The Time Is Always Now
“The Time Is Always Now”
Scripture: Mark 13:24-37
Sunday, November 27, 2011 – First Sunday Of Advent
Part I: The Devil & Mr. Nobel
Perhaps you are familiar with the old legend which speaks of the devil wanting to divide human beings so as to set us against each other and keep us experiencing only the emptiness of that separation. According to this legend, when the devil asked for help in achieving this task, Fear stepped forward and said, “I will sow the seeds of prejudice within human hearts.” Greed stepped forward as well and said, “I will sow the seeds of possessiveness within human hearts.” Revenge stepped forward and said, “I will urge human beings to worship all their wounds.” Volunteer after volunteer stepped forward until just one volunteer remained. This volunteer quietly said, “I will tell human beings to love and serve God and neighbor.” Everyone laughed uproariously at this suggestion. Then, when the laughter died down, this volunteer added, “But I will tell them not to worry about loving and serving God and neighbor until tomorrow.” And the legend ends with the devil deciding to send Procrastination to divide us. (1)
From my perspective, there is a great deal of truth in that old legend, for often it is procrastination which persuades us that now is not the time to become less fearful and more loving, less judgmental and more welcoming, less possessive and more compassionate, less vengeful and more forgiving. Often it is procrastination which persuades us we can always wait until tomorrow … and tomorrow … and tomorrow … before we start to honestly take Jesus seriously—and I suspect that at least Alfred Nobel would agree with me.
As you may be aware, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, woke up one day to read his obituary in the morning newspaper. It was actually his brother who had died, which created the confusion, and, amidst his sorrow, he was disturbed by his portrayal in the obituary as the “dynamite king”—a merchant of death who had made his fortune peddling the seeds of destruction. It was then that Alfred Nobel realized he was living on a street named Denial, just south of a road called Procrastination. It was then that he truly woke up and sensed he was, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “spending his money for that which is not bread and his labor for that which does not satisfy” (Isaiah 55:2). And it was then that he decided to establish the various Nobel Prizes which bear his name as a way to embrace a different set of values right now. (2)
Part II: Scare Tactics
On this First Sunday of Advent, we too are called to wake up, which is what our gospel lesson is really all about. Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the power and even the beauty of this “wake-up call,” some people use this lesson to try and scare us—and maybe a light-hearted story can help us see the folly of such scare tactics. Once there were two brothers who were irresistibly drawn to mischief like moths to a flame. As a result, they were always blamed for any of the pranks in the neighborhood and usually rightfully so. Seeking to improve their behavior, their mother asked the local pastor to talk to them. The pastor agreed to meet with the boys individually, and so the younger brother went to see him in the morning, with the older brother scheduled to come in the afternoon. The pastor, a large man with a booming voice, sat the younger brother down in his office and sternly asked him “Where is God?” The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response. The pastor then repeated the question, this time shaking a finger in the boy’s face: “Where is God?” At which point the boy bolted from the office, ran home, and hid in a closet. When his older brother found him, he asked him, “What happened?” Gasping for breath, the boy replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing, and they think we did it.”
Yes, the pastor did succeed in scaring the boy, but he did not succeed in drawing the boy closer to God. Chances are he even pushed the boy further away, and that is the problem with scare tactics. Scare tactics leave us fearful rather than faithful, cowering in one kind of closet or another and concerned only with our individual well-being. Worse yet, sometimes those who try to scare us the most are the ones who heed their own words the least. Here I think of Tim Lahaye, one of the co-authors of the “Left Behind” series of books. Mr. Lahaye warns us about some sort of “rapture” which he thinks is right around the corner but which, quite frankly, Scripture never speaks of and which seems to be little more than an attempt to escape from the world. He warns us about the destruction of creation even though Scripture consistently affirms the redemption of creation. And he says that we should take every verse of Scripture literally, which, as far as I can tell, means we should agree with his inter-pretation of Scripture. However, when Mr. Lahaye was asked in an interview if maybe he should take literally those verses where Jesus tells the rich young ruler to sell everything he has and give to the poor—when an interviewer asked if he should give away the millions of dollars he has made writing his books—Mr. Lahaye replied, “I think I can do more good by keeping the money and continuing to write.” To me, that does not sound like someone who really believes any “rapture” is close at hand. (3)
Part III: Time & Eternity
In contrast to such scare tactics, what Jesus gives us in our gospel lesson is, believe it or not, an invitation to a party. It may not sound like that, but I am convinced this is what it is. Jesus tells us fig trees are blossoming, and so should we. He tells us it is a kind of surprise party for God, Who is not always sure if we care about anything besides ourselves, and so we need to get ready for the party. He tells us that after the suffering which comes from all of our procrastination and all of our power struggles—be it on an individual, local, national, or international level—after all of that human-initiated suffering comes, he will come again and will be the host of the party.
