The Doorkeeper
Preaching
Preaching the Parables
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
1. Text
But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for 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.
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus tells his disciples that only God the Father -- not the Son or the angels -- knows when the changes in the realm will come.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus warns the disciples to remain alert as they also do not know the time of change.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus tells the analogy of the doorkeeper. The man leaving on a journey puts his servants in charge, each with designated work.
Fourth Point Of Action
The homeowner commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
Fifth Point Of Action
The homeowner tells him to keep awake, as he does not know what time of the day or night he will return.
Sixth Point Of Action
The homeowner emphasizes four times of day -- evening, midnight, cockcrow, and dawn.
Seventh Point Of Action
The homeowner tells the doorkeeper that otherwise he might come home suddenly and find him asleep.
Eighth Point Of Action
What he says to him, he says to all: Keep awake.
3. Spadework
(To) All
In the words, "what I say to you I say to all" (v. 37), one might posit that the homeowner wants not only the doorkeeper, but all the servants to hear the message. These words might also be taken as Jesus telling his disciples to spread the message to everyone. However interpreted, the phrase reminds us that the message of Christ and of Christianity is inclusive. "To all" occurs on eleven other occasions in the gospel writings, three times in Matthew, once in Mark, five times in Luke, and twice in John.
The metaphorical lamp put on the lampstand gives light "to all in the house." (See Matthew 5:15.) The good news is proclaimed worldwide as a testimony "to all the nations." (See Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10.) "[R]epentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). "To all" who have "more will be given." (See Matthew 25:29 and Luke 19:26.)
Unlike the disciples who came down from the mountain after the Transfiguration of Jesus "[a]nd ... kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen" (Luke 9:36), the women who followed Jesus returned from the empty tomb and told everyone. Easter is to be no secret kept among a few. (See Luke 24:9.) See also Luke 1:6 and 2:38. "To all" references in John read, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:12) and "since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him" (John 17:2).
Asleep
Falling asleep at the wrong time can cause others distress. On the water, Jesus sleeps through the storm that scared the disciples who were in the boat with him. (See Matthew 8:24, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:23.)
Sleeping at an unguarded time halts the protection of what belongs to us: "[B]ut while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away" (Matthew 13:25). Bribing soldiers, conniving priests and elders instructed, "You must say, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep' " (Matthew 28:13).
Among poignant examples of having fallen asleep are these from Gethsemane: "Then [Jesus] came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?' " (Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:37); "Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy" (Matthew 26:43); and "Then he came to the disciples and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.' " (See Matthew 26:45, Mark 14:40-41, and Luke 22:45-46.) Was it the exhaustion of Gethsemane, the dawning that the disciples were about to lose Jesus, or was it the denial of that reality that sent them into sleep?
The ability to keep from falling asleep enabled Peter and his companions to see the glory of Jesus' transfiguration as well as Moses and Elijah standing with him. (See Luke 9:32.) Consider how we stay alert and awake at some critical moments and when we evade such responsibility. For additional study about keeping awake, see Cycle A, Parable 5.
Beware
The writer of Mark defines "beware" as "keep alert." Used fourteen times in the gospels, beware also means to be wary of, to be careful, to be on guard against. It is the opposite of trusting, believing in, or relying upon. Within the context of being careful of one's own actions, the writer of Matthew's Gospel quotes Jesus, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).
Jesus warns against all who would attempt to lead them away from the truth: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15); "And he said, 'Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, "I am he!" and "The time is near!" Do not go after them' " (Luke 21:8); and "Jesus answered them, 'Be-ware that no one leads you astray' " (Matthew 24:4). See also Mark 13:5.
Jesus warns against the religious leaders of his time: "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets" (Luke 20:46 and Mark 12:38-39).
Jesus uses the metaphor of yeast in tandem with "beware":
"Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1);
" 'How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!' Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:11-12); and
"As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them" (Mark 13:9). See also Matthew 10:17; 16:6; and Mark 8:15.
(Comes) Suddenly
Of the nineteen occasions in which "suddenly" appears, several include coming suddenly. Suddenly suggests an unexpected happening that surprises. This parable shouts a warning about an event that will come without warning. It wants to bring anticipation to what cannot be predicted. The more we study possible clues of prediction, the more we understand that the surprise of "suddenly" is the message.
Prefaced in Hebrew Scripture with the angel suddenly touching the discouraged Elijah as he slept beneath the broom tree (1 Kings 19:5), tellers of the Christ story present pivotal events in his life with this element of surprise:
At the Birth, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying ..." (Luke 2:13); when the threat of Herod was over -- "When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said ... " (Matthew 2:19);
At the Baptism, "And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him" (Matthew 3:16);
At the conclusion of the Temptation, "Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him" (Matthew 4:11);
At the Transfiguration, "Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with [Jesus]" and "While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved...' " (Matthew 17:3 and 17:5). See also Luke 9:30; 24:4; and Mark 9:8.
