Santa is not God

Matthew 24: 36-44

 

I am always a little put off by this first week in advent.  If I am honest I don’t particularly like the apocalyptic stories in the bible.  We have just finished Thanksgiving and now it is time to get ready to shop, decorate the house, invite people over, and get ready for Christmas.  We are preparing for the birth of Jesus, cute little baby Jesus. We are getting ready for the beginning not the end. 

When I first read this text, I immediately got a feeling of doom.  The negative imagery of the flood and the thief pushes us in that direction. Popular Christian authors and fundamental preachers sell it this way too. 

It is the ever popular metaphor of Santa Clause portraying God.  You better watch out, you better not cry…. He knows when you have been bad or good…. So you better be good for goodness sake.  It is the attempt to scare people into heaven or for parents at Christmas it is how you stop children from fighting and being mischievous- Santa’s watching and you won’t get any presents if you aren’t good! 

If you want to get to heaven you better be good- and be good all the time because you don’t know when Jesus is coming back.  This feels like a threat to me. 

It is just like threatening children with coal in their stockings and it may work for a little while (Thankfully Santa comes every year so we just keep recycling the threat- until they become teenagers and it doesn’t work anymore). 

To make the threat effective we have to keep rehashing it, threatening people with Judgment and condemnation for this sin or that sin- depending on which ones we find personally the most repulsive and ignoring the ones we commit.  If it were up to us, and not the grace of God, we would all get coal in our stocking.

This isn’t the God I know though.  It doesn’t make sense to me that God would simply want us to behave a certain way just to get what we want--- so, I went back and read the rest of the chapter. Instead of a feeling of doom, I got an overwhelming sense of hope. 

The people in Matthew’s time didn’t need to wait for the Apocalypse.  They were living through it.  The first part of this chapter describes life as they knew it. 

Wars and rumors of wars, famine, natural disasters, the temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed and people were being persecuted for their faith.  It seemed like the end times were there.  They wanted Jesus to come back now!  This was not a scripture of Judgment and threat.  It was a word of hope in trying and uncertain times. 

People all around us are living through very similar times.   People around the world live in war torn countries.  People of all faiths and nationalities are scared to leave their homes because of war and violence.  People are starving because of famine and government corruption.  Homes have been destroyed by tornado and typhoon.  People are afraid to go to the grocery store worried that there may not be any food to buy and even if there is they run the risk of being robbed on the way there. 

People around the world are living through this each and every day but it isn’t just someone else, somewhere else who feels this way. 

Ask the woman abused by her husband if you need to live in Syria to live in a war zone.

Ask the child who opens an empty cabinet everyday if you need to live in Ethiopia to be hungry.

Ask the person fighting addiction what it is like to not be in control of your own body.

Ask the person fighting cancer what it feels like to want to be taken or their caregiver what it is like to be left behind. 

We don’t have to watch the news or travel the world to find people who need hope.  Maybe it is you or your friend, neighbor, or maybe even the person sitting next to you. 

Waiting for God to answer prayers is often done in silence.

There is hope in all this waiting.  The words of Matthew tell us that even in the middle of all this mess, God is there.  While times feel uncertain God has not forgotten you.  God is coming to save you, and one way or another, will rescue you from whatever personal hell you are going through. 

There is hope.  Don’t give up on God or your faith in Jesus and your faith in humanity.  Keep living the life you have been given.  Not in a way that throws up your hands and gives up but in a way that says Bring it on!

Waiting and watching for the return of Jesus is done with Joy.  Waiting is not an opportunity for you to show how good you are so you can be rewarded with heavenly presents.  It is a time to show your faith and confidence in salvation through Christ to each person you meet.  Allowing God to use your trails as a way to teach you and others about the love and provision of Jesus.  

This scripture calls us to not only look forward to the life that is to come but also to the past. Matthew asks us to remember Noah- while the world may have been destroyed God never left and God rebuilt the world with the promise of the rainbow. 

Look back at your past.  Remember the times God has provided for you, when you experienced God’s presence and was saved by God’s grace.  Remembering your story of salvation and relationship with God encourages you when times get tough and helps you to look forward through the present challenges with hope for a coming future.  God has seen you through in the past and will see you through again.

As you look back on a life of faith remember the sacrifice Christ made for us, give thanks for his love and grace, and embrace hope, knowing that Christ Jesus has already come, and Jesus will come again.  This is a promise, not a threat for all those who believe. 

While we enter this waiting season of Advent- Be alert so that you do not fall victim to self-pity and doubt.  Be alert so that you can keep your hope and trust in Jesus Christ – the one who has already come and will come again.  Be alert to all the ways God shows up in your life- whether it be horrific, joyous or mundane moments.  Live out your faith in everything you say and do - your actions and words are a direct reflection of Christ to others.  Be alert, Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming.