This Sunday was the first day of Advent. It ends on Christmas Eve. Advent means “coming,” and it refers to two comings. The 1st Coming was 2000 years ago. Humans in the Old Testament had waited for thousands of years – since the Fall of Man – for the Messiah. The surprise guest was none other than God himself, who decided to become one of us – Jesus Christ – to walk in our shoes and show us how to live; to reverse the Fall of Man and re-establish humanity’s relationship with God; and send us the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate, our Counselor, our Teacher, and our Protector.
During Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem, he spoke at length about his 2nd Coming – called the “Parousia” (pair-oo-see-uh). This is what the reading this week in Matthew is about (below). Advent is about reminding ourselves, or re-centering ourselves, around the reality of being ready: of walking with God and doing good. The age we live in is between the First and Second Comings. You could call our age the Age of Salvation or the Age of the Holy Spirit. Age of Salvation since salvation is a choice we can make at any time while we are alive. Age of the Holy Spirit since it is the HS who is desperately trying to help us reach the 2nd Coming successfully. You could theoretically say there are 3 Comings: Jesus’ First Coming (Christmas); the Holy Spirit as the Second (Pentecost); and Jesus again on the Last Day (Parousia); but nobody will know what you are talking about :).
Matthew 24: 37-44
I added verse 37 to this week’s Gospel because Jesus makes a very important point: “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, but the Father alone.” So, the first thing we know from this is that predicting the end times is not in our job description. Anyone who ever tries to predict the end times is taking other words from the bible out of context and making up their own conclusions. Don’t believe it. Jesus said even the angels don’t know.
Jesus then compares the end times (the word Eschatology refers to the end times) to when Noah built the Ark. Nobody paid Noah any mind except perhaps to think he was crazy – until the day the flood came. By that time, Noah, his family, and the animals were safe; the rest were not.
When Jesus says the coming of the Son of Man will be “like Noah,” he is comparing a couple of things. First, just as nobody was expecting the flood, nobody will be expecting the Son of Man when he comes. Then Jesus gives us some analogies: two men will be standing in the field; one will be taken and the other one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. What does this mean? Some Christians who read this literally developed a new vocabulary for this – for example, calling this “the Rapture.” But there is no “rapture” in the bible. Jesus 2nd coming is referring to the Last Day / Judgement Day. What about those who are “left behind”? Our analogy is Noah, so what happened to those who were left behind? Those who did not make in onto the Ark died in the flood. They missed being saved. That’s what it means.
Jesus then provides another analogy, saying that if you knew when a thief was going to rob your house, you would surely be ready and take steps to make sure he wasn’t successful. However, since we don’t usually know when a robber will come, it’s best to be ready all the time whether that means locking your doors, leaving a light on, having an alarm system, or whatever. Likewise, since we don’t know when the Last Day is coming (whether it’s the world’s last day or your own last day), Jesus is saying be ready. How? Again, let’s look at Noah. Before the Ark and the flood, Genesis says that Noah “walked with God” and was a righteous man. Walking with God means that Noah talked with God and God was in his life; righteous means he was a good, honest man. This earned him the captain's seat on the Ark. So there you have it: all we need to is walk with God and be righteous. In our case, Jesus gave us a bit more help than Noah had: the grace and forgiveness of Baptism and the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit - our personal adviser - to help us accomplish the rest.
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