Wake Up Time—Lectionary Reflection for Advent 1A (Matthew 24)

Matthew 24:36-44 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴² Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ 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. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

 

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                Are you not a morning person? Do you need to be awakened in the morning either by an alarm clock or maybe by a member of the family? I know that I’m not at my best first thing in the morning. I need time to get focused (my spouse on the other hand is an early riser). The season of Advent serves as an annual wake-up call. After nearly six months of what some call “ordinary time,” it’s easy to get lulled to spiritual sleep by the ordinariness of Christian life. Now, we begin the journey anew. Sometimes that requires setting the alarm much earlier than normal. Thus, Advent serves as a kind of spiritual alarm clock, waking us up so we can get ready to begin the journey again.

                The church year concludes with an apocalyptic element that might highlight judgment or the enthronement of Christ as king (and judge). Something similar occurs here with Advent. It is a season of anticipation and expectation. At least some of the texts from Scripture carry an apocalyptic tone. That is true here in the reading from Matthew 24. We begin with verse 26, but we might want to step back to verse 1 to provide a context for this word. We connect Advent with Christmas, but contextually this word comes during Holy Week. Jesus is leaving the Temple (after he caused a ruckus) and his disciples look back at the Temple complex in a state of awe. After all, most of his closest disciples came from Galilee in the north. This might have been their first visit to Jerusalem and the Temple. This Temple was, until its destruction in 70 CE, considered one of the great wonders of the ancient world. So, they’re impressed by what they see. Jesus responds to their excitement by letting them know that a day will come when the Temple will be nothing more than rubble (Mt. 24:1). Readers of the Gospel likely would have known that this day had already transpired as Matthew’s Gospel is believed to have been written after 70 CE.

When Jesus told them what to expect in the coming years regarding the Temple, and after giving them some apocalyptic pointers in Matthew 24:3-35, they ask the question all inquiring minds want to ask. When will this take place? That’s where we begin, with Jesus’ response to that question. The answer is this: “But about that day and hour no one knows, . . ..” Despite this word from Jesus about not knowing the exact timing of the day of the LORD when the Temple will be destroyed, down through the centuries many Christians have tried to pinpoint the exact moment of Jesus’ return in glory. If not the exact day, some have tried to nail down a time period when this seems likely to take place. Back during my youth, having read Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth and having imbibed the music of Larry Norman and others, I had come to believe that the end of the age was close at hand.

Though inquiring minds want to know, Jesus insists that no one except the Father knows the timing of that day when the Temple will be destroyed marking the day of the Lord (not even the angels or the Son know for sure). Nevertheless, it’s wise to be ready so you don’t get caught unaware. Jesus illustrates this call to stay awake to the possibility that the day could come at any time with three brief parables. [For a fuller discussion of these and other matters regarding God’s future and ours, you will find all of this discussed in the forthcoming book Ron Allen and I have written—Second Thoughts about the Second Coming (WJK Press, 2023)].    

Turning to our text, the first parable of three parables invites us to consider the story of Noah. It’s a story that most of us know, at least in part. When we tell it to children, we leave out the judgment part and focus on Noah gathering all those animals on the ark so they can ride out this big flood. As for what happens to everyone else, along with all the other animals, we just ignore those parts. As the story is told in Genesis, everyone is going about their business normally (and somewhat wickedly). While Noah gets word of coming doom and thus builds the ark so that there will be building blocks for a post-flood world, everyone else goes on with life normally (Genesis 6-7). According to Jesus, the day the Son of Man (the apocalyptic figure of Daniel 7) will be like that of Noah’s time. Thus, “as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark” (Mt. 24:38). In other words, life went on normally, until the day of the Lord arrived. Therefore, they didn’t know anything would happen until the flood came and washed everyone away. So, it would seem that no one paid attention to Noah’s building project. Life went on as usual until it was too late. Perhaps people stopped by to gawk at the big boat, but human attention spans are short. According to Jesus, the story of Noah reminds us that even if we stop for a few moments on a Sunday to do churchly things, we may not be paying attention to the larger concerns of the day. Advent is designed to call our attention to the situation at hand.

When we come to the second story, we hear a word that is often used by some Christians to describe what is known as the rapture. It’s a story that stands behind the Left Behind series of books and movies, along with similar works. In this story, Jesus speaks of two people out in a field. When the Son of Man returns, one will be taken and the other will be left. Now here’s the thing—Jesus doesn’t say which person is righteous and which is not. It could be that the one who is taken is sent off to face judgment. Jesus doesn’t say for sure. The same is true for the two women who are standing at the mill grinding grain. One is taken and one is left behind. In each case, the coming of the Son of Man leads to an act of separation. If we read this in light of Paul’s word in I Thessalonians 4:13-17, then perhaps we can read this as the Son of Man pulling the righteous away, but that is an interpretive move that is not necessarily warranted by the text.

Since Jesus’ message serves as a call to stay awake to the movement of God in the world, especially when it comes to our future, the third word speaks of a thief who comes in the night. After all, it’s easier for a thief to do their work under the cover of the night than in the light of day. Jesus tells us something we should all know.  If you know that the thief is coming, you’ll be ready for that occurrence. Of course, that’s not the way thieves work. They don’t have a habit of sending a note letting homeowners know ahead of time that they plan to break in and steal one’s goods.  No, they come in under the cover of darkness, unannounced, when we’re not prepared, and take what they want. So, it is with the coming of the Son of Man.

Having laid out these three illustrations, Jesus concludes by telling the disciples that they must stand ready because “the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. Stay awake. Be on the watch. That’s the message here. It’s also the message of Advent.

Perhaps you’re like me and you struggle with this message of judgment. It doesn’t fit well with the image that many of us have of Jesus who exudes love and grace for everyone. Yet, the readings for Advent often create a sense of discomfort. It might be the reason we often want to skip over Advent and begin Christmas early. Let’s go to Bethlehem and forget these apocalyptic texts. Yet, the season of Advent isn’t just focused on events that transpired centuries in the past. Advent serves as a call to stand ready for a second advent, that is, the return of the risen Jesus. There are, of course, theological interpretations of the Christian faith that don’t include a second coming, but judgment is an important element of the Jewish and Christian traditions. While part of me wants to keep the door open for everyone to enter, a position that some biblical texts hint at, while others offer a different perspective. One of those texts appears in the chapter that follows, where Jesus speaks of the day of judgment as a moment when sheep and goats are separated out, with the sheep enjoying a reward and the goats receiving a rather nasty punishment.  

So, what should we do with this passage? While I’m not sure Matthew has something akin to the modern concept of the rapture, it does begin the conversation about the separation of righteous and unrighteous. If nothing else these texts serve as a wake-up call, a reminder that to be a follower of Jesus requires something of us. Faith in Jesus is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, such that nothing is required of us. want there to be an open-door policy.  Perhaps there is – in a way – but surely there is a refining, a culling of those things that keep us from fully experiencing and expressing the presence of God. 

Is it time yet? No one knows for sure. So just be ready. Don’t get caught unaware, like the people who lived during the time of Noah. Instead, on this Sunday when many congregations will light the candle of Hope, let us live in such a way that we reflect the ways of God. To do that involves loving God and neighbor. So, in a spirit of wakefulness and anticipation, might we sing:

Come, O long expected Jesus, born to set your people free.

From our fears and sins release us; Christ in whom our rest shall be.

You, our strength and consolation, come salvation to impart;

Dear desire of many a nation, joy of many a longing heart.

                                                                                Charles Wesley, 1744