(P)Review Bible Study: Matthew 24:36-44...I Lie To You About Christmas Lights

        In early November the weather was beautiful and I did what any other sane northern Ohio resident would do:  I put up my Christmas lights.  It was seventy two degrees out and sunny, with a light breeze.  Not doing all my mission critical outdoor tasks in that little window of time would have been both disastrous and foolish. So, I cleaned my deck, mucked out my barn, closed my pool, and put up my Christmas lights.  Prepared is better than unprepared because in northern Ohio you never know when winter weather is coming.  

    Oh look. It's snowing out right now.  See. I told you. Yep, we went from weather in the seventies to weather in the twenties literally overnight. Welcome to northern Ohio. If you are not ready then you are not going to like the process of putting up your lights.  Get ready for cold fingers and that lovely burning sensation you get when you ears get too cold. Oh,

and no matter how much anyone dares you do not touch your tongue to a flagpole. If you know me at all you know that I love the cold weather but even I don't want to have to put up my lights when the wind is blowing and the snow is swirling.  So, it is a good thing to be prepared.  I probably don't have to tell you about the importance of being prepared, we all inherently know that the price of not being prepared is pretty steep, not that this stops us from failing to prepare from time to time. 
    Jesus has some advice for this:

Matthew 24:36-44
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. 

Are you ready? Yes, this Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the season in the church where we get ourselves ready to welcome the Christ Child on Christmas.  The season includes a great deal of soul searching, reflection, and spiritual preparation.  So, this text that we have for this Sunday where Jesus warns that he is coming back and that we need to stay vigilant is part of our consideration for the season of Advent.  Jesus says, "Keep awake for you do not know on what day the Lord is coming."  Sure, we know what day Christmas is, we can prepare ahead for that by looking at the calendar but we don't know when Jesus is returning. We must stay in  a constant state of readiness. 

    Oh, I mentioned in the title there (look up at the title if you have not yet) that I am lying to you about it all, and that part is true.  Oh, the part about Jesus is true.  The part about me putting up my lights because I like to be prepared is a total lie. I LOVE Christmas. Early November is simply all the later I can wait.  I have almost all my Christmas trees up (We have four big ones in our house and I have another one in my office) all that is left to put up is our live one and basic biology forces me to wait on that one unless I want a house full of pine needles at the end of December.  

    I put up my lights because I love the season.  It makes me happy.  If I could get away with never taking them down without looking like a lazy homeowner I would.  But, I can put them up in November and everyone just thinks I am proactive.  I'll take the accolade even if I know that it is undeserved.  I even put up my first tree in September because it is NFL themed by claiming that it isn't a Christmas tree, it's a football tree (another lie, by the way, it is TOTALLY a Christmas tree).  The state of being ready for Christmas is joyful.  The reason for getting ready for Christmas isn't so I am stuck doing it later, the reason is that it is joyful.  

    When Jesus tells his disciples to get ready and stay ready we cannot read this as a warning to take on some horrible task that will ruin our lives as we wait.  It is an invitation to put Christmas lights on our souls.  It is an invitation to live in the joyful, joy-filled expectation that Christ is coming.  We all should want to completely Griswold-out on the lights on our soul. We should not want to wait for warm weather in November, we should want to have them up all year long.  The act of waiting for the return of Christ while going about the work of the Kingdom makes the wait less of a hassle and more of a celebration. Unlike my lights that have to come down in January and can't go back up till next November we can keep the decorations up on our soul all year long.