This is Fine

Matthew 24:36-44

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

I KNOW that none of you would ever do this, but I worry.  Even while I know that God has the whole world in those infinitely capable Divine hands, I still tend to take on all of the world’s, the church’s, and life’s worries and carry them around with me, being crushed all the while into a depressed pulpy mess.  In the churchy world, doing that is called… SIN… because it’s not trusting God to be God.  In the secular world, trying to carry around all of the world’s, the church’s, and life’s worries is called… well, DUMB… because worrying about things beyond our control is a waste of time and energy. 

It appears, however, that I’m not alone in my IN-ability to resist doing this.  A lot earlier in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus tells us we shouldn’t worry any more than the wildflowers worry.  Then, here in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that NO ONE, not even Jesus, can know about Jesus’ return.  Jesus reminds his disciples and you and me that when it comes to the universe and all of creation, God really is in control… and that God, believe it or not, can, AND DOES take care of ALL things AND because of that, we really don’t have to worry.  

God really does, like the old Sunday School song says, have the whole world in those divine hands.  So us trying to do God’s job and carry the weight of the world isn’t a faithful way to live.  BUT… there’s alway a “but” isn’t there… us completely checking out from the needs of those around us and sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting lalalalalalala while our neighbors are in pain… that isn’t a faithful way to live either.  

There is, it turns out, a faithful middle way between pointless worry and irresponsible escapism.  Working toward that balance is actually one of the goals of the season of Advent.  It’s a time to focus and practice living in a way that holds the pains of the world around us in one hand, but balances all of that by holding the infinite power of God’s promise to make all things new, firmly in the other.  

THAT’S what it means to KEEP AWAKE.  Being AWAKE, is walking that middle path between worrying so much you are crushed into inaction by the weight of the world’s troubles and pretending the world is completely trouble free.  Being AWAKE is BOTH being honestly aware of the world around you… aware that there are things like injustice, systemic racism, misogyny, and hate AND ALSO not allowing that reality to crush you to a point where you can no longer allow Christ’s light to shine through you and make a difference in places where you can actually make a difference… in the lives of people you encounter each day.  

Advent is a time in the church year set aside to focus on and practice that balance.  On this early end of Advent we hear stories that make us AWAKE again to the realities that life is unpredictable, often unfair, and much too often, painful as well.  On this end of Advent we are made AWAKE to the realities that you can be at work one day with your friend and in the blink of an eye that friend has died and your everyday reality has been instantly changed forever.  But then, on the other end of Advent, we hear stories of Immanuel… God with Us.  Stories that remind us that God's Light shines in the darkness and there is NO sort of darkness that can ever overcome it!  Advent reminds us that you and I… we are called to live in that balance.  

So, each week in Advent we receive the Light of the World in, with and under the bread and the wine.  Then each week we are called to bring the light we have received here, out into the world and let it shine through the cracks of our imperfect lives, and into the lives of those who cross our paths.  We practice not allowing ourselves to be crushed by the weight of the world’s troubles by not trying to do life alone and resisting the temptation to just pull the covers up over our heads and hide away... both of which make it equally difficult for the light we’ve received to shine out into the world.  

So in Advent we practice being AWAKE… by taking intentional time to pause, notice and discern if the pain and difficulties and randomness of life we are encountering in each moment of our day is something we can address with love and generosity OR if it is of a size and shape that just needs to be turned over to God who is always present and always at work.  By intentionally deciding to practice the art of being AWAKE in these four weeks, we can hone our skills at seeing where we can genuinely make a difference in the world around us AND where we just need to let go of things that are beyond our control. 

Like any other skill, being AWAKE, becomes easier with practice.  The more we practice, the more second nature being AWAKE becomes and the more we will find we are living in that sort of peace which passing all understanding.  This Advent, practice being AWAKE because honestly, even pros still practice, and really, who couldn’t use just a little more peace in their lives these days?  I know I sure could!  Amen.