"The Secret" Series

Jesus continues his sermon in chapter 25. Jesus tells the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, the parable of the talents, and the coming judgment of the nations. Jesus said, “Watch, be ready.”

The Greek word for “watch” literally means “to chase away sleep.” Sleep is the symbolic word for an extreme state of unprepared ness.

On August 29th, 2005 hurricane Katrina was forming in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the 6th strongest hurricane ever recorded. The storm surge literally wiped away the coastal buildings, roads and bridges and homes along the Mississippi and Louisiana coast for miles inland.

The City of New Orleans, already existing under sea level, had the levee system fail in 50 places. Did the residents of New Orleans have warnings signs? Yes.

On August 26th, three days before, Katrina strengthen to a category 3 as it came into the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center issued warnings for the Mississippi and Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard began to reposition their resources beyond the expected impact zone. President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi 2 days before the hurricane made landfall.

The National Weather Service in News Orleans issued a vividly worded bulletin on the 28th predicting the area would be uninhabitable for weeks. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were issued. On August 29th Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans with its full force of rain and wind.

Were there warning signs that people could understand? Yes! Did people heed the warnings? Some did, others did not and were lost. Did they make preparations to save their lives? Some did, others did not. 1,836 people did not heed the warnings and lost their lives. Thousands of others were stranded.

Jesus said, “I’m going to return.” His return is not a secret. All human history as we know it will come to an end. His judgment will separate the sheep from the goats, the believers from non believers for eternity. A dead line is coming.

Strangely, at least to me, the evening news almost always features a home video shot by someone who had decided to ignore the warnings to evacuate his home before the hurricane hit. Every night I can watch film submitted by someone who had taped the tornado. You can see the strong winds, the drenching rain, the rotating cloud; you can hear the siren’s warning wailing in the background. The warning is working, but these people are with their cameras, standing on their front porch or in front of their living room’s giant plate glass window. The sirens are sounding out a deadline, but people didn’t pay attention. They ignored the deadline or thought they were immune. Sometimes they made it. Sometimes the television announcer ended up saying, with somber tones: “this video footage was recovered from the camera of an individual who hasn’t yet been recovered.”

Need I go on? Should I talk about long lines of taxpayers at the post office as the clock counts down to midnight on April 15th? Did these people not know there was a deadline? Did they think the government had switched the day? Did they think that the authorities at the last minute, were going to go on the radio and television an say, “We have a public service announcement: It is not necessary to pay your taxes this year. The government is flush, and we don’t need your dollars?” Trying to beat the odds, believing that deadlines don’t apply, thinking that the yellow warning light is for the driver behind, is just part of human nature. (Klaus. Lutheran Hour Message 2006)