At the Betrayal, "While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him" (Luke 22:47);
In the Last Days, "Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear" (Matthew 26:51); and
At the Resurrection: "And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it" (Matthew 28:2) and "Suddenly Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him" (Matthew 28:9).
An event that may have been long-planned appears to be sudden to all who are not privy to it. Something surprises us when we neither anticipate nor expect it. Suddenly suggests also an event not asked for.
As a literary technique, suddenly alerts the attention of the hearer to something unusual about to happen, for example, in a miracle story. In the healing of the man with the mental illness, "[Jesus] said to [the demons], 'Go!' So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water" (Matthew 8:32). See also Luke 9:39. In the healing of a leader's daughter, while Jesus was talking to [the disciples of John], "suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, 'My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live' " (Matthew 9:18). From out of nowhere, "[S]uddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak" (Matthew 9:20).
In Charge
In the present parable, Jesus likens the coming of the kingdom of God to "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" (Mark 13:34). The six other instances of "in charge" in the synoptic gospels clap with the enthusiasm of trust. The servant whom a returning landowner finds at work at his assigned tasks upon the return home after an absence blesses that servant: "Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions" (Matthew 24:47 and Luke 12:44). See also Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:42. Similarly, the servant who multiplied the five talents by five that his landowner had entrusted to him earned the respect of being put in charge: "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master' " (Matthew 25:21, 23).
Who's in charge here? What ensues when we put our own self in charge of our own life? What happens with our sense of responsibility, the enhancement of our integrity, the evaluation of how we are doing, the attentiveness with which we meet the moment, the alacrity of our spirit, the quality of our self-management, and our guidance of others?
Keep (Kept)
Among the 28 instances of "keep" in the gospels are several subtleties of definition. Part of "keep" implies the integrity of honoring or obeying. In the following passages, the writer of the Gospel of John focuses on Matthew's words: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (John 15:10); "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15); "I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47); "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them" (John 14:21); "Jesus answered him, 'Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me' " (John 14:23-24); "Remember the word that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:20). See also Matthew 19:20; Mark 10:20; and Luke 18:21.
To keep is to sustain a promise: "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word" (John 17:6) and "But I do know him and I keep his word" (John 8:55).
Keep also means to adhere to or fulfill: "[Jesus] said, 'Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, "The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples" ' " (Matthew 26:18) and "Then [Jesus] said to [the Pharisees], 'You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!' " (Mark 7:9). To keep is to protect from or to prevent: "If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble" (Matthew 28:14) and "But some of them said, 'Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?' " (John 11:37). See also Luke 24:16.
These passages show "to keep" as to continue in a pattern or because of a necessity. "And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying" (Luke 12:29); "So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly' " (John 10:24); and "The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water' " (John 4:15).
To keep is also to save, to have ready, or to preserve: "Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. She bought [the perfumed ointment] so that she might keep it for the day of my burial' " (John 12:7) and "Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it" (Luke 17:33). See also John 12:25; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:18; and 1 Peter 5:8.
To keep from is to prevent: "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here' " (John 18:36).
To keep is to persist: "They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, 'What is this? A new teaching -- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him' " (Mark 1:27). See also Mark 11:18; Luke 1:22; 4:36; 11:16, 13:14; 18:3; 19:36, 47; 22:59, 64-65; 23:21, 23, 39; and John 3:23; 6:2; 8:7; 9:9-10; 19:3.
To keep is to withhold, as "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now" (John 2:10) and "[Judas Iscariot] said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it" (John 12:6).
To keep carries a further secretive dimension: "So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean" (Mark 9:10) and "When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen" (Luke 9:36).
These variables of definition interface with the "keep awake" and the "keep alert" of the present Markan parable. Whether by intention or implication, "keep" in this parable also echoes the "why" of honoring the other teachings of Christ, as well as our capacity to make a choice that will make a difference in our lives.
According to Mark, when Jesus approaches Gethsemane, he requests that his disciples "keep awake" for him: "And he said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake' " (Mark 14:34) and "He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 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 14:37-38).
How different would they read if the word were "Stay awake" or "Stay alert" that the writer of Matthew reserves for Gethsemane? "Then he said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me' " (Matthew 26:38) and "Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak' " (Matthew 26:40-41). "Keep awake" and "keep alert" for your sake. Remain nearby my side or "stay awake with me" responds to the need of Jesus. These terms hone in on the nuances of vigilance for the sake of someone else who is counting on them, similar to the guarding "keep" of Matthew 27:36 and Luke 8:29.
For discussion of the differences and similarities between the Matthew 24 and 25 parallel to the present Markan parable, refer to section 4 of this chapter. See also the discussion of keep alert and keep awake in Cycle A, Parable 12.
