As we begin Advent, Jesus warns us to prepare ourselves because he might come suddenly. I saw a news item which exemplifies preparation. Down in Memphis, Tennessee, a man named Foster Walker accidentally strolled into a store during a robbery. The gunman pointed his pistol at Walker and ordered him to hand over his money. Walker responded, “Go ahead and shoot. I just got through reading my Bible and I’ve already said my prayers.” The robber was dumbfounded and Walker, a man in his sixties, walked away.

I have to admit I probably would have handed over the money, but I do admire Walker’s courage – and above all his apparent readiness to meet the Lord. That is what Jesus tells us today. Prepare yourself. Be alert and watchful. You and I do not know when he will come. But it will be soon.

This Sunday I want to help you capture – or re-capture – a sense of urgency about preparing to meet the Lord. Our problem today is that we live a therapeutic culture. What matters to people is that they “feel good about themselves.” A person can imagine that as long as he feels OK about his life, then he is ready to meet the Lord. That way of thinking is foreign to the New Testament.

When you read the Bible, you realize that the thought of meeting God caused awe, even a certain trembling.* They recognized a plain fact which you and I often overlook. We are sinners. We have distanced ourselves from God, told him that he is not welcome in certain parts of our lives. This is serious. It is not some minor prank we can chuckle about. It is more like deliberately insulting one’s father. Isaiah expresses it this way:

Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags. (64:4-5)

Before we can receive divine mercy, we must know why we need it. Jesus is telling us to recognize who God is and who we are. The time is short.

You and I may not have turned away from God in dramatic ways. We may not have committed adultery or abortion. We may not have denied Jesus or renounced our faith. We may not have dishonored our parents. Still, we have done smaller things. If carried to their logical conclusion, they would result in a denial of God. During Advent we need to alert ourselves to apparently small matters which can have enormous consequences: the little lies, the resentments which fester, the unchecked temper, the failure to control impulses, a certain laziness, a lack of courage. These small things can lead to a terrible end.

Remember Bobby Leach. He was the gutsy Englishman who went over Niagara Falls in a steel cylinder. He took quite a beating, but he survived. A few years later, however, he was walking down a street in New Zealand. He was not watching his way and he slipped on an orange peel. He wound up in a hospital and the complications eventually brought his death.

We can overcome major challenges, but small things can bring us down. A man can resist difficult temptations at work, but come home and start shouting at his family. Once a guy, after years of sobriety, thought he could handle one small drink. The taste stayed in his mind and he could not resist. He wound up on First Avenue. He had lost his home, his money, his family. Small missteps can have devastating consequences. For that reason Jesus tells us, Be watchful, be alert. Not that we become neurotics worried about every misstep. No, we are confident that Jesus will care for us, even carry us. But we want to avoid the path which leads away from him. The time is short. This could be your last Advent. His coming should fill us with a healthy sense of awe:

May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mk 13:37)

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