Keep Watch
Read Mark 13:28-37
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” –Mark 13:32-33
I don’t remember many of the lessons from my high school youth group; they mostly just fade into my memory. But there is one meeting that stands out bright and clear. For this particular lesson, our youth group leader invited a friend who was an “expert” in end-times research. For over an hour, this person presented “evidence” of how all the predictions of the Bible were coming true. He told us of upcoming plans to implant microchips in people’s wrists for when they went shopping (and related that to the “mark of the beast”). And he shared wild conspiracy theories involving the Pope and the President (and related them to scriptures about the Antichrist and the “four horsemen” of the apocalypse). The examples were wild and far-fetched, but the message was clear: The end is coming soon, so we’d better be prepared.
The disciples might have felt similarly while Jesus told them about the upcoming destruction of the temple. They asked him a simple question: “What will be the sign that these things (aka, the destruction of the temple) will be fulfilled?” In response, Jesus painted them a scary picture. Nation will rise against nation; earthquakes and famines will fall upon the earth. The disciples would be dragged before councils and publicly beaten for their faith. Brother will betray brother, parents and children will turn against each other. And when they see the “abomination that causes desolation” (Mark 13:14; a reference to Daniel 9:27 & 12:11), the disciples should flee into the country. Let no one pause to go back to finish their work or to gather their possessions, for the Lord’s judgment was upon them!
As I said, scary stuff. The kind that sticks in your memory.
Jesus closed his prophecy with two simple parables. The first parable was about a fig tree. In the same way that the tree begins to bud and blossom when summer is near, all the signs that he’d named should warn the disciples that God’s judgment was coming. This first illustration was followed by a second parable about a master who went away for a period of time and left his servants in charge of his household. The master did not tell his servants when he would return, so the servants must be on constant guard. At any moment, the master might reappear.
On the surface of it, these two parables seem to contradict each other. One parable tells us that there will be plenty of signs for us to know when the end is near. In the other, the timing of the master’s return is completely unknown. But in both cases, the application of the teaching is the same: We must keep watch. (Which is how Jesus closed his sermon: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!” –Mark 13:37)
The more I reflect on Jesus’ teaching, though, the more I realize that the command—keep watch—can be interpreted in more than one way. We can “keep watch” in the same way that the presenter in our youth group was doing, trying to “read the signs” to figure out a date which only the Father truly knows. I’ll be honest, though—that approach fills me more with fear than faithfulness.
But there’s another way of “keeping watch,” which is less about monitoring the skies for scary omens, and more about living in a place of daily readiness. We are called to be attentive to the world around us—to notice the needs of those God places in our path, and to respond to God’s call upon our lives. When we are faithful to the daily tasks of loving God and neighbor, we can be ready, no matter the time or season, to greet our Lord with thanksgiving when He calls us home.
So, are you ready to meet the Master should He return unexpectedly? What unfinished business do you need to attend to? What relationships do you need to put right? Don’t delay, for none of us knows the time of His appearing. Let us live instead in daily obedience and trust, and keep watch with joyful and expectant hearts.
Teach me not to fear the hour of Your coming, O Lord. The world can be a dark place sometimes, and the night is darkest before the dawn. But you are the light of the world. Help me to hold high this candle of hope for all to see and take heart. Amen.