No One Knows
Is this element of secrecy designed to heighten suspense to an event that holds both certainty and indefiniteness? Some events in our lives we cannot know ahead of time, yet we are as certain they will happen as we are that we will die. Of the ten instances in which this phrase occurs, that spoken by the wisdom writer offers a sense of perspective to the present text: "[Y]et fools talk on and on. No one knows what is to happen, and who can tell anyone what the future holds?" (Ecclesiastes 10:14).
The following passages from Hebrew Scripture suggest that no one knows and no one will know: "He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day" (Deuteronomy 34:6) and "Your guards are like grasshoppers, your scribes like swarms of locusts settling on the fences on a cold day -- when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they have gone" (Nahum 3:17).
The writer of Matthew quotes three instances of Jesus' use of this phrase. In the first, Christ has healed the eyes of two blind men and "sternly ordered" witnesses to "see that no one knows of this" (Matthew 9:30). In Matthew 11:27 and again in Luke 10:22, Christ emphasizes that "no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." In Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, he emphasizes, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Two passages from Revelation emphasize that the name inscribed on stone is known only to the one who receives it. (See Revelation 2:17 and 19:12.) In contrast, some things we do know. "For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end" (1 Corinthians 13:9-10).
Knowing contains the elements of belief, trust, and mystery:
"Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.' Jesus said to her, 'I am he, the one who is speaking to you' " (John 4:21-26);
"They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world' " (John 4:42);
"Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God" (John 16:30); and
"This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24).
4. Parallel Scriptures
Certainty
Using the words "when the time will come" rather than "if," Mark speaks with certainty of the coming (v. 33). The writer of Matthew's Gospel also speaks with the certainty of prediction, repeating "will" eight times in the Matthew 24:29-31 passage: "sun will be darkened," "moon will not give its light," "stars will fall," and "powers of heaven will be shaken" in 24:29; "sign ... will appear" and "they will see" in 24:30; and "he will send out" and "they will gather" in 24:31.
The writer of Luke's Gospel uses "will" four times in similar fashion: "There will be signs" (Luke 21:25), "People will faint" and "heavens will be shaken" (v. 26), and "Then they will see" (v. 27). Luke adds the definitive "when these things begin to take place" (v. 28).
Come
Mark says "the time will come" (v. 33). Matthew says the definite all "will see the Son of Man coming" (Matthew 24:30). With even greater authoritative voice, Luke uses the form "is coming" (Luke 21:26). With further use of the present participle, Luke says "coming in a cloud" (Luke 21:27).
Signs
In the present text, emphasis lies on alertness because no one knows the time this will happen. The Matthew writer says it will happen "immediately after the suffering of those days" (Matthew 24:29a). This writer introduces the passage with several signs: "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn" (Matthew 24:29-30a). Luke speaks generally of the same signs: "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
The Event
Mark offers no description of what will happen. Matthew predicts what all will see: "and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:30b-31). "Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:25-28).
Timing
Matthew prefaces his words with "immediately": "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened" (Matthew 24:29). Luke makes no mention of suddenness. Mark cautions to stay away "or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly" (Mark 13:36). The writers suggest a sudden coming with cautions to stay awake or to be alert: "Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Matthew 24:42) and "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13). Luke uses "alert": "Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37) and "Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). In the present text, the writer of Mark uses both "keep awake" (vv. 35 and 37) and "keep alert" (v. 33).
5. Chat Room
Voice 1: Let us begin this little online chat about doorkeepers, being aware, staying alert, and about no one knowing either the "when" of it or for that matter the "what" of this path of our journey into faith.
Voice 2: The modern doorkeeper is an employee assigned to guard the entrance to a building or to a specific room within a building. As a paid employee with a contract to honor, the position of doorkeeper calls for a sense of responsibility.
Voice 3: In recent years, we have come to see the role of doorkeeper as less cosmetic and more essential. Electronic eyes and a panel of monitors in another room are auxiliary to the live doorkeeper, but cannot disturb the immediacy of security screening -- the evasion of the eye, a hunch triggered by an individual's tone of voice or by a slight, yet revealing, variance of body language.
Voice 1: What happens when we attempt to maintain a constant state of alertness? Most of us cannot stay in Code Orange. I cannot stay in that ready-to-spring mode for an extended period of time without building up considerable stress. What happens when we fall asleep? How are the ways we fall asleep? Many of us seem to sleepwalk through daily life. We go through the motions all week long until the weekend comes. Then we go through motions all weekend long until the new week starts.
How does someone else know when we are fully awake? How do we know if we are fully awake? This whole little parable seems to ask us to be fully alive, that is, to walk around consciously rather than being oblivious to half of what is going on around us at the workplace, within ourselves, within our families, and in the environment.
Voice 2: To be sure, in the days of Christ, doorkeepers kept the door of the house and the gate to the property secure. The Hebrew mandate to be hospitable to travelers and strangers was in the doorkeeper's mind as much as an alertness to possible danger.
