Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Didja Miss Me?

I have been gone from blogging for a while now. It is mainly due to the extra school load at the end of Seminary. I have been wrestling with a fifteen page paper on the theology of Karl Barth and Natural Revelation vs. Special Revelation… you know… simple stuff!!

But my absence and the silence out there reminds me of how those of us in the Church can get when it has been so long since Jesus promised he would be back.

So… How did you feel when I was gone? Did you forget me? Did you long for my return? Were you waiting with baited breath for the next thing I might say? Did it even matter? Did you even notice I was gone until I just reminded you? Do you even pay that much attention to me in the first place? Have I become a part of your life, or am I just a nuisance in the midst of other nuisances in your inbox? Am I just another “spam” email, not worth looking @?
How does all of this equate to how you feel about Jesus? It has been a while since he left, and he did say he was coming back, but….

Have we gotten so used to our lives without Jesus being physically here? I am using the text from Acts 1:6-11 for my sermon on Sunday. It puts a great picture in our mind. Here are the disciples staring up into the sky as soon as Jesus ascends into Heaven. If the angels didn’t tell them to move along, they would have probably stayed there for a long time. Why? Well, obviously they thought this was gonna be like all Jesus’ other miracles, and he would be right back. Even in the early Church the people sold everything they had and waited. Paul had to exhort the Corinthians to go back and get jobs, because they thought Jesus would be back so soon they wouldn’t need them.

Now we have the other extreme. We stopped looking up in the sky. We worry more about our jobs and paychecks than we do the return of Jesus. We worry so much about tomorrow, or next week, or month or year that we forgot that Jesus said we just might not get another day… “Watch out!” Jesus says. I am coming back soon.

So, go back and look at the questions I asked you about me.. and hear them as if Jesus is saying them to you:
So… How did you feel when I was gone? Did you forget me? Did you long for my return? Were you waiting with baited breath for the next thing I might say? Did it even matter? Did you even notice I was gone until I just reminded you? Do you even pay that much attention to me in the first place? Have I become a part of your life, or am I just a nuisance in the midst of other nuisances?

Jesus gives us a warning in Matthew 24:42-44:
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.