November 13, 2005
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
Three weeks ago probably on a Monday night when everyone was out of the church building, there was a thief in the night. Someone tried to pry open the Nursery door metal frame window to probably steal the little TV, the microwave, and two boom boxes that were in sight. When the thief was unable to break in, we suspect that he went upstairs to the church kitchen and stole the white microwave oven. Thank God that it was the only thing that we know was stolen!
Before this incident, we were concerned for security but now we are even more conscientious about locking doors and windows. We thought that we lived in a pretty safe neighborhood and have been lulled into thinking that private property would be respected. We now store valuables out of people’s sight. We are locking the kitchen door now. And new locks will be installed on closet doors.
Second Advent
The purpose of 1 Thessalonians is to give comfort and reassurance to the Thessalonian Christians who received the good news of God in the midst of both internal and external affliction and opposition. They heard that salvation would come like a thief in the night. But the second coming of Jesus Christ has been delayed.
The first generation of believers expected Christ’s second coming to occur within their lifetimes. When this did not happen, unease and confusion resulted. It is important to point out that the second coming of Jesus had strong political meanings. The first-century Roman Empire professed its Roman emperor as the divine savior who brought good tidings to the entire world. So when Christians proclaimed that Jesus Christ, not the Roman Caesar was their Lord, this was disturbing news to both the Jews and the Romans.
In 1 Thessalonians we see that Christians believed that when Jesus returns, it will come suddenly with no warning. It would come in a force to disrupt the status quo of the Roman imperial peace and security that the people started to enjoy and count on. For those who believe in what God has done and is doing in Jesus Christ, they will not face the “sudden destruction” which the day of the Lord will bring. They are the children of the light and the day and will be doing God’s work all along. But during this in-between time, between the First Advent and the Second Advent, Paul was telling the Thessalonians to keep awake, to remember that they belong to the light of day and belong to Christ, and to encourage one another and build each other up.
When Jesus comes back like a thief in the night, Christians would not need to worry.
Peace and Security
As we fast forward across hundreds of years to the year 2005, we don’t take the Second Advent that seriously. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we probably don’t truly believe that Christ will return in our lifetimes. We don’t give a second thought to the idea that not only would Christ return, but that we would be accountable for what we’ve been doing during this in-between time.
Like the Thessalonian Christians were enjoying the peace and security of the Roman Empire, we have gotten used to living our Christian lives in a country that guarantees religious freedom with no or hardly any expectations that Jesus will return.
We have all had what’s called, the “hurry and wait” experience. You make a mad dash to the doctor’s office, making sure you arrive precisely on time, only to discover that you have got to wait an extra hour to see the doctor. How about running from one end of the terminal to the other end to catch an airplane, only to hear that it had been held over an extra hour? We were all excited to hear that Jesus will return but only to know now that it’s been over a couple of thousand years that we have waited.
We have often been caught in the paradox of excitement coupled with the call for patience. Paul is reminding us in 1 Thessalonians that Christ’s return is a certainty but when we least expect it. As Christians living with the promise of that Day, we must live expectantly and wait patiently. The day of Jesus’ return will bring joy, peace and victory. But in the meantime, in the in-between time, how are we to wait patiently?
Are we, like some in the outside community of Thessalonica, depending on the “peace and security” that the Roman Empire had established? At times we can become so focused in on our own comfort that we forget the trials and pains of others. We can become so determined to store up treasures on earth and make sure we’re living well that we forget the needs of our neighbors.
Sometimes we may even be locked up in the nostalgia of the past that we are unable to see the future. And only a thief that breaks in at night would free us to get on with what God is calling us to do.
Patience does not mean being idle and wasting away the hours. Remember in the year 1999 when many of us stocked up food, water, generators, and the like preparing for the worst in 2000? We heard that banks computers may go haywire. We thought that we might lose electricity for several days. Some of you were relocated by your companies to be near your offices to prepare for the chaos that never happened. Perhaps we should think that it’s 1999 all the time and treat God’s promise that Christ will return a second time. Since it hasn’t happened yet, we tend to forget about it or assume it won’t happen at all.
Always Prepared
While we are waiting, we are not to fall asleep as others do and we are to stay sober not like those who are drunk at night. Being alert and prepared means that while we have the assurance as children of the light and day, we can put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation, to encourage one another and to build up each other in faith.
We are to go out and teach others about Christ, bringing more people to become members and friends to know Christ. We are to stay busy and remain productive.
We can stay busy by attending church. We all need a place where we can regularly return in order to nurture our souls. The early Christian fathers taught us, “Fish die if they stay on dry land, and in the same way Christians who stay outside the church or remain in the secular world fall away from their vows of commitment. As a fish must return to the sea, so must we return to the church, in case by staying outside too long, we forget to watch out for the inside.”