I noted recently a similar double role that may always have been present, yet now requires a greater degree of sophistication. The agent at a public airport near an important government installation had refined his balance between security screening and welcoming winter travelers to southern warmth. I observed that his verbal questioning of a woman using an assist dog was friendly, albeit with a focus beyond idle curiosity. It amounted to a thorough inquiry about the dog guide. Even an assist animal does not escape security scrutiny these days.
Voice 3: When I visited a hospitalized friend, there was the doorkeeper. While he was ready to offer directions or assistance, he no longer stood at a discreet distance. His desk was equipped with a phone and positioned so as to greet all who entered. Now that is an active presence. No more sleepy, passive door guards.
Voice 1: When I read this parable, I felt the greater anticipation of the doorkeeper would be to watch for the coming home of the master, so as to attend to the master's needs with dispatch.
Voice 3: I paid attention to the journey of the master and the entrusting of all he owned to his servants. A journey is more than a trip to the local post office. It could have been years of waiting. If the journey were somehow aborted, the master might return home in a week. There was no way of knowing or second-guessing.
Voice 1: What about guarding the door to the heart and being watchful of what goes out of and into that other door that is the mouth? What is it that we yearn so much for? It comes without definition yet I sense that when it comes I will recognize it with an immediacy akin to its suddenness. I am not sure what we are waiting for here. I presume, as this is a parable, that the wait includes us today.
I think about the sign-wavers -- Repent. Thirty-six days until the end. Repent. I buy neither that nor the grand search to break some biblical code for the certainty of a date. If Christ said no one knows, then no one will know until the time comes. If the time comes only within a distinct clock time, then many will be left out. It is a puzzle.
Voice 2: Does that return us to living each day as if it were our final day? In the past, all my short-lived attempts to live in that manner have changed my focus. I become alert all right, but the awareness is on re-evaluating and attaining my goals. As I become cognizant of my shortfalls, I hope with all my heart that I have at least a week to repair my habits. But it never lasts.
Voice 3: I turn to the beauty around me. I am newly awake to friendships. I start seeing how I can make a difference if I put my mind to it. I see nature and the seasonal changes with newly appreciative eyes. I notice the bare-boned grace of tree trunks and limbs. All nature pauses, waiting for spring, as I quiet down after the busy summer and autumn to find time to welcome the Christ Child through the gate of my heart.
Voice 1: I need to clear the clutter from that gate and clean my life up. It is Advent One. I do not want to be asleep spiritually. I want to be wide awake. Christmas does not always come to my spirit on Christmas Eve itself. The season is too busy. I could easily miss the whole thing. I need to take time to get ready.
Voice 2: I do not feel that I would be chastised by God if I were not at the door. Part of me says that Christmas can come anytime I want it to, that it is a matter of what is in my heart. Another part of me says that if I am not ready in my heart, I may miss something that I could only have experienced this Advent, this Christmas. I might not be alive next year. Missed opportunity, that's what it would be.
Voice 3: In the time of the first Advent, the actual time that Christ was born, you know that people were expectant. They needed and longed for a Savior. They did not know how that Savior would come. They did not know when but only know that they needed God to send a Savior. When we begin the time of preparation called Advent, we know that Christmas Eve will come.
Voice 2: As long as we are just kind of talking about all of this, do you remember when he said all of those servants were to stay awake?
Voice 1: Or maybe Christ was saying to everyone around him who was listening, "Wake up and keep awake, you people." What is of greatest importance will pass us by if we do not pay attention to what is going on, to the signs around us in our town, to the need for change, and to the changes that are happening.
Voice 3: Well, I thought Christ was telling us that no one is going to be left out, so it is important for everyone to be on the watch. It took all of the master's household, each with a specific work, to keep things going while they waited for him to return. Does that say also it will take all of us together as a church family to be Christ's church and to keep hope for a better world alive?
Voice 2: So much about our faith is ambiguous. So much leaves us hanging with only the choice to trust; but that is quite a choice. Do you really think that at some specific time everything will come to a halt? Do you really think that a loving God would exclude us from hope if we blinked an eye at the wrong time or lived in the wrong decade? Do you really think some will be left out? A parable is a parable. It points to a greater truth. It is just that I do not know exactly what that greater truth is.
Voice 3: Does it matter? What we have now that we can manage is to make a difference in the quality of our present, day-to-day existence. God has entrusted us with the door of our own house. The master did not tell the servants in the meantime while they were waiting to stop everything. They each had their own work to do. They were to carry on with that work because the master trusted that they were reliable and capable. I believe God has that same faith in us.
Voice 1: I do thank you all for joining this chat today. Somehow when we are online together, my resolve to live the Christian principles grows stronger despite all of my wondering and all of my questioning. I believe that God understands how it is with us. For this reason, God comes in human form to be a present help and guide. Beyond that, God comes as an infant that even the most vulnerable and the most threatened among us can relate to. From the most haughty to the most humble, the gift of this Holy Infant is indeed a gift.
