Tag: alert

Stay Awake (Mark 13:32-37)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert, because you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 

“Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (New Revised Standard Version)

I would make a terrible night watchman. If I lived in the ancient world, and had to keep watch and stay awake at night (or even during the day) on the top of some city wall, I’d give myself 5 minutes; maybe 10 minutes top, then I’d be asleep.

It would clearly be on me if the enemy scaled the wall. I’d probably even sleep through the battle going on all around me. And nobody would kill me, because everyone would think I’m already dead.

But thank the Lord that this is not the sort of keeping watch that Jesus was talking about to his disciples. Today’s lesson is all about staying alert, remaining vigilant, and being savvy to the spiritual realities unfolding in front of us, so that we are not caught off guard.

By Unknown Artist

We must stay ready so that we don’t have to get ready. We need to be prepared. So, what exactly are we to be on our guard about and be ready for? Here is what Jesus has also said:

“Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:38, NRSV)

“Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15, NRSV)

“Be on your guard! If a brother or sister sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.” (Luke 17:3, NRSV)

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly.” (Luke 21:34, NRSV)

“See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame.” (Revelation 16:15, NRSV)

Stay awake and stay alert so that we can be on guard for Christ’s return.

Jesus issued a call to a particular way of life. This sort of life is germinated in the soil of Christ’s imminent return. Our Christian discipleship is an urgent undertaking, because we aren’t sure how much time we actually have before our Lord comes back.

Today’s Gospel lesson may seem a bit confusing, coming to us in the season of Christmastide, in which we are to be joyful and celebrate the coming of Christ.

Yet, always in the back of our minds, while we are appropriately partying because of Christ’s incarnation, we are to remain vigilant that Christ’s return is inevitable, and likely imminent.

We have to be ready, at all times, no matter what the occasion is.

Today is today. Tomorrow is tomorrow. You and I have enough on our plate to try and figure out for today. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own, so leave it alone.

Putting energy into trying to predict the future, or control upcoming events, seems to me like an old man walking around with a white civil defense pith helmet on his head. He’s doing a lot of effort directing people for nothing that’s actually helping anyone today, and for something that might not even happen at all.

It’s no good to keep yourself in a continual state of stress and tension about the future. Dumping a bunch of adrenaline into your system for a situation we are not even in yet, is a one way road to burnout, or burning up in a place you won’t like.

Staying awake and remaining alert is more akin to praying continually, or always maintaining a clear conscience. (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Acts 24:16)

Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.

John 7:6, NRSV

We manage to stay awake spiritually by giving ourselves to one another (and God!) and working together toward our shared purpose of preparing for Christ’s return.

Everyone has their job to do, their spiritual gift to exercise, and their help to offer. The household is ready for the master’s return, simply because each person is working together so that they can collectively receive him when he shows up.

We can do a lot of things individually. But most things require the entire community’s effort.

In this Christmastide, we stay awake by celebrating together, and sharing our joy with one another. When the seasons change, our approach will change with it, in order to stay alert, yet our need for the community of the redeemed never changes.

Nobody has to figure out anything alone. We’ll figure it out together. We will find a way to deal with today while preparing for tomorrow.

As for me, I’ll need a nap, before I’m of any help to anyone.

Direct me, O Lord, with your grace and mercy in everything I do this day. Help me to persevere with your great benevolence, so that in all my work today I may glorify your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Beware of Your Fear (Mark 13:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 

Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. (New Revised Standard Version)

In my undergraduate college days, decades ago, springtime brought a regular staple of sidewalk preachers calling for people to repent, because the end of the world is imminent.

That was in the days of the Cold War; the specter of a nuclear holocaust was a real fear among many. The outdoor preachers got a serious hearing with some.

Although religious end times preaching gets little attention anymore, the idea of a cataclysmic apocalypse is still very much a part of the culture. Dystopian novels are widely read; and stockpiling for a zombie apocalypse is a real thing.

End of the world stuff is, at the least, interesting and/or fascinating to many; and, at the most, there are folks fully prepared for an apocalypse of the world to happen in their lifetime.

Christ’s disciples asked him a question. And Jesus went directly to talking apocalypse.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus takes on demons and all sorts of other-worldly opposition. Christ is certainly presented by Mark as one who discerns there is much more going on – and will go on – in this world than what it may seem on the surface of things.

