Is Today the Day?
The End Times is a hot ticket... always has been and likely will be until the end. We are inundated with Apocalypse scenarios… most recently film goers can catch Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse and currently you can catch TV episodes of Doomsday Castle, along with numerous other “Prepper” programming. The ironic and tragic aspect of these end time frenzies is the focus on surviving on earth with little or no thought of surviving for eternity.
Title: Living with Nothing to Fear
Text: Luke 12:35-40 (41-48)
Thesis: When we live faithfully as followers of Christ we have nothing to fear at His return.
Introduction
I read an article this week about how slowly ketchup flows out of a glass bottle….028 miles per hour. The article said that a Galapagos tortoise moves at the rate of 0.16 miles per hour, in other words, six times faster than ketchup. Apparently there are some people working at MIT on a product called LiquiGlide. It’s a structured liquid, i.e., rigid like a solid, but lubricated as a liquid. The hope is that the ketchup industry will part with some of their $17 billion a year to get their hands on some LiquiGlide to line their ketchup bottles. They say that with LiquiGlide ketchup will slide out faster than a Galapagos tortoise. (“MIT Scientists Figure Out How to Get Ketchup Our of the Bottle,” Time.com, 5.22.12)
In the film “The Outlaw Josey Wales” there is a scene where two unscrupulous types get the drop on Josey Wales in a frontier trading post. While one opportunist waits to take Josey’s guns the other holds a gun on him and sneers, “When I say move, you move real slow, like molasses in wintertime.”
References to the Second Coming of Christ or the Return of Christ are numerous in Scripture. It has been two-thousand years since Jesus first promised his return. The slowness of Christ’s return has the feel of waiting for ketchup to slide out of a bottle or turtle slow or slower than molasses in the wintertime.
In II Peter 3 we are reminded that in the last days there will be scoffers who mock the truth about the return of Christ… they will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?” A few verses later Peter wrote, “The Lord really isn’t being slow about his promise, as some think. No he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief in the night.” II Peter 3:3-10
Our text today is one of those “meanwhile” or “in the interim” texts. Are we to be impatiently tapping on the neck of the eschatological ketchup bottle? Are we to be poking the eschatological turtle with a stick? Are we to be frustrated by the fact that end time things are unfolding slower than molasses in the wintertime? In our text today Jesus teaches us what to do while we wait for his slow return
I. Be Ready, Luke 12:35-40
I would guess that the little heading before this text in your bible says, “Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming.” This first section has to do with our being “Ready” for the Second Coming of Christ. The second section, 12:41-48 has to do with being “Faithful” while we wait for the Second Coming of Christ.
The first thing Jesus wants us to do is live in anticipation of his return.
A. Jesus wants us to live in anticipation, 35-36
“Be dressed for service and keep you lamps burning, as though you are waiting for the master to return from a wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door when he knocks…” Luke 12:35-36
These two verses tell us that waiting in anticipation means we will: (1.) Be dressed for service (2.) Keep our lamps lit and (3.) Be ready to open the door the moment he arrives.
I think the idea is that in the absence of the master/householder those left with the care of the master’s estate can get lazy and goof off, so to speak. Then when the master returns they have to really hustle to hopefully get the place spiffed up before he walks in the door… the alternative is to keep the estate ready so that the master finds his home as it should be found at any given time.
I think that is how we are to live our lives as Christians.... all of life. We do not separate and compartmentalize our lives as if there are spiritual things and secular things. Everything is spiritual. Everything is sacred.
The story is about a man who owned a large manor or estate in the Middle East. We might relate more to an English Country Manor or an old-money family estate in the east or the south. He has a bunch of servants who manage all the affairs of his estate. Whether he is at home or abroad… the work of the estate goes on just as if he were there.
So, we parent our children as we would parent our children if Jesus was in the house. We do our jobs as if Jesus was on the work site. We complete our studies as if Jesus was in the classroom. We operate our businesses as if Jesus were in the board room. We drive our cars as if Jesus were in the passenger seat. We treat the waiter the way we would treat the waiter if Jesus was sitting in the booth with us. We watch television and surf the internet as if Jesus was sitting next to us. We are as diligent about our ministries in and through our church as if Jesus were at our side. And if we do that we will always be ready to open the door when Jesus comes knocking.
If I was a baby sitter I would get the kids to bed as early as possible, find the pop, potato chips and the remote. But a really good baby sitter is: (1.) CPR/First Aid Certified (2.) Has a sitter’s kit with toys, books and age and allergy appropriate snacks (3.) Arrives early to meet the kids and parents (4.) Reassures the children that the parents are coming back and does something fun to distract them (5.) Connects with the child by doing what the child does as in drawing, etc. (6.) Debriefs the parents upon their return. When the babysitter is being the best babysitter he or she can be it does not matter if the parents have set up a nanny cam or peek in the window or return early or late… when the parents return they will walk in the front door and find their children safe and their home in order. (Yeah, right!)
So the first question might be, when Jesus returns will he find us living out our lives and our faith as if he were present?
