Matthew 24:36-44
I took a day off from all things electronic yesterday, which was actually a little more difficult than it sounds, especially in the morning hours. The morning hours are when I normally do my lectionary study and write my thoughts in this blog - call it my time with God. If I'm to be honest about this time I also use it to check email and peruse social media sites. The time isn't all spent with God, but most of it is.
What I did yesterday, instead of turn on my computer and spend the morning in front of it, was go to my parent's home and begin Thanksgiving meal preparations. We have a small family here - just my parents, wife, son, and me - so there wasn't a lot to prepare. I really went to my parent's home to help my mom who has a difficult time standing for too long. Besides, I truly do enjoy dicing vegetables and basting the turkey.
I used my phone as a timer to remind me to baste the turkey every 30 minutes, and as a result I had to resist the temptation to visit those social media sites every 30 minutes as well. The first 2 or 3 reminders were difficult, but as the day went on and the chimes rang to remind me, I found the want to "touch" the buttons on my phone decrease. By the time the turkey was done, some 7 or 8 reminders after it began, I had completely lost the need to connected to be electronically connected to people.
What had happened instead was I began to feel physically connected. I thought about my brother and sister-in-law and their family. I thought about dear friends I haven't seen in a while, if not years. I thought about in-laws, coworkers, and colleagues. While I thought about each one I said a little prayer of thanks for the pieces of our lives we share. By the time lunch was served (our family tradition is to eat about 3-ish in the afternoon) I had visited as many of those in my life as I could remember through prayer and thought.
I'm not sure whether it was because I had no electronic interactions, or because I spent a good part of my day in thought and prayer, but yesterday turned out to be a very relaxing day.
Today's passage gives me that same kind of feel. It's a good reminder for me that we never really know when good things are coming. Matthew does well in setting the tone that when good things come we just have to be ready for it. In this passage Jesus is telling those who will listen that nothing will be different when the time for his return comes. People will be going about their daily routines when, almost suddenly it will seem, Jesus will appear.
It will seem sudden for those who aren't waiting and watching for it. For those who haven't taken the time to build their relationships with God, others, and self it will seem that out of nowhere their friends and family, those who have been waiting and watching, will no longer be with them, but instead a part of something else; the kingdom of God.
Advent is the time that we, Christians, are asked to watch and wait for the coming of Christ. More than that, we are asked to reflect on our relationships with God and those around us. It's in the preparation for the day Christ comes we find our hope. Yesterday, as I chopped, basted, napped, and watched football I talked with those around me about what being in God's love meant to me. Not in such a way as to change anyone's heart, more in a way so as to share what is in my heart - unconditional acceptance of all people.
Christ lives in me and through me. Being Christian allows me the strength to share what that means to me with others. It's in helping others see how hope is slowly being realized in my life that I can bring that same realization to others. Hope lives through us, in us, and around us. All we need to do is watch for it, and wait for the right time to be with others in it.
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