Matthew 24:36-44

Today is the First Sunday in Advent, and we join the disciples of Jesus in every time and place asking a most important question.

When?

In today’s reading from Matthew, the question has to do with when the Kingdom of God will finally come. When will the world finally be made right? When will the unjust power of both Rome and the Temple be broken and the people set free?

When, Lord?

In our day, we’re asking the same question. In the face of all the violence and upheaval in the world, we ask the question. When, Lord? When will violence give way to peace? This is the question poor people ask as they struggle to live within the injustice of economic systems that are weighted against them. When, Lord? When will we have power to find a place at the table of life? This is the question you and I often ask as we face the challenges of raising families, and finding meaning, and dealing with illness, and taking up all the challenges that life throws our way. When, Lord?

When will the wrong be made right? When will our brokenness turn to healing? When will the Kingdom come?

This is the question we bring to Advent.

And yet, in our Gospel reading today, Jesus sort of shocks us by telling us that when may not be the right question to ask.

Jesus simply says, “No one knows when. Not the angels. Not even me. Only the Father knows.”

I personally find that one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian Faith is learning to trust that we can never really know the when of life. Coming to trust that the when of our healing, our reconciliation, our redemption as a people and as a world is completely in God’s hands is one of the hardest steps of faith.  We are simply given the promise that God is indeed at work in the background of every broken thing – every bombing, every injustice, every sadness, every loss, every illness, every disappointment, every broken relationship – and in the careful way of Divine Love, God is transforming all these things into what they should be. But only God knows when the work will be done. Like the song says, “In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful...in His time.”

How long, Lord? When will the healing come? When will there be reconciliation? When will justice flow like a river? When will the world’s brokenness be made whole?

In God’s time.

So Jesus tells us the question of Advent is not really “When?”

No. The real question of Advent is, “What?”

And in our reading from Matthew, Jesus hones in on this question when he leads us away from thinking about the when of Advent to the what shall we do in the meantime?

“Be on guard. Be alert!”

In other words, live as God calls you to live. In the face of everything life throws your way, no matter what happens in the world around you, live as the children of God. Love God. And love your neighbors. Feed the hungry, advocate for the poor, be peacemakers, spread God’s grace to everyone. And as you go about your business doing what you’re called to do, one more thing.

Keep watch by the door!

Our family once had a girl dog named Walter. Don’t even ask. Every time we took that dog to a different Vet and we told them her name was Walter, the Vet would look her over and say, “You DO know this is a female, right?” Duh.

Well, Walter was a truly great dog in many ways, but one of the things she was really good at was watching the door.  I mean, long before the school bus ever rounded the corner to drop off our kids, Walter would be sitting by the door, wagging her tail. Whenever I even drove by the house on my way from the church to the hospital, Walter’s ears would perk up as I sped by the end of the driveway where she was laying in the sun.

Walter had a knack for watching the door and sensing the closeness of her family. In fact, when my time comes to go to heaven, I’m absolutely sure that, even before I see Jesus, I’ll probably hear Walter barking for joy!

Keep watch by the door, Jesus says. That’s the WHAT of Advent. But how can we do that?

Well, by watching Jesus. Listening to his words. Studying his life. Embracing his Way. This is one of the most important tasks of Advent!

And by reminding ourselves of the AWESOME promises God has made.

Today, on the First Sunday in Advent, we turn our attention to the beautiful Chrismon tree. It is decorated with symbols of some of the signs we Christians have seen of God knocking at the door of our lives and our world. All season long, these symbols will be before us on the Chrismon Tree, assuring us that the Kingdom will indeed come.

And encouraged by these signs of Advent, you and I can go and renew our efforts to do what we are called to do. And to keep watch by the door!

The early Christians, who suffered incredible persecution and hardship, found great comfort and strength in such signs. Some, they called Chrismons ­– meaning Christ monograms. In many churches today, Advent begins with the decorating of a Chrismon Tree, a custom first developed in 1957 at the Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Danville, Virginia. Chrismon ornaments are made with only two colors. White stands for the purity and perfection of Christ. Gold represents the majesty and glory of Christ the King. Our Chrismons have been lovingly made by the Church Crafters, and are presented today as signs of God’s promise: As we think about some of the Chrismons on the tree, we’ll pass them through the congregation so you yourself can touch the promises of God.