Mark 13:24-37 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And 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.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning - lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.  And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

Drowsy - sleepy and lethargic; half asleep. 

Trying to stay awake can be challenging. The feeling of being drowsy while trying to stay awake and focus on important tasks at hand is maddening. I know it does not occur at CLHS, but trying to listen and learn while drowsy is nearly impossible. Driving while drowsy is dangerous and can be deadly. A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates 328,000 drowsy driving crashes occur annually; 109,000 crashes resulted in injury; 6,400 were fatal. That’s frightening. While It’s important to be awake when driving, it is imperative in our faith in Christ as we await His return. As a Saints community, we must be awake and watch. 

In today’s devotional reading, Jesus encourages believers to “Be on guard, keep awake… Therefore stay awake… what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” He is emphatic that we, His servants, should be on guard and watchful for His return. Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent on the church calendar is when we journey together to Bethlehem in observation, watching and waiting for Jesus, our coming King, with great hope and anticipation. Advent is an opportunity to be reminded to stay awake and watchful as we await the celebration of His birth. 

The First Sunday in Advent is the fourth Sunday before Christmas; Advent ends on Christmas Eve. Some, like me, may remember the ‘Advent Calendar.’ As a child, I fought with my sister to open the next date on the ‘Advent Calendar,’ a calendar that counts down from December 1 to Christmas Day. It typically contains a piece of chocolate (or another surprise) for the one who opens the calendar each day in December. I am unsure if I was being watchful for Jesus or if I was awakened by the sugar in the candy in our family’s ‘Advent Calendar.’

Jesus uses an example as a Master away from His earthly mansion and on a journey, giving his servants [us] the job to be alert and watch for His return. For us, His servants, we don’t know when we will see Him again. It is dark now, a very dark night; look around the world - indeed, a dark night. Nobody knows when He will return, but we must be prepared, young and old alike. Will He return in our youth, middle age, or old age? Will we be ready? How can we be alert?

A few quick thoughts on staying awake. As a side note, I once read that truck drivers stay awake by pulling their nose hairs. Gross, right? I tried that once; it made me sneeze but did wake me up, but it does not seem sustainable. As Christians, we can stay awake by resting in Christ, resting on the Sabbath and renewing our soul in Jesus Christ by studying God’s word. We can also rest and refuel by being in community with others who are ‘awake’ and have rich conversations and relationships with those who are ‘awake.’ We can also serve. Serving is an exercise for our souls and keeps us awake and loving our neighbors. In anticipation of Christ's birth, we are alert as we wait and watch this Advent to celebrate the Christ-child, a gift to mankind. 

Since we don’t know when He will return, we must take great care to heed Jesus’ advice to ‘watch’ and make sure He does not find us sleeping. While we anticipate the celebration of the coming of Christ during Advent, we are only secure in being awake in Christ. A thief does not surprise those on watch but surprises those asleep. As servants of Jesus Christ, we stay awake together and eagerly await His return. We also model Christ’s instructions to his twelve disciples, “what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” This is the mission of CLHS to “Proclaim Him who will return one day through excellence,” as together we fight drowsiness and distraction; stay awake, Saints. The Lord is coming! Amen. 

We pray: Gracious and merciful Lord, it is easy for us to become drowsy and want to fall asleep. We become self-centered and short-sighted, focusing only on our needs and the happenings in our world. Forgive us as we all fall short and fall into sin daily. Thank You for keeping us awake and focused on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior, who died for our salvation. Help us to be alert and share Your great love this Advent, the gift of Jesus, with those who don’t know Him yet. Thank You for keeping us as we come and go, serving You, reminding us daily to be alert, lifting our eyes to the cross, and staying awake. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

Dr. Jeffrey S. Beavers, CEO | Executive Director

Crean Lutheran High School

dr.beavers@creanlutheran.org