Pray
Luke
21: 25-36
December 3, 2006
25“There
will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth
distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
26People will faint from fear
and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. 27Then
they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great
glory. 28Now when these things
begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near.”
29Then he told them a parable:
“Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
30as soon as they sprout leaves you can
see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So
also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of
God is near. 32Truly I tell you,
this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.
33Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away.
34“Be
on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and
drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you
unexpectedly, 35like a trap.
For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.
36Be alert at
all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Once again
Jesus is teaching to those who have accepted
him as their master. He is trying to help prepare them for the future. As
one reads this passage, there seems to be little hope for the future. The
words look like they are painting a picture of devastation. Yes for many,
there has come from this passage a concept about the second coming. As
William Barclay wrote many years ago: “When it will and what it will be
like are not ours to know.” Why worry about it? There is one great truth
that does come from this passage. History is going somewhere. Many – like
the Stoics - viewed and probably still views history as circular. They
believed that every three thousand years or so that the world would be
consumed by some great event. After that event, everything started all
over again. History would repeat itself over and over. I guess one could
look at it like a ferris wheel. It just continues to go round and round
and where it would stop nobodies knows. If this view would hold to be
true, then we would be like the mouse or guinea pig in a cage that
constantly goes around in circles on their exercise wheel.
Jesus informed those early believers and He
is informing us today tat our concept of history is different. We believe
that history is moving forward toward a goal. That goal is that one-day
Jesus of Nazareth will be Lord of all. We
know that to be a truth and to be honest that is all we need to know about
the journey of history.
Jesus
said in this lesson to his followers:
“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and
drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you
unexpectedly, like a trap.”
Many years ago, I was having a conversation with one of
the older adults that was a member of the congregation that we were
serving. He said: “Johnny, I feel like a failure. I have worked hard all
of my life and one of my goals was to leave something to our boys. I now
have to sale my home so that we will have enough money to go into a
nursing home. I will not be able to leave them anything.” His heart was
heavy. One could see the sorrow in his eyes as he was sharing his pain
with me that day. I do not remember what I said in response to his
statement. I just remember the pain and hurt that I saw in his face.
There are and
there will be times in our lives when the events of life place a heavy
burden upon our hearts. There will be times in this journey called life
that we will feel like saying “what’s the use!” I think I felt that way in
every math class that I ever had to take. Life comes at us with its
mountains to be climbed and with its dark valleys that we need to make our
way through so that we may come out on the other side into the bright warm
light with the Son.
It was a beautiful
day when the bird hunter turned his setter out to find that elusive Mr.
Quail. The dog circled the field several times to burn off some of its
energy and to attempt to get a quick whiff of Mr. Quail. The dog stopped
for a second and headed off into the woods. This was a new area for the
hunter. He had just received permission to hunt the land. He did not know
how deep the woods ran or what ran through those woods. He could hear the
English bell that was around his dog’s neck but he could not locate his
dog with his eyes. He kept moving toward the sound and deeper into the
woods. The woods got thicker and thicker as he walked toward the sound of
the bell. The briars seemed to grow longer as they grabbed hold of his
clothing and of him. The light of the day seemed to fade more as he went
deeper into those woods. He stumbled through a creek and came out muddy
and wet on the other side. He continued to move toward the sound of that
bell that was around his dog’s neck. After what seemed to be an hour or so
of fighting his way through those woods he came out into an open field
where he was greeted by the warmth of the sun and by his dog on point.
Jesus informed those that he was teaching
that day and he is informing us today to stay focused. He encouraged them
and he is encouraging us to keep our eyes, our ears, souls and ours hearts
focused upon Him. Trust in Him to help us find our way when we believe we
are lost. Trust in him when the weight of the world comes crashing down
upon our shoulders instead of trusting in the things of the world.
How do we build
that trust? Jesus said: “be on guard.” In
other words continue to watch. When we get to the stage in our lives that
we believe everything is settled and that we are going to be comfortable,
we start to walk on thin ice. Life has a way of changing it course in the
blinking of an eye.
Jesus
calls the believers to be in a permanent state of expectation. Barclay
wrote: We must live in the shadow of eternity, in the certainty that we
are people who are fitting or unfitting ourselves to appear in the
presence of God. There can be nothing so
thrilling as the Christian life.” The Christian lives for the present and
for the future through his or her constant watch. We are watching for and
expecting the presence of Christ to come to
us daily and walk the walk with us. We are watching for the light to shine
so brilliantly that it leads us out of the darkness and out into the light
and the warmth of God’s love.
We watch with
great expectation knowing that the Son of God
is coming to us. Today, we enter into the season of Advent. It is the
season before Christmas. Advent prepares us for the celebration of
Christmas. It prepares us for the day that we pause and give thanks to
God for the birth of His Son and our savior.
It is a time of watching because through this season of preparation we
discover how God has indeed set history to
move toward a goal. That goal is a time when Jesus
of Nazareth will indeed be Lord of all.
Jesus also encouraged those early believers
to do something else. He said: “Be alert at all
times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things
that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Stay awake,
keep alert and keep praying were his directions to those early believers.
They are his direction for his followers today. Jesus
urged the early believers to keep their prayer life strong. He spoke from
his own personal experience when he shared those words with them. What
gave him the strength to face the crowds and to face the naysayers as he
proclaimed the good news? What gave him the wisdom and the courage to go
up into the temple and teach the crowd while some of the leaders observed
his actions with anger and hatred?
It was the
quiet time that he spent with God that
allowed him to move forward in the mission and ministry that
God had sent him into the world to proclaim
to all. It was prayer that gave him the strength that night in the garden
as he wrestled with the future that was about to confront him. Yes,
Jesus encourages us to be a watchful people.
He also encourages us to be a praying people.
Someone told
me a story some time ago. I am not sure it is true but it hits home. It is
a story about a man who encountered a bit of trouble while flying his
little airplane. He called the control tower and said, "Pilot to tower,
I'm 300 miles from the airport, six hundred feet above the ground, and I'm
out of fuel. I am descending rapidly. Please advise. Over." "Tower to
pilot," the dispatcher began, "Repeat after me: "Our Father Who art in
heaven...'"
That is a
neat story and it does in a humorous way let one know the importance of
prayer. Prayer – for the believer – should be something that we do each
and everyday multiple times a day. Prayer should be a natural part of our
lives. It is a time when we pull away from the business of life and enter
into a conversation with our creator and redeemer.
Charles
Spurgeon said: “The morning is the gate of the day, and it should be well
guarded with prayer. It is one end of the thread on which the day's
actions are strung, and should be well knotted with devotion. If we felt
the majesty of life we should be more careful of its mornings. He who
rushes from his bed to his business and waiteth not to worship is as
foolish as though he had not put on his clothes, or cleansed his face, and
as unwise as though he had dashed into battle without arms or armor. Be it
ours to bathe in the softly flowing river of communion with
God, before the heat of the wilderness and
the burden of the way begins to oppress.”
Watching and
praying is important for the believer. We watch with great expectation in
our hearts and souls as we prepare for the coming of the King of Kings. We
pray for the strength and the wisdom to be and to remain faithful as we
prepare for Jesus of Nazareth to enter into
our present lives and into our eternal lives.
What a great
lesson Jesus taught to his early followers!
It still is a great lesson for the faithful today. We are called to be a
watching and praying people. It is up to us to answer that calling.
In the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit.
Amen