But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for 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.
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Jesus tells his disciples that only God the Father -- not the Son or the angels -- knows when the changes in the realm will come.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus warns the disciples to remain alert as they also do not know the time of change.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus tells the analogy of the doorkeeper. The man leaving on a journey puts his servants in charge, each with designated work.
Fourth Point Of Action
The homeowner commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
Fifth Point Of Action
The homeowner tells him to keep awake, as he does not know what time of the day or night he will return.
Sixth Point Of Action
The homeowner emphasizes four times of day -- evening, midnight, cockcrow, and dawn.
Seventh Point Of Action
The homeowner tells the doorkeeper that otherwise he might come home suddenly and find him asleep.
Eighth Point Of Action
What he says to him, he says to all: Keep awake.
3. Spadework
(To) All
In the words, "what I say to you I say to all" (v. 37), one might posit that the homeowner wants not only the doorkeeper, but all the servants to hear the message. These words might also be taken as Jesus telling his disciples to spread the message to everyone. However interpreted, the phrase reminds us that the message of Christ and of Christianity is inclusive. "To all" occurs on eleven other occasions in the gospel writings, three times in Matthew, once in Mark, five times in Luke, and twice in John.
The metaphorical lamp put on the lampstand gives light "to all in the house." (See Matthew 5:15.) The good news is proclaimed worldwide as a testimony "to all the nations." (See Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10.) "[R]epentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). "To all" who have "more will be given." (See Matthew 25:29 and Luke 19:26.)
Unlike the disciples who came down from the mountain after the Transfiguration of Jesus "[a]nd ... kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen" (Luke 9:36), the women who followed Jesus returned from the empty tomb and told everyone. Easter is to be no secret kept among a few. (See Luke 24:9.) See also Luke 1:6 and 2:38. "To all" references in John read, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (John 1:12) and "since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him" (John 17:2).
Asleep
Falling asleep at the wrong time can cause others distress. On the water, Jesus sleeps through the storm that scared the disciples who were in the boat with him. (See Matthew 8:24, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:23.)
Sleeping at an unguarded time halts the protection of what belongs to us: "[B]ut while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away" (Matthew 13:25). Bribing soldiers, conniving priests and elders instructed, "You must say, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep' " (Matthew 28:13).
Among poignant examples of having fallen asleep are these from Gethsemane: "Then [Jesus] came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?' " (Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:37); "Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy" (Matthew 26:43); and "Then he came to the disciples and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.' " (See Matthew 26:45, Mark 14:40-41, and Luke 22:45-46.) Was it the exhaustion of Gethsemane, the dawning that the disciples were about to lose Jesus, or was it the denial of that reality that sent them into sleep?
The ability to keep from falling asleep enabled Peter and his companions to see the glory of Jesus' transfiguration as well as Moses and Elijah standing with him. (See Luke 9:32.) Consider how we stay alert and awake at some critical moments and when we evade such responsibility. For additional study about keeping awake, see Cycle A, Parable 5.
Beware
The writer of Mark defines "beware" as "keep alert." Used fourteen times in the gospels, beware also means to be wary of, to be careful, to be on guard against. It is the opposite of trusting, believing in, or relying upon. Within the context of being careful of one's own actions, the writer of Matthew's Gospel quotes Jesus, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).
Jesus warns against all who would attempt to lead them away from the truth: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15); "And he said, 'Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, "I am he!" and "The time is near!" Do not go after them' " (Luke 21:8); and "Jesus answered them, 'Be-ware that no one leads you astray' " (Matthew 24:4). See also Mark 13:5.
Jesus warns against the religious leaders of his time: "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets" (Luke 20:46 and Mark 12:38-39).
Jesus uses the metaphor of yeast in tandem with "beware":
"Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy" (Luke 12:1);
" 'How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!' Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:11-12); and
"As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them" (Mark 13:9). See also Matthew 10:17; 16:6; and Mark 8:15.
(Comes) Suddenly
Of the nineteen occasions in which "suddenly" appears, several include coming suddenly. Suddenly suggests an unexpected happening that surprises. This parable shouts a warning about an event that will come without warning. It wants to bring anticipation to what cannot be predicted. The more we study possible clues of prediction, the more we understand that the surprise of "suddenly" is the message.
Prefaced in Hebrew Scripture with the angel suddenly touching the discouraged Elijah as he slept beneath the broom tree (1 Kings 19:5), tellers of the Christ story present pivotal events in his life with this element of surprise:
At the Birth, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying ..." (Luke 2:13); when the threat of Herod was over -- "When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said ... " (Matthew 2:19);
At the Baptism, "And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him" (Matthew 3:16);
At the conclusion of the Temptation, "Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him" (Matthew 4:11);
At the Transfiguration, "Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with [Jesus]" and "While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved...' " (Matthew 17:3 and 17:5). See also Luke 9:30; 24:4; and Mark 9:8.
