Stay Awake

(I include this sermon in my blog by Benton Stull because it is excellent.  He preached it on the last Sunday of July, filling in for me while I was on vacaiton in San Diego.)

“Stay Awake.”

by Benton Stull

Matt 24:36-44

What I find myself thinking about most often when I read the New Testament is, “how is my world different from the world of the people who wrote these books?”  The early Church lived in a state of constant uncertainty and expectation.  Jesus had just been killed by Jewish and Roman authorities.  Christians were persecuted by other religious groups, like the ones Paul ran into in Ephesus, and especially by the Roman government for the first 300 years of the church.  In the year 64, Emperor Nero was blamed for a huge fire that destroyed much of the city of Rome.  To protect himself, Nero blamed the fire on Christians, and had many of them burned or crucified.  It was probably at this time that Peter and Paul were executed.  Roman persecution of Christians didn’t stop until the year 313, when Christians were given freedom of worship by Emperor Constantine.  

For the first 50-or-so years following Jesus’ death, Christians were convinced that Jesus would be coming back at any moment, and so they often met in secret, but they were not worried about establishing a church that would last a really long time.  They didn’t think they would be waiting very long.  Many suspected that Jesus would be returning within the lifetime of the apostles.  As time passed and Jesus still hadn’t come back, the church continued to be persecuted, Christians died, and many were understandably discouraged about their task of waiting on the Lord.  1 Thessalonians was written by Paul to encourage a church that was dealing with exactly these problems.  For the early church, there was a legitimate risk of being hunted to extinction by the Romans.  Paul’s encouragement in 1 Thessalonians is for the church not to worry about security, but to “stay awake,” for the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  

 

The author of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus shows us something different; this author seems to recognize that the church will be around for a while.  In 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, the author is attempting to encourage the church members to get along better with the people outside the church, maybe to help prevent the persecution of Christians.  This author also sets up the systems of organization, rules for the officers of the church, to keep the church from falling apart and scattering.  This is a leader trying to move the early church into survival mode, just in case they have to wait a bit longer than they expected for Jesus to come back.  As Christians attained more freedom to assemble and practice, more people converted to the faith, and the movement grew from a small, underground flock into a powerful institution.  

This is part of what I mean when I say that I’m fascinated by the difference between my life and the life of an early Christian.  In a time when there were few Christians, every Christian lived with a constant awareness of the nearness of the end.  Yes, today, there are some places in this world where Christians are still persecuted and killed, but they are not usually killed by the most powerful governments of our world.  For the most part, Christians have it pretty good now, and I think it would be pretty much impossible at this point for any power to get rid of all of us, and all of our books.  

We have established ourselves.  We enjoy a security that was unimaginable for Jesus or his disciples, or any Christian for the first 300 years of the church.  

Many theologians and religious historians consider this to be a very critical change in the life of the church: when our survival as a church was no longer at risk… when we stopped being afraid for our lives… did we also stop waiting for Jesus?  

To be clear and honest, I have no idea what Jesus, or the gospel writers, or Paul, or whoever else, means when they talk about Jesus coming back.  The whole idea has become too confused for me, and I just don’t understand it.  What I do find useful about this idea, are the lessons I can take from the parables Jesus tells on the subject.  

The parable Jennifer just read comes from Matthew 24.  The parables just before and after this one have similar themes.  Right after this one is the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servants: Matt 24: 45-51.  A master puts one of his servants in charge of caring for the other servants, and making sure they are properly fed.  But the master is gone longer than expected, and the servant in charge begins to mistreat the other servants and put himself above them.  The master returns at an unexpected hour, and he is furious with the servant he left in charge.  Following this, all of chapter 25 is in the same vein.  The parable of 10 bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom; 5 had put enough oil in their lamps to keep them lit until the bridegroom arrived, but 5 were unprepared, and while they left to get more oil, the bridegroom arrived and they were locked out of the house.  Similar parables can be found in Mark 13 and Luke 12 and Luke 17.

All of these parables have to do with our Master, Jesus, arriving to confront us at a time that we can never know beforehand.  In each of these situations also, the servant knows what he or she is expected to do while the Master is away.  This is exactly our situation.  Jesus is gone, but we know how he wants us to treat each other.  Jesus has given us his commands, which he summarizes as “Love God, and Love Each Other, even your Enemies.”  If we abide by these commands, we do the will of our Master even while he is absent, and we do not need to fear his arrival.

As I said, my understanding of these parables is limited.  I selected these passages because they have been on my mind recently, and there is one idea that simply will not leave me alone.  In my understanding of these parables, Jesus is trying to keep me from confusing my ends and my means.  

Everywhere in the history of the world, in our own country’s history, and in the history we are making now, people have been willing to do evil in the hope that it may ultimately achieve good.  These parables of Watchfulness seem to guard against just that kind of behavior.  Jesus has given his commandments, and it seems that he wants us to use His means to achieve His goals.  If, in our limited human wisdom, we think that a tactic of violence or deception will ultimately have a good result, Jesus warns us that he may explode out of the sky right after we have made our first move, catching us in the act of screwing up big time

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What then would we say?  That we didn’t expect him back so soon?  That we didn’t know how we were supposed to behave while he was gone?

This is where these parables have been leading me lately.  Of course I don’t live this way, but taken like this, these parables suggest that Jesus wants us to live the path he has laid out for us, and to never deviate from it.  Jesus warns us to stay within his commandments even when we think that going outside them will get results more quickly.  I’ve run into a few other people who seem to speak to this same idea.  In Romans 3:8, Paul says that we cannot “do evil so that good may come.”

In the book that our men’s bible study just finished reading, “The Enormous Exception,” the author says “Jesus clearly taught that a Christian must even do Christian work Christianly.”  He says that for Jesus, there is no separation between ends and means.  Shortcuts are not allowed when our only task is to stay on the path.

In “The Kingdom of God is Within You,” Leo Tolstoy says something like “I can never know which will be greater- the evil I do, or the evil I hope to prevent, and I have no way of knowing what might happen tomorrow.”

Somewhere in his writings, Thomas Merton said, “God does not ask for results, God asks for love.  If we get good results with love, that is fine.  Love without results – it is even better.”  

All of this for me points to the same idea: that we are meant to walk the path without assuming we know where it will lead and trying to get there quickly, because we can not know where or when it will end.  Jesus never told anyone how long they would have to wait; he just said “stay awake.”  Jesus showed people the path, and said, “stay on this; and keep going.”

Only… who could have the courage to live this way?

The early church lived this; as they gathered together in basements and caves to talk about Jesus, while hiding from a world that hated them.  What about the church now that we are on top of the world?  How does an attitude of Watchfulness change the church?  How does our decision-making process change when we imagine that Jesus is coming back 5 minutes from now?  Is it possible for us to re-learn how to imagine Christ’s return at any moment?  If I am honest with myself, I find that the most unexpected place is always right here, and the most unexpected time is right now.

 

 

 

While you are waiting, strive to be found by Him at peace, without spot or blemish.

And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.