Jerusalem and Herod’s Temple, by James Tissot, c.1890

The disciples saw large and wonderful stones which were part of the temple. They marveled at what their physical eyes perceived. But Jesus saw further, into the future, and was not at all impressed; he saw a time of apocalypse. All of those stones in a heap. No one marveling over the temple.

Christ’s disciples wanted to know when such a time would happen. As was often the case with Jesus, he didn’t answer their question, at least not directly. He used it as an opportunity to teach about things to come.

The gist of Christ’s words to his disciples was to communicate that things are going to get worse than what they already are. The Roman occupation they were experiencing is nothing compared to what’s coming.

The apocalyptic language had been around in ancient Judea for a long time. There had been centuries of people talking about the world’s end.

Apocalyptic stuff is nothing new to contemporary folk, as well. Just mention the Book of Revelation and heads pop up, eyebrows raise, and imagination goes to seed.

We as biblical readers, however, need to observe that Jesus didn’t answer the question of his disciples. Which is perhaps something we must become more alert to.

Nobody knows when the end of the world will come. Not even Jesus. But that doesn’t seem to stop folks from asking anyway. Perhaps we need to ask a different question. Instead of asking “When will these things happen?” maybe we ought to ask, “What must I watch out for?”

The change of question orients us in a different way. Rather than end times speculation, we begin watching for things which are dangerous to humanity, things that bring upheaval to our world.

We start valuing awareness and observance, listening and contemplating. We learn to place our energies wisely into the things we believe truly matter in this life for the common good of all.

God is up to all sorts of kingdom business that is beyond our purview, and frankly, even beyond our ability to perceive or understand.

When we accept the exhortation of Jesus to “beware,” then we watch and look for things that are already here among us, and not get lost in a future we cannot predict. That type of future orientation only produces the kind of worry and anxiety that leads to fear.

And when fear takes root, it spawns the evils of hate and injustice. We become vulnerable to selfish incompetent leaders who make promises to take our fears away. We end up doing terrible acts against others, like imprisoning political opponents, denaturalizing and deporting citizens we don’t like, and creating fascist states that oppress others.

Fallen stones from the destruction of the Temple

But if we will wake up, hear the call of Jesus to beware, and awaken to our true commitment to the kingdom of God, we will then forsake fear-based tactics, and courageously help others in both body and soul.

It also means that, at times, we are off somewhere in centering and contemplative prayer, just like our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that the real source of power and authority is outside of us.

A true biblical view of the end times is about God working out divine purpose on behalf of all humanity. It isn’t about us and all of our fears and anxieties getting worked out in harmful ways.

The realization of a coming apocalypse must lead us toward faith and trust in the God who holds justice, righteousness, and mercy in good divine hands.

God has no limitations because of our questions. God will be God. God is who God is. Our task is to watch, remain faithful, and persevere until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Are You Ready for Advent? (Matthew 24:36-44)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Advent Starry Night #5 by Virginia Wieringa

Jesus said, “But about that [judgment] day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and 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. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But 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. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (New International Version)

The best way of observing the first advent of Christ, his incarnation, is by preparing ourselves for his second advent, his return to the earth.

Just because there is sun today doesn’t mean everyday will be that way. The storm clouds are gathering; the Day of the Lord is at hand. Will you be ready?

Satan once called to him some demons of hell and said he wanted to send one of them to earth to aid women and men in the ruination of their souls. He asked which one would want to go.

One creature came forward and said, “I will go.” Satan said, “If I send you, what will you tell the children of men?” He said, “I will tell the children of men that there is no heaven.” Satan said, “They will not believe you, for there is a bit of heaven in every human heart. In the end everyone knows that right and good must have the victory. You may not go.” 

Then another came forward, darker and fouler than the first. Satan said, “If I send you, what will you tell the children of men?” He said, “I will tell them there is no hell.” Satan looked at him and said, “Oh, no; they will not believe you, for in every human heart there’s a thing called conscience, an inner voice which testifies to the truth that not only will good be triumphant, but that evil will be defeated. You may not go.” 

Then one last creature came forward, this one from the darkest place of all. Satan said to him, “And if I send you, what will you say to women and men to aid them in the destruction of their souls?” He said, “I will tell them there is no hurry.” Satan said, “Go!” (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters)

Most people’s crime in not some gross sin, but indifference, without much thought to a coming judgment. It seems we are all spiritual procrastinators. Why do today what we can put off till tomorrow? 

But the spiritually indifferent won’t know what hit them. 

