Many dates have been proposed for the end of the world. Recently: May 21, 2011, October 21, 2011, and December 21, 2012. What do they have in common? It’s not the number 21. None of them are correct. You’d be more accurate saying, “Today is the end of the world,” every day you actually wake up, rather than picking a specific date. And even if someone, by chance got the right day, by the time it was discovered, the Lord would already be here, and who would care then?
Jesus says, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk. 13:32). If our Lord Himself says that no one knows, any effort spent searching out that day is at best ignorant vanity and fruitless effort. At worse, it is sorcery and sinful rebellion.
We simply don’t know when that day will come. And it may come for you or me before the final day arrives. It may be soon. A sudden illness or accident may leave us with no time left. It may be late. An apparent demise through sickness may be healed or a deadly situation may be resolved, and any vow or commitment we made, if not fulfilled, will testify against us
Why does Jesus deny us knowledge of that day? Who has ever been a teenager? Who had parents who went away and left you home alone? Who told you when they would return? And then you had a party? And your parents came home early? See the point? Part of fallen humanity is laziness—which is a corruption of Sabbath rest. Too often, people (you know, people, “them”, but never us!...well, truthfully, me included) will do the absolute minimum to achieve a goal. If I need to bring a dish to supper, I pick up something from Giant, rather than make it with love and my own hands. If I have to fold my sister’s laundry, I throw the wet rolled up damp socks in a lump in the basket.
If Jesus said that it’s all over on December 21, 2012, it would be naïve to think that everyone would shape up now, rather than live notoriously till December 20, 11:59pm, and then try to make nice-nice with God. There’s no point in trying to divine when that day will be, so we need another strategy to prepare for the Lord’s coming.
Since we have no idea when the Lord will return, Jesus gives us the better plan: “Be on guard! Be alert!” Rather than worrying about that day, Jesus tells us to be alert: semper paratus, always prepared.
“It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task” (Mk. 13:34a). The Master “puts his servants in charge,” literally means that He gives them ἐxousίa, authority. It is the same word that Jesus uses in the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt. 28:18). We are given authority to perform our work. God is not a spiteful god who gives us a job but not the tools to accomplish it. St. Paul writes, “You do not lack any spiritual gift” (1 Cor. 1:7).
There are many tasks that our Master assigns to His servants. “In the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:28). Here, at St. Thomas, there is priest, deacon, acolyte, altar guild, music minister…on and on the list goes…intercessor, shop worker, greeter, baker, teacher. Each of us has been given authority to do our task. Each has a task that is important that advances the kingdom of God in Salisbury and Wicomico County, for which we have received spiritual gifts.
We are called to attend to our duties, each to his own assignment. We are not appointed a task so that we can feel important, or have a sense of belonging, or a right to boast. We are given a task so that we can just do it. God doesn’t need us to work for His sake, for “who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Rom. 11:35). It’s for our own benefit that He calls us to participate in the plan of salvation. Think of it: the work of Christ was perfected on Calvary and His blood reconciled men to God. But through His delegation of authority to us, His servants, the Church, we can share in the sanctification of the world.
“And [he] tells the one at the door to keep watch” (Mk. 13:34b). The one whose task is to guard the door is responsible to watch for the Master’s return. This is not a prediction of it, simply an announcement. This little parable points us to another truth. How many were at the door watching? One. How many servants had other tasks? Everyone else! Sitting and watching for the Lord’s return is not a universal calling. We ought to focus on the exercise of the ministry that God has given us, rather than dwelling on the Lord’s return.
Now without a doubt, Jesus shall return. Christ is coming again “with power and great glory”. And He will return to “judge the quick and the dead, and the world by fire.” This knowledge colors every aspect of what we do. Why are we adamant about bringing men and women into the Church through Baptism? Because Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. || No one || comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper week-by-week? Because Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:53,54).
The Lord’s words express immediate and pressing requirements. There is urgency in the mission of the Church, for we know that He may come at any moment. This awareness of the Lord’s second coming spurs us on in our tasks.
But our focus is on the Great Commission that Jesus gave us, on the fulfilling of His commands. Not on whether or not we’ll be in good standing at the Day of Judgment. The perfect law, which is love, tells us that if we faithfully do what God has called us to do, we need not fear, for God is our Father.
We have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. He brought us back from death and made us His own. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). God has given us His grace in Christ Jesus. In Him, we have been enriched in every way. He has given to us so that we do not lack any spiritual gift.
And as we have been sanctified, so we are called to be holy. The purpose of being sanctified in Christ is to be holy. The whole reason you and I were called is to be holy. This is our fundamental principle: to be holy, set apart, consecrated, dedicated and devoted to God.
Being holy is more than being sanctified in Baptism. Holiness is a process; it is vocation; it is the task that the householder has assigned to us.
Holiness requires strength, lots of strength. The high nail gets the hammer, and holiness makes you the high nail in the face of a world that celebrates dissipation and encourages immorality. But God will keep us strong!
Holiness requires perseverance. It’s not enough to be baptized; it’s not enough to have been holy at some point; holiness is for the here and now. We must remain strong to the end. God will keep us strong, if we are willing to receive His strength. Sometimes His strength looks like weakness, doesn’t it? “Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23,24). Jesus’ life looked like an utter failure to the Jews; they couldn’t see the mighty salvation that God wrought. His ministry seemed foolish to the Gentiles: why should God suffer, and how can there be more than this? St. Paul begged Christ to take the thorn from his flesh. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Pauls found out that the display of God’s strength in his life sometimes required him to be crushed. And, to adapt this to our locale, from bruised and crushed apples, God can make marvelous cider.
Holiness allows us to stand blameless on the Day of the Lord. Isn’t that what we want, to hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share in your master’s happiness” (Mt. 25:21)?
God has called us into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Master has assigned to us our task: holiness. God has given us everything we need, so that we lack nothing.
God is faithful. If we respond to His calling, He will enrich us in every way. God is Holy, and He made us in His own image and likeness, that we too may be holy. God is faithful: He will do all that He can to equip us for this task, if we are willing to take it up. God is faithful: The Lord said that He will come again.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in the shadow of eternity. It really doesn’t matter when He comes again. We have no need for fear. But day-by-day we must be at our work. And when the Lord comes, as Jesus responded to Mary and Joseph, I want us to hear: “I had no need to search for you. For I knew you’d be about my Father’s business” (cf. Lk. 2:49).
