Gifts Before Christmas

Advent 1

December 1, 1996

I Corinthians 1:7 "... you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

EPISTLE: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

THE HOLY GOSPEL: Mark 13:(24-32)33-37 (The revelation of Christ in glory is) . . . like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home he puts his servants in charge, each with his own work to do, and says, you watch out for each other and do your work. I'll be back!"

When you were in second or third grade did you ever— do you remember— did you ever have your teacher say, "I have to go down to Mr. Benson's office for two minutes. I'm going to leave the door open and Mrs. Hagen across the hall will be listening. You be good and quiet and do your work. I'll be right back!"?? I remember!!

I hated it when they made some teacher's pet the tattle-tale. Still, sometimes we were reasonably quiet. Sometimes maybe we weren't.

In high school it was a little different. It could be that when a teacher left the room it would get noisy, or things might be thrown around the room, maybe someone's lunch or a pretty girl's books. Usually when classes changed and students filed into a classroom the teacher would be there waiting, because the class would be in her home room. But sometimes we would have to wait for the teacher to come. It could get very interesting if the teacher's coming was delayed more than a minute or two. We would think, "Maybe she isn't coming at all!"

For a little while when I was a junior in Akron North High we had a substitute English teacher, and she was almost always late for our class, which met on the third floor. She usually arrived with her arms full of books and papers, out of breath, scolding us, in a good-natured way for the most part, into silence.

One awful day she was later than usual, and the class was noisier than usual. Erasers were flying, books were sailing. It probably doesn't do any good to tell you that, truthfully, I usually did not take part in the chaos, although I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Anyway, on this fateful day one boy— Stanley M(ika) — produced a cherry bomb from his pocket. The room got very quiet.

Stanley lit a match and we held our breaths. The windows were open— they were the kind that the middle pane swung out from the top. Stanley evidently intended to light the bomb in the classroom and throw it out the window toward the athletic field two stories below. We couldn't believe it— but Stanley lit the bomb— and threw it— and it hit the window pane above the open window and bounced back into the middle of the room, under the desks, hissing.

Just at that very moment our teacher came breathlessly into the quiet room— quiet except for the hissing— with her arms full of books. But before she had a chance to worry about why we were quiet, or what the hissing sound was —-KA- BOOM!— the cherry bomb exploded, and instantly the room was full of smoke, and then there was silence again. Our teacher did not drop her armload of books. She did not miss a step. She simply went over to the desk and sat down and put her face on the books and papers she had been carrying.

I think it may have been a full five minutes that no one said a word, no one made a sound. I imagine today the police would be called and someone would be expelled from school, and there certainly would be a lawsuit. But her awful silence, and the fact that we were all shocked and stunned was punishment for us all, even Stanley the bomb-thrower.

More than forty-five years later I still feel that little woman's pain and disappointment at the chaos that greeted her coming. The Gospel passage is a little like that. We see it from our point of view. It is a little frightening— these passages about the Lord's Coming. God has said, "I'll be right back— you be good and do your work!" And he has left the room in charge of the learners.

The actual words from the Gospel are: "It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work (to do)..(Mark 13:34)." From the Master's point of view, do you think He ever wonders how faithful we will be? Do you think He has made a mistake to trust us so much? In Luke 18:8 Jesus asks what seems a wistful question, "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Will we say, "The teacher is late today— we can do whatever we want!!"?

In many ways, it seems that is exactly what this world IS doing. I've been re-reviewing biographies of John Wesley lately, and I have been impressed again at how much our culture today resembles the early 18th century— not in terms of modernity or creature comforts, but in spiritual poverty and violence and utter insensitivity to God and kindness. They had rampant gambling, we have rampant gambling, legal and illegal. They had bull-baiting and cock-fighting— we have Terminators and DOOM and super-heroes that kill and let blood. It almost seems like chaos is going to be reigning when the Master returns.

Two statements stand out to me in the Gospel lesson, both statements from the same sentence, (verse 31.) Jesus says, first HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY! (Isn't that encouraging??) "Heaven and earth will pass away?" You may say, I don't know much about that right now, but my employer has sold out and I don't have a job and I don't have money— and I do have bills! "Heaven and earth will pass away?" You may say I don't know about that right now but people I really trusted have let me down. I hurt, and I hurt a lot! Where are you when I need You? "Heaven and earth will pass away?" It isn't comforting at first to realize that heaven and earth WILL pass away. Chaos comes.

But Jesus also says, BUT MY WORDS - - WHAT I AM TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW - - WILL NOT PASS AWAY! Jesus says, "Trust Me! I am making you a promise! I'm coming back! I won't leave you without resources!" I'm leaving YOU in charge! Each of you has his or her work to do! So stay at the job! Don't give up! I'll be back!

SO, WHAT DO WE DO? HOW DO WE APPLY CHRIST'S WORDS?

Cry! Cry out to God! Then keep your eyes and ears open! God cares! And also comfort one another— because God may be using YOU, even as you hurt, to bring His love to someone else. Don't refuse to be God's instrument of healing. Paul says that because of the GRACE of God, we are NOT LACKING IN ANY SPIRITUAL GIFT that we need as we wait for our Lord to reveal Himself.

Even though heaven and earth are passing away, God gives us resources to hold steady as we wait Christ's coming. Those gifts include LOVE! Not love in the abstract— but the tender love of God for YOU! And that love, reflected in the Body.

Those gifts include STRENGTH! The promise is "As thy day, so shall your strength be!" Those gifts include, best of all, GOD'S SPIRIT! His PRESENCE ! Yes, the Master went away— but He is very much with us because he has sent us the Presence! CONCLUSION - It seems like a funny way to approach Christmas— with words about heaven and earth passing away. Is it right to approach the happiest, friendliest time of the year with messages of the end of time, and of the Day of the Lord?

I have a more serious question: Is it right to make the Gospel message "fit" the times? (In the 18th century John Wesley did not spend too much time moaning and crying about how wicked his age was— he preached instead that God LOVED the common and the uncommon, the rich and the poor. He told people they could be saved and they could know it.) With the example of John Wesley, I propose that we don't spend too much time with negatives, crying what's wrong with our times. We are in charge of the Church— and we each have a job to do. We have the gifts necessary to carry out our jobs faithfully.

I don't have any special revelation that a new Wesleyan Revival is on the way, and the world may end in chaos before we know it. But I do have revelation that we are called to be faithful where we are. The results are not for us to determine. God has said, "I'll be right back— you be good and do your work!" And he has left the room in charge of the learners.

The actual words from the Gospel are: "It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work (to do).(Mark 13:34).

#279 It Will Be Worth it All