At the Betrayal, "While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him" (Luke 22:47);
In the Last Days, "Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear" (Matthew 26:51); and
At the Resurrection: "And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it" (Matthew 28:2) and "Suddenly Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him" (Matthew 28:9).
An event that may have been long-planned appears to be sudden to all who are not privy to it. Something surprises us when we neither anticipate nor expect it. Suddenly suggests also an event not asked for.
As a literary technique, suddenly alerts the attention of the hearer to something unusual about to happen, for example, in a miracle story. In the healing of the man with the mental illness, "[Jesus] said to [the demons], 'Go!' So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water" (Matthew 8:32). See also Luke 9:39. In the healing of a leader's daughter, while Jesus was talking to [the disciples of John], "suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, 'My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live' " (Matthew 9:18). From out of nowhere, "[S]uddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak" (Matthew 9:20).
In Charge
In the present parable, Jesus likens the coming of the kingdom of God to "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" (Mark 13:34). The six other instances of "in charge" in the synoptic gospels clap with the enthusiasm of trust. The servant whom a returning landowner finds at work at his assigned tasks upon the return home after an absence blesses that servant: "Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions" (Matthew 24:47 and Luke 12:44). See also Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:42. Similarly, the servant who multiplied the five talents by five that his landowner had entrusted to him earned the respect of being put in charge: "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master' " (Matthew 25:21, 23).
Who's in charge here? What ensues when we put our own self in charge of our own life? What happens with our sense of responsibility, the enhancement of our integrity, the evaluation of how we are doing, the attentiveness with which we meet the moment, the alacrity of our spirit, the quality of our self-management, and our guidance of others?
Keep (Kept)
Among the 28 instances of "keep" in the gospels are several subtleties of definition. Part of "keep" implies the integrity of honoring or obeying. In the following passages, the writer of the Gospel of John focuses on Matthew's words: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (John 15:10); "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15); "I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47); "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them" (John 14:21); "Jesus answered him, 'Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me' " (John 14:23-24); "Remember the word that I said to you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:20). See also Matthew 19:20; Mark 10:20; and Luke 18:21.
To keep is to sustain a promise: "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word" (John 17:6) and "But I do know him and I keep his word" (John 8:55).
Keep also means to adhere to or fulfill: "[Jesus] said, 'Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, "The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples" ' " (Matthew 26:18) and "Then [Jesus] said to [the Pharisees], 'You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!' " (Mark 7:9). To keep is to protect from or to prevent: "If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble" (Matthew 28:14) and "But some of them said, 'Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?' " (John 11:37). See also Luke 24:16.
These passages show "to keep" as to continue in a pattern or because of a necessity. "And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying" (Luke 12:29); "So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly' " (John 10:24); and "The woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water' " (John 4:15).
To keep is also to save, to have ready, or to preserve: "Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. She bought [the perfumed ointment] so that she might keep it for the day of my burial' " (John 12:7) and "Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it" (Luke 17:33). See also John 12:25; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:18; and 1 Peter 5:8.
To keep from is to prevent: "Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here' " (John 18:36).
To keep is to persist: "They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, 'What is this? A new teaching -- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him' " (Mark 1:27). See also Mark 11:18; Luke 1:22; 4:36; 11:16, 13:14; 18:3; 19:36, 47; 22:59, 64-65; 23:21, 23, 39; and John 3:23; 6:2; 8:7; 9:9-10; 19:3.
To keep is to withhold, as "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now" (John 2:10) and "[Judas Iscariot] said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it" (John 12:6).
To keep carries a further secretive dimension: "So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean" (Mark 9:10) and "When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen" (Luke 9:36).
These variables of definition interface with the "keep awake" and the "keep alert" of the present Markan parable. Whether by intention or implication, "keep" in this parable also echoes the "why" of honoring the other teachings of Christ, as well as our capacity to make a choice that will make a difference in our lives.
According to Mark, when Jesus approaches Gethsemane, he requests that his disciples "keep awake" for him: "And he said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake' " (Mark 14:34) and "He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 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 14:37-38).
How different would they read if the word were "Stay awake" or "Stay alert" that the writer of Matthew reserves for Gethsemane? "Then he said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me' " (Matthew 26:38) and "Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, 'So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak' " (Matthew 26:40-41). "Keep awake" and "keep alert" for your sake. Remain nearby my side or "stay awake with me" responds to the need of Jesus. These terms hone in on the nuances of vigilance for the sake of someone else who is counting on them, similar to the guarding "keep" of Matthew 27:36 and Luke 8:29.
For discussion of the differences and similarities between the Matthew 24 and 25 parallel to the present Markan parable, refer to section 4 of this chapter. See also the discussion of keep alert and keep awake in Cycle A, Parable 12.
