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August 12, 2007
Scripture: Luke 12: 32-40
Title: “An Unexpected Hour”

It is a constant theme in our world. Someone is always saying how our world is coming to an end. They always say that there are signs everywhere. Hurricanes wiping out a city. Heat waves across our country. The stars align up a certain way. The Canadian geese did not fly in a V as they traveled south this year. These have all been lifted up as signs that our world is coming to an end. And we worry and we wait. The world is coming to an end. Soon we become like Chicken Little: And say the sky is falling, the world is coming to an end. Life is over as we know it.

I remember one time in particular when a scientist had predicted the end of our world. This scientist had read all the signs and had pinpointed that our world would end at 2:07 p.m. on a certain day.

I vividly remember this time in my life. I remember that for the week before, I tried to get out of chores liking cleaning my room or unloading the dishwasher. I would say, It doesn’t matter if I do these things or not. The world is going to come to an end. God won’t care if my room is clean or not. God won’t care if we have clean dishes or not. I also remember that God may or may not have cared, but my parents did. They would not accept my excuse that the world was coming an end.

I put off doing chores all week. I picked fights with my sister. I refused to cooperate with my parents. Because you see, in my mind, it didn’t matter. The world was going to come to an end. And that was my excuse for everything.

I remember trying to get out of my homework the night before. For some reason, my parents didn’t think that the fact that the world would be coming to an end was a good enough reason for me not to do my homework. I even tried to avoid going to school the next day, trying to play on my parents’ sympathy, letting them know that this would be the last time that they would see me because the world was going to come to an end. And wouldn’t they be sorry that they sent me to school. And they didn’t get to spend their last moments on earth with me.

Needless to say, at 2:00 that day, I found myself sitting in school. I was in the computer lab with my fellow students. The teacher was having trouble trying to teach us how to use computers. No one cared. The world was going to come to an end in just seven minutes.

We watched the clock tick away the seconds. Six minutes left on earth. Tick Tock. 5 minutes left on earth. We turned to look at each other. This was the last time that we would see our friends. 4 minutes left on earth. Tick Tock. We were all scared. What would happen? Would there be a bright shining light? Would the world explode out from under us? 3 minutes left on earth.

We turned to our teacher, looking for words of comfort, looking for words of reassurance. 2 minutes left on earth.

1 minute left on earth.

Tick Tock.

The clock strikes 2:07 and we all hold our breath. We wait. This was it. This was the end!

Tick Tock.

The clock strikes 2:08. What happened? It was a big disappointment. The clock strikes 2:09 and we realize that the guy had it wrong. The world was not going to end that day. We had one more day of waiting. We had one more day of watching. We had one more day of living.

It was only when the clock struck 2:15 and it was time to move on to our last period of the time, did I realize that I had not done my homework for that class. I was not prepared. I just knew that world was going to end that day and having my math homework done didn’t matter in the big scheme of things when I thought the world was going to come to an end.

Unfortunately, my teacher, like my parents, didn’t think the reason of the world was going to end to be a sufficient enough for my homework not being done. I remember being marked down as not being ready for my class. I remember being marked down with a zero that day for my homework assignment. I remember being marked down as not being prepared.

Being watchful. Being prepared. Being ready for the coming of the kingdom.

That is what our scripture is about today.

Jesus is talking with his disciples and he knows that time is running out for him. He is on his way to Jerusalem and he is giving them a few last minute instructions. “Guys, I want to talk to you about something very serious. First let me say, Don’t be afraid. God has watched over creation from the very beginning. God has taken care of creation from the very beginning. And God will continue to do this. So don’t be afraid.

Now I’ve told you that the kingdom is coming. And God wants us to have God’s kingdom on earth. A place of justice. A place of mercy. A place of grace. Well, it is going to happen. God is going to give you the gift of the kingdom.

I just want you to do a few things first. Don’t get caught up in this world. Don’t stock up provisions such as money or material items. They are not going to help you. They will only separate you from your calling. You will worry more about having enough money, about having enough riches that you will about your brothers and sisters in faith. You will worry more about keeping up with the Jones than you will about your faith if you let this world take over your life. It is a trap. Don’t fall for it.

Take a look at the big picture. You need to know where you heart resides. If you only think about things of this world, you will forget about your calling as children of God. You will forget that your heart should reside in God. You won’t care about your faith and what is required of you as disciples.

Guys, the world will be coming to an end. And that is good news! God will bring peace and justice to all. God will reverse the wrongs of this world and God will make every thing right.

Just be ready. Just be prepared. You won’t know when. You won’t know where. You won’t know what it is going to look like when it happens. Just be ready. Just be prepared.

And I imagine that the disciples turn to each other with confused looks on their faces. What is Jesus talking about now? They don’t understand. And we find ourselves feeling the same way today as we read this scripture.

What do you mean be prepared? The world is going to come to an end. Jesus, if the world is coming to an end and you have said that it is such a great thing, then all we have to do is wait. This doesn’t require anything from us. God is doing all the work. This is all going to come to an end. What does it matter what we do? All we have to do is wait, right?

And Jesus says no. You have a great responsibility as my children. You have a great responsibility as people of faith. God has given you the keys and the promise of the kingdom and we are expected, we are required to have an attentive awareness of the world around us. We are required to ready ourselves for the coming of God’s kingdom through the practicing our faith. We are required and expected to live out the disciplines of our faith in our lives through prayer, through reflection on scriptures, through worship, and through acts of justice and kindness.

“Our faith is not a ‘couch potato faith.” Our faith is not a sit around and wait for the channel to change kind of faith. Our faith is a faith of action. Our faith is filled with a waiting that embraces active participation. Our faith is filled with an aspect of service that is combined with expectancy and preparation.

Jesus is telling us that God wants to give us a gift. God wants to give us God’s kingdom on earth. That God is gladly sharing with us this most precious gift. And we need to prepare to be ready to embrace this gift.

And when that time comes, God will not think that reason that world was going to come to an end will be a sufficient enough reason for our lack of preparation. God will not accept our excuse of not being prepared because we thought all we had to do was wait around until the end.

God expects us to be watchful. God expects us to be prepared. God expects us to use our time on earth as a “time of showing the actual worth of being a human being”, of being a person of faith, of being a child of God in God’s world. God wants us to be prepared.

We spend our time on earth stocking up on provisions: food, water, blankets, and other supplies. Each one of these items is labeled. We think we are prepared. We think we are ready. We say, Okay God, you can bring the world to an end at anytime. We are ready.

And today our scripture asks us the question: Are you really ready? The provisions you have are only of this world and will do you no good in the next. How did you prepare for the coming of the kingdom of God? Did you pray? Did you read my word to you? Did you take care of your brothers and sisters in faith? How did you prepare for the gift of the kingdom of God?

There is work to do here on earth. Jesus is saying to us: Don’t be afraid. Yes, the world is coming to an end. You don’t know when. You don’t know where. Just be prepared. Just be watchful.

Don’t live your life in fear. Don’t put false hope in the material items of this world.

Go out and be the church. Go out and be my people. Go out and embrace the gift of the coming of the Kingdom.

God has cared for you in the past. God will care for you in the future. This world does not have the last word. God does. Trust in that.

Don’t be afraid. Be prepared. Be watchful.

Go out and be the church that prepares for the kingdom through prayer, through service, through worship and study. Be prepared.

And when that time comes, you will be ready.

You will be ready. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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