Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

‘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. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

‘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.

- Matthew 24:32-44

Jesus continues his discourse from the past two readings, on the themes of the end of the age and also the desolation in Jerusalem, which will happen during the lifetimes of most of his disciples. (See readings from yesterday and Saturday.) The two themes are combined: Jesus' disciples had asked him about the destruction of the temple, the sign of his coming (return) and the end of the age. Jesus' answer combined the two topics of the destruction of the temple and the end of the age.

"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. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." The metaphor of the fig tree seems to be most often interpreted as referring to the fullness or ripeness of the age. But I feel it could easily be interpreted as given regarding the predicted Siege of Jerusalem, which will happen in 70 A.D. Jesus has in this same discourse predicted to his disciples the destruction of the temple and the city, including warnings about specific things which will be happening at that time. We recall Jesus' withering of the fig tree on his way back to the temple the day after he cleansed it, and the notion of the harvesting of these fruits. My study bible has a note regarding the words "this generation" in verse 34, saying that this probably refers to the "new race of Christians." But I also believe it's possible that in the first paragraph above, Jesus is still contrasting the two events: the Siege of Jerusalem and the end of the age. The destruction of the temple will occur within one generation as we reckon it. But again, Jesus returns to the contrast between the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the age. His prophecy is sure, he is saying. Either way, the warning here is for us to be awake and watch. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Again, the elements of both "end times" are combined, and we return to the theme of the end of the age in the following verses.

"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." We are being told that the time of the end of the age is unpredictable. Jesus has just warned his followers about what is to come in Jerusalem, and given them a surety that this is so; they must watch for the signs he has told them about. But the time of the return of the Son of Man is another matter. Neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son knows the answer to this question of chronologies and dates. Jesus has given them the words of prophecy in scripture regarding the end of the age, and has described for them in yesterday's reading what those events will be like: "as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west," the darkening of the sun and moon, the fading of the stars, and the sign of the Son of Man. But no one is able to predict when this will happen. We who live in faith as his followers must have a different focus.

"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." We'll get no warning about when this will happen, Jesus seems to be saying. There will be no advanced signs when this will happen: the end of the age will be not only unmistakable and powerful, but it will also come in the midst of our normal activities in life. We can't predict when this will happen.

"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." Jesus' words regarding the end of the age seem to indicate a time when the reality of the kingdom itself will make itself present to all. It will then be a question of our own preparedness for this event. So, we are given instruction to live our lives in preparation and watchfulness, "for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." We're given a parable of the thief coming in the night, at a time we don't know.

For the remainder of readings this week, we will be given Jesus' parables about how we are to live our lives in constant preparedness for this event. The focus, then, is about how we are to live in this state of watchfulness. The contrast is between an anticipated event, for which we know the date of its occurrence, and the state of being in awareness that this event could come at any time. The focus is not on anticipation, but rather on the here and now: that we are doing the things we need to do, and living as we need to live, with awareness about who we are and what we are to be about, and thoughtfulness concerning the choices that we make in life and how we choose to live it.

Advent, again, perfectly ties with this theme of watchfulness. We await the celebration of Jesus' birth into the world. The Messiah was predicted and expected: but the coming of Jesus into the world, the way he taught and preached, the things he said and did, were both expected and unexpected. He was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and yet that fulfillment, the added dimension to the reality of the teachings of the kingdom, the understanding given to us about the intent of the Law, was also unexpected. The immediacy of the kingdom, as we read in these gospels, is something one is open to grasping, or not. We need to cultivate spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear and with which to perceive. Jesus' humility, his lack of a political program in his ministry, his peaceful means of confrontation and teaching: all are unexpected, and yet they are a fulfillment at the same time. This extra dimension of the spiritual, the reality of the kingdom present in our midst, requires of us a willingness to hear with our hearts, to discard our stumbling blocks, in order to recognize what has come near to us. As we remember that we are to wait and keep watch in the way in which we live our lives with thoughtfulness and awareness, so we await once again this yearly celebration. Today, let us keep in mind both of these things: Jesus' birth and the coming of the Son of Man. Both events are about Light that breaks in upon us as we're living our lives, going about our day to day work. Are we going to be aware? Are we going to know the great light that breaks in on our reality and shines its light for us to truly see?