Daily Devotion – November 30, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Mark 13:24-37
13:24 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
13:25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
13:26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.
13:27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
13:28 “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.
13:29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
13:30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
13:32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
13:33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.
13:34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
13:35 Therefore, keep awake–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn,
13:36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.
13:37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
Keep awake. A very tough thing to do.
If you have ever tried to stay awake at a time you normally fall asleep, you know that you nod off.
If you had to keep awake, stay alert, what would you do? Generally mere physical tricks don’t work very long. If you have a long drive to make, it might help to keep the windows open or have a snack, but those are short-term fixes whose effectiveness fall off after a time.
A longer-term way to keep awake is to engage the mind – listen to the radio or to podcasts to keep thinking as you drive. Engage the mind. Anticipate action. Relate with someone who is talking.
In this section of Mark Jesus asks us all to be observant, notice the signs, know that the Lord is coming, and be waiting for it. Don’t be distracted by everyday commonplace things. Something big is on its way. Don’t fall asleep out of boredom. Stay alert and engaged. Do it so you will know what is happening to you when it happens.
How convinced are we that the Lord will come again and we must be ready? I think if we had been followers of Jesus, we would have been pretty eager to see him once again. Even Paul, who probably saw Jesus only that one magnificent time on the road to Damascus would have been pretty focused on seeing him again. But how about us? Are we eager to meet the Lord when he comes? Are we willing to give up some mundane pleasures of this life to wait for him? That is what Advent is about. Waiting and watching. Living in hope for God to reconcile the world to Godself in Christ Jesus.
What if we tried one thing each day to anticipate the coming of Jesus? One prayer every day at noon? Or one Bible verse every evening at suppertime? Just one thing to focus on waiting for Jesus? What would this advent be like if we spent it really waiting for the appearance of Jesus? I wonder.
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for challenging us to keep awake. This season help us to do it. Amen.
