Are you ready? That’s the question I’ve already heard several times. Last week it was, “Are you ready for Thanksgiving?” And, already this weekend it’s “Are you ready for Christmas?”
Every store in the mall has been ready for Christmas since before Halloween. The repetition of Christmas songs on the PA system urges us to spend beyond our intentions. Every child who has paged through the J C Penney Christmas catalog has dog-eared the pages of the toys, electronics, and – yes – even clothes that are on the ever-lengthening list of must haves. Everyone is getting ready. Are you ready? Are you ready for the advent of the Messiah? Today is the first Sunday of the Church year. As life begins for each of us while we’re formed in our mother’s womb, so the church year begins in anticipation of a birth, the birth of Jesus. Each of us parents has had hopes, plans and expectations for our children. Each of us children has heard time and again of our parents’ hopes, plans and expectations of US. But, that little baby born in Bethlehem had more than just his mother’s hopes and dreams to live up to.
That child was destined from before his birth to be the Savior of all
creation – ALL creation, not just a chosen few.
Not just the ones who deserve salvation,
not just the ones who follow all the rules,
not just the ones who don’t associate with the unclean,
not just the ones who think they’re righteous because they’re in church.
Jesus was destined from before his birth to be the Savior of ALL creation.
We don’t know exactly how God is going to work all of that out. We don’t know exactly WHEN God is going to work all of that out. But, we DO know that God promised the world Jesus’ life, death and resurrection would accomplish all his divine parent had in mind for him. Jesus, the baby born in a stable, would repair the brokenness of centuries of sin. Not only the sin before he was born, but all the sin afterward, too.
That salvation is a task that only GOD could complete. And, because we live 2000 years AFTER the birth of Jesus, we know that God accomplished the goal set for this tiny infant. With a life span of just over 30 years, Jesus accomplished more than any other person on earth could ever do.
The gospel writer, Mark, reminds his readers of Jesus’ accomplishments. He reminds them that the end WILL come. They will not know the day or the hour, but they are to live their lives prepared for that day. Would they be ready? Are YOU ready?
Mark’s writing style is what theologians call “apocalyptic” writing. He writes about the end of time by creating word pictures. Image after image is offered for our consideration as Mark unveils the devastating events God has revealed to him.
Mark’s visions are indeed frightening if they are ALL one sees in his writings. But, of course, Mark didn’t write only about the trials and challenges yet to come. Mark also offered a word of hope. And, he unwrapped that beautiful package one layer at a time. His writing doesn’t end with suffering and pain; it ends with resurrection and new life. Mark’ s gospel is a short story with a surprise ending – the new life of Christ and the promise that this new life is for ALL creation.
If I were to guess, I’d bet some of you were among those frantic Friday shoppers on the busiest shopping day of the season – the Christmas shopping season, that is. You were crazy enough to brave the pre-holiday mall on the day after Thanksgiving. Perhaps you’d searched the ads in Wednesday’s paper and made a list so you’d be able to find just the right gift for one person or another. And then you took these first findings home and immediately wrapped them in colorful paper and tied them up with bows. It’s not time, yet, for these special boxes to be unwrapped. There’s a special date on the calendar when we’ll open these gifts.
In some ways, Mark’s writing is like a wrapped gift. But, from our 2000-year vantage point, you and I have a peek inside. We know what life-changing present is tied up in those pages. We’ve read and re-read the stories, heard countless sermons on his words, meditated and prayed and studied and pondered Mark’s message. But, the date has not yet arrived when we can know the full impact of the gift Mark promises to us in Jesus. Is there a calendar where we can find that all-important date recorded? When will it be time for all Mark’s predictions to come true? Will we be ready?
In verse 32 Mark reminds us, “About that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Do you remember all the hype about the Y2K predictions? – the power failures, computer crashes, airline difficulties, governmental upsets, stock market confusion and all the other scare tactics people predicted for January 1, 2000? There were even some religious folks using scare tactics to frighten their followers into being prepared for the end of the world on the very same date. Remember all the hubbub?