No One Knows
Is this element of secrecy designed to heighten suspense to an event that holds both certainty and indefiniteness? Some events in our lives we cannot know ahead of time, yet we are as certain they will happen as we are that we will die. Of the ten instances in which this phrase occurs, that spoken by the wisdom writer offers a sense of perspective to the present text: "[Y]et fools talk on and on. No one knows what is to happen, and who can tell anyone what the future holds?" (Ecclesiastes 10:14).
The following passages from Hebrew Scripture suggest that no one knows and no one will know: "He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day" (Deuteronomy 34:6) and "Your guards are like grasshoppers, your scribes like swarms of locusts settling on the fences on a cold day -- when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they have gone" (Nahum 3:17).
The writer of Matthew quotes three instances of Jesus' use of this phrase. In the first, Christ has healed the eyes of two blind men and "sternly ordered" witnesses to "see that no one knows of this" (Matthew 9:30). In Matthew 11:27 and again in Luke 10:22, Christ emphasizes that "no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." In Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, he emphasizes, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
Two passages from Revelation emphasize that the name inscribed on stone is known only to the one who receives it. (See Revelation 2:17 and 19:12.) In contrast, some things we do know. "For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end" (1 Corinthians 13:9-10).
Knowing contains the elements of belief, trust, and mystery:
"Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.' The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.' Jesus said to her, 'I am he, the one who is speaking to you' " (John 4:21-26);
"They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world' " (John 4:42);
"Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God" (John 16:30); and
"This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24).
4. Parallel Scriptures
Certainty
Using the words "when the time will come" rather than "if," Mark speaks with certainty of the coming (v. 33). The writer of Matthew's Gospel also speaks with the certainty of prediction, repeating "will" eight times in the Matthew 24:29-31 passage: "sun will be darkened," "moon will not give its light," "stars will fall," and "powers of heaven will be shaken" in 24:29; "sign ... will appear" and "they will see" in 24:30; and "he will send out" and "they will gather" in 24:31.
The writer of Luke's Gospel uses "will" four times in similar fashion: "There will be signs" (Luke 21:25), "People will faint" and "heavens will be shaken" (v. 26), and "Then they will see" (v. 27). Luke adds the definitive "when these things begin to take place" (v. 28).
Come
Mark says "the time will come" (v. 33). Matthew says the definite all "will see the Son of Man coming" (Matthew 24:30). With even greater authoritative voice, Luke uses the form "is coming" (Luke 21:26). With further use of the present participle, Luke says "coming in a cloud" (Luke 21:27).
Signs
In the present text, emphasis lies on alertness because no one knows the time this will happen. The Matthew writer says it will happen "immediately after the suffering of those days" (Matthew 24:29a). This writer introduces the passage with several signs: "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn" (Matthew 24:29-30a). Luke speaks generally of the same signs: "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).
The Event
Mark offers no description of what will happen. Matthew predicts what all will see: "and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:30b-31). "Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:25-28).
Timing
Matthew prefaces his words with "immediately": "Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened" (Matthew 24:29). Luke makes no mention of suddenness. Mark cautions to stay away "or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly" (Mark 13:36). The writers suggest a sudden coming with cautions to stay awake or to be alert: "Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Matthew 24:42) and "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13). Luke uses "alert": "Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37) and "Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). In the present text, the writer of Mark uses both "keep awake" (vv. 35 and 37) and "keep alert" (v. 33).
5. Chat Room
Voice 1: Let us begin this little online chat about doorkeepers, being aware, staying alert, and about no one knowing either the "when" of it or for that matter the "what" of this path of our journey into faith.
Voice 2: The modern doorkeeper is an employee assigned to guard the entrance to a building or to a specific room within a building. As a paid employee with a contract to honor, the position of doorkeeper calls for a sense of responsibility.
Voice 3: In recent years, we have come to see the role of doorkeeper as less cosmetic and more essential. Electronic eyes and a panel of monitors in another room are auxiliary to the live doorkeeper, but cannot disturb the immediacy of security screening -- the evasion of the eye, a hunch triggered by an individual's tone of voice or by a slight, yet revealing, variance of body language.
Voice 1: What happens when we attempt to maintain a constant state of alertness? Most of us cannot stay in Code Orange. I cannot stay in that ready-to-spring mode for an extended period of time without building up considerable stress. What happens when we fall asleep? How are the ways we fall asleep? Many of us seem to sleepwalk through daily life. We go through the motions all week long until the weekend comes. Then we go through motions all weekend long until the new week starts.
How does someone else know when we are fully awake? How do we know if we are fully awake? This whole little parable seems to ask us to be fully alive, that is, to walk around consciously rather than being oblivious to half of what is going on around us at the workplace, within ourselves, within our families, and in the environment.
Voice 2: To be sure, in the days of Christ, doorkeepers kept the door of the house and the gate to the property secure. The Hebrew mandate to be hospitable to travelers and strangers was in the doorkeeper's mind as much as an alertness to possible danger.
