All of a Sudden

The Temple

It was January 27, 1986. The whole nation was getting ready. It was going to be a special time in the life of our nation. All eyes were watching. It was going to be the all time greatest space launching. We had a schoolteacher; a woman; an astronaut. It was one of the most exciting days in American history. The nation was glued to the television set because everyone knew it was going to be a historic moment. With breathless anticipation for this grand moment, the nation waited and waited, and suddenly there was an ignition of all that power and the rocket shot high into the air, high, high, and higher into the air. And all of a sudden, the rocket exploded along with the hopes and dreams of many. The lives of all astronauts on board came abruptly to an end. All of a sudden the cheers of the nation turned to tears.

Jesus said, "And so shall it be at the end of history. It will come suddenly like a thief in the night; like a snare; like a trap that snaps shut. So quickly. It happened on September 11th, 2001 when hijacked planes struck terror into the hearts of the United States—nearly 3,000 people were killed in just moments.

Again it happened in the mountains of Pakistan on October, 2005. A massive earthquake struck and 80,000 people were killed instantly. The end came so suddenly, so quickly, like a thief in the night.

Or more recently, back on September 19th of this year, the earthquake in Mexico City which claimed the lives of 369 including many children. It all happened in a moment, like a thief in the night.

It happened right after Christmas in South East Asia. The tsunami wave, that towering wall of water rolled across that part of the world and millions lost their lives…in a moment, like a thief in the night.

Or how many times I have heard someone tell of the loss of a sister, mother, spouse… and say, “But she was so healthy, so strong, hardly sick a day in her life. Now she is gone.” It happened so suddenly. She wasn't expecting it. No one was. Jesus said, "And so the end will come suddenly , unexpectedly, like a thief in the night; like a trap that snaps shut. So quickly.

It is with such images in mind that we turn to the gospel lesson for the First Sunday of Advent. The theme for the First Sunday of Advent is always this: be alert at all times, ready to meet your God because all of a sudden the end is going to be here. The invitation for you and me is to be ready at all times, ready to meet the Lord face to face.

The Temple

The text that we have today is the second half of Jesus’ longest speech in Mark’s Gospel. It is likely that we find these words from Christ in the Gospel of Mark because of what was going on in Jerusalem as Mark’s Gospel was being put together. The year was 66 AD… nearly 40 years after Christ’s death. The Jews of Judea had taken up arms and rebelled against their Roman oppressors. But an army had been dispatched by Rome to deal with the Jewish revolt. Within two years the resistance in the northern part of Israel had been completely eradicated leaving Rome to put its full attention toward Jerusalem.

The Roman army laid siege to the Holy City, slowly squeezing the life out of it until 70AD when Roman legions broke through the city’s defenses. Thousands were slaughtered, thousands more were enslaved and sent to work in mines in Egypt, still others were sent to arenas to be butchered for entertainment—but perhaps even more traumatizing for the Jewish people, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The Holy House which they believed God resided in was taken apart piece by piece… and its relics were shipped off to Rome itself as spoils of war.

Had God turned God’s back on the people of Israel? Had they strayed so far that now God was punishing them with the legions of Rome? What must they do… what must they change in order to regain God’s favor? These questions rocked their world. The single instant of the walls of Jerusalem being breached in 70AD changed Jewish identity for years if not millennia to come. And that moment came like a thief in the night.

It is with such images in mind that we turn to the gospel lesson for the First Sunday of Advent. The theme for the First Sunday of Advent is always this: be alert at all times, ready to meet your God because all of a sudden the end is going to be here. The invitation for you and me is to be ready at all times, ready to meet the Lord face to face.

It happened so Quickly

It was January 27, 1986. The whole nation was getting ready. It was going to be a special time in the life of our nation. All eyes were watching. It was going to be the all time greatest space launching. We had a schoolteacher; a woman; an astronaut. It was one of the most exciting days in American history. The nation was glued to the television set because everyone knew it was going to be a historic moment. With breathless anticipation for this grand moment, the nation waited and waited, and suddenly there was an ignition of all that power and the rocket shot high into the air, high, high, and higher into the air. And all of a sudden, the rocket exploded along with the hopes and dreams of many. The lives of all astronauts on board came abruptly to an end. All of a sudden the cheers of the nation turned to tears.

Jesus said, "And so shall it be at the end of history. It will come suddenly like a thief in the night; like a snare; like a trap that snaps shut. So quickly. It happened on September 11th, 2001 when hijacked planes struck terror into the hearts of the United States—nearly 3,000 people were killed in just moments.

Again it happened in the mountains of Pakistan on October, 2005. A massive earthquake struck and 80,000 people were killed instantly. The end came so suddenly, so quickly, like a thief in the night.

Or more recently, back on September 19th of this year, the earthquake in Mexico City which claimed the lives of 369 including many children. It all happened in a moment, like a thief in the night.

Or how many times I have heard someone tell of the loss of a sister, mother, spouse… and say, “But she was so healthy, so strong, hardly sick a day in her life. Now she is gone.” It happened so suddenly. She wasn't expecting it. No one was. Jesus said, "And so the end will come suddenly , unexpectedly, like a thief in the night; like a trap that snaps shut. So quickly.