Throughout history, cataclysmic events have been held up as examples of the nearness of the end of time, the apocalypse. And, yet the end of the world hasn’t happened yet. We’ve seen the warnings come and go and we’ve become complacent. January 1, 2000, came and went, and the predicted doomsday didn’t manifest itself. The truth is, as Mark wrote, NO ONE knows when the end will come but God almighty. And that information hasn’t been revealed to ANYONE, not even the “Son of Man,” Jesus himself.
Since no one knows exactly when Christ will come again, we need to be ready at all times. Maybe Christ will come again on January 1, 2003. Maybe on Christmas day. Maybe right now. (Pause, look around.) Well, it COULD happen! The point is, no matter when the end of time comes, we need to be alert. Stay awake. Be ready. Prepare ourselves. That’s a lot of what this Church season of Advent is all about. We have these four weeks before Christmas to get ourselves ready for the celebration of the birth of a baby in Bethlehem – a baby who changed the world. So, rouse yourselves, examine your lives, get ready.
With all that goes on in society in these weeks before Christmas, it’s easy to forget that we in the church have a different “gift” in mind than the general public – or we SHOULD, anyway. It’s easy to be distracted by the familiar tunes playing in the stores, by the lights and parades and parties. It’s easy to fall into the commercial trappings of “X-MAS” and forget all about watching and being ready for Christ’s coming. But, while we wait, we have signs and symbols here to remind us of what we’re waiting for. We have the bread and the cup that Jesus gave to his disciples, so that WE can be strengthened for the journey like they were.
Each Sunday as we gather at the Lord’s table to receive his body and blood, the eternal gift is unwrapped: The beautifully decorated covering is removed from the waiting cup and plate. The wine and the bread are brought to the table, as it’s set by willing servants. With our tithes and offerings we return to the Lord the gifts he has first given us: our selves, our time and our possessions. And in return, even before we offer what we bring, we know we are gifted with forgiveness, new life and hope for the future.
The time IS coming when we will be tested. The future will very likely hold a time of fear. But, through it all, we will be strengthened with the promise Jesus has made to his friends and family: “I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth.” And we will be comforted, held in the hand of God through whatever is to come.
Are we ready? We are if we remember: No illness can take us out of God’s hand. No personal crisis. No family disappointment. No pressure from society. NOTHING can remove us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This wonderful gift is ours – and not only ours! Look again at the words Mark wrote down so we’d remember: “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27)
Who are these elect, these chosen ones the Son of Man will gather? They
are the ones the Savior was sent to save. They are the people God created,
the ones who turned away,
the ones Isaiah foretold,
the ones who have enemies,
the ones who fade like a leaf.
Each one of us, and all those others we know in the world who fit this description are “the work of God’s hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) Who are the elect? God has chosen to save ALL creation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Are you ready for THAT?
That tiny baby, whom we eagerly wait to welcome again in just a few short weeks, was given for me, given for YOU, given for the salvation of all creation. Come to the table to receive the gift again. Receive forgiveness, new life, and hope. God has chosen you to unwrap the greatest gift of all. Are you ready? Amen.
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, for all people according to their needs:
God of heaven and earth, come. Come with your power and might. Frighten us into acknowledging you as Lord of our lives. Your anger passes and your love redeems. Deliver us from our sins and shape us in your image once again. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Isaiah 64)
Shepherd of Israel, come. Your people are scattered throughout the world you formed. Be present with all government leaders that they may lead their nations with wisdom, justice and mercy. Restore us, your people, so we might look with compassion on our neighbors. Turn us back to you. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Psalm 80)
Son of Man, come. Nourish all who suffer in body, mind or spirit. For those who battle addictions; for those who live in fear for their lives; for the hungry and the homeless; for those who are persecuted by prejudice, we pray. Come in power and might to gather them and us within your love. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (Mark 13:24-37)
Strong God, come. Reach out to touch the lives of those who know you and those as yet unknowing. Give them the strength to overcome illness, depression, anxiety, weakness, loneliness and whatever threatens their wholeness. Today we lift in prayer...
Are there others we should include in our prayers?
Grace them with your love so they are not lacking in any spiritual gift as we wait for you. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. (1Cor 1:3-9)
Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Comments to Linda at Linda_Kraft@Ecunet.org.)
Linda Kraft, Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Trumbull, CT