We can stay busy by participating in a ministry of encouragement. As Westerners, we place a great deal of trust in the capacity of technology to predict and avoid risk. We expect the weather forecaster to be accurate so that we can plan our weekend plans. There’s little tolerance for any margin of error. We tend to extend that assumption to most aspects of our living. We expect the elderly to die, but we think that young adults and children should be immune from the ravages of illness and the tragic consequences of accidents and natural disasters. We can stay busy by encouraging those who are in grief and suffering from the recent disasters of hurricanes and earthquakes.
We can stay busy when we build up each other. When we don’t know when Christ will return, there is great urgency to live faithfully as the incarnation of Christ’s body for the world. Not knowing whether we have days, years, or centuries in which to serve, the church is faced with the critical question of being united or being divided. We are called to build each other up to show mercy, to embody love, and to live in faith of God’s grace. We may never know when God will toll the final bell. But we can be certain that God expects the church to behave as if the time is near.
God’s Time
For the past few years, there’s been a series of books called, Left Behind where the writers fictionalize the rapture. Some people have applauded these books as they portrayed the end times and others criticized them for frightening people into the faith. People down through the years have always wanted to pinpoint the exact time when Christ will return. Today is no exception.
But in 1 Thessalonians, we are told that it is not up to us to know this time of Christ’s return. In fact, it is to our advantage not to know. If I knew the hour of my death, I can become reckless and see that there’s nothing that I wouldn’t try until then or that I may become so overwhelmed with despair that I give up trying at all. But when that day comes, it would be like a thief in the night when I am least expecting it.
While we are waiting, we are to remain alert and busy trusting in God’s time for Christ’s return. In the changing times of blended families and parents sharing custody of children, many kids go back and forth between homes. One mother tearfully tells her pastor that her ex-husband often promised to pick up their seven-year-old daughter for the weekend, but at least half the time failed to show up. Their little girl would sit looking out the front window for hours, waiting for someone who didn’t come. Her mother worried about what impact this would have on her daughter’s life, as she repeatedly packed her little suitcase and her father repeatedly failed to show up to get her. She continued to prepare for an event that didn’t happen.
Everyday we are told to prepare for Christ to come back to reign over the whole world. Although we do not know when it will happen, we know that it will.
The End of the Story
The promise Paul declares does not, of course, do away with the real struggles of the present. The problems, persecutions, and temptations facing the Thessalonians did not evaporate with Paul’s announcement and neither do ours. There are indeed war, natural disasters, corruption, and great suffering still in the world but we know that in the end, the story ends with victory.
Couple of weeks ago, I went to Boston to go trick or treating with our three-year-old grand-daughter, Evi. She was all dressed up as Belle in the Beauty and the Beast. For the past few years, the Disney Company has marketed all of the princesses together called, the Princess Series. When I was visiting with Evi, I read her books about princesses and how there’s always a “scary part” of the story.
Some of us might think that we are in the “scary part” of the story of life right now. But whether it’s the mean step-mother or the wicked witch or Maleficent, we know that the end of the story is not the “scary part.” It will all turn out all right in the end. When we trust the promise of a happy ending of the prince kissing Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella trying out her glass slipper, we can persevere through the darker moments of life.
Thief in the Night
Can we trust a thief in the night? We don’t like to think of God as a thief in the night. When we think of thieves, we think of sneaky, unethical people who break in and steal microwave ovens. This isn’t the view of God that we want to pass on to you. However, Paul uses this image to talk about God’s timing and not his character.
If we knew a thief was coming, we would call the police, set up alarms, and make sure the doors are securely locked. Thieves come when we least expect it, when we are not paying attention. The same will be true with God, our Scriptures tell us. It isn’t going to be marked on our calendar. God’s not going to take an ad in the paper. Therefore, we are encouraged to continue to live a life as the children of light encouraging one another and building each other up.
When the Bible speaks of being ready, it means having your life in order. It means knowing who you are and, more importantly, whose you are. It means trusting fully, all or nothing. It means living through the troubles that come with a true faith and a sure hope that God will provide a way through them into the Promised Land obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
Gracious Lord God, grant us reassurance that we can count on your promises in the midst of uncertainties. As the world swirls and changes, we know that you are a bulwark of strength and a mighty hand that guides us through the ways of life. Teach us to be dedicated and inspired to continue the work of your kingdom on earth as we encourage and build up one another in Christian love. As your children of light and the day, may our living witnesses brighten our darkened world today. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.