Monday, December 4, 2017

Keep Awake (12/3/17)

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.
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!



[1] Brian K. Blount and Gary W. Charles. Preaching Mark in Two Voices. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press (2002), p. 213.
[2] Blount and Charles, p. 214.

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