Jesus tells us something else as well, something that is hard to express but which is impor-tant to try and express. He tells us that time is not separate from eternity but rather is part of eternity—is, if you will, embraced by eternity. He tells us this time, our time, and any time is always God’s time, Whose only now is forever. Furthermore, he tells us we are not really separate from God either but rather are like clay in the potter’s hand (Jeremiah 18:1-12). As St. Paul puts it, we, along with all the rest of creation, “live and move and have our being in God” (Acts 17:28). Time is always being lovingly shaped by eternity, and we are always being lovingly shaped by God, and the only question is whether we are willing to be shaped or whether we prefer to procrastinate. Indeed, Jesus is living proof of eternity breaking in upon time to lovingly shape it. He is the Eternal Word made flesh, and eternity keeps breaking in upon time at every moment of every day, which is why we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And it is also why the time to act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly is always now, for whenever we do those things, we are not just living a good life; we are also participating in eternal values. We are sharing in eternity, and we are allowing ourselves to be shaped by God.
Recently, I came upon a story about an African-American community in Florida in the days before civil rights were granted to all citizens. According to the story, during political elections, the people would rent a voting machine and go through the voting process. They knew their votes would not be counted, but they voted anyway, and when they were asked by the white members of the community why they bothered to do this, they replied, “Oh, we are just practicing … just practicing.” Those people were not only expressing their longing for civil rights at a specific moment in time. They were also bearing witness to eternal values, and they were sharing in eternity. They were not just practicing voting; they were practicing the redemption of the world. (4)
“We are marching in the light of God! We are marching in the light of God!” That was our Opening Hymn this morning, which is based upon a South African Freedom Song, and during all the years of apartheid—during all those years that Nelson Mandela and others sat in jail for protesting apartheid—a candle of hope kept burning in their hearts … hope not only for equality in South Africa but also hope for the kind of equality which is eternal.
During World War II, a German widow began hiding various Jewish refugees in her home. When her friends learned what she was doing, they became greatly alarmed. “You are risking your own well-being,” they told her. “I know that,” she replied. “Then why do you persist in this foolishness?” “I am doing it,” she said, “because the time is now, and I am here.” (5)
Ah, yes, the time is always now, which is why we urge our Young Christians not to wait until they are older but to let their light shine now.
Part IV: Ready For The Party
This morning we also share the sorrow of the Gladney Family, and as we do so we need to remember that Dr. Gladney did not only live a good and even great life; he also participated in eternity, and so he was ready for the party which was awaiting him. He was ready, and we need to ask if we are ready. Sometimes we think we can waltz into the party with our racism or sexism or homophobia intact, but we can’t. Sometimes we think we can waltz into the party with our lust, greed, or vengefulness intact, but we can’t. And the reason we can’t is not only because those negative qualities are contrary to God’s will but also because so long as we cling to any negative qualities we would not be ready for the party. We would have no idea how to handle the party … no idea how to handle the joy Jesus would share with us, for that is what he told us too: “I have said these things to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)
An old Baptist deacon was once asked if he resented the idea of people confessing their sins and being accepted by God right before they die—people like the penitent thief who was crucified next to Jesus and who asked to be remem-bered when Jesus came into his kingdom. Did such last-minute acceptance ever bother the old deacon? “Not at all,” he answered. “If anything, I feel sad those people did not have more time to love and serve God in this world, because that is the real joy in life.” (6)
To be sure, we can wake up right before we die, but, as the old Baptist deacon says, there is a certain sadness in waiting until then. This takes us back to our Epistle Lesson for today which Marcia read. No church ever had as much nit-picking and as much in-fighting as did the Corinthian Church. Yet St. Paul begins his letter, as he begins so many of his letters, by giving thanks for the ways in which they have managed to let their light shine. Presumably, he hopes in this manner to call them away from any nit-picking and in-fighting, and it is not a bad approach.
As you will discover, with me there is usually one last story, and here it is.
Once upon a time, a man sought employment on a farm. So the man went to the owner of the farm and handed him his letter of reference, which simply read, “He sleeps in a storm.” The owner did not know what this meant, but he was desperate for help and hired the man. Several weeks passed, and, suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm ripped through the valley. Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner of the farm leapt out of bed. He called for his new hired hand, but the man was sleeping soundly. So he raced out to the barn. He saw to his amazement that the animals were secure with plenty of food. He raced out to the field and found the bales of wheat bound and wrapped in tarpaulins. He raced over to the silo. The doors were latched, and the grain was dry. And then he realized what the letter of reference meant when it said, “He sleeps in a storm.” (7)
The hired hand could sleep in a storm because he had woken up long before the storm ever came. He was not procrastinating but was acting justly, loving tenderly, and walking humbly right now, and so he was not only ready for any storms but also ready for the party Jesus describes. We too are called to be ready because the time is always now. And let all God’s people say “Amen!”
Notes
1. Source Unknown
2. See “Alfred Nobel And His Prizes,” by James Campbell, in Boston Review, A Political &
Literary Forum, for one version of this story.
3. “The Pop Prophets,” by David Gates, Newsweek, May 24, 2004
4. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the source of this story.
5. Source Unknown
6. This encounter was part of an interview I once saw on television. Unfortunately, I cannot remember which program the interview was part of.
7. Have A Little Faith, by Mitch Albom, Hyperion, 2009, page 93
