December 14th, 2021
Matthew 24: 22-34
22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the suffering of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.”
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Maintaining Community
I don’t think many people like to wait. I certainly don’t.
For me, waiting is counterproductive. Sitting on hold with banal music on the phone, standing in line in the school cafeteria, wondering how quickly my number will be called at the customer service desk…each of these is torture to me and seems to be a waste. You can imagine, then, that this time of pandemic with a self-imposed isolation has taken me to places of despair, sadness, and impatience. Often, I have prayed “how long, Lord, how long”?
Jesus tells us that there will be signs of his return, like the fig tree showing us that summer is near. The availability of vaccines to fight Covid is a sign that our struggle is coming to an end, isn’t it? I certainly hope so.
But signs are not the only thing. Jesus also tells us that we do not know the hour and the day of his coming. We certainly were like the folks in Noah’s time before the flood: before the pandemic we were eating and drinking, going wherever and whenever we wanted. But on that fateful day in March of 2020, when the flood of the wretched virus forced us into an “ark” to protect us from it, we have been compelled to do other things…
Wait.
Hope.
Think.
Pray.
Waiting for good news of family and friends. Hoping that there will be enough resources to see us through the mess. Thinking about how to maintain our sense of community when we are unable to be together in person. And praying that God will give us the strength to face the challenges of our lives.
It has not been easy. Yet, it has been productive. We have found new ways of connection with one another through our virtual worship and study opportunities. (Who knew zoom would be a verb in daily usage!) We have worked to reach out beyond the doors of the church when those doors were closed to us. And we have learned just how much we depend upon God to guide us through this time of expectation.
Wait, and hope, and think, and pray…and watch. Are we ready?
The Rev. Kay Boman-Harvey
Deacon, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Miami
Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma