Watching And Working
Sermon
Living Between the Advents
Preaching Advent in Year B
Object:
Our focus during the season of Advent is on the arrival of Jesus Christ. There are three ways to think about that arrival. First, we may reflect upon the arrival of Jesus Christ in the incarnation event. Our attention is on the manger of Bethlehem and the inbreaking of God into our world there. Second, we may reflect upon the arrival of Jesus Christ in our own personal lives. We give attention to what Jesus has already done in our lives, and we remain open to the new things Jesus may do in our lives as he comes to us today. Third, we may reflect upon the arrival of Jesus Christ when he comes again. We focus on the Second Coming of Jesus and we think about ways in which we should be ready for that Advent.
Someone has said that Advent is the "Season of Surprise."1 That is an excellent way to think of this Advent season. Jesus came in surprising ways when he was born in Bethlehem. One of the reasons that so many people in his day missed his coming or failed to grasp its significance is that he came in an unexpected manner. One of the reasons we should be very careful in our thinking about the Second Coming is that God has a tendency to do things in surprising ways. Let's not think we have it all figured out! Many of the folks in the first century thought they had it all figured out, and they missed it! More to the point for today, though, is the fact that the Lord may be ready to come to us in surprising ways during this Advent season. Let's be open to his coming!
Watching
In Mark 13, Jesus is answering a question posed to him by some of his disciples. The question was prompted by their visit to the Jerusalem temple just before the arrest and crucifixion of Christ. The disciples were impressed by the magnificence of the temple (v. 1). Jesus responded to their expressions of awe by predicting the destruction of the temple (v. 2). After Jesus and the disciples had left the temple and gone to the Mount of Olives, four of the disciples asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" (v. 4).
Watch Events, But Don't Be Fooled By Events
In response, Jesus began to tell the disciples of things for which to watch. Now, we need to know this truth: from the perspective of the disciples of Jesus, the fulfillment of Jesus' words about the destruction of the temple and the things leading up to it occurred within thirty years' time. It was during the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 66-70 C.E. that such atrocities occurred and the temple was burned and razed. As the disciples prepared for that occurrence, look at the kinds of things that Jesus told them to watch out for.
"Beware that no one leads you astray" (vv. 5, 22-23). Look very carefully at that for which Jesus tells his followers to look.
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 birthpangs.
-- Mark 13:6-8
And if any one says to you at that time, "Look! Here is the Messiah!" or "Look! There he is!" -- do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
-- Mark 13:21-22
That's what Jesus told the disciples to look out for in relation to the coming event, in their own lifetime, of the destruction of the temple. "Pay attention to what's going on," he said, "but don't make too much of it. Don't try to turn something into a sign of the end that is not in fact a sign of the end."
"As for yourselves, beware" (v. 9). Jesus reminded his disciples that in the difficult days leading up to the destruction of the temple they would endure suffering, persecution, and tribulation. Their calling was to endure by relying on the Holy Spirit rather than on their own strength and wisdom. Such is our calling, too.
The instruction to take heed is for us, also. Throughout the last 2,000 years of history, wars and rumors of wars have taken place. Earthquakes and other natural disasters have occurred. False prophets and messianic pretenders have proliferated. Such things are but the beginning of the birthpangs. We do well to pay attention, but we also do well not to make more of events than we should. In the meantime, we rely on God's presence with us through his Holy Spirit. Only as we rely on him can we persevere. Make no mistake about it, the time will come when some generation, and it may be ours, "will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory." Until then, we trust and persevere.
Working
Is it enough to just wait and watch for Christ to come? That depends on how active our waiting and watching are.
The hymn that begins "O land of rest, for thee I sigh" has an interesting and uncertain history. It did not always have a refrain. The earlier version of the refrain, though, was "We'll wait till Jesus comes." Only later, under revivalistic influence, was the refrain changed to "We'll work till Jesus comes."2 Both emphases seem to me to be important. We certainly are waiting for Jesus to come. But while we are waiting, we are to be working.
Jesus said that we should be watching because his return could be at any time. He used the parable of the man going on a journey to make his point. Like the servants of the man, we don't want to be found sleeping. We want always to be watching and waiting. But I am struck by a particular phrase in the parable: "It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work ..." (v. 34). We each have our work to do while we live in these days and while we await the Second Advent of our Lord. We do that in light of the First Advent and in light of the ongoing presence of Christ with us.
The story is told of an eclipse in colonial New England during which state legislators panicked and several moved to adjourn. But one of them said, "Mr. Speaker, if it is not the end of the world and we adjourn, we shall appear to be fools. If it is the end of the world, I should choose to be found doing my duty. I move you, Sir, that candles be brought."3
Indeed, when the end comes, we would choose to be found doing our duty. If the end does not come soon, we would still choose to be found doing our duty. No matter what, then, we are to be doing our duty, to be carrying out our work. I would say two things about our work as we wait:
We work in God's power. As we do our work, we do well to remember the words of Paul to the church at Corinth: "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). We wait and we work as empowered, gifted Christians. We are to be careful, as Paul warned the Corinthian Christians at later points, not to think more of our gifts than we ought. Whatever gifts and abilities God has given us he has given us out of his grace and not because of our merit. He has given them for his purposes and not for our glorification. Nevertheless, let us rely on God's power with us, on the gifts he has given us, rather than on our own strength and power. The work is finally his work, and he will empower us to do it.
