Nov 30, 2025        Advent One           Matthew 24:36-44

[Jesus said to the disciples,] 36 “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 the 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 hour you do not expect.”

The Lord Jesus comes, bringing the Light, choosing us as His own.

How do we learn to stay awake and be ready? I have one suggestion and would gladly offer the opportunity. Occasionally we need to dog sit a couple of Adrien’s dogs. It is difficult to travel with four dogs, especially if you are gone overnight. Even camping spots don’t want four canines around who will stir up any other dogs in the park. So this week we have the blood hounds. We have a great set up for kennels and an outside fenced area; it works pretty well! Unless one critter gets something, the other doesn’t, especially extra attention. Ezra had a vet’s appointment, so Adrien picked him up the day before to get him there early the next day. Sabine is the oldest and usually the most sensible and quieter of the two. However, she was not happy when she did not get to go and was all alone for the night. Here is the technique provided for staying awake: Sabine can cry and whine for several hours without losing her voice. From 8:30 to 12:30 Tuesday night, she kept it up. She is not a quiet crier! If it is Ezra that gets left, he has the same skill, only his voice is even louder. I stayed awake, no problem. So at 1 am I got up, dressed warm, went out to the dog’s area with these Scripture lessons and a pen. I started writing this sermon, since I was awake anyway. I must have been an acceptable doggie companion, for she finally settled down, straightening her mat several times, and more or less went to sleep. So, by 2:30 I got to return to my bed. Of course the snowplow working across the street at 5:30 disturbed us both. Staying awake is no problem!

Actually dogs can teach us about being ready and alert. They can go from sleep to wakefulness in seconds. At which point they are ready to play, to eat, to give an alert, to stand guard, or just start to play. They are ready at any time to have your attention or to give you the attention you may need. Jesus knew as he spoke to his disciples, of former days and to us today, that we are not as adaptable as our pooches. Yet we are directed to be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Jesus can and will appear among us without warning. There will not be any phone notification that comes across your cell. No billboards will post the date and time. No annoying reminder notices will be sent as they are for an upcoming appointment. 

We are to be aware of what is going on around us. Our concern is not to be informed about what God is up to, or when Jesus will return. That will be dealt with by the Father’s authority alone.  Instead, we are to consider and always act as if it will be at any time, even today,  and so be ready. What does that entail? Jesus gave the example of the thief breaking into your house. What is that thief doing there anyway? You must have treasures to steal; the thief wants to separate you from what you should hold as truly valuable. Give that some thought! Knowing Jesus as you do, you can be assured he is not speaking of stock certificates that are in the safe, he is not referring to the money stashed in your hiding place, or the prized baseball card, anemae, or hummel figurine collections, you have accumulated. I would have you think about the treasures that are truly valuable, those beyond price. Those things which are important to you, for which you give your concern and love are real treasures. Treasures are that which generate your compassion and generosity, about which you have deep concern. You are to stay alert and aware regarding those people and issues for which you give of yourself. God has given you a will to do good and the capability to share your gifts with others – that is a treasure you have, one to protect and to use. You aren’t to stash those skills away or hold back, thinking there will be a better time for their use. You are to become aware regarding where your treasures can best be applied to meet the real needs of those around you. Also, we are to be mindful of the consequences of how our actions affect others and our self. Each of our behaviors lead to something; they can be good, helpful, and up-building or they can be used with a selfish focus, with destructive results, and bring a breakdown within the community. So treasures can bring benefits, or they can be held only for yourself and hidden away. It is then we see how the separation comes about that is referred to in this gospel. When the Son of Man comes, he will judge how those God-given gifts have been utilized, where has one’s trust been placed.

The other readings today explain that situation with different examples. We are still looking at how we are to stay aware of our God’s plan and expectation for us, His children. In Isaiah we are told to go to the house of God so we may be taught his ways and learn to walk in his paths. What are we to learn? To walk in the light, where nothing need be hidden, where truth is exposed and where God’s way is made known. We have depicted here a beautiful vision. It is one that has been rendered often by artists and promoted by the faithful.  The Lord shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; neither shall they learn war anymore. We may need to update the weaponry but the sentiment remains. Remove guns from the warrior’s hands and use those hands to lift each other up. Turn bombs into machines that build homes and learn war no more but practice collaboration caring for the people of all nations. 

Romans refers to this time of waking up as going into the light so that deeds, which one does not want revealed, can no longer get hidden away in the darkness. We are to live decently by putting on our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, when we have choices to make, actions that need to be taken, we should dress up like Jesus so we will take up the influence of his style and character and make our decisions accordingly. 

During this season of Advent you will notice that our prayers of the day, begin with our asking the Lord to “Stir up” spiritual power within us from Christ. We always need to keep in mind that it is by the grace of God that we can accomplish good in this place. We are not expected to handle these things all on our own. We can’t even stay awake and alert in the ways the Lord has in mind for us. We aren’t to rely on caffeine to keep us watchful, old toothpicks are not meant to prop our eyes open. To remain upright and attentive we must rely on the Spirit’s power. We are offered that gift as motivating energy, so we take and remain in the pathway that has been prepared for us. You are not left without resources. Put on Christ, for He is available to you. This Advent look for the coming of Emmanuel – God is with us – it has been promised and is so.