Keep Watch
Read Matthew 24.
These two chapters, Matthew 24-25, are sometimes called the "little apocalypse," not so much because they deal with "the end of all things," but because Jesus here is using apocalyptic language. Apocalypse, which in its original language means "unveiling," was a specific form of literature in Biblical times, a sort of literature that rose out of troubled times. Its primary purpose was to give hope to a beleaguered and persecuted people, to help them understand that in spite of how things appear, God will win in the end. Apocalypse was written in "coded language," symbols and images that would make sense to the readers but not to others. Part of our struggle in reading any sort of apocalypse two millennia after the writing is that we no longer have the key to the code. The images that made sense in the first century seem like wild science fiction dreams to us.
(As an aside - I would argue that many of our "disaster" and even our "superhero" movie obsessions are really our own modern version of apocalypse. In the midst of a world that seems out of control, or when we feel like we have no hope, we're looking for a "savior" to come and make things right. I think movies are our apocalyptic literature.)
So what do we do with apocalypse, and Matthew 24 in particular? Some want to read them for detail, to try to figure out each and every symbol. Many have tried to do that with this section, with Revelation and with parts of Daniel through the centuries. And so used book store shelves are lined with books full of failed predictions. Who can forget 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988, not to mention its sequel, 89 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1989? (I was once in a used book store and saw those two books side-by-side on a shelf. I bet they're still there!) The problem with that approach is explained by Jesus in a pretty clear part of this chapter: no one knows (24:36). Not even Jesus knows when he will return, or when the end will come! If even Jesus doesn't know, why do we think we (or any person on earth) can figure it out? We simply don't know enough. And we don't have the "key" to the code.
So how do we approach such passages? Two things, I believe. First of all, we should look for the hope that's intended by such writings, whether it's Matthew 24 or any other apocalypse. The whole point of the writing was to give hope in the midst of a changing world. Where is the hope here? Jesus says the righteous will be saved. Jesus says that changing circumstances are not out of the view of God. And Jesus says there will come an end to every persecution or challenge; God wins in the end. This is why Paul could tell believers to encourage one another with words of apocalypse (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Second, we should keep watch. Not in the sense of trying to figure out the when and the how, but in the sense of living with anticipation of Jesus' coming. He is coming. He will return. Whether that's in my lifetime or a thousand years from now, he will come. So keep watch. Live in such a way that you are ready for his return.
It makes me think of the, perhaps apocryphal, story about St. Francis. When he was asked what he would do if he knew the world would end today, Francis said, "I suppose I would finish hoeing this row of beans." Be faithful in doing what he has called you to do. That's what it means to keep watch and be ready. Keep watch. He is coming. And have hope.
These two chapters, Matthew 24-25, are sometimes called the "little apocalypse," not so much because they deal with "the end of all things," but because Jesus here is using apocalyptic language. Apocalypse, which in its original language means "unveiling," was a specific form of literature in Biblical times, a sort of literature that rose out of troubled times. Its primary purpose was to give hope to a beleaguered and persecuted people, to help them understand that in spite of how things appear, God will win in the end. Apocalypse was written in "coded language," symbols and images that would make sense to the readers but not to others. Part of our struggle in reading any sort of apocalypse two millennia after the writing is that we no longer have the key to the code. The images that made sense in the first century seem like wild science fiction dreams to us.
(As an aside - I would argue that many of our "disaster" and even our "superhero" movie obsessions are really our own modern version of apocalypse. In the midst of a world that seems out of control, or when we feel like we have no hope, we're looking for a "savior" to come and make things right. I think movies are our apocalyptic literature.)
So what do we do with apocalypse, and Matthew 24 in particular? Some want to read them for detail, to try to figure out each and every symbol. Many have tried to do that with this section, with Revelation and with parts of Daniel through the centuries. And so used book store shelves are lined with books full of failed predictions. Who can forget 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1988, not to mention its sequel, 89 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be in 1989? (I was once in a used book store and saw those two books side-by-side on a shelf. I bet they're still there!) The problem with that approach is explained by Jesus in a pretty clear part of this chapter: no one knows (24:36). Not even Jesus knows when he will return, or when the end will come! If even Jesus doesn't know, why do we think we (or any person on earth) can figure it out? We simply don't know enough. And we don't have the "key" to the code.
So how do we approach such passages? Two things, I believe. First of all, we should look for the hope that's intended by such writings, whether it's Matthew 24 or any other apocalypse. The whole point of the writing was to give hope in the midst of a changing world. Where is the hope here? Jesus says the righteous will be saved. Jesus says that changing circumstances are not out of the view of God. And Jesus says there will come an end to every persecution or challenge; God wins in the end. This is why Paul could tell believers to encourage one another with words of apocalypse (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Second, we should keep watch. Not in the sense of trying to figure out the when and the how, but in the sense of living with anticipation of Jesus' coming. He is coming. He will return. Whether that's in my lifetime or a thousand years from now, he will come. So keep watch. Live in such a way that you are ready for his return.
It makes me think of the, perhaps apocryphal, story about St. Francis. When he was asked what he would do if he knew the world would end today, Francis said, "I suppose I would finish hoeing this row of beans." Be faithful in doing what he has called you to do. That's what it means to keep watch and be ready. Keep watch. He is coming. And have hope.
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