We Just Don’t Know
“Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
Matthew 24:42
Happy First Sunday of Advent! Today we begin our four week journey of preparation for the coming of Our Lord. Coming of the Lord? But He came already over 2000 years ago! That’s correct, but we also know that Jesus will come again at the end of time. But not only that, Jesus also comes to us right now, right here. Those are the three “comings” of Jesus we generally speak about when we mention the “coming of the Lord.” So we know for sure Jesus came 2000 years ago and that He comes to us at this very moment, but we do not know when the end of time will be. We just don’t know.
The Lord tells His disciples that just as the people at the time of Noah did not know a flood was going to devastate the world, so too will they not know when the Son of Man will come again. In other words, we should always be ready. But, to go a step further, why should we always be ready? I mean yes, because we do not know when the end of the world will come and we do not want to get caught off guard, but should we always ready simply out of fear? No, because a relationship founded upon fear is not the type of relationship Jesus wants with us. We should want to be ready because of who we are waiting to return to us.
Think about a new teacher who is trying his best to manage his classroom, prepare effective lessons, and deliver instruction in a way that is fun, relatable, and memorable. There will be times when the classroom will just not operate in the most ideal of ways, and of course, those are the days when the principal decides to stop by to observe. So, this new teacher moving forward will try to be prepared because he does not want his principal to come in again and observe a dysfunctional classroom. If this teacher prepares well everyday moving forward only because he is afraid of a negative evaluation, he will inevitably leave the profession in less than five years. A teacher cannot build his teaching career on the foundation of fear of being disciplined or fired because if he does, he eventually will be. Rather, a teacher must build his teaching career upon the reason why he first wanted to teach. His passion for teaching. His love for the students. Only when his passion and love for education is both the foundation of and at the center of his planning and preparation will he be an effective teacher, a teacher who loves what he does. Although the teacher may not know when the principal will come around to observe, he will always be ready and prepared because he knows he is there not for a good observation by the principal, but that he is there for his students, and when he finally realizes this and lives this out, anyone who comes through the classroom, whether it be a new student, a parent, or the principal, they will find a teacher who is there because he loves his students and that will shine through, and that will, hopefully, be the lens from which they will view this teacher.
That’s the same with our faith. If we just go to Church, pray, and go to other Church functions simply because we want to get on God’s “good side” and earn brownie points, it will never take root and soon we will find ourselves getting burnt out and maybe even leaving the Church. We should do all those things in preparation for Our Lord not simply because we are afraid of going to hell, but because we love the Lord and the relationship we share with the Lord is one that is based on love and not of fear. Yes, we prepare because we know neither the day nor the time, but more importantly, we prepare because the One who has called us and who has loved us from all eternity is coming to us. How blessed are we?
The Last Judgment by Jean the Elder Bellegambe, c. 1470-1534
