St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
November 27, 2022
First Sunday in Advent (Year A)
Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer—Amen.
Like Californians who live with the reality of “when” there will be a potentially destructive earthquake, Floridians live with the annual angst of “when” there will be a catastrophic hurricane. Even with the most experienced weather professionals’ predictions, based on the most advanced technology, no prediction is certain, and no amount of preparation can truly prepare human beings for those encounters when the forces of nature confront man’s mortality.
In our Gospel lesson in the 24th chapter of Matthew today, Jesus said to his disciples, about the Day of Judgment, “But about that day and hour no one knows…only the Father.” Jesus does not even know (24:36).
Jesus’ admonition challenges the 21st century Christian to do the challenging work of prioritizing their faith in him amidst all of life’s demands, which compete for one’s attention. In order to help the disciples to grasp how the coming of the Son of Man would be, Jesus recalled the days of Noah in which people were living their everyday lives, without a care that their way of life, or even their very lives, could end in an unexpected way and at an unexpected time. They were oblivious until the flood came and swept all of them away, all except those within the life-saving ark, built by Noah using God’s specifications.
What was so special about Noah that God prepared Noah by communicating to him everything he needed to know, and do, in order to be ready for the unexpected day when all living things from the earth would be taken, and all within the ark, would be left? In Genesis, Noah is described as a righteous and blameless man, who walked with God—a man who pleased God.[1] Noah had a relationship with God. When God had revealed his plans and instructions to Noah, Noah’s response was to be obedient and to do all that God had commanded him.[2]
Jesus followed this recollection up with two examples of everyday folks—men and women—doing ordinary work and chores, and at least two of them were oblivious to the presence of God, such that their way of life, and indeed their very lives, could end in an unexpected way and at an unexpected time. Jesus said that one will be taken, and one will be left.
Perhaps Jesus told the story of Noah first in order to emphasize that those “taken” were like those oblivious souls who were swept away and destroyed in the flood. And that those left, would be like Noah, those who obediently walked with God in their lives and did all that God had commanded of them. While the text does not clarify this, there is a very clear sorting of people—believers and non-believers—there is no in-between.
Throughout this chapter, from verses four up to our passage today, Jesus consistently imparted to his chosen inner circle, who walked with him in their shared ministry, insider information about what end-of-the-age signs they should be on the lookout for. Jesus also stressed the necessity for watchfulness, in expectancy of the Son of Man’s return, for it will be as unexpected as a thief breaking into an unprepared homeowner’s home while the homeowner is asleep.
Remember that Jesus spoke all of this to the specific audience of his disciples. As readers of the scripture, we might assume that the disciples had some special advantage over other believers, and certainly over non-believers. But we must remember that Jesus was always teaching, always pouring wisdom into the disciples and modeling how they should show up in the world as his followers.
This passage is a not-so-gentle reminder for Jesus’ faithful people to resist the false belief that we have all the time in the world to get ready for Christ’s return (we do not) and that because we have our faith, we are necessarily ready (we are not). We, too, are Jesus’ disciples and none of us can claim to have never fallen short in our own spiritual walk with Christ—manifesting in moments, days, even seasons of spiritual dryness and unpreparedness.
Discipleship demands the ongoing discipline of intentional soul preparation, which Jesus was consistently nurturing within his disciples. How does the busy 21st century follower of Jesus, “ready” the soul—beyond Sunday morning—for the unexpected hour of Christ’s return?
We can remain in a prayerful state. Prayer is the way that we intimately communicate with God to listen to God’s will for our lives and to discern what God is commanding of us so that we, like Jesus, and like Noah, may respond with full obedience.
We must be intentional about integrating our faith in Jesus into all parts of our lives. Readying the soul for the coming kingdom of God is living life where there is no part of your being where the deep abiding presence of Christ does not permeate the human experience.
We can be, also, vehicles for the Gospel message, making Christ known to those who do not yet know him. And, for those who already know Christ, we must re-evangelize ourselves through the regular study of Scripture, so that we can strike down, within ourselves, complacency when it threatens to sabotage soul preparation.
And, we must take seriously our responsibility, in our Baptismal Covenant, to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. It is this burden of salvation, that compels us to awaken others with the Gospel message, as they go about eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, in order to prepare them for the coming of Christ.
The season of Advent is a time of watching for, waiting on, and walking with God. As a spiritual practice, consider physically walking in holy silence, or praying and talking out loud with God.
Consider, also, that walking with God, for us, describes our commitment, over our lifetimes, to live with the loving, compassionate and self-giving example of Jesus in the world. And, that paired with prayer, scripture reading, regular worship and service to others, we will be, what is described in the Baptismal rite, “…nurtured to the full stature of Christ.”[3]
Brothers and Sisters, let us get ready now, so that we can be ready when Jesus returns to judge the world. Walk patiently and humbly with God. Nurture your relationship with God by spending time with Him. And, be obedient to all that God commands you to do.
Amen.
[1] Genesis 6:9
[2] Genesis 6:22
[3] Holy Baptism, The Book of Common Prayer 1979, p. 302.
