Sunday 27th November 2022. Sermon preached at 8am Holy Communion service at All Saints Church, Oakham.
Reading: Matthew 24:36-44
Happy Advent everyone. Or is that incorrect? Should I be saying, sombre Advent everyone? When you hear a reading like that your heart does feel strangely saddened, confused and slightly disturbed. It is the pattern of the Church of England’s lectionary to begin the Advent season with an apocalyptic reading about the end times.
In our Bible reading, Jesus was sat on the Mount of Olives with his disciples. Before that Jesus and the disciples had been at the temple beforehand where Jesus in a mic-drop moment told his disciples as they were looking at the temple that ‘not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’[1] This was a shocking thing to say to the disciples or any Jew. The temple was the symbol of the Jewish people; it was the place where God dwelt among his people on earth. The Jews had already lost the temple to the Babylonians 600 years before that, and this new temple was still less than 30 years since completion. Jesus’ words equated to saying that God’s presence would be taken away from the Jewish people once more, that the Jewish people would be devasted again like they were at the Exile.
The disciples wait till they have Jesus alone on the Mount of Olives and ask him to explain the signs of the end time and when it will happen. Jesus goes on to paint quite a horrific picture of the end times and what will happen when he returns at the end times. The disciples must think this is terrifying. ‘So when will it happen?’ And probably to their great disappointment, Jesus says he doesn’t know. ‘About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son [that is Jesus], but only the Father.’ It is an unknown mystery to us, even 2000 years later. But what Jesus does tell us is that when it does happen, it will come quickly and unexpectedly. Like the people in the days of Noah knew nothing of the flood until it ‘came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man, Jesus. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.’ Just like that, Jesus will return and the end times will come.
I don’t know how you are feeling, but if you are anything like me, you might be a little bit freaked about all of this. Like me you will be thinking, so what do I then do having heard all of this? Thankfully Jesus gives us an answer here.
‘Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.’ So we must keep awake. But that cannot mean don’t sleep, otherwise sleep depravity will lead us all to think that it is the end times. But the instruction to keep awake contains within it this call to stay alert; to be watchful and on the lookout for Jesus. This is why we have this reading at the start of Advent. As we look ahead to the coming of Jesus at Christmas, we also stop to remember Jesus’ promised return and to look out for him. In Advent, we adopt a posture of watchful waiting for Jesus, for his promised return, but more significantly, we are looking for him in our day to day – We look for Jesus now and seek his presence.
In a moment we will gather around the Lord’s Table with the eucharistic prayer, which declares ‘The Lord is here, his Spirit is with us.’ Yet so often we forget that Jesus is here with us. The season of Advent reminds us that Jesus is here. It reminds us to be expectant and watchful, to be on the lookout for him. We are to look out for Jesus every day, and we are to do so now. Jesus doesn’t say ‘start your lookout when you think it is getting close to the end times and Jesus’ return.’ That wouldn’t make sense as none of us knows when Jesus is returning, even Jesus himself. Look out for Jesus now, not later.
We had Black Friday sales this past Friday, and how many times did we see an advertisement that said: ‘get it before it’s gone?’ There is a sense of urgency about finding the discount and getting it right away because who knows how long it will still be there. If you didn’t act straight away on Friday, then you were going to miss out on the deal. Now, let’s be clear, Jesus isn’t some product or commodity that you buy, but he does need seeking out now or you’ll miss him and miss what he has for your life.
Jesus said at the end of our reading: ‘But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’
If you knew that a thief was going to break into your house overnight, you wouldn’t sleep, but you would keep watch and be ready to stop the thief. We know that Jesus is coming, yet we are not ready for his arrival, we are not on the lookout.
Do not become complacent and think that you don’t need to look for Jesus now, that you can leave it till later in your life. I think of the parable of the rich fool in Luke’s gospel. The man who keeps accumulating crops and wealth; building a bigger barn rather than seizing the moment to enjoy what he has grown. Then when he comes to retire, he dies that very night. He missed out on the good things that were in front of him and put it off because he thought they would still be there later, but that wasn’t the case.
How many of us know people who have put stuff off only for the opportunity to disappear? A job opportunity? A relationship? A new skill? Life shows us that if we put stuff off, we can miss out because we do not know what will happen in life. Likewise, we do not know when Jesus will return and the end times will come. So don’t miss Jesus this advent. Be watchful and on the lookout. Be alert and ready to see Jesus. Not just for Jesus’ second coming, but for the presence and work of his Spirit this very day, in this very moment.
So how do we look out for Jesus this advent? If you take nothing else from me this morning, I want you to play hide and seek with Jesus, with you as the seeker. Go out from the stationary place of counting time and go and seek him. Ask the question of every seeker: where are you? In your prayer life, ask Jesus, where are you? Jesus will respond and show you. Ask in our worship, especially as we gather around the Lord’s table. So many of us struggle to see Jesus and find him in our day to day, but how many of us stop to ask the question: where are you? Jesus said ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find. That’s Jesus’ promise to us.
I want to stop speaking now and let God do the speaking instead. Let’s take a moment to be still and ask Jesus: where are you? Where are you around me and in my life? Let me find you as I seek you.
Let’s be still for a moment.
Amen.
[1] Matt 24:2 [NIV].
Shakeel Nurmahi 