Sunday, November 30
Suggested Readings:
The great tension of Advent is that so many images of waiting, anticipation and preparation in the biblical tradition are terrifying, and deliberately so. The warm, comforting experience we long for as the days darken and we head into a long winter do not align with those images. Maybe the people who wrote them down lived in the desert and did not need what I need. They also lived beneath the weight of oppressive empires, so dramatic portrayals of disruption and destruction offered hope of a different tone.
The gospel of Matthew presents a horrific portrayal of Jesus’ final week that descends into division, threat and fear. Matthew 24:36-44 sits in the vicinity of some of the most shocking stories Jesus told, like the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. What could be cozy images of pastoral life and parties turn bleak and frightening. The proclamation in 24:36-44 paints a confusing collage of images that fits that context well. Is it better to be swept away or left behind, to be abducted or to be left alone? It is difficult to say how a first-century audience would have heard such a desperate sermon. We can hear it telling us to wait expectantly and be ready, but ready for what and how do we prepare?
In a comfortable and convenient modern, world visions of disruption and devastation are important for us to hear, and not just because it is helpful to realize that things could be worse. Around the world and down the street there are people whose lives are being torn apart, whether by a sudden ferocious event or the gradual realization that they cannot live safely in their place any longer. As a fortunate person more likely to be awaiting joy and words of peace, I listen to Jesus tell a horror story as a reminder that these images reflect the lives that many people face, and that the washing away of the world’s structures and systems that offer me a life of ease could for them bring release from captivity.
Mark McEntire
Professor of Biblical Studies
Daily Readings
