Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
Sophie is very okay with mystery. Often times, I am not. I’m the one who wants to know all of the backstory behind a character. I’m the one who usually accidentally ends up spoiling things for myself because I get really curious about this or that and look things up, much to Sophie’s amusement. She is much more content to live in the mystery of the story and see what might, or might not, unfold.
There are really two types of people, those like Sophie who are okay with mystery, and those like me who are not. From our Gospel this morning, we learn that Sophie’s is the better of those two paths.
You see, one of those mysteries that it seems people have the most difficult time not looking ahead at the spoilers for is how the world is supposed to end. It always seems that every year someone out there has some calculation or new “interpretation” of Scripture that tells them at “x” date is when the world will end.
Yet Jesus clearly states “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
When the end will come, when Jesus will return, is a mystery. It is supposed to be a mystery because when the end comes is not the point. The point is “will we be ready?”
Jesus’ commentary on two being in the field and one being taken while one remains isn’t meant to give us some doctrine, like the notion of the rapture. It’s meant to tell us that some will be ready for when Jesus, the Son of Man, returns and some won’t be. It’s Jesus telling us, as He says at the end of the reading, that we “must be ready.”
To be ready for Jesus’ return means making room to let Jesus into our hearts. If we allow Jesus to be present and a part of our lives, we will be okay. But we have to take the time to let Him in. We have to prepare ourselves so that Jesus can be part of our lives and be present in our hearts.
That is why we have this season of Advent because we need a time of preparation to let Jesus in. It’s why celebrating Advent is not only important, but vital. The world would have us celebrate this time as a commercial venture, but we know the truth. This time of Advent gets us prepared to let Jesus in, and when we get to Christmas, that allows us to be more mindful of letting Jesus, letting the Christ Child, into our hearts so that we can have not just one day, but a 12 day feast in thanksgiving to our Lord.
Let the mystery of the coming of the Son of Man be just that, a mystery. When Jesus returns is not important. That we are ready for Jesus is important, and not only is it important, but it is vital. We need Jesus’ presence in our lives each and every day. Take this time of Advent to make yourself ready. Take this time of Advent to take the steps to let Jesus in.
The mystery is not important, but the preparation is. Use Advent to do that so that Christmas won’t be what the world wants it to be, but so that it can be the fruits of our preparation and a true sign that we have, in fact, given the Christ Child a room in our hearts. Be prepared, allow for the mystery.