Sunday's Message - The Very Best Time of Year

As disciples of Jesus, we've been called to follow him by claiming his example and learning from his teachings. From June to October, we're going to focus on the Gospel of Mark so that we might better understand how we might follow our Savior and live as his community. 

During the following twenty Sundays, the message will apply following passages:

June 6, 2021 - Mark 3:20-35

June 13, 2021 - Mark 4:26-34

June 20, 2021 - Mark 4:35-41

June 27, 2021 - Mark 5:21-43

July 4, 2021 - Mark 6:1-13

July 11, 2021 - Mark 6:14-29

July 18, 2021 - Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

July 25, 2021 - Mark 7:14-23

August 1, 2021 - Mark 7:24-37

August 8, 2021 - Mark 8:27-38

August 15, 2021 - Mark 9:30-37

August 22, 2021 - Mark 9:38-50

August 29, 2021 - Mark 10:2-16

September 5, 2021 - Mark 10:17-31

September 12, 2021 - Mark 10:35-45

September 19, 2021 - Mark 10:46-52

September 26, 2021 - Mark 12:28-34

October 10, 2021 - Mark 12:38-44

October 17, 2021 - Mark 13:1-8

October 24, 2021 - Mark 13:24-26, 32-36

On Sunday, October 24, 2021, we concluded the series by looking at Mark 13:1-8. The passage, the message and the podcast is below:

Mark 13:24-27, 32-36 [Contemporary English Version]

In those days, right after that time of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,

and the moon

    will no longer shine.

The stars will fall,

and the powers in the sky 

    will be shaken.”

Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth.

No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come. It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. So be alert! You don’t know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. But if he comes suddenly, don’t let him find you asleep.

The Very Best Time of Year

Now, let me ask you a few questions, and I want you to be as honest as you can. Question number one: how do you feel knowing that Halloween is seven days away? OK, question number two: how do you feel knowing that Thanksgiving is thirty-two days away? And question number three (and I bet most of y’all already know where I’m going with this): how do you feel knowing that the Christmas is sixty-two days away? Now, for me personally, I can say without fear of contradiction: stressed, stressed and really stressed. Of course, Debbie and I will be moving everything we own up here in about four weeks, and that sure doesn’t fill me with serenity now. But you know, next year, as we enter that last week of October, I’m thinking I’m still going to be stressed. I mean, give me a break; there’s a lot to do and it’s all got to be done in seven days or in thirty-two days or in sixty-two days. Now that’s what I call pressure.

But I’ll tell you, that’s not the way it used to be, and I’m talking about back when we were kids. I mean, back then, this wasn’t a season of “should dos” and “have tos.” Instead, the period from before Halloween through Christmas, man, that was by far the best time of year. But that’s really not a surprise.I mean, it stood in contrast with having to go back to school with the weather still summery warm. But now, having endured September, we had reason for hope, right along with a bag full of candy, turkey with oyster dressing and a bunch of toys under the tree. And I’ll tell you, since during these 62 days, we’d spending a lot of class time cutting out construction paper pumpkins and tracing our hands to make turkeys and of course gluing cotton balls to all kinds of stuff, because every Santa needs a beard, I mean, since that was our focus, at least for me, this time just got better and better.Now that’s the way it was, back in the day. And looking back, I think it’s amazing how fifty-five years and a whole lot of responsibilities can change how you approach what’s actually the same time of year.

And you know, that’s kind of what we’re going to look at this morning, although we won’t be talking about Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead, we’ll be looking at the return of Jesus Christ, something that he talked about with his disciples in the passages we looked at last week and today. In other words, as we tie up this series we started back in June dealing with following Jesus, this morning, we’re going to think about how we might approach something that’s not only found in the gospels, but that Paul wrote about and that’s described by John of Patmos in his revelation. As a matter of fact, we’re going consider how we might approach the Christ’s return in the same kind of way a child might move into that time between Halloween and Christmas.

