Expect the Unexpected
Bible Passage:
Matthew 24:36-44
Pastor:
Pastor Mike
Download:
Sermon Date:
2010-11-27
Pop quiz. Do those seven little letters transport you back to some painful memories? Can you see the Friday afternoon smiles melting off your classmates’ faces as the teacher announces a pop quiz? Can you picture yourself frantically cramming the table of elements into your short-term memory as the quizzes work their way to your side of the room? Can you hear the groans as the unprepared search the page for a question they can actually answer? Can you see the smug smile of Little Miss Always Prepared as she welcomes another opportunity to pad her flawless GPA? Pop quizzes aren’t like puppies. Most of us don’t look back on them with warm, fuzzy feelings.
But Jesus and pop quizzes have something in common. They both come at a time you don’t expect them. It’s not that God hasn’t given us a heads up. Jesus’ return to our earth is one of the mega-themes of the Bible. In the New Testament alone, there are 318 references to his coming in just 260 chapters—that’s a “Heads-up, he’s coming!” from God every 30 verses! And God has given us the details. That day is called the Last Day because the world as we know it will end. It’s called the Judgment Day because Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. The skies will be ripped open. Jesus will appear in glory with legions of angels. Every person who has ever died will be raised. God couldn’t have been clearer in his Word—All this is coming!
But when? Some people think they know. Like a student who tries to read her teacher’s face and count the days since the last pop quiz, some folks think they’ve figured it out. Like the Millerites. In the 1840’s, Pastor Thomas Miller’s predictions about the date of Jesus’ return swept through our country. Convinced by his calculations, congregational members sold their homes and waited in graveyards so they could watch their parents and friends be resurrected. But, obviously, Thomas Miller didn’t know the day or the hour. More recently, we hear rumors about 2012. The Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used by the ancient Mayans, predicts the ending of a giant cycle of time on December 20th, 2012. Will the world end? Will Jesus return?
Christians don’t have to ride this spiritual rollercoaster. Because Jesus used pre-school language when he told his disciples the date of his second coming. Here’s the scene: During the days before his death, Jesus taught both publicly and privately. After one heated public debate, Jesus left Jerusalem, walked down into the Kidron Valley east of the city, and climbed the Mount of Olives, a hill which is still there today. His disciples came to him and asked him about the Last Day. “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming?”
Jesus’ answers is today’s gospel lesson. 36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” When is the Last Day? It’s like a pop quiz—we don’t know when. No pastor knows. No ancient culture knows. No computer programmers know. We could invite a few angels to our small group and even they wouldn’t know. (Quick side note—when Jesus says he didn’t even know, that doesn’t mean he’s not the all-knowing God. It’s just proof that during his first coming, he didn’t make full use of his power or knowledge.)
In fact, Jesus makes it clear his coming, the most extraordinary day, will happen on the most ordinary day. “37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 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; 39 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. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” Think about the days of Noah. He’s the guy who built a giant boat because God told him a flood was coming. In those days, were people waiting in graveyards? Selling property? Counting down the minutes? No. They were eating. They were drinking. They were saying, “I do.” They were walking their daughters down the aisle. And then—pop quiz!—the flood came. “They knew nothing about what would happen until…”
“That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Son of Man is a nickname for Jesus) Jesus’ return will not be like New Year’s Eve. We won’t pack Times Square wearing oversized glasses and tooting kazoos. There will be no Dick Clark. No champagne-sipping New Yorkers singing Auld Lang Syne arm-in-arm. No, we won’t expect it. Jesus will come back in the middle of B Team basketball practice during the left-handed layup drill. Or while you’re digging for change in the drive thru lane to pay for your mushroom and swiss. Or when you’re picking out the bouquet for the wedding you will never have. Or when you’re sipping on an old fashioned after work. Or in the middle of a Sunday nap. Or just before the 3rd down snap. Or while you’re ironing your husbands Dockers. Or when your toddler is on a timeout. Or when you’re staring at the cupboards for something to eat or staring at your closet for something to wear. Jesus “will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
So why did he tell us? If Jesus wasn’t going to tell us, then why did he bring it up? Why send 318 “save the date” passages and not include the date? Well, think of it in pop quiz terms. If your professor told you 318 times, “There will be a pop quiz,” how would a wise student react? “Well, if he’s not going to tell me, I’m not even going to bother studying. What’s the point?” No! That would be foolish. It would be academically disastrous. The wise student would do this: Expect the unexpected. Be prepared every day for what will happen some day.
