Text: Mark 13:24-37
Well, we have another gospel reading about Christ’s second return and God’s final judgment. However, it’s likely many of you don’t remember that far back, so perhaps a review would be helpful. Three weeks ago, we heard the parable of the ten bridesmaids. Five were wise and five were foolish. The five wise ones were commended and let into the wedding banquet. The five foolish ones, when they showed up late were shut out by the groom. The next week, we heard the parable of the talents, where the master gave three slaves money. Two of them invested and grew the master’s money and were commended for it. The third, scared of the master, buried the money in the ground and then simply gave it back to the master. He was condemned and we’re told was “cast into the outer darkness.” Last week, we heard that at the final judgment we’ll be separated into sheep and goats. Sheep are the ones who recognize Jesus in the poor, the suffering, and outcasts and cares for them. They are considered righteous for doing so. The sheep are those who don’t and are shunned. All three readings, just like today’s reading, tell us that a final judgment is coming and Christ will return, but we don’t know when. So we should keep awake and alert….and wait.
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent. The Advent season is a time of waiting. We remember that God’s people waited with hope for the birth of baby Jesus, their long-awaited Messiah and savior. Advent is also a time in which the early Christians also focused on Jesus’ second coming. They took Jesus’ parables and teachings to heart. They needed to be ready and prepared as they waited, for they believed Jesus could come back at any time. Christians have been believing this and practicing Advent in this way for centuries now.
And here we are today, waiting. Or are we growing tired of waiting? It would seem the world is growing weary of waiting for Christ to return and restore the world as it should be.
We grow weary at waiting for war to end as the number of refugees and deaths grow each day.
We grow weary of waiting for relief from inflation.
We grow weary of waiting for the constant division between nations, their leaders, and people to go away.
Or, perhaps our weariness is more personal:
We grow weary waiting for the frantic pace of our lives to slow down.
We grow weary of waiting as our lives hang in the balance because of circumstances we have little to no control over.
We grow weary of waiting to feel hopeful again. Instead, we display optimism so people won’t feel like we’re a burden to them.
It has been over 2,000 years since Christ departed this earth for the first time. And here we are – still waiting…..and waiting…..and waiting. Will Christ ever return? Perhaps you are like me and on a typical day you don’t give this question much thought. Or, on other days, perhaps you don’t hold much hope that Jesus is actually going to return as promised. Being told that to have hope as we begin Advent seems a bit ridiculous.
However, if we examine today’s reading closer, the message isn’t that we need to hope in God. We are told this simple truth: Just as surely as a fig tree will bloom in spring, Jesus will return. Jesus will return when it seems like everything happening in the world isn’t worth returning to. Jesus will return when it seems like we’re not worth returning to. The message of hope on this first Sunday of Advent is about God’s hope, not ours. Jesus still has hope in the world. Jesus still has hope in me…..and in you. We may not know the day or the hour. Events in the world and in our lives will come and pass. But God continues to hope in all of us. And that good news will never pass away.
So it is our role to simply wait. But this brings me to another important point in the reading: we don’t wait alone. The early Christians waited together – they waited as the Church. They prayed together. They worshipped together. They shared one another’s burdens and doubts….together. This wasn’t such a strange concept in the time of the Early Church, but perhaps in our modern society, it is. We are more isolated today than ever before. Technology and many of the conveniences of life remove the need for us to rely on anyone. Our moral beliefs as a world society are focused on self-sufficiency – we are not supposed to be a burden on society or others. But from the beginning of time – and Scripture tells us this – “It is not good for humans to be alone.” We need each other.
During this Advent, let us wait. Let us wait together. Let us wait together, knowing and trusting that God in Christ still hopes in this world and all of us. For that, we can say thanks be to God. Amen.