Watch Out!!!
Mark 13:24-37 ESV
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the
stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be
shaken. And then they will
see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And
then he will send out the angels and gather his elect
from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of
heaven.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch
becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also,
when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the
very gates. Truly, I say to you, this
generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and
earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on
guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like
a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his
servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the
doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore
stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in
the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster
crows, or in the morning— lest he
come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I
say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
I just won’t know. As I reflect on this passage of Jesus words, it
reminds me of Bob Ross paintings. I love to watch Bob Ross paint. I love his
calm voice. I love the techniques he uses in his art work. I love how he uses
putty knives, big brushes and such. I think I love Bob Ross techniques because
it tickles the maintenance man in me with the tools, he uses to create artwork.
So, why does Bob Ross remind me of these words of Jesus? Bob Ross paints
in layers. It’s hard to tell the distance between layers. We really don’t know
how far away those mountains are from the trees in the foreground. We just don’t
know and can’t really tell.
Jesus speaks in layers here as well. Layers of time. We just don’t know
when he will come again. Yet, like the trees in the foreground of a Bob Ross
painting; we know that Jesus has come to us in our present time. Jesus comes to
me in my Baptism and Jesus comes to me in his spoken Word, and Jesus comes to
me in Holy Communion.
Yes, Jesus is here and now, in the foreground, yet his return is with the
mountains in the background of the Bob Ross painting. That distance, that time…
I just won’t know. When will Jesus come again? I just won’t know.
So how do we handle the knowing yet not knowing aspect of Jesus coming to
us.
You see, Jesus was “in the beginning.”
Jesus came to this earth and was born of Mary.
Jesus comes to the baptized and all people in the here and now.
Jesus will come again and raise all the people.
In this passage we are reminded of Daniel the prophet. We are reminded of
Daniel 7:13…
Daniel 7:13 ESV
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the
clouds of heaven
there
came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was
presented before him.
The Mark passage is like
the reverse of the Daniel passage of scripture. In Daniel, the Son of Man,
Jesus, ascends from earth to heaven. In the Mark passage of scripture, Jesus
comes from heaven to earth. It’s interesting to note how Jesus refers to
himself in Old Testament prophecy. To me, this reaffirms Jesus’ presence from
the beginning of time. It may refer to his presence even before time, which
speaks once again to the layers of time thought, from my Bob Ross paintings.
Among the layers of Jesus;
is the hope of the Church. As the Church, and as believers in the Church, we
are called to wait for Jesus’ return. Jesus’ presence is sure. Jesus’ return is
sure. Jesus’ coming is only the outer shell of the eternal joy to come. There
is much more to Jesus’ coming than what we see on the surface. There is joy
beyond anything we can imagine, inside the shell of Jesus’ return.
Yes, Christ’s return is
sure. Jesus’ Word never passes away. Jesus’ Word is eternal Truth. As we get
inside the shell, Jesus moves ever closer and closer to our inner shell. Jesus
moves inside our shell as well. Jesus gets inside of his believers.
And then, as Jesus
approaches us, we find, the only substance in this world in which we live, is
NOT substance after all. The only substance in our world, in our lives, in believers,
is the Word!
John 1:1 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
Anticipate
it!!! It will be a joyous day, when Jesus comes to you… today… tomorrow… and
forever.
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