Here’s what Jesus said. “42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Keep watch. Keep on keeping watch. During this sermon series, we’ll talk about how to keep watch, how to be prepared (if Jesus doesn’t come back before next Sunday!). But for now, just cement this idea into your brain: Expect the unexpected!
In college, one of my best teachers was Professor Fredrich. He taught Latin and Greek, so I had him nearly every semester of my college career. We called him “Harosh Hagedolah”, which is Hebrew for “The Big Head” because the man has a giant noggin. But that’s because he is absolutely brilliant and his giant knowledge simply can’t fit in an average-sized head. (That’s just science.) Professor was known for his tie selection because when Joel Fredrich wore a red tie it was quiz day. He didn’t have to say a word. When you walked into Greek class and saw the cherry tie, you rushed to your seat and tried to cram all the vocabulary words you didn’t study the previous night while playing XBOX. Because you knew a quiz was coming. But some days, Professor Fredrich would mess with us. We’d walk in, see a yellow tie, breathe a sigh of relief, and chit-chat about intramurals, girls, and XBOX scores until the bell. But then he’d say, “Gentlemen, please close your books and take out a writing utensil. This quiz is worth ten points.” “What!?! But that tie isn’t red. We didn’t expect this.”
Maybe Professor Fredrich was teaching us an advent lesson—Expect the unexpected. Be prepared even if today doesn’t seem like The Day. But that lesson is not so easy to learn. Preparing for Jesus’ return is challenging when there’s so much else to prepare for. The science test. The presentation to the prospective client. The basketball tryouts. The first frost of the season. The Black Friday sale. The fantasy football playoffs. The school musical. Getting your degree. Investing at just the right time. The kids’ weekend tournament. Vacation details. Wedding plans. Dinner plans. Are these things sinful? No. But if ordinary days make us forget the extraordinary Day, we might be caught unprepared. If the rhythm of life makes us overlook the moment when the beat will end and history with it, we might dread the moment it arrives. If our earthly goals hog our time so that we don’t strive for heavenly goals, we might not “grow in Jesus” or “tell of his love” and our loved ones won’t be prepared.
A famous leadership book reminds us to “begin with the end in mind.” The author is right. Begin today with the End in mind. Jesus is coming back. And, by his grace, he prepares us today. He still speaks to those with spiritual ADD and refocuses their eyes on the cross where our bad priorities were forgiven. He reminds us of Noah and the waters that lifted him up high above the destruction and corruption. Then he tells us that water did that for us, too—the water of our baptism, which washed away our guilt and lifted us high above the destruction of the coming judgment. God’s grace makes us spiritually ready for that unexpected Day.
And with the help of the Holy Spirit we can live with one eye on the sky, expecting Jesus’ return any time. How can we do that? By building in reminders of the Last Day into the rhythm of life. A doctor named Horatius did that in the 1800’s. Every night before bed, he would close his curtains, crawl under the covers, and repeat, “Perhaps tonight, Lord!” In the morning, he would open the curtains and look out at a new day and repeat, “Perhaps today, Lord!” What was he doing? Building a reminder into the rhythm of life. I’ve started to do that with the Lord’s Prayer. I always pray the Lord’s Prayer as I drive to work in the morning (don’t worry, I don’t close my eyes!). When I pray, “Your kingdom come”, I look up at the clouds, expecting them to tear apart as Jesus returns. Why do I do that? I’m building a reminder into the rhythm of life. You could do the same thing at dinner. Some of you pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest…” before meals. Could you mentally picture his second coming as you repeat those words? That could build a daily reminder into the rhythm of your life. What habit will you begin today to help you expect the unexpected?
Around the dial of a clock in Strasburg, Germany, are etched these words, “One of these hours the Lord is coming.” The clock is correct. Like a pop quiz, he’s coming one of these hours. But unlike a pop quiz, we don’t dread that day. Ever since we were born again, it’s a day we’ve been awaiting and expecting. So, come, Lord Jesus! Come! Amen!
K3/K4 Early Childhood Info
Get Involved!
Scrip Program
Eastside Eagle Gear Store
Post new comment