ADVENT 1A - Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 - 2 December 2007 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Be Ready to Be Surprised By God

 

INTRODUCTION - Jesus’ Second Coming

 

On this, the first Sunday of Advent, we get absolutely no hints that Christmas is coming, that a child is about to be born in a lowly manger in Bethlehem, with angels and shepherds and the star and all the rest of it. No, on this Sunday we get Jesus fully grown and at what would prove to be the end of his life on earth, teaching his disciples some of the last things that he would teach them before he would be betrayed and arrested and killed. And one of the things Jesus talks about is his return - his Second Coming - when, as we heard in the opening minutes of today’s service, “he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead...” (Collect for the First Sunday of Advent, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 211)

 

What does he say about his return?

 

He says no one will know the day or hour, not even him. Only his Father in heaven knows when that time will be.

 

He says people will be going about their lives in the same kind of oblivious way that folks were doing that prior to the flood, when Noah was building the ark, and suddenly - wham! - he will be back.

 

He says that when he returns two people will be working side by side, whether they are out in the field or grinding meal, and suddenly “one will be taken and one will be left.” We know that his disciples had experienced the loss of loved ones, just as we have. They had experienced the loss and grief associated with being the one left behind. He left them and us to contemplate what it would be like to be in the group that was taken, and what it would be like to be in the group left behind.

 

And finally, he compared his coming to a thief who comes in the middle of the night and breaks into your house! He says, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (Matthew 24:44)

 

BEING READY FOR THE SECOND COMING

 

How can we be ready? How can we be prepared for someone when you don’t know his arrival time? How can you be ready, when your guest could come anytime between right now and the end of your life? I think the answer lies not in thinking about the Second Coming of Jesus, but in thinking about all the ways the Lord shows up to us right now. The answer lies in reflecting on all the comings and goings of the Lord, between his First Coming in Bethlehem around the year 4 B.C., and his Second Coming, when he will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

How do you experience the Lord coming into your life right now?

 

Perhaps we should back up for a moment.

 

In the time of ancient Israel, if you wanted to experience the presence of God, what did you do? You traveled to Jerusalem. Why? Because everyone knew that was the #1 place to encounter God - in the Temple, on Mount Zion. That is why we hear in today’s reading from Isaiah, “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house [the temple] shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob [the temple]; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2-3)

 

Or again, in the Psalm: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord [the temple].’ ...Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:1, 6) Why pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Because that is where the Lord hung out - in the temple... in the house that was built for him.

 

Fast forward to today and it’s a different scene. Jesus has come once and lived on this earth. He taught and loved and was killed and was raised on the third day. And he taught about the Holy Spirit being given to all who believe. And what that means is this: the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of God - resides within you and within me. And it means that the risen Lord can show up at any time.

 

We can come to church today, expecting to experience the presence of God, expecting to hear the word of the Lord, just as the Jews in ancient Israel did when they entered the temple. That is what you might call experiencing God at the expected hour. But now the Lord can show up anytime, any where. As Sam Pottinger said in the Lectio Divina class last Sunday, “The coming of the Lord is at any moment. Those who are aware see the presence, the coming of the Lord... suddenly the presence of Christ is upon us. The coming of Christ is now!”

 

HOW WE EXPERIENCE THE COMING (AND COMING AGAIN) OF CHRIST

 

Isn’t that true? You might be out shopping, and if you are ready - aware - you suddenly experience the Lord’s presence - wham! - in that unexpected hour.

 

You might be baking cookies, and if you are ready - aware - you suddenly experience the Lord’s presence - wham! - in that unexpected hour.

 

You meet someone you’ve never met before, and if you are ready - aware - you suddenly experience the Lord’s presence - wham! - in that unexpected hour.

 

You are talking to a friend during a walk together, or at a meal, or over a cup of tea, and suddenly - wham! - you experience the Lord’s presence in that unexpected hour.

 

You are worried about a relative who isn’t doing well, or concerned about your upcoming surgery, or reading a book, or listening to some music, or folding some laundry, and suddenly, in that unexpected hour, the Holy Spirit nudges you, and you are aware, and you experience the Lord to be right there with you.

 

WILL YOU ALLOW THE LORD TO BREAK IN?

 

The irony of Jesus’ image about the thief in the night is this: with a thief, if you knew he was coming to break into your house, you’d be awake, and do everything in your power to stop him, just as Jesus says. But that isn’t the way we experience God. God is not as predictable and as confinable as that. Yes, we can do some things that help make us more ready to receive the Lord’s presence. We can pray. We can pay attention. We can look around, with the eyes of faith. But even when we do those things, we can’t control when the Lord will show up, and how. We are not that powerful, and God, being God, is not our personal puppet to maneuver any way we choose.

 

But it is the nature of God to show up. It is the nature of God to reveal Himself. It is the nature of God to come to where we are - just as he did in his First Coming, in Bethlehem, and then in Galilee, and in Jerusalem - and bless us.

 

So, how do you get ready for the Lord’s Second Coming? You practice being ready, by looking for Him in all the comings and goings that happen between his First Coming and his Second Coming. And here’s the twist on Jesus’ words. You wouldn’t let a thief break into your house if you were home. But the thief that is Jesus is waiting to break into your house - your life - at any moment. The coming of Jesus is at any moment. It’s not predictable. He comes at an unexpected hour.

 

Will you be ready? Will you allow the Lord to break into your house, your life, your heart? Will you let Him in, even when he knocks on the door, and you say to yourself, “Man, how did you do that again, Lord? I thought I was ready for you. But you still caught me off guard!”

 

Will you let him in, whenever he shows up this Advent? Be ready. Be ready to be surprised by the Lord - again and again and again. For He doesn’t just come at the expected hour. He also comes at an unexpected hour. That is the mystery and majesty of our Lord.

 

Thanks be to God!