Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 24:36-44 on biblegateway.com
Verse 36"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Verse 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Verse 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, Verse 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Verse 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Verse 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Verse 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Verse 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Verse 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Devotion
Advent is a time of refocusing. As we marvel at the wondrous act of God coming to us, our marvel silences us, silences our own expectations and opens our eyes to God's unexpected and surprising work in our midst. As we read the gospel for this week, our initial response may be of dismay. "About the day and the hour, no one knows..." God's judgment does not seem merciful at all but rather arbitrary and unfair. But perhaps we are looking at this passage from the perspective of our own anxiety: am "I" to be taken or left behind? The gospel however refocuses the question: this is not about God's judgment of which we can know nothing but about our own inability to judge. None of our communities are perfect, none of us are perfect (to know the hour). None of us are given the right to judge. Rather, as we wait, we are always humbly and simply neighbors one to another.
Prayer
God, in our waiting, help us to let go of our own anxieties, knowing that you are ever merciful. Amen.