Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer’s just around the corner. And so it is with you. When you see all these things, you know he is at the door. Don’t take this lightly. I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out. But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable. It’s like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don’t want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I’m saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch. (Mark 13:28-37)
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Well, what can I say to begin this morning. I have in mind the words of an old ditty: “So long, it’s been good to know you.” Now, before those words get any rumours started and either tears or cheers break out (which you choose would depend on your perspective) I’m not announcing my imminent departure for another church. I’m simply taking note of the pending end of the world. Don’t forget - this Friday is December 21. That’s the day the Mayan calendar ends, so we know that there can’t be anything coming up after that. Some people don’t believe the Mayans were right, of course, and some people think that those who believe the world is coming to an end have simply misunderstood them. But I’m working on the principle of “better safe than sorry.” So, just in case I don’t see any of you ever again - once more, “So long, it’s been good to know you!”
I’m making light of this, of course, but there really are people who are worried, and I expect stories about “the end” are going to multiply as this week goes on. I scoured the internet on your behalf earlier this week and came across some fascinating stuff. Astrologer Patrick Geryl says that somewhere in the world there’s going to be an 8+ earthquake either tomorrow or Tuesday, and planetary alignments are going to cause a 10+ earthquake on December 21. Some doomsday cults have said that a planet is on a collision course with earth and will hit on December 21, with the only place in the world surviving being a small town in the south of France called Bugarach (pop. 176). After the collision, a group of aliens are going to emerge with their spaceship (which is hidden in a mountain just outside town) and pluck all the believers off to safety on their home planet. I’m not making this up! French authorities have now banned access to the mountain. On the assumption that many people will want to come to Bugarach before December 21 to escape the coming apocalypse, one gentleman is offering a room in his home for a little over $1500 Canadian. And, of course, there’s a theory that on Friday for some reason the earth is going to be swallowed by the massive black hole that exists in the centre of our galaxy. The only problem with that theory is that the black hole is 26000 light years away from us and so far it hasn’t really affected my life too much.
So why do I bring this up now? Why today? It isn’t really Christmas-y. That’s true, but then again - this isn’t really Christmas! This is still Advent, and Advent has traditionally been a time for reflecting upon the end. I’m not talking in a doomsday sort of way. By “the end” I’m talking about the great Christian hope for the culmination of history: the coming of God’s Kingdom in its full glory; the establishment of Christ’s reign on earth; the final defeat of sin and evil. Today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel is one of the traditional Advent Gospel readings because it deals with that end, but it also reminds us of how absolutely foolish are those who fixate on the end, and who do so to the point at which they’ll be able to pinpoint when it’s going to happen. Jesus in this passage essentially says that by all means we should always be watchful for the signs of God’s coming (because whenever the “end” might come - and even science tells us that there will be an “end” at some point) we never actually know when God might appear. In fact, God’s appearance doesn’t necessarily even mean the end. God appears on a regular basis to those who have eyes to see. God might be appearing to you even now in some way. And Jesus says - watch, and wait. And Jesus says - wait, and watch. Why do that? Simple! Because Jesus says, “... the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don’t know the timetable.” We can’t know when God’s going to appear. Divine appearances might be happening all the time, and they probably happen when we least expect them. I mean, who would have expected God to appear in a stable as an infant? Divine appearances certainly don’t happen the way we expect them to happen and they don’t happen according to our timetables, and it’s my personal opinion that they don’t even happen according to the Mayan timetable - although as I heard recently, most modern day descendants of the Mayans think this whole doomsday thing is just - and I quote - “an invention of the gringos” anyway.
So why talk about all this now? Not really because of the Mayan calendar doomsday predictions, but because the birth of Jesus was one of those unexpected ways in which God made His presence felt, and which reminds us to always be alert and watchful for the signs of God’s appearance. Now I confess that seeing God’s presence is much easier said than done. When we contemplate events in the world just over the last couple of days we’re probably tempted to wonder if the doomsday prophets aren’t right and the world isn’t crashing in around us, because how can God be present in the midst of such insanity? But God is. It would seem to me that wherever we see real love, we see God. It would seem to me that wherever we see real courage, we see God. It would seem to me that wherever we see real compassion, we see God. It would seem to me that, in a way, we see God when we see a man whose six year old daughter has just been murdered express care and compassion for the family of the murderer. As it was reported in the news, the father of 6 year old Emilie Parker, who died in the Connecticut school shooting on Friday, “expressed no animosity, said he was not mad and offered sympathy for family of the man who killed 26 people and himself.” I don’t know if I could do that. But somewhere in there I believe there’s a sign of the presence of God, and if God can somehow be seen in the midst of that tragedy, then that just reminds us of how true the words of Jesus are: “Stay at your post. Keep watch.”
“Keep watch” - because the truth really is that you never know when God is going to make an appearance. Not in doomsday prophecies and ridiculous end times scenarios, but in daily life and in the triumphs and in the tragedies that happen in the world around us. I trust that one day God will appear in power, and all things will be as God wants them to be. But since I don’t know when that will be, for now, I watch, I wait - and I hope and trust that I’ll be able to see even the small signs of God’s presence in the world now.
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