Sermon 1st December 2013 - Advent Sunday.

Today, Gill Tayleur, our Honorary Assistant Minister preaches on this, the first day of Advent. The reading is from the gospel of Matthew 24: verses 36-44.

Do you have a recurring nightmare? A ghastly dream that you’ve had before, that makes you wake up gasping & sweating? Like many people, I used to have an ‘exam dream’. In this dream, I discover I have to sit an exam just hours or even minutes before it starts. I haven’t prepared for it at all. I haven’t revised, I haven’t read any books on it, sometimes I haven’t even sat the course! But the exam is in a few minutes and I’m rushing to find out something, anything about it and to get there in time... It’s a panic dream.

And I say I used to have the exam dream, because recently it has changed into the preaching dream! Yes I’m told I’m preaching about 5 minutes before the service starts and I don’t even know what Bible passage it’s on... I wake up sweating, and with my heart pounding. Because I’m NOT READY.

ARE YOU READY? This Advent Sunday, when you hear that question, “are you ready?” it may well set you thinking about whether you’re ready for Christmas? There are 3 & half weeks to go, & plenty to do. Cards to write, presents to buy, food to bake, get togethers to organise,

homes to decorate, sermons to write! & so on. ARE YOU READY for all the Christmas festivities? I imagine the answer is, no you’re not yet! But that you do know how to get ready

in time for Christmas Day.

But what about getting ready spiritually, giving time and thought to the amazing truth we celebrate at Christmas. The familiar Christmas story that we’ve heard many times before, that the Almighty God who created the universe became a vulnerable little baby. Jesus, born to be our Saviour. Born to die for us, 30 years later, so that we can be reconciled with God for now & forever. What a wonderful truth that we celebrate at Christmas! Getting ready for it spiritually means making time & space to wonder & appreciate - & maybe question -  & respond to the marvellous truth of Jesus’ birth that we celebrate at Christmas time. So, WILL YOU BE READY for Christmas?

But as well as preparing for Jesus’ first coming that we celebrate at Christmas, on Advent Sunday, another ‘ARE YOU READY?’ question must be asked:  ARE YOU READY for Jesus to come again?

In the passage we’ve just heard from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus challenges his listeners to be ready for his unexpected return. In fact the whole of chapters 24 & 25 are all about this.

You might like to read thru them later today or during the week. It makes for dramatic reading – talk of battles & earthquakes & the sun going dark and people being whisked away - and of Jesus appearing with great power & glory. It’s very dramatic – and difficult to understand. Parts of what Jesus says about the terrible and frightening things that will happen, are traditionally considered to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70,

at the climax of the war between Rome and Judea.

Other parts are understood to refer to the much later time that hasn’t happened yet

when Jesus will come again. The Greek word used is Parousia, which means the presence or arrival of someone who has been absent. It was used to refer to a visitation by a Roman or Greek god, or of a state visit by an official or dignitary. Jesus is saying that he will visibly and personally return to the earth, to be present again.

Which parts of what Jesus says refer to which events,

the fall of Jerusalem

and his Parousia, his return,  

isn’t clear.

I certainly don’t understand it all,

just what’s going to happen and when.

But what is very clear is that one day

God will draw history as we know it to a close, & make a new earth, which will have Jesus centre stage, visibly and personally. This is what we mean by the second coming of Jesus Christ. He will return to judge and rule this new earth, forever.

We may think that the idea of judgement is an ugly one to us liberal minded 21^st century people. But in fact we do think judgement is a good thing, when it’s racism being judged and found outrageous, or child abusers being found guilty, or genocide being found evil.

We welcome that kind of judgement. And as Bishop Tom Wright says, in our world of violence & bullying, oppression & arrogance, and of systemic injustice, the thought that there might be a coming day when the world is put to rights is surely great news indeed!

Especially when the one who is judge is not a hard hearted, arrogant or vengeful tyrant,

but Jesus, who loved sinners and died for them, who took the world’s judgement on himself

on the cross. It is he who will return to judge us all.

I wonder what you think of all this? There are 3 obvious reactions to this subject, Jesus’ 2^nd coming. One is to be sceptical of it – not take it seriously, to pooh pooh it, saying it’s farfetched, a myth, it won’t be a real historical event. Surely only the ignorant or credulous

believe such a thing! Well I for one don’t mind being called ignorant or credulous for believing what Jesus himself and later his disciples taught! He would know!

