Mark 13:24-37<\/p>\n\n\n\n
November 30, 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I wake up, I begin every morning with a daily ritual. I eat cold cereal with a banana. The boxed cereal can last for months if not years in our pantry but bananas don\u2019t. So when I buy a bunch of bananas, I count out about 5 or 6 knowing that a banana a day would take me to the end of the week. I pick up bananas that are not overly ripe because all of them won\u2019t last until the end of the week. I look for bananas that have just the right amount of yellow to blend into my bowl of cold cereal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I never buy just green bananas because who knows if I\u2019ll get to eat them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Many people think this season of Advent is a time to be awake, alert, and focused on Jesus\u2019 birth. We think that Advent is a time to focus on what happened over 2000 years ago in that Bethlehem manger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the traditional Christmas story, the innkeepers on that day certainly weren\u2019t alert or focused on what was going on. After all, according to tradition, innkeeper after innkeeper turned Mary and Joseph away, saying that there was no room for them. So, as a way of making amends for the way that those innkeepers acted 2000 years ago that have given innkeepers a bad name, last year a hotel chain in England made a special offer. They offered to give free lodging over the Christmas holiday to any couple that was named \u201cMary and Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the truth is that the purpose of Advent is not so much about being awake, alert, and focused on Jesus\u2019 birth. That\u2019s because it\u2019s too late for that. Sure, during the Christmas season we can certainly remember and celebrate the miracle that took place long ago in Bethlehem. But the simple fact is that Jesus has already been born in Bethlehem. We know that when we visited Bethlehem this past summer. It\u2019s too late now to be awakened and to get ourselves ready for that event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, Advent is primarily a time for us to wake up with our bowl of cold cereal and a ripe banana, alert, and focused on that day when Jesus will come again. That\u2019s what this passage in the Gospel of Mark is talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus\u2019 Return<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here in Mark as well as in many places in the New Testament, we are told that one day Jesus will return to earth. He\u2019ll return not in some quiet way. Rather when he returns, everyone in all the earth will know it. In Mark, it says when Jesus comes back, the sun and the moon will become dark, the stars will fall from the sky, and the whole universe will shake and tremble. On that day, when Jesus returns, he will gather together all his faithful people to be with him forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing this prediction, some people have walked city sidewalks carrying signs that say, \u201cThe End is Near.\u201d Some people figure that if Jesus is going to return, the best thing to do is to figure out when that\u2019s going to happen so we can be ready at the right time. There was probably some of that kind of thinking at Jonestown in Guyana when Jim Jones led his people to a terrible tragedy thirty years ago. Throughout history there has been no shortage of people who have tried to do just that, to determine when Jesus will return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard that right now in St. Petersburg, Florida, there\u2019s a minister who is organizing a project that he believes will speed up the time when Jesus will return. What the minister is doing is encouraging people to make donations to a fund that helps Jewish people move back to Israel. According to that minister, when a certain number of Jews are finally returned to their homeland; that will be the cue for Jesus then to return. I wonder what is really behind this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with making predictions about Jesus\u2019 return or thinking that we can control when it will happen is that that flies in the face of what the Bible tells us. Even in Jesus\u2019 day, people were speculating about when he would return. But Jesus says quite plainly, \u201cAbout that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.\u201d So if the angels in heaven don\u2019t know when Jesus is going to return, and if even Jesus himself doesn\u2019t know when he is going to return, who are we to claim that we know the answer to that question?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep Awake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Christians, we believe that some day Jesus is going to return. But what are we to do while we wait? Jesus tells us to stay awake, be alert, and focused on him. Since we have no idea when that day will be\u2014whether it will be next week, next month, next year, or 10,000 years from now\u2014the best thing we can do is keep awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this does not mean that Jesus wants us to become insomniacs and throw away our beds or not to catch one of those daily naps that supposed to help us with our memory. Rather Jesus tells us to keep awake, meaning that we should use the time we have to be awake to what we are doing with our lives, to pay attention to whether we are living our lives the way Jesus wants us to be living them. That way, no matter when Jesus returns, we\u2019ll be ready. He tells us to never buy green bananas because you may not get the chance to eat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this Advent season, I share three challenges for you to keep awake for the coming of the Lord. First, listen carefully to the words of Jesus<\/em>. In the middle of the noise of the holidays, listen to the words of Jesus. \u201cIf any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me\u201d (8:34). We are called to self-denial, even in this season of rich foods and giving and getting gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all,\u201d says Jesus (9:35). Glory and power are to be found in service to others, even as we focus on the fun and festivity of the holidays. \u201cTruly I tell you,\u201d promises Jesus, \u201cwhoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it\u201d (10:15). This emphasis on childlike faith is the reason why most of us like to be with family and friends with little children running around because they have