The story is told about a housewife with a maid called Mary who would come in and help her from time to time. One day, food was put in a saucepan to boil and Mary was given strict instructions to watch it while the housewife went to do some shopping. On her return the smell of burnt food greeted her at the gate, and it grew stronger as she got closer to the house. Mary was still sitting in the kitchen, facing the stove. The element was still on and smoke was issuing from under the lid.
“Mary, whatever have you been doing?”
“You asked me to watch the saucepan, Missus, and I’ve been doing just that!”“
In our reading we hear Jesus saying to his disciples – and to us all – “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (v. 42).
“Keep watch” – Jesus said that often towards the end of his
earthly ministry. In the
We also find this word of entreaty in the New Testament epistles. In 1 Cor. 16.13 – “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” In 1 Thess. 5.56 – “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”
It is an important word for us all. And its various translations enrich our understanding – keep watch, be on your guard, be alert, stay awake…
On what we call Palm Sunday Jesus had come into
The story of the wedding banquet in ch. 22 has the same message – “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come…” Then they bring their clever experts along to try to get him to say something incriminating until finally, still bristling with anger, “no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
Then in ch. 23 he launches a full-scale attack on the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees – no longer speaking in a parable, but openly exposing their hypocrisy. “You snakes!” he says, “You brood of vipers: How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
That is some of the background of ch.24. The disciples of
Jesus have been doing some sightseeing. The
That leads the disciples to ask two questions, “When will this happen? and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
We notice that the disciples were asking about two events
which they seem to assume to be identical. As we hear the answer of Jesus, some
of what he says relates to the destruction of the
Some of the signs of the end were partially fulfilled at the
time of the destruction of the
But the Messiah has already come – and they will soon nail
him to a cross. We reflect on his words at the end of the previous chapter, “
The Nicene Creed affirms “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”
The Second Coming is an important part of the faith of the Church. Sadly it has been the happy hunting ground of sensationalists who have established a definite historical programme of what will happen and provided the world with specific dates when it will all happen. Such people and groups have brought disrepute on the doctrine so that the Church has tended to be silent on the subject.
Jesus makes quite clear that his Second Coming is certain. This has implications for us.
These certainties have implications for us. Peter goes on to say, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives, as you look forward to the day of God…” (vv. 11-12). We live as if this world is everything. We pay great attention to our possessions, our investments, our home… But they are not so permanent after all. We should be living in this world with an awareness of the world to come.
There are implications too for the mission of the Church. Jesus told his disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28.19-20). The words are often called “the Great Commission”. What are we doing about it? Is it central to our thinking and action?
In fact, we aren’t meant to know when and there are good reasons for this. It is for our good that the Enemy of the faith doesn’t know either! Imagine the intensified attack on the Church at that critical time. But, more importantly, throughout the whole age of the Church in which we now live, we are meant to anticipate the imminent return of the Lord. We are meant to be always on the alert – sure of our own salvation and active in the work that he has given us to do. At no point can we say, “He’s not coming yet! We have other things to do!”
It doesn’t take much thought to realise that all is not well in this world. We are a mixture of great achievement and massive failure. We are, as General Omar Bradley once said, “nuclear giants, but ethical infants” – but in general we don’t recognise it!
In every age people have seen events that have suggested that the Day of the Lord was near – and it can seem even more so in our own time. Talking about how we must live, Paul wrote to the Romans, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.. Let us behave decently, as in the day-time, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Rom. 13.11-14).
What a prospect! It isn’t darkness up ahead, but light! It isn’t the night – the day is about to dawn! Don’t be troubled! But be on your guard!
Trust in Jesus Christ alone as your Saviour! Serve him as
your Lord!
© Peter J. Blackburn, Home Hill
& Ayr Uniting Churches, 28 November 2004
Except where otherwise noted, Scripture
quotations are from the New International Version, © International Bible
Society, 1984.
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