfaction is the highest good, and where the grace of god becomes
perversely characterized as a licence to sin, where God’s deep love and concern
for the poor and outcast is ignored. Some of the Roman Christians were
evidently having trouble understanding this, and needed a wake up call. We read
what Paul said to them and we read what Paul says to us.
We are to be ready. For Christ’s return
could be at any time. The text
tells us it will be a sudden, almost intrusive entry into our reality. And the world will be changed forever.
It is quite easy to believe the idea that things will always be as they
are—that the badness, the pain, the difficulty, will always be around. It is
easy to get used to that idea and to live as if the power of sin and death are ultimate—“eat drink, and be
merry, for tomorrow we die.” But this is not true. We have been shown the
truth. The light of God’s victory has been shone on us, and we are called to
live in that light, and to reflect that light, radiate, that light to others.
We do that by putting on Christ. How do
we do that? We do that by living out our baptisms. Yes, we are baptized
once, but the baptismal process is a matter of a lifetime. Daily, we are called
to die to ourselves, and live for Christ. Daily, we are called to put to death
our selfish parts, and live anew. Daily, we are called to repent, and move
away, from those ways that pull us in the direction of selfishness, and instead
live according to our calling as saints. A New Age is coming, and it will
arrive. But we are not disconnected from it. God is here sustaining us until
that New Age arrives in its fullness. God has not left us alone. No matter how
dark, how painful, how lonely: God has not left you alone. God feeds us with
His Word and his spiritual food. In a moment this family of faith will
participate in Holy Communion, which is the great foretaste of the Feast to
come. This meal transcends
time, cuts across space. It celebrates what God has done, what God is doing,
and what God is going to do. When we feast at this meal of forgiveness we are
feasting in the New Age even while the Old age remains. A New day is coming,
all things have been made new, Jesus will arrive. Until that day arrives,
remain steadfast in faith, put on Christ, and always remember that He is with
you always. Now, may the peace, which surpasses all understanding guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
