Mark 13:24-37
Advent 1 / Year B
One of the lead
characters in Elizabeth Goudge’s novel The
Dean’s Watch is a gentleman by the name of Isaac Peabody. He is the town horologist – a clock and
watchmaker who is one part tradesman, one part craftsman, and one part
artisan. Set in 19th Century
England, the novel gives the reader insight into an era when keeping time is
cutting-edge technology. Peabody makes
weekly rounds to wind clocks and is constantly working repairs in his
shop. And the pieces he makes are a
thing of beauty… as unique in their design and appearance as the individual
they are intended to serve. Every
timepiece Peabody crafts is built to last.
With proper care he anticipates his clocks and watches will tell time
accurately for generations to come.
From the beginning
of time all living creatures have sought ways to mark time. Do the geese migrating to the Eastern Shore
or the salmon swimming the streams of the northwest know time, or do they merely
respond to a deep, instinctual rhythm beating with the motion of the
seasons? Perhaps they do not choose how
to mark time so much as they obey patterns the origins of which lies in God’s
blueprint for life.
From the
construction of Stonehenge at the dawn of civilization to today’s incredibly
precise atomic clock human beings have conceived of ways to mark time. This pursuit is more than a passing fancy. Do you remember the Tom Hanks’ movie Castaway? Do you remember how he traced the subtle
movement of a ray of sunlight on the wall of a cave to mark the years he spent
stranded on a deserted island? The scene
rings true because at an intuitive level we know the human need to manage
existence by quantifying it into discernable rhythms of time.
We have a variety
of ways to do this now. There is the
calendar, of course, with its days and months and years. Linked closely to the calendar are the
seasons. But we also measure time
through such diverse means as the workweek, the school year, and the
programming schedule of TV and radio programs, to name just a few. The choices are manifold, and it is ours to
make.
The Christian faith
provides us a unique way to mark time. We
call it the church year, and today, the first Sunday of Advent, marks the
beginning of a new year. The focal point
of the Christian measure of time is not the sun or a schedule of work, but
rather the life of Jesus. The seasons of
the church year correspond with events which unfold during his life.
In Advent we await his
coming. At Christmas we celebrate his
birth. During the season of Epiphany we
remember how his divinity – his inner light – shown out for all to know and
see. On Ash Wednesday we confront our
mortality and during the season of Lent we focus on the brokenness of our
lives. All of this leads us to Holy Week
where we remember how, on the night before his death, Jesus creates a new
community of love nourished by his presence in bread and wine. On Good Friday we watch as Jesus carries our
brokenness to the Cross. On Easter
Sunday we celebrate his resurrection and claim his promise that our own
mortality and brokenness have been overcome. On Pentecost we celebrate the gift of the Holy
Spirit and during the weeks that follow we learn again what it means to be a
follower of Christ in the world.
The church invites
those of us who are so caught up in the marking of time to orient our pursuit
by connecting with God… who exists beyond time… as God has been manifested in
time in flesh and bone. And while the
story of Jesus does not change from year to year, we do. We come to this Good News as new people;
people whose experiences over the past year have changed us. Perhaps we are older or wiser or richer. Perhaps we are leaner or meaner or battered
or bruised or broken. Whatever has
happened to us has opened us to hear God’s word and to receive God’s love in a
new way. Following the church year helps
us to remember all of our life is in God; that nothing happens to us happens
apart from God.
During the Sundays
of the coming weeks and months we will read primarily from Mark’s account of
Jesus’ life. These readings will invite
us to link our story with his… to integrate all we are and all we do with who
Jesus is and with how he lived his life.
As our lives continue to unfold Jesus’ words in Mark’s gospel will help
us to make sense of what is happening to us and where life is taking us. Invariably the story of our lives will
thicken and we will look for strength and comfort in the midst of tension and
struggle. We will find the words we need
in the words of Jesus. And our stories
will twist as unexpected events transform our lives for good or ill. But through it all we will be encouraged to
remain in God.
There are many ways
we can mark time and how we mark time affects how we perceive the world around
us. Do you have to follow the church
year to be a ‘good’ Christian? Of course
not! It is not a requirement. It is an invitation... an invitation to mark
time by using the life of Jesus as your reference.
