Monday, November 26, 2007

Jesus is coming... look busy!

Matthew 24:36-44

36“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

This reminds me of those annoying "christian" bumper stickers that say something to the point of, "In case of the rapture, this car will be unmanned." or something similarly obnoxious.

This is a radical misinterpretation of this and many other parts of the bible in my opinion. This is about the beginning of a relationship with God, not the end.

The "coming of the Son of Man" is analogous to having a revelation or epiphany of some sort. A life-changing realization that completely alters your world view. So often, church people try to force this sort of thing or create an artificial conversion experience. As this part of the bible exposes, it should be something much more organic and authentic. We aren't supposed to be doing this or that, only being ready for what is about to happen.


2 comments:

Murphy said...

So is the arrival of the Son of Man, in this metaphorical epiphany sense, different for everyone? Are you saying this conversion will come at a different time for everyone? Or will it be all at once?

"Well yeah. I was just sitting here, eating my muffin, drinking my coffee, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity."

rev. dr. todd said...

I think... and many scholars agree... that it is an individual experience, not some cosmic historical event. It is called "realized eschatology" because the experience is "realized" by individuals throughout history rather than something happening all at once, apocalypse style. Of course there are those who happen to disagree with me. Great quote from Pulp Fiction by the way!