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Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, November 27, 2005

1st Sunday of Advent 12/04/05 Text Matthew 13:33-37 Title: Come Lord Jeus

1st Sunday of Advent
12/04/2005
Text: Matthew 13:33-37
Title: Come Lord Jesus.

O Lord, keep us watchful while it is day. Grant us strength and steadfastness that we might be ever vigilant in Your promises and grace. We give thanks for Christ our Lord, our strength and our hope. In His name we pray. Amen.
I want to tell you a story this morning about 3 devils that would get together every Tuesday morning to compare notes on the best way to get people to fall away from God.
The first devil said, “I tell people that there is no God, but that doesn’t work as much as I would like to, because people are too smart for that. They look around and they see how complex and marvelous the universe is, and they know that there is a God.”
The second devil said, “I tell them there is a God, but that the Bible is not from God, that it is only the writings of people who lived long ago. People are usually too smart for that too. They look into the Bible and see how wise and holy and helpful it is, and they know that God had to have a hand in writing it. I need to find something that works better than that.
The third devil said with a smirk, “You losers, I have a better system. I tell people that there is a God and that the Bible does come from God.” But then I tell them, “But what’s the rush? Sit back, relax, and enjoy life; you can do it tomorrow. And that my fellow devils, works almost every time.”
What the last devil shared with his buddies in crime is exactly why Saint Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down what he did. Sitting back and relaxing as far as spiritual issues go, is almost an American pastime.
The Gospel lesson we are looking at this morning is the last of many warnings concerning the last days that Saint Mark recorded in chapter 13 of his Gospel. In this particular story we find Jesus is holding a private conversation with four of his most trusted disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Jesus is telling them a parable in which he likens his future ascension to heaven to a man going on a long trip and not knowing exactly when he would get back home.
Jesus tells them that before the man left he assigned each one of his servants, actually in the Greek, slaves, to do a particular task while he is gone. To one of his most trusted slaves he assigns the task of watching the door of his home. It was a dangerous time to live, so you had to have your most trusted slave watch the entry door, so that only those who he knew gained entry.
Jesus then tells his four disciples that were sitting there with him that day, that the meaning of the parable is that they are not to “let him find you sleeping.” Then he tells them that this does not just apply to them but to who of his disciples, that’s us. .
Now it is just plain ol common sense that you don’t watch for someone that is dead, but someone alive. You watch for the owner of this earth, that is Jesus, so that you are ready for his arrival, no matter what time he comes back.
So then, does Jesus warning to keep watching apply to us today? Maybe this is just one of those texts that only pertained to the people when it was written. For after all they firmly believed that Jesus was going to come back before they died. They waited expectantly for his return.
Are we expectantly waiting for Jesus’ return? Or, are we too busy to watch for his coming, especially now with all the demands on our time. Has the thought ever crossed your mind that you really don’t have time for Jesus to come back, at least right now? There are just too many places to go, people to see, and things to do, and purchases to make. Has the thought ever crossed your mind that since it has been almost 2000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven, that he is not coming back anytime soon, why look for his return now?
If you have ever thought any of those things you might consider that waiting for the Messiah has been the job of the church ever since Adam and Eve were giving the promise of a Savior. That is what we who are members of God’s church are suppose to do, wait and watch. We don’t know when the end will come, be we do believe there will be a fulfillment of history, for he told us in his Holy Scriptures that he is coming back.
Oh, we might have felt like the end was imminent when we were going through the hurricane, for that was a time of distress and fear. But I would wager that most people quickly fell back into their old habits, as they got spiritually sleepy, forgetting the urgency of waiting for Jesus’ return. It is then that the end times seem to be far away and we get tired of waiting.
Remember I said earlier that one of the jobs of the Christian church is to wait. It was also the job of the Old Testament people too, for the people of Israel waited for centuries for the Messiah to appear. The Psalmists and the prophets gave voice to incredible visions of hope and longing. Then suddenly the Messiah came! He walked the earth, spoke incredible words, and performed amazing miracles.
He did not live long on this earth. His ministry was only about three years. In the end he was betrayed, arrested, crucified, and buried. But he did not stay in the grave. He rose alive and well. Witnesses by the hundreds reported seeing him alive. Then he was gone, but not gone forever, for he promised he would be back.
Now it is our turn to wait. We are in the same place the people of old found themselves in, as they waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. We too are waiting for the Messiah to return. We are waiting for his promise to be kept. We are waiting for rescue from the daily grind of life and the sin we all struggle with. We are in fact waiting for the fulfillment of history.
Just like the Israelites were instructed by the prophets in how they were to wait, we have some excellent instructions on what form our waiting should take. We don’t have Moses, or Elijah, those great prophets of old, but we do have access to the waiting, the longing, expressed in the Old Testament by the very people who were waiting for the Messiah.
That in its self should be enough, but we have even more, for we also have the writings of the New Testament witness’s to the expected second coming of the Messiah. We like the Israel of old are waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. They waited for the first coming, while we wait for the second coming.
That is why on this the first Sunday of Advent we are looking at a text that talks of the second coming. You see the intention of all of our readings during Advent is to create in us that same kind of anticipation and longing that the people of Israel felt as they waited for the first coming of the Messiah.
The Gospel of Mark is to be to our ears and hearts much like what happens when you hear a song that brings back memories of a time past. There is one song that does that for me. It is, “Itty Bitty Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”. When I hear that song I am instantly transported back into time to the Landa Park pool on a hot summer day. I can hear the clatter of the pinball machines, the laughter of my friends, the taste of the cherry coke, when you could still get them from a soda fountain, and the smells of summer. Oh, if only I could go back to those days.
But I digress and need to get back to what I am supposed to be talking about, our Gospel reading for today and its meaning for us. Mark’s words, actually God’s words, are to stir up within us hope, and longing for Jesus’ return. Just like I am sure that you are transported back into time when you hear a particular song, we are to be transported by God’s words back to a time when the people of Israel were waiting for the birth of the Messiah, so that we might join them as we wait in eager anticipation for the Messiah.
Let yourself go deep into our Advent readings, hymns, and prayers for the next four weeks. Let the Holy Spirit create in you those same longings and feelings of anticipation that the people of old felt. Get in touch with the excitement they felt, as we look to the return of our Messiah.
I have no doubt that if you let yourself be immersed into the Word of God, that you will experience those kinds of feelings today and for the next four weeks as we journey though Advent. Then when Christmas Day arrives you will be fully ready to sing that wonderful hymn, “Joy to the World, the Lord has come.” Amen