“Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

One of the things that seem constant throughout the long history of the church has been the rampant speculation about the “end of the world.” Despite statements like the quote I’ve just given, the church has always been guessing, even from the very beginning.

Reading through the early writings of the New Testament, you quickly discover that one of the first theological issues the church had to face was the fact that Jesus did not return nearly as early as they had expected. You see most of the first and second generation of Christians believed that Jesus would come back in their lifetime. Jesus’ death and resurrection were somewhere around 30 AD and everyone sort of assumed that he’d be back no later than say 50 AD. When that didn’t happen, the church kind went into crisis mode, a crisis that the leaders and the scholars of the day had to address. Hence our passage from 1 Thessalonians, one of Paul’s earliest letters, where he addresses this very issue directly.

Every generation has made this same assumption. You don’t read much about it in the history books, but when the year 1000 loomed, everyone was convinced that Jesus was coming because it had been a thousand years. Various other scholars of the church have said 1666, 1843, 1918, 1925, and, of course, 2000.

In addition to speculation about the time, there is also great speculation about the nature of that return. Paul gives his take on it at the conclusion of our passage from 1 Thessalonians. Scofield and Darby were two Protestant scholars of 19^th century who came up with the model that is so popular today in churches, with the Rapture, the 7-year Tribulation, the 1000 year reign of Christ, and so forth, all drawn from various interpretations of a variety of Scriptures. It’s the basis of the Late Great Planet Earth, Left Behind, and dozens of other works of both fiction and theology.

To say that the church has been wrong about dating Christ’s return would be a massive understatement. It would likewise be a similar misstatement to say that the church is of one mind about how Christ’s return will play out. With all these conflicting and often confusing speculations, how then are we to know what it means to “keep awake?”

“Keep awake.” A simple commandment from Christ himself. It’s obviously metaphorical, coming at the conclusion of a parable about the coming of the kingdom and the end of the world. What does it mean to “keep awake?”

I’ll tell you what I think. I think this all this rampant speculation has been a distraction from our keeping awake. You see, too often our fondness for speculating about the end of time hides a deep seated anxiety about the state of things in the world. Things are so bad now. Christ come and take me away from all this. Oh no, a liberal is going to be president! There’s crime in the streets! The terrorists are coming to get us! I’m going bankrupt! Eek! Be afraid! Save me Lord!

I find it hard to believe that this sort of thing is what Christ had in mind. To be so consumed with fear that our prayer becomes, “Christ deliver us. Give us our out. Take us away from all this.” One thing consistent about all the passages in all the Scriptures about the future end times is “don’t worry about it. God will take care of it,” not “be afraid.”

If we proceed in our lives in faith and not in fear, knowing that whatever comes, God is in charge, then what becomes of us? What do we do when we are liberated from these anxieties? The answer to that is simple. Christ’s final command to his disciples “Go therefore into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.”

The Great Commission. Is that what it means to be awake? Absolutely. To be about the task that Christ has given to us, regardless of what else is going on in the world. The Church has faced down the Roman Emperors, corrupt Popes, the Nazis, Communism, schisms and Reformations, and it has endured. It has thrived. The Gospel has been proclaimed. Lives have been changed. Are the tiding of present history any different? If not, then why should we?

The Great Commission, that’s what it’s about. Evangelism, and I know that’s such an frightening word to so many of us. But evangelism is not just knocking on doors (I think the Jehovah’s Witnesses and LDS have got that market nicely cornered anyway.) Evangelism is euangelion, the Greek word from which it comes means nothing more than “tell good news.”

You’re hungry. You’re poor. Well, good news, here’s some food. Your village has no water. Good news. We built you a well. Your nation is at war. Good news. We have negotiated peace. You are sick. Good news, here is medicine. You’re heartbroken. Good news. Here’s a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on. Why do we do these things? Because Jesus loves you and this is how we show it. That’s evangelism. That’s telling good news. That’s keeping awake.

Christ did not come to this earth, live, die, and then rise again so that we could cower in fear at the world around us. Idle speculation about the when and how of Christ’s return should not be about looking for an excuse for an escape. We’ve got a job to do and Christ gives us the heart to do it. There’s a world out there that needs to hear good news.

Keep awake. The world needs us, now more than ever. Amen.