I noted recently a similar double role that may always have been present, yet now requires a greater degree of sophistication. The agent at a public airport near an important government installation had refined his balance between security screening and welcoming winter travelers to southern warmth. I observed that his verbal questioning of a woman using an assist dog was friendly, albeit with a focus beyond idle curiosity. It amounted to a thorough inquiry about the dog guide. Even an assist animal does not escape security scrutiny these days.
Voice 3: When I visited a hospitalized friend, there was the doorkeeper. While he was ready to offer directions or assistance, he no longer stood at a discreet distance. His desk was equipped with a phone and positioned so as to greet all who entered. Now that is an active presence. No more sleepy, passive door guards.
Voice 1: When I read this parable, I felt the greater anticipation of the doorkeeper would be to watch for the coming home of the master, so as to attend to the master's needs with dispatch.
Voice 3: I paid attention to the journey of the master and the entrusting of all he owned to his servants. A journey is more than a trip to the local post office. It could have been years of waiting. If the journey were somehow aborted, the master might return home in a week. There was no way of knowing or second-guessing.
Voice 1: What about guarding the door to the heart and being watchful of what goes out of and into that other door that is the mouth? What is it that we yearn so much for? It comes without definition yet I sense that when it comes I will recognize it with an immediacy akin to its suddenness. I am not sure what we are waiting for here. I presume, as this is a parable, that the wait includes us today.
I think about the sign-wavers -- Repent. Thirty-six days until the end. Repent. I buy neither that nor the grand search to break some biblical code for the certainty of a date. If Christ said no one knows, then no one will know until the time comes. If the time comes only within a distinct clock time, then many will be left out. It is a puzzle.
Voice 2: Does that return us to living each day as if it were our final day? In the past, all my short-lived attempts to live in that manner have changed my focus. I become alert all right, but the awareness is on re-evaluating and attaining my goals. As I become cognizant of my shortfalls, I hope with all my heart that I have at least a week to repair my habits. But it never lasts.
Voice 3: I turn to the beauty around me. I am newly awake to friendships. I start seeing how I can make a difference if I put my mind to it. I see nature and the seasonal changes with newly appreciative eyes. I notice the bare-boned grace of tree trunks and limbs. All nature pauses, waiting for spring, as I quiet down after the busy summer and autumn to find time to welcome the Christ Child through the gate of my heart.
Voice 1: I need to clear the clutter from that gate and clean my life up. It is Advent One. I do not want to be asleep spiritually. I want to be wide awake. Christmas does not always come to my spirit on Christmas Eve itself. The season is too busy. I could easily miss the whole thing. I need to take time to get ready.
Voice 2: I do not feel that I would be chastised by God if I were not at the door. Part of me says that Christmas can come anytime I want it to, that it is a matter of what is in my heart. Another part of me says that if I am not ready in my heart, I may miss something that I could only have experienced this Advent, this Christmas. I might not be alive next year. Missed opportunity, that's what it would be.
Voice 3: In the time of the first Advent, the actual time that Christ was born, you know that people were expectant. They needed and longed for a Savior. They did not know how that Savior would come. They did not know when but only know that they needed God to send a Savior. When we begin the time of preparation called Advent, we know that Christmas Eve will come.
Voice 2: As long as we are just kind of talking about all of this, do you remember when he said all of those servants were to stay awake?
Voice 1: Or maybe Christ was saying to everyone around him who was listening, "Wake up and keep awake, you people." What is of greatest importance will pass us by if we do not pay attention to what is going on, to the signs around us in our town, to the need for change, and to the changes that are happening.
Voice 3: Well, I thought Christ was telling us that no one is going to be left out, so it is important for everyone to be on the watch. It took all of the master's household, each with a specific work, to keep things going while they waited for him to return. Does that say also it will take all of us together as a church family to be Christ's church and to keep hope for a better world alive?
Voice 2: So much about our faith is ambiguous. So much leaves us hanging with only the choice to trust; but that is quite a choice. Do you really think that at some specific time everything will come to a halt? Do you really think that a loving God would exclude us from hope if we blinked an eye at the wrong time or lived in the wrong decade? Do you really think some will be left out? A parable is a parable. It points to a greater truth. It is just that I do not know exactly what that greater truth is.
Voice 3: Does it matter? What we have now that we can manage is to make a difference in the quality of our present, day-to-day existence. God has entrusted us with the door of our own house. The master did not tell the servants in the meantime while they were waiting to stop everything. They each had their own work to do. They were to carry on with that work because the master trusted that they were reliable and capable. I believe God has that same faith in us.
Voice 1: I do thank you all for joining this chat today. Somehow when we are online together, my resolve to live the Christian principles grows stronger despite all of my wondering and all of my questioning. I believe that God understands how it is with us. For this reason, God comes in human form to be a present help and guide. Beyond that, God comes as an infant that even the most vulnerable and the most threatened among us can relate to. From the most haughty to the most humble, the gift of this Holy Infant is indeed a gift.
