St Tim’s Advent Sunday – People get ready Matt 24:36-44 / Rom 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44The Day and Hour Unknown
36“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a]but only the Father.37As it was in the days of Noah,so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,up to the day Noah entered the ark;39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.44So you also must be ready,because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Romans 13:11-14The Day Is Near
11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already comefor you to wake up from your slumber,because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.So let us put aside the deeds of darknessand put on the armorof light.13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.[a]
Introduction
- Present time and time to come
- We live in present time but time to come has broken in with Jesus’ death and resurrection.
- We don’t know when time to come will come so we need to live differently and be church differently.
General points
Reading scripture
- There is a worldview in the writers mind which might not be the same as ours
- There is a constructed argument which any passage is part of
- Scripture is no less inspired by God because it’s thought through than if it were a random collection of passages
- The world of 1st C Jewish Eschatology is very complicated.
- Not time to do either of these passages justice in their context so draw out some ideas that they represent
Eschatology – Study of end things
- Inaugurated – the Kingdom of God is here, the presence of Jesus by the Holy Spirit
- Jewish worldview of real world events invested with theological significance
- New Heaven and new Earth contiguous
- Parousia means presence not future coming
- Delayed Parousia not a thing – worry about it not borne out by 2nd C writers
- Jesus is present by the HS that’s also Parousia.
The Now and not Yet of the Kingdom
- Two ages – present age and age to come
- The age to come has already broken in and been established by Jesus death, resurrection and the giving of the HS but not yet consummated
- Living in the night but as people of the day because the day is almost here.
- It doesn’t matter when the consummation happens because the Kingdom is here
What is Jesus saying?
- No one knows the time not even Jesus he is incarnate, fully human, fully divine and his humanity precludes omniscience.
- People will be behaving normally until the time and then it will happen without warning
- Some people will be ready and some not – clearly figurative language; forget the Left Behind series of books
- So keep watch – be ready, don’t try and work it out no one knows the time
- If you knew he was coming you would watch – if you knew the thief was coming you’d wait up
- So be ready!
What is Paul saying?
- The present time is the kairos time, the now-time, the God-significant time.
- Not just a particular time in history but a specific time in history which God has determined
- Wake up – don’t be asleep
- Our salvation is nearer – ultimate consummation
- The night is almost over the day is almost here but its not a thing to wait for because its already here
- There’s a fight on, wear the armour, otherwise why wear armour (blitz analogy)
- Behave like people do during the day
- Put on Christ – more than his ethic, his whole calling
What does this mean for us?
We have to understand we are living in the end times, theologically speaking
This age and the age to come. The age to come breaks in with Jesus Death and resurrection. So we live in the now and not yet of the kingdom.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus and the giving of the spirit, the next event is the new heaven and the new earth
We are living in a specific time and so each of our lives this is our specific time. We are here for a reason and a purpose both historically and geographically re Acts 17
We can’t live normally because we don’t know when Jesus is coming back
We might run out of time
So I could leave it with don’t live an immoral life, watch out Jesus is coming
But I don’t think its a warning to avoid being caught being naughty
We know that we are already judged, found righteous in Christ and acquitted.
So what is it?
Putting on Christ is putting on his whole calling, go and make disciples.
The parable of the talents springs to mind.
You saved us, you gave us the HS and the good news and we kept it safe for your return.
For your return.
The parable of the Talents is in the next chapter, the disciples are told that they have treasure, what will they do with it? Its not about their own salvation, its what they do with it.
Look at the church. 2% or less of our diocese go to a C of E church.
More people regularly go to Hillsborough, or Bramall Lane than will be in Anglican churches this morning. Approximately twice as many people watch football in our Diocese on Saturday afternoon than go to all churches of all denominations in our Diocese on Sunday mornings.
And they have to pay a fortune and its quite often rubbish, trust me on this.
We fell asleep. The church fell asleep. I love the church but teenager homework analogy, be the best it can be.
We are the church we fell asleep. When Jesus comes back he’s going to ask what we did with his gift, his investment.
When Jesus comes back he’s going to wonder where every body is!
The time is short the time is now.
We have to stop living normally, being church normally and start thinking what we are going to do with our salvation, with our armour, with the HS and with all of God’s investment of his grace.
If you aren’t already familiar with that its a good time to sort it out, this morning. Acknowledge the love God has for you in Jesus and find forgiveness.
If you are already familiar with Salvation, the HS, and the riches of God’s grace you need to ask yourself what are you doing with it in terms of the great commission.
Making disciples of all nations.
If you’re not sure what to do ask God.
Pray
If you are not sure or want some more ideas come and talk to me at the end.
Pray to finish
Questions might be
How do you feel about time coming to an end?
What does living in the now and the not yet mean to you?
We are living here and now for a purpose, do you know what that means for you?
The sermon suggests that the parable of the talents is about investing what God has given us to grow the kingdom. What do you think?