And I’ll tell you, doing that, well, I believe it makes a lot of sense, because I think a lot of very sincere and dedicated believers look at the return of Jesus a lot like most of us above the age of twenty-five view the next sixty-two days. I mean, give me a break, excluding those who’ve simply decided to ignore it, you know, like we talked about last week, I know a whole bunch of Christians who feel a heck of a lot more pressure than peace thinking about Jesus coming back. For example, I believe a lot of them approach this time with all kinds of fear and dread. And why shouldn’t they? I mean, along with coming back, Jesus will then judge the world, right; something like he said in Matthew: When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. [Matthew 25:31-32, CEV] Jesus is coming back to judge us. I’m telling you, a lot of folks feel fear and dread as they look toward this great and terrible day. And because of that, they also approach it with a lot of confusion and frustration. And again, why shouldn’t they? My gosh, if the time’s coming when Jesus is going to separate the livestock, I want to be on the right side. Man, I want to be hanging with the sheep. And I’d also like to know when it’s going to happen so that I’m not caught by surprise doing something baaad. I mean, knowing the day and the hour, that would be nice, right? And I’ll tell you, other people know that’s what we want. There are all kinds of folks offering all kinds lists of the right things to do and making all kinds of predictions identifying exactly when they should be done. And although that may sound great, all their lists are different and all of their predictions have been wrong over and over again. And with all of this going on, no wonder a lot of believers are confused and frustrated. You see, when you get right down to it, these believers are just plain stressed, and I think that’s how a lot of Christians approach the return of Christ. And you know, when you think about it, although the reasons aren’t the same, the response is really not all that different from how many adults approach this season of holidays. 

But you know, that doesn’t have to be the case, not with us.You see, we can look forward to the return of Jesus less like how an adult feels about the holiday season,  and more like how a child looks forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for me, what’s really neat is that we don’t have to deny reality and try to climb into a rose-colored alternative universe to do it. Instead, we can simply ground our approach in the very nature of God and in his word. Let me explain. 

First, I believe we can approach the return of Jesus Christ with same kind of anticipation and excitement children feel as they move toward Halloween and beyond. And I think we’re able to do that, you know, to feel that expectation and hopefulness and to feel that exhilaration and enthusiasm for one excellent reason: because Jesus himself said it was going to happen and when it does, man, it’s going to be great. Remember, in the passage we read a little while ago, he said:

In those days, right after that time of suffering,

“The sun will become dark,

and the moon

    will no longer shine.

The stars will fall,

and the powers in the sky 

    will be shaken.”

Then the Son of Man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 

He will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the earth. [Mark 13:24-27, CEV]

Now tell me that’s not good news. But this didn’t just come from Jesus. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died. Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won’t go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.

With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever. Encourage each other with these words. [1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, CEV]

I’m telling you, feeling dread and fear, man, that’s just a waste of time and energy, because given what God has promised in his word, we have every reason to feel anticipation and excitement as we approach Christ’s return. That’s one.

And second, just like a child moves through the holidays, we can approach the return of Jesus with focus and with joy. In other words, just like our children use their time deciding who they’re going to be and coloring Pilgrims and Indians and decorating sugar cookies with red and green frosting, we can make use of the time that God has given us. Of course, no one knows how long it’ll be. It’s like Jesus said, “No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come.” [Mark 13:32-33, CEV] In fact, as Jesus said a little earlier in this same chapter, “If someone should say, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ don’t believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will come and work miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God’s chosen ones. But be on your guard! That’s why I am telling you these things now.” [Mark 13:21-23, CEV] In my opinion, I think that seems pretty clear. We don’t know, because no one knows regardless of how many books they write and sell. But you know, just because we don’t know when it’s going to happen, that doesn’t mean we don’t know what to do about it right now. In other words, I think we’ve got a pretty good idea about the how, you know, how we can use the time we’ve got. And brothers and sisters, here it is. Do you remember what I read a little while ago about the Son of Man separating the sheep from the goats? Just listen to what Jesus said as he continued to talk: 

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”

Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” [Matthew 25:33-40, CEV]

You see, we know what to do, right? And this can be our focus. And since we’re doing this in response to the one who’ll gather us from all over the earth, this can also be a source of joy. You see, when we love our God and when we love our neighbor, we’re offering a great, big “thank you” to the one who loved us before he created the universe. And I’m telling you, because of this, we can approach Christ’s return with both focus and joy. And that’s two.

Of course, as it relates to entering the holiday season, I believe most adults will always feel some stress and pressure. As a matter of fact, I think it’s all the stuff we choose to do that helps our children really enjoy their yearly trip through Halloween and Thanksgiving to Christmas. But you know, as it relates to coming of Jesus Christ, there’s really no reason for any of us to face it with fear and dread or confusion and frustration. Instead, we can approach his return with anticipation and excitement as well as focus and joy. And you know, if we do, maybe we’ll come to view this period just like our children view the holiday season, you know as the very best time of year.