Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
When I get off the subway at night, and prepare to walk two blocks to our new apartment near the church, I get my keys out in the lighted station and walk with purpose and determination so I don’t invite harassment. Moving into the city from our suburban home of many years has taught me city ways of being watchful, of hiding my vulnerability and ignoring distractions. It’s not a stance I enjoy, but it seems necessary for using public transportation.
As Advent begins the new cycle of lectionary readings, Matthew warns us to stay awake, keep watch, and be ready – although what we are waiting for is not really clear. It’s “the Son of Man” who will be coming “like a thief in the night” or the tidal wave of “Noah’s flood.” It doesn’t take much imagination to equate news headlines about violent storms and heedless humans to assume a literal meaning for Matthew’s description of a coming cataclysm –and a completely different version of Jesus than the one we’ve come to know as a caring, kind and inclusive rabbi during his earthly ministry.
But what if Matthew is telling us that the Spirit of God will come in human form when we least expect it to happen? In daily encounters with people who seem “other” or unlike ourselves. As surprising as a thief in the night? Or a sudden flood?
As I get older, I’m aware that my own end time is coming, that I must be alert for daily encounters to widen my perspective and deepen my caring. That fits my perception of Jesus, who didn’t live to a ripe old age. If I now encounter Jesus in the guise of other humans acting with care and compassion in a chaotic and often cruel world, this passage makes sense. I can recognize the presence of Jesus in others – shall we call them angels? – when a youngish man helps an older woman in a wheelchair get through security at the airport, or a famous octogenarian stands in the cold with younger demonstrators demanding attention to climate change from our government. Yes, then Jesus comes in human form, as the “Son of Man,” in the most unexpected ways.
Therefore, keep watch! Stay awake! God is right here, with us.
–Marjory Zoet Bankson, Editor of InwardOutward.org
- Where do you experience the call to keep watch? Stay awake?
- Any “angel sightings” this week?
- And what lulls you to sleep? To spiritual apathy?
