Keep Awake (12/3/17)
From left: me, Elizabeth Shannon King, Hayley and Tyler King (parents), and Nikki Smoda (grandmother)
On Sunday, December 3rd, we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent and the sacrament of baptism, as we welcomed Elizabeth Shannon King into the beloved family of God. We also heard an apocalyptic story from the Gospel of Mark. On the surface, that seems like an odd combination, but it isn't.
Keep Awake (12/3/17)
Sermon
Good morning. So, in case you were wondering, my sermon
title comes from the text in the Gospel of Mark—it’s not a reference to one of
you falling asleep in the pews during my last sermon, Bill Smith! And Ed Moore,
I’ve got my eye on you! Keep awake!
Today we are going to celebrate the sacrament of baptism. We
are also celebrating the first Sunday of Advent; so, we know that Christmas is
right around the corner. And what a fun reading from the Gospel of Mark:
24 “But
in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Isn’t that a fun
thought, right before we celebrate a baptism? Doesn’t that put you in the
Christmas spirit? No. And it’s not supposed to. This is Advent, and our job is
to watch and wait for the coming of the Christ, the inbreaking of God’s
kingdom. This isn’t like watching for Christmas sales or looking for the
perfect gift. This is supposed to be challenging. In part, this passage is
about discipleship, and being a disciple isn’t easy.
In this section of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is trying to get
the disciples ready for his eventual death and return. Jesus uses apocalyptic
language to describe that return. Now the word “apocalypse” has a couple
different meanings. The conventional meaning, the thing that most of us are thinking
when we hear the word apocalypse is the destruction of the world as we know it.
Now that’s not entirely wrong, but the Greek word apocalypsos has a slightly different meaning; simply put,
apocalypse means that which is revealed. In fact, that’s why the last book of
the Bible is called Revelation—and that’s why your pastor might correct you if
you try to put an S on the end of the name of that book. It’s Revelation.
Period. But I digress.
Jesus offers a bunch of apocalyptic imagery to the
disciples to reveal that he will return, and that the world will be forever
changed by his return. Jesus repeatedly tells the disciples to be watchful and
to stay awake. Now you might think that Jesus is about to tell the disciples
the secret signs to look for so that they know exactly when he’ll return. You’d
think that’s what would make the most sense, but it’s not what Jesus does.
Jesus says, “But about that day or hour
no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
This is also a caution to us.
When I served at my first call, in Houston, there was a
Meals on Wheels program out of the church. One morning, as I was going into my
study, one of the volunteers cornered me. He was convinced that something he
saw in the news was evidence of the end times. It might have been an act of
terrorism, or a natural disaster, in which maybe a dozen or more people were
killed. He asked me what I thought. I think he wanted me to confirm his fears. He
was quite surprised when I said, “No, I really don’t think that’s evidence of
the end of the world.”
He said, “But pastor, pastor, don’t you think…”
It wasn’t easy, but I cut him off. Then I ticked off the
numbers of people who died in World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the
influenza pandemic after the war. I also reminded him that many millions more
died during World War II. Yet the end of the world didn’t come. I suggested
that if tens of millions of lives lost in those wars was not a sign of the end
times, then a couple dozen deaths in a natural disaster—however tragic that may
be—probably wasn’t a sign of the end times, either.
Now I realize that trying to apply logic in this situation
might not have been the best approach. But this was two years ago and I was
pretty new at being a pastor. I hadn’t preached on this text from the Gospel of
Mark, so I didn’t think to quote scripture to the man. However, deep down, I
think we’re all a little tempted to look for signs from God—even when Jesus
tells us not to.
There’s a problem in the way we hear this text in English. We’re
told, over and over, that Advent is the season of watching and waiting, and
then we hear this story, with its vivid, frightening images, and we get the
idea watching is something we do with our eyes. In the first part of the story,
Jesus uses the Greek verb blepo,
which means to see or to watch, and it has the connotation of discerning what
is happening. But then in verse 33, “there is a subtle but potent shift;” Jesus
uses a new verb, gregoreo:
There is a distinction
between the two words for watching as Mark’s Jesus uses them. Blepo refers to the kind of correct
spiritual discernment that protects a disciple from being misled by external
appearances. Gregoreo has a different
function; it deals specifically with correct behavior. In the parable that
follows, verses 33-37, Jesus leans upon the new “see” verb in order to make the
case that his people must, in their anticipation of his return, watch, which is
to say, act, in a new way.[1]
This is NOT a call to
wait passively for Jesus’ return! This is a call to action. It’s a call to
prepare, to make ready for Jesus’ return by living in a certain way. This is a
call to preach the Gospel in everything we do—to live in such a way that
announces the reign of God.[2] This is an instruction to all disciples to make ready by loving
God and loving your neighbor with every fiber of our being. This is an
instruction to all disciples to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the
sick and the prisoners. This is a call to all disciples to get busy building
the Kingdom of God here on earth!
The truth is, the twelve disciples never finished that
work.
In fact, the Gospel of Mark shows us that the disciples
came up short all the time; they fail. And so do we. This is our annual
reminder to work harder; to re-engage with the work of discipleship. Which
means that this story is a perfect text for the first Sunday of Advent and for the celebration of the sacrament
of baptism!
In this sacrament, we affirm our connection to Christ as a
worshiping community, and our collective call to participate in Christ’s work
of reconciliation. We affirm that all of us must work to tear down walls of
hostility and reduce separation. We affirm that all of us must work to restore
relationships and connections in our families, our congregation, our
communities, and our world. And through the sacrament of baptism, we affirm that
we will teach Elizabeth Shannon King that she is to be a disciple, as we teach
her and raise her in the faith. This is part of how we, as a congregation, keep
awake. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Elizabeth Shannon King is introduced to her church family at Rehoboth Presbyterian Church.
Benediction
Now, beloved, as you depart from this place, remember your
own baptisms. Remember that we are baptized into Christ’s death and
resurrection. Remember that, through baptism, we are dead to sin. And if we are
dead to sin, then we are alive in Christ, who calls us to be the Church, the
body of Christ in the world, the world today. So, go forth and be instruments
of God’s love and peace and reconciliation. Do not return evil for evil to any
person, but know that we are all loved by God, and that we are called to
reflect that love to everyone we meet. Go forth and be the salt of the earth
and the light of the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, let all
God’s children say, Amen!
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