We work in Jesus' spirit. The work we have to do is Jesus' work. We are his disciples. We are his followers. We are his people. As the body of Christ we have the responsibility every single day to continue his mission and ministry. What is that mission and ministry? We could put it in many ways. "To be vehicles for the inbreaking of the kingdom of God." "To bear witness to the love of God." "To preach the gospel to the lost." "To be witnesses to our community and to the world." All those and other phrases would summarize our task well.
It comes down to this. The incarnation, the coming of Christ all those years ago, means that God came and dwelt with us. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. In a different way, but nonetheless in a real way, the church as the body of Christ continues to show the world the love and the ways of God. We are to do that like Jesus did it, if we are to do it at all. How do we do it like he did it? By breaking into people's lives, by being bold in our witness, and by being up front about who the Lord is to us. But we do that in humility. We do it in love. We do it in grace. We do it with gentleness. We do it with sacrifice. At least, if we do it like Jesus did it, that's how we do it.
In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy was telling Linus what a good evangelist she would be. "I could be a terrific evangelist. Do you know that kid who sits behind me in school? I convinced him that my religion is better than his religion." Linus asked, "How did you do that?" Lucy replied, "I hit him with my lunch box." And then there is this epitaph written by C. S. Lewis:
This stone erected by her sorrowing brothers
In memory of Martha Clay.
Here lies one who lived for others,
Now she has peace. And so have they!4
We'll work till Jesus comes, all right, but we'll work till Jesus comes like Jesus himself worked. We'll work in faith, in obedience, in openness, with vulnerability, and in utter humility, always putting the other before ourselves, and not trying to grasp more for ourselves than we should. We'll work in love, because that's how Jesus worked!
Conclusion
Mark 13 is a very confusing chapter to many students of the Bible, and the source of that confusion seems to be that Jesus talks with his disciples about two different but related things: that which would happen in their own lifetimes and that which would happen as some indeterminable date. Jesus would say the same kinds of things to us today, I believe. He would want us to pay attention to, and to be mindful of, those things that are happening in our own time, but not to make more of them than we should. At the same time, he would want us to have no doubt that sometime, maybe sooner, maybe later, he will come again in power. And, he would want us, in any time, to watch, wait, and to work. He would want us to work like he did, trusting in the Father, being obedient to the Father, depending on the power of God, and living sacrificial, loving lives.
__________
1., p. 2.
2. Harry Eskew, "O land of rest, for thee I sigh!" Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention, 1992), pp. 204-205.
3. Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark, Interpretation Commentary (Atlanta: John Knox, 1983), p. 242.
4. Both illustrations found at, p. 7.
Someone has said that Advent is the "Season of Surprise."1 That is an excellent way to think of this Advent season. Jesus came in surprising ways when he was born in Bethlehem. One of the reasons that so many people in his day missed his coming or failed to grasp its significance is that he came in an unexpected manner. One of the reasons we should be very careful in our thinking about the Second Coming is that God has a tendency to do things in surprising ways. Let's not think we have it all figured out! Many of the folks in the first century thought they had it all figured out, and they missed it! More to the point for today, though, is the fact that the Lord may be ready to come to us in surprising ways during this Advent season. Let's be open to his coming!
Watching
In Mark 13, Jesus is answering a question posed to him by some of his disciples. The question was prompted by their visit to the Jerusalem temple just before the arrest and crucifixion of Christ. The disciples were impressed by the magnificence of the temple (v. 1). Jesus responded to their expressions of awe by predicting the destruction of the temple (v. 2). After Jesus and the disciples had left the temple and gone to the Mount of Olives, four of the disciples asked Jesus, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" (v. 4).
Watch Events, But Don't Be Fooled By Events
In response, Jesus began to tell the disciples of things for which to watch. Now, we need to know this truth: from the perspective of the disciples of Jesus, the fulfillment of Jesus' words about the destruction of the temple and the things leading up to it occurred within thirty years' time. It was during the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 66-70 C.E. that such atrocities occurred and the temple was burned and razed. As the disciples prepared for that occurrence, look at the kinds of things that Jesus told them to watch out for.
"Beware that no one leads you astray" (vv. 5, 22-23). Look very carefully at that for which Jesus tells his followers to look.
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 birthpangs.
-- Mark 13:6-8
And if any one says to you at that time, "Look! Here is the Messiah!" or "Look! There he is!" -- do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
-- Mark 13:21-22
That's what Jesus told the disciples to look out for in relation to the coming event, in their own lifetime, of the destruction of the temple. "Pay attention to what's going on," he said, "but don't make too much of it. Don't try to turn something into a sign of the end that is not in fact a sign of the end."
"As for yourselves, beware" (v. 9). Jesus reminded his disciples that in the difficult days leading up to the destruction of the temple they would endure suffering, persecution, and tribulation. Their calling was to endure by relying on the Holy Spirit rather than on their own strength and wisdom. Such is our calling, too.
