Mark 13:24-37 (Salvation and Judgment)

"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.  

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

As a veteran of many an Advent Sunday it shouldn’t happen to me, but once more I am taken aback by the Gospel Reading for the day. I was looking forward to a heart-warming reading about hope, with lights shining in the darkness, but instead we have frightening events and warnings. The reason for this is that Advent has two themes running through it. Yes, we have the obvious preparation for Christmas, but we also have a somber call to be prepared for the Day of Judgment. The connection between these two themes is that they are both about meeting Jesus. 

I remember my first Advent Sunday as a curate. Of all the days in the year, my vicar chose that day to oversleep. Arriving in a hurry at the early morning Service he had the embarrassment of reading out the opening Sentences for the day, ‘Now is the time to wake out of sleep, for now your salvation is nearer than when you first believed.’ Happy days. 

Many of the Advent Bible Readings are about the foundations of the earth being shaken with calamitous consequences. But if we were to read them in full we will see that every single one of them does have a happy ending for those who are holding fast to the faith. The readings may well talk about moments of deep darkness, but they also remind us that these come just before the dawn. They encourage us to keep the faith - to hold on. But once we have ‘held on’ we do have the prospect of facing Jesus. What kind of experience might that be?

Years ago I used to run a course for Confirmation candidates in which I would invite them to write a letter to God. The exercise would force them to face up to God. Invariably the letters would start like this, ‘Dear God, sorry…’. Now, don’t get me wrong: There are many who seriously need to say sorry to God, but my guess is that God would be disappointed if every letter he opened started in that way. 

Advent is a time for us to re-commit ourselves to getting to know our God through Jesus Christ. It’s a time for us to get past the need to say sorry, and to work at developing a full and wholesome relationship with a God who loves us beyond measure. Let’s refresh our understanding of God so that the thought of meeting him will fill us with delight rather than foreboding. If you want to know of a Bible Reading that will put you on the right track, read Luke 15: 11-31. It’s the Parable of the Prodigal son – someone who was dreading his encounter with his father, and who had prepared an ‘I am sorry’ speech, only to be surprised by a father would have none of it.