First Sunday of Advent December 2, 2007
Scripture	Matthew 24:36-44 36“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Devotional	Is Matthew 24:36-44 a part of Jesus’ apocalyptic teaching? Did Matthew’s Jesus believe that the kingdom of Heaven would come before the last of the present generation had died? Some New Testament scholars think that Jesus taught the kingdom of God would come during the present generation. As two thousand years of Christian history has shown this has not happened therefore was not God’s plan. Some have predicted dates for the Second Coming only to be proven wrong. What or how can we apply these teaching to our lives, two thousand years later? Stanley Hauerwas states that we can use this teaching in our lives for spiritual growth. “Apocalyptic is a vehicle of prophecy that enables us to see ourselves and the world in which we live in light of God’s purpose for God’s creation.” Living in the present requires discipline, while discovering God’s purpose pushes discipline to the extreme. The disciples had asked this question earlier. “Tell us, when will this be and what will the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” Jesus attempts to help the disciples understand how they must live when their question should no have been asked and cannot be answered. Our question should be more like: How is God active in my world and how does God call me to be a part of this world? Why not ask a question Jesus will answer? Asking questions that should never have been asked or cannot be answered is a way of avoiding the focus on our personal relationship with Christ. These questions separate us from Christ. This is our practice of “stovepipe” spirituality. We believe it leads straight up to God but discover we are only in our own little world. God is outside our pipe in the world. What can we learn about Christian discipleship from these verses? One must be prepared for the coming of Jesus. This could be the Second Coming or Jesus coming again in this Advent season. What if we spent this time experiencing the presence of Jesus rather than prying into God’s secrets? One sure thing about prying in the the secret of God is to avoid the call of Jesus during this Advent season. Which is most helpful, the theology of the Second Coming or the spiritual care and encouragement we receive participating in the Advent of Jesus? What would it mean if each of us broke out of our stovepipe spirituality and discovered a whole new experience of Jesus? Is this what Advent is about? Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew. Grand Rapids : Brazos Press, 2006. p. 204 Ibid. p. 204