So we need to be deeply concerned for the coming Day of the Lord, which may be very soon. 

The question for us is not, “When will Christ return?” Rather, the question is, “Are you ready for Christ’s return?” We must:

  • Keep watch, stay alert, and be ready, like a watchman on an ancient city wall scanning the horizon for an advancing army.
  • Remain vigilant and not forget that Jesus is coming again. 
  • Live every moment of our lives in light of the promise of Christ’s return. 
  • Be busy (not busybodies) because we don’t know the day of Christ’s second advent.

What does it mean to keep watch, be ready, and stay alert? 

In between these two advents of Christ, believers are to bear witness to a world going about their merry way unaware of the judgment that is about to overtake them. Like Noah, we actively build the ark of the church instead of living as if Jesus weren’t coming.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness in both word and deed, building an ark in a place and around a people who had never seen rain. What’s more, constructing the massive ark took a solid one-hundred years. This was no easy feat.

Like Noah, we must plug away and be faithful stewards, doing the tedious and patient work given to us. We aren’t supposed to be like the irresponsible teenager who, when given the responsibility of watching over the house while the parents are gone for the weekend, throws a big party and trashes the place. The parents will come home at a time that the teenager does not expect, and then there will certainly be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

When the Lord returns, we don’t know who will be taken and who will be left. Two different people might look the same on the outside, doing the same work, but each of those persons working side by side can really be very different on the inside. So, let us be patient as we await the coming of Christ and avoid losing sight of what is truly important.

One day a man named Denis Waitley was trying to catch a flight but running late. So he literally ran through the airport terminal and got to the gate the split second the flight attendant closed the door. Denis explained his situation, that he had a speaking engagement and needed to be on that flight, but the attendant didn’t budge. 

Denis stormed out of the boarding area and back to the ticket counter to register a complaint and reschedule his flight. His anger intensified as he waited for more than twenty minutes in a line that barely moved. Just before he got to the counter an announcement over the intercom changed his life. 

The plane he missed getting on, Flight 191 from Chicago to Los Angeles, crashed on takeoff and killed every person on board the plane. Denis Waitley never registered his complaint. In fact, he never returned his invalidated ticket.

He took the ticket home and pinned it on a bulletin board in his office to remind him whenever he got frustrated or upset that life is more than day to day impatience and worry and complaints. It’s about serving a lost world destined to slide away from God apart from the grace that can turn judgment into blessing.

It could be today. Every day we must live with the reality that Christ’s return is imminent. Until that happens, we are to be faithful servants of God by serving a world that is tremendous need of getting on the ark and being saved from the judgment that will come. 

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Matthew 24:15-31 – Being Prepared

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time.

“So, if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.“

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (NIV)

I live in the upper Midwest of the United States. The summers can be brutally hot and humid. The winters can be incredibly frigid and full of snow. Having lived in various university towns and worked with many college students, every Fall there is always at least one international student, or a student from the American Deep South, that has never experienced a Midwest winter and snow. I could tell them repeatedly of the need for a sturdy winter coat before the snow flies. Yet, having never known sub-freezing, let alone sub-zero, temperatures it is difficult to imagine such cold when the weather is warm. At the coming of winter, I, or someone else, had to help ensure they had a suitable coat.  Even then, they usually shake all winter and never take their scarves off.

It might be difficult to imagine, because none of us have yet experienced it, that someday Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Therefore, Jesus told his disciples about using discernment concerning a change of environment around them. Although it may seem improbable now, a time is coming which will be loaded with cosmic and cataclysmic changes. Sometimes, even for myself who has lived through many hard winters, it is incredible to know that the landscape as it is right now will be completely different.

The sky and the earth as we know it now will pass away; yet Christ’s words will endure for all time. If we are attentive and alert, we will be ready. We will have a warm winter parka on hand. And, for now, it means taking off the old clothes of fear, insecurity, hopelessness, and hate, and putting on the new clothes of righteousness, peace, and love in the Holy Spirit. Winter is nearly here. There is a chill in the air.

God Almighty, we long for the coming of your kingdom in Jesus Christ our Lord. We lament before you the signs that your kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. The signs of brokenness and divisions, oppression and abuse, poverty and loneliness, are everywhere present in the world. So, we cry out from the depths of our being, “O come, O come, Immanuel. Bring us comfort. Dispel the shadows of the night and turn our darkness into light.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.