that quality of innocence to remind us to believe in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus said, \u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away\u201d (13:31). During this time of staying awake, we are to listen to words of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, remain connected to the faith community<\/em> that Jesus intends to gather when he returns. Christian faith is a team sport, not an individual activity. It\u2019s critically important for us to continue to get together for worship every Sunday, for service in Chinatown and around the world, for fellowship like last Sunday\u2019s Thanksgiving luncheon or today\u2019s Christmas Craft Faire, and to have fun with friends for as long as we shall all live. It\u2019s so true that many of us have found that our friendships are sometimes even stronger than those we have with our own family members. Many of us know the value of being connected to one another as a faith community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an over-scheduled holiday season, it\u2019s tempting to skip worship and head to the mall or choose a special concert over a scheduled Bible study. But Jesus wants us to remain connected in community, where we will be awake to his arrival. \u201cYou do not know when the master of the house will come,\u201d he predicts, \u201cin the evening, or midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn\u201d (35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remain connected, in community. That\u2019s the best position to be in, if you want to meet Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third challenge for us to keep awake for the coming of Jesus is to expect great things<\/em>. As Christians today we are not sufficiently expectant. We do not look or trust beyond our human resources, and hence, we are disappointed by the lack of exciting things happening in our churches and in the relationships that we have. In addition, our modern day scientific view of the world has tempered and narrowed our ability to see beyond what only our five senses might confirm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Advent is a time of expectation. When we feed the hungry or welcome the stranger, might we find ourselves entertaining angels? When we give drink to the thirsty or clothed the naked, might we actually be doing these things for Jesus Christ himself? When we take a moment from our busy and active lives to sit down with a friend for a cup of coffee, might we be acting on behalf of Christ at that moment? When we wish each other \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d with the expectation that we are really blessing that person with the hope in life that only Jesus brings into the world in his birth might we be expecting great things?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a true story of an elementary school teacher who baked a banana cream pie for the Utah State Fair and the governor picked her pie as the winner. For that, she received $150. Instead of spending it on herself, she chose to teach her fourth-grade students a lesson about donating to charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, she divided the prize money among her 30 students and instructed them to write an essay about the charity they chose to donate their share to. The students were eager to fulfill their assignments and searched for worthy causes. Some of the students donated their money to the Katrina evacuees; one student donated the money for school supplies for a needy family while another made cookies for his elderly neighbors and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People frequently comment about their intention to donate to charity when they hit the lottery jackpot. Oftentimes, however, there is a belief that we don\u2019t have much to offer anyone, and the little that we do have to offer would not make much of a difference to be beneficial. This fourth-grade teacher\u2019s one banana cream pie provided the opportunity for 30 students to give to charities. The young donors have inspired their families, friends, and neighbors to do the same. Small acts repeated often can have tremendous impact. The governor\u2019s pick was indeed an extraordinary pie. When we expect great things to happen, they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Oswald Chambers who once said, \u201cExpect great things from God, attempt great things for God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus is Coming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every minister has one prayer on Sunday before getting into the pulpit to preach\u2014\u201cStay awake!\u201d We pray that the congregation will stay awake at least until the sermon is over. Some of you are tired from washing all those Thanksgiving dishes. You may still be stuffed with turkey. Some of you might have gotten up early on Black Friday for all of the sales and discounted bargains and haven\u2019t stopped since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay awake! Jesus is coming. We don\u2019t know when, but we do know that one day he will return. When that day comes, don\u2019t be caught off-guard and unprepared. Instead, use the time you have now to get ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this Advent season, use the time you have now not just to get ready for Jesus\u2019 birth in Bethlehem by stringing up lights and decorating trees. But during this Advent season, use the time you have now to stay awake to listen carefully to the words of Jesus. Use this time you have now to remain connected to the community of faith. Use this time you have now to expect great things to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For myself, as I wake up every morning and eat my bowl of cold cereal, I\u2019ll have a ripe yellow banana. Never buy green bananas. Who knows if you\u2019ll get to eat them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O God, the days are shorter, the nights stretch longer, and we wait for you in the cold. Your first followers thought you were coming soon, any day now. And we still wait, over 2000 years later. Maybe waiting and staying awake is the posture you want us in\u2014working, watching, and diligently doing what you call us to. Every now and then, have us look heavenward and wonder. And as we repent in Advent, may our forgiveness by you be crowned with your return. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mark 13:24-37 November 30, 2008 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. When I wake up, I begin every morning with a