Not taking it seriously is one reaction, but at the other extreme are those who take it too seriously, and put undue time and energy into trying to predict exactly when and how

it will happen. There have been people saying Jesus would return and the world as we know it would end on a particular date, many many times over. Back in the year 500 Hyppolytus of Rome, and Iraeneous predicted that Jesus would return in that year. This year it was predicted by Ronald Weinland, May 18^th was the given date, postponed from 2 earlier dates that didn’t materialise, it must be said, September 29th in 2011 and May 27^th in 2012.

No we’re not to be sceptics, nor obsessionals. The 3^rd way to respond,  the appropriate way,

is to take it seriously, and to grasp the point of being told that Jesus will return, that is: to make sure we are ready. In verse 44 Jesus says “you must always be ready because the son of man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”

So ARE YOU READY for Jesus’ unexpected return?

The parable in the 2^nd part of our gospel reading is about a thief breaking into a house at night. The home owner doesn’t know when the thief is coming, doesn’t keep watch for him,

and is caught out. Jesus says his return will be just as much a surprise.

We know that we need to always shut our windows & lock our front door when we go out,

or set our burglar alarm if we have one. We know we have to do it every time, because we don’t know when a burglar might try and break in.

And so it is with Jesus’ return.

When will it happen?

We do not know, we can-not know

and we don’t need to know.

What matters is that it will happen.

And if it doesn’t happen in our lifetime,

we’ll meet Jesus as judge and ruler anyway.

None of us knows for sure quite when we’ll face our death; that too could be any day.

And living ready for Jesus’ return is the same way as living ready to meet him when we die.

So HOW are we to be ready, how are we to prepare?

Straight after the passage we’ve read today, Jesus goes on to tell 4 parables, that throw more light on what it means to be ready for his return and how to live until then.

The first 2 parables, the one about the faithful & unfaithful servants, and the one about

the 10 wise and foolish girls are about living faithfully, wisely  and in such a way that

we wouldn’t have to change a thing if Jesus returned any minute now, as indeed he might.

Then the parable of the 3 servants shows the necessity of using well what God has entrusted to us. And finally the parable of the sheep & the goats & the final judgement stresses the importance of serving others in need.

No one parable by itself completely describes how we’re to live ready. Each one paints 1 part of the whole picture.

So what might we need to change if we thought we were going to meet Jesus as judge and ruler today...? Are we living faithfully? Are we living wisely? Are we using well all God has entrusted to us? And are we serving others in need?

Or do we think “my life’s too busy right now, it can wait until later”? Later may never come!

Each of us needs to think about how we do those things, to live ready, individually, as we are each individually responsible for ourselves before God. But today we’re also going to hear about a great opportunity for doing them together. An opportunity to live faithfully, to take action to serve the needs of our local  community by taking part in the postcard exercise

we’re going to hear about in few minutes. It’s a chance to put this into practice straight away!

In my exam dream, I know that the outcome of the exam depends not just on the day,

but on the work I’ve (not) done over weeks and months beforehand. That’s why it’s a nightmare, coz I’ve not done it!

In the same way, not thinking about Jesus’ return and just hoping ‘it’ll be alright on the night’ won’t work. No, we need to live as Jesus wants, all the time. Like locking our front door,

it’s a long term, every day thing.

When we think about Jesus’ unexpected return to judge and rule, we need to do so remembering God’s love and forgiveness which are freely on offer. None of us will meet his standard, all of us have times when we fail, times when we don’t live just as we would want him to find us. But that’s why the news of Jesus birth at Christmas, that he was born to die for us, is such wonderful news! It means we can be forgiven and accepted, and given a fresh start. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean we’ll always get everything right, but that we discover quickly where we’re going wrong and say sorry and turn around to change and live differently, thanks to God’s love and forgiveness.

And after the judgement when Jesus comes again, there will be a new earth, a new everlasting life, when we shall live under God’s just and merciful and joyful and peaceful

loving rule forever and ever.

So, ARE YOU READY? Let’s get ready. Let’s spend Advent becoming people who LIVE READY for Jesus’ return. And so let’s pray...