In our gospel reading for today, Jesus is asked by his disciples when the end of the world will come, and by what signs they will know the end is coming, in advance. The disciples have this crazy notion that knowing when the end is coming will be helpful to them in some way. And so, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, everything there is to know about the end of the world...or at least, Jesus tells us what we NEED to know....the two words, “be alert!....”
You poke your nose into the smoky carnival tent, and you see an ancient woman sitting at a small, round table. “Come! Sit!” she barks at you, “Let me tell you of your future.” She lifts a tattered velvet bag off of a crystal ball, and immediately, a foggy mist seems to form on the inside of it. “Aha,” the woman excitedly exclaims, “You are most fortunate! A vision presents itself. A vision of YOUR last day on earth. Would you like me to tell you when that day will be?” If you believed the woman to be truthful, how much cash would you be willing to part with, to convince her to tell you?....
The disciples in our gospel reading today are pumping Jesus for the same kind of information doled out by the carnival woman. Since the disciples fully expected to be alive when Jesus returned, the day of his return WOULD BE their collective last day on earth. And the disciples were at the very least, highly curious about when that day would occur, and what warning, if any, would precede it.
We too, are at the very least, highly curious about the timing of Jesus' return, and the end of the world as we know it. There are many, many books that have been written, and purchased for serious cash, that try to line up prophecies in the bible against current events, trying to figure out, when exactly that last glorious day will happen. And with a constant stream of current events lately, like the conflict in Israel, the conflict in Europe, the near-assassination of the US President-elect, and the ongoing erosion of basic common sense, it's tempting to think that maybe we have gone BEYOND the BEGINNING of the birth pangs, and that we are truly within a human life span of the end of days. OF COURSE, our curiosity kicks into high gear. If some of us can't resist searching the house for hidden Christmas presents, of course, for something as monumental as our last day on earth, we are curious to know EXACTLY how quickly the Day approaches.
But is it JUST curiosity? Or would we as sinful human beings try to EXPLOIT the knowledge of the timing of the end of the world in some way? Maybe WE could write the NEXT successful book of bible prophecy interpreted, and maybe even convince people to sell their houses and give us the money to spread the word. But if you have ever read the most popular books of bible prophecy, the books of Ezekiel and Daniel and Revelation - the kind of literature we call apocalyptic – you know it's written in a 2000 year old code. It is very easy to MISinterpret the symbols and metaphors of the story to fit whatever is happening in the world this week. If only Jesus would give us the inside track – give us an exact date and time, or at least the ONE UNMISTAKABLE SIGN that the end is coming immediately.
But if Jesus did that, that unmistakable sign would become our focus instead of him. We naturally would rely on that sign as our warning, so that we could get our ducks in a row before the end. But if there is something that we want to change, or we feel we NEED to change, about our relationship with God before the final judgment happens, why wouldn't we do it NOW? If there are people we are hoping will join us in heaven that are currently antagonistic to Christ, why wouldn't we talk to them NOW? Is it really to our advantage to know the date and time, or would it just lull us into procrastination? If we knew the unmistakable warning sign of the end, would we spend our time furthering God's kingdom, or would we spend our time looking for that warning?