Today's Scripture Reading (December 22, 2020): Mark 13
Christmas is almost here, which, of course,
means that Advent is almost over. Advent simply means "a time of waiting."
And every Advent is actually not really a reminder that Christmas is coming,
but rather that there was a time when the world was waiting; a time when the
Messiah had not yet come, a time when all of the miracles that Jesus did had
not yet happened. I once had the privilege of serving under a Senior Pastor who
banned Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. He reasoned that you couldn't sing
"The First Noel" before the birth of Jesus; the song didn't make sense
before the birth of Jesus. "Away in the Manger" and "Hark the
Herald Angels, Sing" don't make sense in a world that had never seen the
child in the manger or angels singing their greeting to the shepherds. I am not
sure the congregation ever accepted the plan, but there were no Christmas
Carols sung in that church before Christmas Eve; however, we did extend the
singing of the much-loved carols into January.
Of course, we cheated. We cheat every year.
When we celebrate Advent, it is a short four-week celebration. And we know the
particular day that it will end. Even in a church that refuses to sing carols
during Advent, we know that we will sing the carols once again in four weeks
and a little bit on December 24. We know that in mere days we will greet the
child in the manger. The wait might be lengthy for a child waiting for presents
under the tree, but we know precisely when the waiting will end. The first
time, before the manger and the angels, they didn't know that end date. They
were waiting, not knowing when the waiting would end.
But just because our Advent waiting ends in a
couple of days doesn't mean that we are not still waiting. Yes, we will soon celebrate
the first coming of the Messiah, but we also know that Jesus is coming again.
And for the past two millennia, we have been once again waiting, not knowing when
that day would come.
Jesus cautions his disciples to live their
lives in a condition of alert because you do not know when this time of Advent
will end. Jesus's followers were asking for the signs and signals of the end.
Maybe they didn't realize at that moment that they were asking about Jesus's
second coming; after all, they didn't yet realize that Jesus would be leaving
them. We have developed an industry around the question of when the end will
come. But the truth is that Jesus's answer was a simple one; "Don't worry
about the signs of my return. Just be on guard and stay alert. Then the end of
this time of Advent won't be a surprise to you."
We live with the same advice today. Don't grow
tired of doing good. Live every day in the expectation of Jesus's return, and
you will be okay. You don't need to know the answer to the question of when.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke 20
No comments:
Post a Comment