Keep Awake
Narrative telling of Mark 13:24-37
You’ll know the marking of the end of this era, there will be no more suffering. Just as the Creator put the Sun in the sky separating the day from night, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. Just as the creator set the stars as lights in the sky to govern the seasons, marking the passing of days and years, those governors of the heavens will be shaken, falling from heaven.
The son of Mary, God who became human, will come in clouds of power and glory like the presence of God on Mount Sinai. The presence of God who covered the trembling mountain with smoke and descended with fire, gave the 10 commandments to the Israelites.
The One Who Became Human, will send out the angels to gather all who believe what Jesus taught, no matter if they are living or dead, they will be gathered into God’s reign.
Nobody will need to wonder when Christ comes again, signs and works that can only be done by the Creator will be undone. These teachings will live on forever, until the end of this age, until the second coming.
Do not wait to share the Good News of the Gospel. Do not hesitate to share your stories of freedom and comfort found in Christ’s story. Do not live your life waiting to wake from sleep. Be awake now. Share the liberation from empire only found in the Risen Christ Jesus, with all you can, with haste. Keep awake.
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What’s the point?
Outside of Christian contexts, there is an invitation to see that you are important. You and those in your sphere of influence can benefit from your authenticity when you share the inner wisdom that comes from your experiences and who you are. Don’t wait to be authentically you and share your wisdom with others, it can be liberating in earth-shattering ways.
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Within the Christian faith, Mark tells us to keep awake. Don’t just wait and don’t be worried, Christ has come and will come again, and when Christ comes again, everybody will know it. Charles Wesley, in this week’s Advent hymn (Come Thou Long Expected Jesus), points out God’s sufficient grace to live now, Christ-like lives, we don’t need to sit around and wait, because God provides us with grace sufficient for right now. We are not sleeping, not stagnating in our lives, we are growing ever closer in community and to Christ. We keep awake doing the work of God, serving and liberating others.
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A Deeper Dive:
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the 4 weeks before Christmas, the season where we anticipate celebrating the birth of Jesus. Christians believe in the promise that Christ will come again. (I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “second coming of Christ” - it is promised in Gospel texts.) Because of this belief, Advent is not just about celebrating the birth of Jesus, it’s also about anticipating when Christ will come again. Christians believe that Jesus was God embodied in human form, so God came into humanity through Jesus at Christmas. Gospels promise that when Christ comes again, with their return, they also bring the “kingdom” or “reign” of God - this is a time when there will be peace, and all the causes of sin and evil will be abolished. The text today follows this narrative in anticipating the second coming.
Many churches follow a lectionary, which is a set rotation of scriptures for preaching and teaching. The lectionary is not a requirement, but many faith communities choose to. The lectionary texts for this Advent season come from the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is direct and to the point, it flows beautifully and tells a story with narratives that swell into a plot that tells the story of Easter.
The songs of Advent and Christmas are some of the most loved in the Christian tradition. Looking at a few of them in conversation with the Gospel of Mark to show new aspects of the story of Jesus.
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne
Our selection of Mark is during the time of Jesus’ ministry; this is known as the Markan apocalypse. Apocalyptic literature is a type of wisdom literature, in that it applies to many situations that almost always have the same outcome. This section of Mark is no different and Mark, who is an excellent preacher, uses it to illustrate two points.
Jesus, this messiah is not a false messiah. Jesus is the true Messiah, the one who has been prophesied.
Jesus will come again and bring the reign of God.
Mark makes his first point, Jesus is the true Messiah, by referencing many prophesies about who and what the Messiah will be – from Psalm and Isaiah. Mark spends most of chapter 14 in this Gospel directly tying together prophesies of Jesus and Jesus' actions. To Mark, he wants there to be no doubt in our mind that what is about to happen in this gospel, the passion of Christ in the Easter story, is happening to the true Messiah.
Mark works to push his readers to see that not only is Jesus the Messiah, but also Jesus will come again, in resurrection and again in the coming of God’s kingdom. By tying in images of de-creation, an undoing and de-creating that can only be done by God, from Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. The sun and mood darkened, and stars falling from heaven – these are things that can only happen at the hands of the creator, God is the only one who can put them there and God is the only one who can take them down.
Mark is saying, when Christ comes, all will know. “We know it now by these prophesied signs", which Mark meticulously lists out and directly references prophecies about who the Messiah will be from the Old Testament. (This scripture is set before Jesus has died on the cross and risen again) Mark is saying, just like we know this Jesus is our Messiah, we will know when it's happening again – because it will be earth-shattering – only the creator can do these.
Believe it or not, this passage is supposed to be hope-inducing. It’s supposed to show us that no matter what is happening – whether it is the destruction of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem like Mark’s readers would have seen in 77 CE – the holocaust – or modern-day events – God will come through Christ and gather believers into God’s kingdom.
There’s a clear warning in this passage, live Christ-like lives now. Don’t wait around, don’t get caught up in the world and put it off for later. Live a life that embraces your salvation every day of your life.
Our Hymn this week carries very much the same message.
Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
Mark says, live now, like you are already saved and free, don’t worry about knowing if and when Christ will return and bring God’s reign. The works of the creator are so great, that no believers will miss it. Stay awake, mind Jesus' commandments, Love God, and Love neighbor – in doing this, trusting we won’t miss the most important event in history, we can live free - free from our fears and free from the consequences of sin.
Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
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.
Charles Wesley, who wrote the hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, was a phenomenal theologian. Able to illustrate complex ideas masterfully and beautifully about God and the nature of humanity. His second verse makes this hopeful point from Mark’s Gospel.
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king, born to reign in us forever now thy gracious kingdom bring.
Jesus is both divine and human – child and king.
Born to reign in us forever – reign in us now. Not just in some past or some future – forever – now and forever.
Now thy gracious kingdom bring- Also, we welcome the reign of God whenever it comes. We are awake, we are ready.
By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone, by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
Charles Wesley introduces here a concept that is fairly unique to Wesleyan theology. The idea that God enables us to live the life that we are called to through God’s grace, it’s possible to live holy lives.
From our fear and sins release us – release us from committing sins, not just the consequences of them By thine own spirit rule – by thine all sufficient merit -We are offered grace sufficient to live our lives as if Christ has already come again – by accepting this grace through prayer, reading the bible, giving to the poor, Communion, visiting the sick, working to end oppression, etc. (There’s more but hopefully you get the idea) These are the means to how we accept God’s grace that
by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
Mark tells us to keep awake. Don’t just wait and don’t be worried, Christ has come and will come again, and when Christ comes again, everybody will know it. Charles Wesley points out God’s sufficient grace to live now, Christ-like lives, we don’t need to sit around and wait, because God provides us with grace sufficient for right now. We are not sleeping, not stagnating in our lives, we are growing ever closer in community and to Christ. We keep awake doing the work of God, serving and liberating others.
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Parting Prayer
Holy God of Hope,
Thank you for your promise of hope. Thank you for fulfilling your promise in the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. We confess that sometimes we do not see your hope. Sometimes, we feel burdened by circumstances around us, and we are overcome by despair and a feeling of hopelessness. Yet we know that in you there is always hope.
As we journey toward Advent this year, help us move from hoping to hopeful. Open our eyes to the ways you call us to bring hope to others. Grant us courage both to notice and to respond when hope is needed; in the name of your Son Jesus, we pray. Amen.