The instruction to take heed is for us, also. Throughout the last 2,000 years of history, wars and rumors of wars have taken place. Earthquakes and other natural disasters have occurred. False prophets and messianic pretenders have proliferated. Such things are but the beginning of the birthpangs. We do well to pay attention, but we also do well not to make more of events than we should. In the meantime, we rely on God's presence with us through his Holy Spirit. Only as we rely on him can we persevere. Make no mistake about it, the time will come when some generation, and it may be ours, "will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory." Until then, we trust and persevere.
Working
Is it enough to just wait and watch for Christ to come? That depends on how active our waiting and watching are.
The hymn that begins "O land of rest, for thee I sigh" has an interesting and uncertain history. It did not always have a refrain. The earlier version of the refrain, though, was "We'll wait till Jesus comes." Only later, under revivalistic influence, was the refrain changed to "We'll work till Jesus comes."2 Both emphases seem to me to be important. We certainly are waiting for Jesus to come. But while we are waiting, we are to be working.
Jesus said that we should be watching because his return could be at any time. He used the parable of the man going on a journey to make his point. Like the servants of the man, we don't want to be found sleeping. We want always to be watching and waiting. But I am struck by a particular phrase in the parable: "It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work ..." (v. 34). We each have our work to do while we live in these days and while we await the Second Advent of our Lord. We do that in light of the First Advent and in light of the ongoing presence of Christ with us.
The story is told of an eclipse in colonial New England during which state legislators panicked and several moved to adjourn. But one of them said, "Mr. Speaker, if it is not the end of the world and we adjourn, we shall appear to be fools. If it is the end of the world, I should choose to be found doing my duty. I move you, Sir, that candles be brought."3
Indeed, when the end comes, we would choose to be found doing our duty. If the end does not come soon, we would still choose to be found doing our duty. No matter what, then, we are to be doing our duty, to be carrying out our work. I would say two things about our work as we wait:
We work in God's power. As we do our work, we do well to remember the words of Paul to the church at Corinth: "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). We wait and we work as empowered, gifted Christians. We are to be careful, as Paul warned the Corinthian Christians at later points, not to think more of our gifts than we ought. Whatever gifts and abilities God has given us he has given us out of his grace and not because of our merit. He has given them for his purposes and not for our glorification. Nevertheless, let us rely on God's power with us, on the gifts he has given us, rather than on our own strength and power. The work is finally his work, and he will empower us to do it.
We work in Jesus' spirit. The work we have to do is Jesus' work. We are his disciples. We are his followers. We are his people. As the body of Christ we have the responsibility every single day to continue his mission and ministry. What is that mission and ministry? We could put it in many ways. "To be vehicles for the inbreaking of the kingdom of God." "To bear witness to the love of God." "To preach the gospel to the lost." "To be witnesses to our community and to the world." All those and other phrases would summarize our task well.
It comes down to this. The incarnation, the coming of Christ all those years ago, means that God came and dwelt with us. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. In a different way, but nonetheless in a real way, the church as the body of Christ continues to show the world the love and the ways of God. We are to do that like Jesus did it, if we are to do it at all. How do we do it like he did it? By breaking into people's lives, by being bold in our witness, and by being up front about who the Lord is to us. But we do that in humility. We do it in love. We do it in grace. We do it with gentleness. We do it with sacrifice. At least, if we do it like Jesus did it, that's how we do it.
In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy was telling Linus what a good evangelist she would be. "I could be a terrific evangelist. Do you know that kid who sits behind me in school? I convinced him that my religion is better than his religion." Linus asked, "How did you do that?" Lucy replied, "I hit him with my lunch box." And then there is this epitaph written by C. S. Lewis:
This stone erected by her sorrowing brothers
In memory of Martha Clay.
Here lies one who lived for others,
Now she has peace. And so have they!4
We'll work till Jesus comes, all right, but we'll work till Jesus comes like Jesus himself worked. We'll work in faith, in obedience, in openness, with vulnerability, and in utter humility, always putting the other before ourselves, and not trying to grasp more for ourselves than we should. We'll work in love, because that's how Jesus worked!
Conclusion
Mark 13 is a very confusing chapter to many students of the Bible, and the source of that confusion seems to be that Jesus talks with his disciples about two different but related things: that which would happen in their own lifetimes and that which would happen as some indeterminable date. Jesus would say the same kinds of things to us today, I believe. He would want us to pay attention to, and to be mindful of, those things that are happening in our own time, but not to make more of them than we should. At the same time, he would want us to have no doubt that sometime, maybe sooner, maybe later, he will come again in power. And, he would want us, in any time, to watch, wait, and to work. He would want us to work like he did, trusting in the Father, being obedient to the Father, depending on the power of God, and living sacrificial, loving lives.
__________
1.
2. Harry Eskew, "O land of rest, for thee I sigh!" Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention, 1992), pp. 204-205.
3. Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark, Interpretation Commentary (Atlanta: John Knox, 1983), p. 242.
4. Both illustrations found at
