Sermon

Mark 13:24-37

The Truth that Nobody Knows

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Mark 13:24-37

The Truth that Nobody Knows

Pastor Steven Molin

Dear friends in Christ, grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father, and His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I remember those first few months of being a pastor: August, 1982 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That was an “Our Savior’s Lutheran Church” too! It was a large congregation, and I was but one of its 5 pastors, and I loved every minute of it. The preaching, the presiding; even teaching confirmation was a joy. But I realized early on that I didn’t know everything there was to know about being a parish pastor.

It was the first Sunday in December, and a new blanket of snow had covered the ground. I drove to church early that morning with joy in my heart, because I just love Christmas! But the first hint that something was amiss was when I walked through the sanctuary and there were no visible Christmas decorations; no poinsettias, no garland, no tree. “Strange” I thought to myself.

When worship began, the songs were not of the “Joy to the World!” variety. Rather, they sounded dark and gloomy. What’s going on here? I came to church expecting Christmas and I get this! Dayton’s had been playing Christmas music for two weeks already, homes were showing brightly colored lights, and Santa had arrived on a fire truck…there’s a certain sign that Christmas was here…or at least everywhere in the church!

But Christmas had not arrived…not in the church, at least. Advent had arrived, and it was a surprise to me. I’ve told you before that I didn’t grow up in the church, so I had a partial excuse for not knowing about Advent, but where was I when they taught about Advent in Seminary? These four weeks that lead us into the Season of Christmas? Where was I when they taught the part about watching, and waiting and anticipating the coming of the Savior? I didn’t tell anyone, but I was clueless! I came home from church that day and said to Marsha “Have you ever heard of this thing called “Advent”? “Of course!” she said. Ruined my day!

To make matters worse, the church I served in Sioux Falls was very liturgical; that is to say, very high church. Not only did we not sing Christmas carols in worship on that First Sunday of Advent, we didn’t even sing them on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. We didn’t sing them until Christmas Eve. Our music director was a liturgist, and he was a pit bull! Someone once asked “Do you know the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist!” So here I was, a pastor in the Lutheran Church, ready to experience my first Christmas, and I find bare walls, and gloomy tunes, and gospel texts that speak of suffering, and fear and trembling, and Jesus returning like a thief in the night. Wow! Happy Advent, people!

Maybe you are feeling a bit of this yourself today. Tonight at our Advent Celebration, the spirit will be much more festive, I promise you, but on these Sunday mornings, we have some preparing to do. As we prepare our homes for the coming of Christmas guests, so we spend these days preparing our hearts for the Savior who is to come.

 

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But these first days of Advent speak not of the coming of the Baby Jesus in a manger, but rather his Second Coming, when he will judge the world. We’re supposed to prepare for that day, but we’re never told when it will be. I find it curious that we are expected to prepare for an event that is as significant as Easter or Christmas itself, and yet nobody knows when it’s coming. There is no timetable. Did you hear it in the gospel lesson?

In those days, after the suffering, the sun will be darkened
And the moon will not give its light
And the stars will be falling from the heavens
And the powers in heaven will be shaken…

When you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. BUT ABOUT THAT DAY OR HOUR NO ONE KNOWS, NEITHER THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN, NOR THE SON OF GOD, BUT ONLY THE FATHER.

There are some things in this world that we simply don’t know in advance. If we did, we might make more adequate preparations. We aren’t sure what the weather holds for tomorrow…we hear maybe rain, we hear maybe snow; we don’t know for sure, so it would be wise to leave the house in the morning prepared for it all.

We don’t know how the Vikings are going to do this afternoon. Will we lose by a little or will we lose by a lot? We don’t know, so we must be prepared!

In a few weeks, I am going to be a grandpa! I’ve never been a grandpa before, so I’m not sure how to prepare. Kyle and Melissa don’t know the gender of their child, so we’re buying lots of beige and red outfits. And they have chosen names but they’re not telling us! We’ve been trying to get those names out of them for weeks, without success. Last week, we were in the babies room and Melissa said “And we’re going to put the baby’s name on that wall in block letters, and I said “Oh, how many letters do you need?” (Such a sneaky question!) And she said “Oh, a few.” The point is, there is so much we do not know.

So back to the question at hand; how are we to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ if we don’t know when it will be. What if it’s next Saturday? What if Jesus comes back this Tuesday? What if he comes tonight? Are you ready? You see, that’s the point of Advent; that we make ready for the Savior’s coming. If we are ready, we have nothing to fear. Whether our time on this earth ends with the Coming of Christ, or our own earthly deaths, if our eyes are fixed on Jesus as the source of our hope, then we are prepared. But if we look toward other people or things to give our lives meaning and purpose, then I would suggest that we are not prepared for his coming. Advent is a time to take inventory; a time to prepare for Jesus’ coming. What we do not know…what no one knows is when that time will be.

And how do we prepare? Do we head off to the hills and wait for his arrival? Groups have done that, and every one up them has been disappointed. Do we lock ourselves in cloisters and spend our days and nights praying and chanting until the day of his coming? Some do that, though I wonder if Jesus would want us to withdraw from this world and its many needs, simply to wait for him? Or do we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and our hands busy serving in this world? Do we study his word and fellowship with his people, and at the same time, reach out to those who need to know this Savior that we know? Being ready…being prepared for the coming of Jesus is not about what we do…it’s about what we know…and this is all that we know for sure: Jesus is coming to take his people home one day. If we are marked with the cross and find our hope in him, then we are ready.

This past week, Our Savior’s had two deaths that affected our church community. On Tuesday, Helen Hoy died at the age of 94 ½. She was not only the oldest member of our congregation, she was the longest term member, having been here for 70 years. She was the “banner lady” who made most of the banners for our worship space, and on Tuesday she slept into death. But she was ready.

On Wednesday, Tim Getchell died. A little over a year ago, Tim and Anna asked me to marry them. Tim was 40; Anna 29, and neither of them had been married before. Two weeks into their marriage, Tim was diagnosed with cancer. I had a few conversations with Anna this past year about that “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health” thing. His death is very sad, but Tim knew the Savior. He was ready.

Are you ready? If you’re not sure, I’d love to talk with you…Keith would love to talk with you. If you are ready…I would love to wait with you…worshipping as we wait for the Savior who is to come. Happy Advent, indeed! Thanks be to God. Amen.

© 2005 Steven Molin. Used by permission.