The Text Today

It is with such images in mind that we turn to the gospel lesson for the First Sunday of Advent. The theme for the First Sunday of Advent is always this: be alert at all times, ready to meet your God because all of a sudden the end is going to be here.

The gospel for today is an invitation for you and me to live with a sense of readiness. I think about our law enforcement folks in the congregation who spent years of their lives with that sense of readiness. One never knows when that radio is going to sound off the need, but there is the knowledge that sometime during the day or during the night that 9-1-1 call will come through. In the meantime they might work on a variety of different tasks or perhaps hone their skills a bit more. But they need to be ready at a moments notice. It is a matter of life and death to go quickly. There’s no time to wait around and think about it.

And so it is with a Christian. Like a law enforcement officer, we are called to live with a sense of readiness, but what exactly does that mean for us? What are some qualities of this readiness Jesus has in mind? I’ll mention a few. The first is this: to live with the assurance that I am a child of God, that you are a child of God, that if my life or yours came to an end today, we would be with God; that nothing can separate us from his love, not even death.

This readiness is a confidence, an assurance, an awareness that God is gracious, that I am a child of God, that God truly knows me. This readiness is being assured that our salvation does not rest on how much good we have accomplished, nor on our good behavior. What matters most is that I know for sure that I am a child of God loved eternally by God.

I think of the thief on the cross. Jesus said to him, "Today you will be with me in paradise." It's done. No works righteousness. Nothing he can do. He was not a good Lutheran or a good anything. No religious pedigree. Pure grace. And God says that to us as well, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Being ready has something to do with trusting that promise.

Quality of Readiness

The first quality of this readiness is trust in God, trust like the kind we so often see in little children.

It means refusing to let conflicts simmer. To have this sense of readiness: to be a person of love. A third quality of this readiness is to do the job. To do the tasks that God has given us to do. Each one of us could probably come up with a long list of roles we serve; as spouse, as son or daughter, as neighbor or friend, as grandparent, or brother or sister, as a member of the church, as a citizen of the USA, as member of the human race of about five or six billion people.

A second quality of this readiness to meet God face to face is to be a person of love. When troubles come, when tensions rise, and conflicts, it’s a matter of keeping things in perspective. It’s remembering that everyone around me is someone I have been commanded to love in the name of Christ. That means making every effort to be reconciled with those we find difficult to love. It means refusing to let conflicts simmer. To have this sense of readiness: to be a person of love.

A third quality of this readiness is to do the job. To do the tasks that God has given us to do. Each one of us could probably come up with a long list of roles we serve; as spouse, as son or daughter, as neighbor or friend, as grandparent, or brother or sister, as a member of the church, as a citizen of the USA, as member of the human race of about 7.6 billion people.

Each one of us has many jobs and roles that God has given us to do. And to do these jobs in such a way that we can be proud of how we have lived in the world. Proud of how we have used the time gifted to us by our Creator.

Who is this passage for? It is for all of us because life moves so quickly. I was a baby and suddenly I was two years old and then ten. And before I knew it, I was in college, then seminary, then a pastor… now I have been here for going on two years. I’m sure in a few more blinks of the eye I’ll be asked about an ID for the Senior discount… and then I won’t be. And one day, quite suddenly, I realize that I have likely experienced many more years than I have years left. But then… suddenly Jerusalem fell and the Temple was gone. Suddenly there was an explosion in the sky and the astronauts were gone; Suddenly the ground shook and the people were gone. and suddenly the woman who had hardly been sick a day in her life was gone. Suddenly, all of life happens so suddenly, doesn't it?

Conclusion

Who is this passage for? It is for all of us because life moves so quickly. I was a baby and suddenly I was two years old and then ten. And before I knew it, I was in college, then seminary, then a pastor… now I have been here for going on two years. I’m sure in a few more blinks of the eye I’ll be asked about an ID for the Senior discount… and then I won’t be. And one day, quite suddenly, I realize that I have likely experienced many more years than I have years left. But then… suddenly Jerusalem fell and the Temple was gone. Suddenly there was an explosion in the sky and the astronauts were gone; Suddenly the ground shook and the people were gone. and suddenly the woman who had hardly been sick a day in her life was gone. Suddenly, all of life happens so suddenly, doesn't it? And Jesus said to all people of all ages, live today as if you were going to meet God face to face tomorrow. Amen.

But rather than direct our attention ahead – whether to the end of time or just to December 25 – perhaps this Sunday we can focus on a “present-tense Advent,” an Advent that directs our gaze to this very present moment, imperfect yet beloved, fragile yet important, flawed yet beautiful, the very time and moment in which God chooses to meet, love, and redeem us. Here. Now. Suddenly, right before our eyes.

So make today worthwhile. Live life as one who is ready. For as Christ reminds there will indeed be a day that this life comes to an end. But do not be afraid, for that day will not be the end of your story.

Blessings to you, my brothers and sisters—blessings to you as we begin this Advent journey together.