Matthew 24:36-44       God’s Signs Interrupt the Normal     Dec 2, 2007

     How many of you remember the old television show This Is Your Life?  It is one of the best remembered television series from the 1950s. This is Your Life was rather simple.  Guests were surprised with a presentation of their past life read by host Ralph Edwards and with memories from relatives and friends.  The host Ralph Edwards created the idea out of his earlier popular radio show Truth or Consequences. In a 1946 radio broadcast, Edwards presented a narrative of the past life of a disabled World War II veteran who was having difficulties adjusting to post-war life.  The program revealed how the war had so interrupted and changed all the man had known in his life.  Edwards received such positive feedback, that he developed a separate radio program called This is Your Life. It began airing on radio in 1948, and became a live television program from 1952 to 1961.

      Imagine for a moment with me that you are a guest on This is Your Life.   What would be the main narrative points of your life?  Who would be the friends and relatives who would appear?  In fact, think of one person from your past and what would they say about you?  Now think for a moment with me about one significant event in your life that was a great interruption and brought change to your life. 

      Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  The word Advent means “the coming.”  It is a time for watching and waiting.  For what are we waiting?  We are waiting for the coming of God?  And that is the greatest interruption of our lives that we will ever know.  Like many spiritual teachings, Advent, the coming, functions on many different levels and meanings.  Advent is to prepare for the coming of the Christ-Child at Christmas.  Advent is also to remind us that we are waiting for the return of Christ.  Advent is also a time to be looking for how God comes to us in our everyday normal life.  Advent is a warning to be ready.  Today I want to see how God comes to us, interrupting our normal routines and brings new direction to life. 

      For centuries, the people of Israel had been warned to keep watch for the coming Messiah.  Yet, when he came as a baby in Bethlehem, he caught the people off guard.  We are also told to keep watch for no one knows the day or hour.  Yet, most people in our world will be caught off guard.  Why is that?  Because God most often comes at times and in ways we least expect.  In fact, most often it is in the midst of our everyday normal lives that God comes to us and interrupts everything.  So here we are again in the month of December.  We have so much to do to get ready for the holidays.  But will we be ready for God’s coming to us? 

     The old program This is Your Life often showed how life surprised people. What has happened to you recently that completely took you by surprise?  Sometime this month, God is going to surprise you.  God will interrupt your normal routine and invite you into a new way of thinking or acting or living.  It may be a big change or it may be a small change, but God is going to come to you this Christmas season.   How do I know that?  Because God is always doing that.  The problem is that we do not see the signs.  Like the people of long ago, we miss the baby of Bethlehem.  Like most people today, we do not see the signs of His coming.  And so we pass by in our normal lives and miss all that God has for us. 

       Occassionally, on television or radio, we will hear the announcement—“We interrupt this program to bring you a special message…..”  Now when we hear that, we may not like it.  We want to watch our normal, regular programs.  I mean, I do not want to be interrupted while I am watching Sponge Bob.  (That’s on Cartoon Network every night at 8 PM.)  But I know that this announcement usually means something important is happening.  When God interrupts our normal and routine lives, we may not always like it.  But trust me.  It will be important.  Do not change the channel.  Do not turn God off.  Do not keep on with your normal life routine.  Instead, pay attention to the signs around you.  God has something grand for you. 

    How would you finish this sentence?   “It would be just my luck that when Christ returns I would be________________.”   Well, I cannot tell you when Christ will return or what you will be doing.  I can tell you that if you are watching and waiting for the signs, Christ will come to you this Christmas season.  Our next few sermons are going to help you wait and keep watch.  That is our real job for Advent.  To wait keep watch.  What does it mean to wait and keep watch for God?  Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not being asleep. Waiting for God means, first, doing the things that God has commanded; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given. That is waiting and watching for God.  That is how we watch during this time of Advent  We do not know the day or hour when the Master will call to us.  We simply keep watch.  Amen.