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Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

December 1, 2019

Advent 1

          Don and the kids and I lived in Evanston, Illinois in the mid-1990’s while I was in seminary.   Our apartment building on the seminary campus had, what was for us, an unprecedented level of security.  We needed a key to get into the building, another key to get into the stairwell, and, of course, a key to get into our apartment.  To do the laundry, we needed all of those keys minus the one to get into the building, plus a key to the hallway to the laundry facilities and another key to the cage where the washers and dryers were kept.  We had always locked the doors to our house when we were away and tried to be aware of security risks, but we found this level of security to be beyond our comprehension.  We had just moved our two young children to a place where four keys were required just to do laundry.  What were we thinking???

          I always think back to that apartment building in Evanston when I hear Jesus say “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 away 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.”  On this first Sunday of Advent, when what I really want to hear about is the arrival of a baby, there is something very disconcerting about comparing the coming of Jesus with a break-in.  Having had both a home and an office broken into, although not in Evanston, I know that a break-in leaves one feeling angry and afraid.  Is that really how we are supposed to feel about Jesus-angry and afraid?  Can we not just focus on joyful preparation for the birth of the Christ Child during Advent?

          As much as I prefer to think about babies on pretty much any day and think they have very little to do with high level security, I would argue this morning that Jesus’ teaching about his return is also a teaching about how we are to prepare for the birth of the Christ Child.  In this reading from Matthew, Jesus first reminds us that no one, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, knows when Jesus will return.  We like to think that our calendars tell us when important dates will occur.  We can set reminders on our calendars so we do not forget important events, or things we need to do.  But there is no calendar that will tell us when Jesus will return.  Not even a Google search can tell us exactly when Jesus will arrive in our midst.

          Secondly, Jesus teaches us that Jesus will return while we are going about our every day life-our chores, even.  Some will be eating, drinking, and marrying; others will be in the field or grinding wheat.  Some will be watching college football, others will be checking email or playing video games, and still others will be at the office or out grocery shopping.  Life will not come to a standstill for Jesus’ return. 

          Thirdly, Jesus will come like a thief in the night.  Jesus is not telling us that he is a thief, but that we should be as prepared for Jesus as we would be for a thief.  We should be as ready to open our hearts to Jesus as a homeowner is to prevent a thief from breaking in.  If we are as prepared for Jesus as we are for a thief, we will not be left feeling angry and afraid.  Instead, if we are prepared, we will be able to rejoice.  Both Jesus and Paul in the reading from Romans tell us to keep awake and be ready.

          While Jesus is talking about his return in the reading from Matthew rather than his birth, I think the same three pieces of advice help us prepare for Jesus’ birth during the holy season of Advent.  The truth is that, while our calendars say that Jesus will be born on December 24 at 2pm, 5pm or 8pm, or when Christmas dinner has been eaten and the presents have been opened, no one knows when the Christ Child will be born in our midst.  The truth is that the Christ Child is born among us far more frequently that just on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  The Christ Child comes among us when we are going about our every day lives, doing every day sorts of things and we offer a random act of kindness, or a experience moment of peace, or gather with folks different from ourselves and discover our common humanity.  And Jesus calls us to keep awake and to watch for those places where the Christ Child is born in our midst, both so that we do not miss those occasions of incarnation, and so that we can make others aware of his presence as well. 

          The late first century Christians to whom the gospel of Matthew was written were weary.  They were weary of persecutions that left them feeling afraid and angry.  They were weary of waiting for Jesus to return, as promised, and to make the world more like the vision described in the reading from Isaiah.  In that world, sword shall be beat into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, nations and people shall live peaceably together, and no one will learn war anymore.  We are weary of bickering and division, violence and uncertainty, and we can often wonder where Jesus is.  We, too, long for the world described by Isaiah, free of anger and fear.  On this first Sunday of Advent, Jesus reminds us that while no one knows the day or the hour, the divine promise is that Jesus is both coming and in our midst.  Jesus reminds us that while our everyday tasks seem to be the least likely places for Jesus to appear, instead they are the most likely place for us to experience Him.  And Jesus reminds us that if we keep awake and watch, if we put the same amount of effort into being prepared for Jesus that we would put into being prepared for a thief, we will experience the joy of Jesus in our midst.  My belief is that when we follow Jesus’ directions, we will recognize the Christ Child in our midst now, be prepared for the birth of the child on Christmas Eve, and be ready when Jesus returns in glory.

                                                                             Amen.