11/28/04

Watching Out and Watching For

Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44

Hindsight is always 20-20, so they say. We always seem to see things better when we can look back upon them. This is true of Monday morning quarterbacking of all kinds - from football to the stock market to the many decisions we're faced with in life. We see better looking backward because our knowledge is expanded with that additional perspective. Our knowledge in any given moment is always limited; we simply cannot know all there is to know. And at times, we can't see the forest for the trees. We get so preoccupied by what we're doing, or what's happening around us, that we miss something important right before our eyes. We may see it later with our 20-20 hindsight, but right now, when we're supposed to have our eyes open, either they're closed or looking in another direction. (i)

This is why Advent is so important. It's a season for watching, anticipating, expecting. "Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come," says Jesus. In Advent we are called to watch - to watch out and to watch for.

First, we're called to watch out. "Watch out!" is a cry of warning, a warning to beware, to be careful, to be alert. Advent reminds us that there are dangers - out there and in here - dangers that we need to be wary of, to be careful of avoiding, and alert to recognizing. We need to guard against, to watch out, that we don't become moral sleepwalkers, walking through life inattentive to either the dangers or to the grim realities of our world. A farmer owned a mule that he claimed was the most obedient mule in all the world. Well, he had to sell the mule, and the new owner who bought him took the mule home, only to find that the mule paid no attention to his commands. Angrily, he phoned the farmer, who came right over. The new owner told the farmer all the frustrating details and the farmer nodded with understanding. Then the farmer went over to the mule and took a big stick and bopped him on the head with it. Then he gave a command, and the mule obediently responded. The mule's new owner was appalled. "Why, no wonder the mule obeyed; he was scared to death you were going to bop him on the head again." "No, no," answered the farmer. "That didn't hurt him a bit. Mules have thick heads. I was just getting his attention." (ii)

Getting the mule's attention is like waking him up, and it's kind of like that with people. If we're to avoid becoming moral sleepwalkers, then we've got to wake up to what's happening. At a dangerous intersection or bad stretch of road, often one or two people have to lose their lives before the authorities will put up signals or warning signs. The accidents are like a big stick that wake up the public conscience.

For example, how many more teenage lives will be ruined before we adults awaken to our responsibilities regarding their use of drugs, and alcohol, and other high risk behaviors? Or, how many more people will suffer because of inadequate or no health benefits before we as a society wake up to our responsibilities? It sounds like our governor is taking steps to correct this in Massachusetts, and I applaud him for this. How many more children will go to bed hungry? How many more wives will be abused by their husbands? How many more youth will be caught in the crossfire of violence in the inner cities? I hope and pray that we as a society will wake up to some of these important issues.

Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. Those things that we say we value - power, possessions, money, sex appeal, physical beauty, strength, social status, the opinions of our peers - these preoccupations consume us, grab our attention, demand our time, and use up our energy. Yet all around us are great needs, hurts, wounds, crises. As most of us look forward to the coming holidays, sadly there are too many others who will not share in their warmth and cheer. The poor, the ill, the lonely face bleak holidays and a grim winter beyond. Unemployment, cut-backs in social aid programs, overcrowded homeless shelters, make the problems even worse. To be poor and ill, or old and alone, or young and neglected is always hard, but even more difficult when everyone around is rejoicing in holiday cheer. (iii)

Fortunately, Advent also calls us to watch for - to watch for God in Christ coming into our midst, to watch for how God's will is revealed, to watch for signs of God's presence, to watch for ways we can respond to God's love. Sometimes we get the idea that God was revealed to the world only back in the days of Abraham and Moses, David and Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul - and that God is now silent, distant, removed from the sorrows and joys, the problems and opportunities of the present day. But if we think this, we're wrong. "God is still speaking!" our new UCC ad campaign so cleverly puts it. Indeed, God is still speaking, God's presence is still felt, God's Word is still heard, and we in the church have a major role in being the transmitter of that Word of hope and welcome. Probably the most important thing we can do is to be evangelists for Pilgrim Church. Ask your friends, especially those who may be without a church home, ask them if they've seen the ad. Tell them, "I'm a UCC! My church is Pilgrim Church. We are a United Church of Christ, and no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome at our church." Invite them to come the next Sunday or Saturday. Bring them with you; they will be glad you did. A lot of people are searching for a spiritual home, and most of us feel we've got a pretty good one here. Let's share the Good News with others, that God's love is present in this church, and that God's welcome is always felt.

I believe that God is an ever-present reality in the world, here with us every moment, and active in God's business of creating, redeeming, and sustaining. But we have to listen for and watch for God. The Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, once said that God wears a mask, meaning that God is not always visible. Sometimes God comes among us in ways we wouldn't expect, as in the form of a baby in a manger, or in the least of our brothers and sisters. God is revealed in the poor, the sick, the weak, the helpless, those who are abused or misused in our society, and some would say, when we encounter these persons, we are meeting the Lord - in disguise. (iv) Wherever love is found, or healing is experienced, wherever the hungry are being fed, or sin is forgiven - there will we find God.

Our calling is to watch for God, to live in expectation that God will do something with us, something new and exciting. The early followers of Jesus were expectant. Paul actually expected that Jesus would return in his own lifetime. He believed and expected that God would act in a dramatic way and that Jesus would come again. "The time has come for you to wake up from your sleep," he said, "for the moment when we will be saved is closer now than it was when we first believed." The question is, do you and I expect God will act in a life-awakening way in our lives? Probably not. Our problem is not that we expect too much from God, but that we expect too little. Watching for God, preparing ourselves, making ourselves ready is really taking a bold stance for faith, recognizing God's centrality in our lives, walking in God's way, and feeling the Lord's divine light shining down upon us. (v)

Some years ago I called on a very sick parishioner and was startled to hear her say, "I spend each big holiday as if it will be my last, because it very well may be." I remember protesting that I was sure there would be many, many more to enjoy - but I was taken up short, and humbled a bit with her reply: "You know, living each day, whether it's special or ordinary, as if it were the last, is a pretty good way to live." And of course, she was absolutely right. We have the assurance that Jesus will one day come again, just as we know that one day will be our last. So, we should be watchful, and wait with hope, not in fear. It's important, meanwhile, to get on with living. There are things to be done, hands to be held, prayers to be prayed, songs to be sung. There is important work for us to do and a life to be lived. One of our tasks as children of God is to continue striving for peace, not only in our personal lives, and in our communities, but on the global scene as well. Isaiah's vision of swords being beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks, when nations will lay down their arms and study war no more, his vision perhaps sounds naïve. To those without faith, I guess it would sound that way. But for those who are called to be peacemakers, this is a bold stance for faith, a recognition that God still speaks through people of faith and goodwill. I pray that we may be among them.

If we believe, trust, and look to God, if we watch for signs of God coming among us, then God will indeed come - to love and to save, to heal and to feed, o constantly care for all people, and to be involved intimately in our lives. (vi) And we can be partners with God in all of this. So, let us watch out - and wake up and be responsive - and watch for - watch for the signs of God's coming. Even now, weeks before Christmas, we need to rub out those sleepy eyewinkers, sharpen our vision, and keep a close watch. For Christ is coming. Amen.

The Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
Rev. Kenneth C. Landall

i The Clergy Journal, 5-6/83, p. 15.
ii Pulpit Resource, 11/27/83.
iii Word & Witness, 11/27/83.
iv Brian A. Nelson, "Hustle Won't Bring the Kingdom of God," p. 84.
v Word & Witness, op. cit.
vi Robert E. Luccock, Word & Witness, ibid.