Jesus also wants us to live with assurance.
B. Jesus wants us to live with assurance, 37-38
“The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded… he will reward the servants who are ready.” Luke 12:37-38
In our culture we typically think as individuals and perform as individuals. But in our text the passage speaks of how the servants relate to each other and work together.
I tried to get into the Broncos / 49ers preseason game on Thursday evening. I texted my son and son-in-law and they too were drifting into a state of malaise. But I understand what it is really about… a preseason game is really about testing individual players to see who will make the final cut but it is also about seeing how players play together as a team. Coach Fox and his staff are looking for combinations and rotations that work effectively together.
When the bible describes the Church as the Body of Christ we are to be a fine tuned organism functioning at full potential with every part of the body doing its job for the glory of God and the good of the others in the body. When someone slacks off or doesn’t play nice… the ministry suffers.
I cannot think of a business that thrives on conflict and division. Jesus is big on his followers working together in harmony. In John 17 Jesus prayed for his disciples asking, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world may believe you sent me.” John 17:21
When Jesus comes he wants to find his servants working and ready and waiting together. And when we are living and working in harmony we are assured that Jesus will be pleased when he returns.
The text actually speaks to the delight Jesus will feel when he finds his servants faithfully awaiting his return. Jesus says in the text, “The master will himself seat them, put on an apron and serve them as they sit and eat!”
Jesus wants us to live our lives in such a way that we are inwardly assured that he will be pleased with us when he returns.
A second question might be, will Christ find us working in harmony, ready and waiting?
Jesus also wants us to be alert as we wait.
C. Jesus wants us to live with alertness, 39-40
“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when you least expect it.” Luke 12:39-40
Anticipating is different than being alert.
Anticipation has more to do with looking forward to something while being alert has to do with being in a state of readiness. Alertness carries with it a warning.
Last week Lorri and Alby and the kiddos from Chicago came to visit. That was anticipation. Bed linens were washed. Costco got rich when we stocked the frig. New drapery rods were hung. The house was vacuumed within an inch of its life. The windows were washed and we were counting the minutes. In fact we were looking out the window when they arrived. That’s anticipation.
Every evening we have a ritual. Close the blinds. Check and lock the two sliding glass doors. Make sure my “This house is protected by Smith and Wesson” sign is on the door. Set our motion sensor activated dog barking gizmo to alert any prowlers that a large (imaginary) watchdog is vigilant. Then we put Bonne’s pet, man-eating, 17’ python on the front porch. Check the lock and deadbolt the front door. And finally, when I turn in I make sure my baseball bat is in the corner next to our bed. That’s being alert.
Being alert is not being fearful of Christ at His return. Jesus is not a burglar. Jesus is not a Night Stalker. The idea of being alert is being attentive to the details of our lives so that we are always in a state of readiness.
Anticipation has to do with looking forward to while alertness has to be with being prepared for. Being alert carries with it a sense of warning.
In fact Jesus uses the analogy of a homeowner being alert to the fact that his house could be burgled any time… day or night. He said, “If the homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into.” Luke 12:39
I read some statistics somewhere to the effect that most burglaries involving residences are more likely to occur during daylight hours while non-residential burglaries most likely occur at night. So Jesus makes the point in verse 40, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
A third question might be, am I living alert to the fact that the Second Coming could be any time.
Conclusion:
Perhaps one way for us to understand this is to ask ourselves a couple of questions.
1. It is pretty doable to live in anticipation… Am I living in such a way that when Jesus comes my house, i.e., life, is in order so I can throw open the door and welcome him home?
Being alert all the time is more difficult…
2. It is more difficult to live in state of alertness… Am I living in such a way that I am always alert to the fact that Jesus may likely come when I least expect it.
Years ago, I stopped by a home one afternoon. When I walked onto the porch the front door was open and I could see through the screen door. There in the middle of the living room floor I saw the husband curled up in a fetal position while his wife, being of considerable substance, was kicking and stomping the daylights out of him.
My sense was that the house was pretty much in order but for the stomping incident… it’s those stomping incidents that Jesus wants us to be alert to. Don’t be caught off-guard. You just never know when Jesus is going to walk onto your porch and look through your screen door. (Another lesson I took away from that experience is, always call before you drop in!”
It’s true… when we live faithfully as followers of Christ we have nothing to fear at His return.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we have straggled in this morning… some of us new and most of us not so new to this place. We have come some hurting, some sad and lonely. We have come young and old. We have come healthy and not so much. And we have brought our addictions, dysfunctions, self-deceptions and our demons and despite our best intentions we are reminded that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags. So we do not come with pretense and we do not want to leave as pretentious.
So see us and remember us in the light of your unfailing mercy and love. Forgive our sins, create in us clean hearts and renew our spirits.
And we ask that as we go you grant us the assurance of your presence and remind us that we have absolutely nothing to fear as we walk with you… may Christ be at left and our right, may Christ be ahead of us and at our back and may Christ be beneath and above us and may the presence, peace and power of Christ go with us into this new week.
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray: Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for yours in the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen
