But in those days, after that suffering, 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. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. 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. ‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth 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 tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; 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 slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’
Getting It Right For The Wrong
Reason
On May 21, 2011, Gerald stayed up all night waiting.
Harold Camping had predicted that the world would end and so, Gerald waited for
the judgment. When he woke up the next morning and realized that Harold Camping
had been wrong, Gerald was mad. For the last three weeks he had prepared for
the end and now felt like a fool. But I think that Gerald got it right, even
though Harold Camping got it all wrong.On May 4, 2011, Gerald learned of Harold Camping’s prediction and had been convinced by the amount of media publicity that the prediction must be correct. So Gerald did several things. First, he drove 250 miles to spend the day with his grown son, who he hadn’t seen for more than a year. His son was surprised, but very glad to see his father. They took a long walk and talked about what each had been doing over the past year. Before Gerald left for the long drive home, he hugged his son and told him how proud he was of him.
On May 12, 2011, Gerald went down to the local food pantry and took with him grocery bags filled with green beans, corn, soups, boxed stuffing, macaroni and cheese, tuna, gelatin mix, toilet paper, diapers, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and socks. He didn’t know what to bring because he had never donated to the food pantry before, but he had heard that they were giving out food that day and decided to go. When he got there he was employed in handing out the food to those in need. He met a young woman with two young children who lost her job and was eager to get food for her family. It reminded him of the time when he was little and his father lost his job and they went three weeks eating grilled cheese sandwiches.
On May 19, 2011, Gerald wrote a three page letter to a guy named Sam that he used to work with. Sam never did his job and Gerald would always end up doing his work and Sam’s work. Moreover, Sam always got the credit for everything good that happened. One day, Gerald had enough and told Sam that he was a no good, lazy, rotten, scoundrel. Gerald found another job and gladly quit his old job. The two never talked again. In the letter that Gerald wrote to Sam, he told Sam that he was sorry and that he was wrong to say such hurtful things.
Harold Camping got it all wrong. He was focused on the “when” if it all. But the Scripture passage from Mark’s gospel says that we won’t know when; we will be surprised; not even the son (Jesus) knows when, only the father (God). Focusing on when the end will happen is a pursuit in futility. If only God knows, then it is presumptuous of us to think we could figure it out as if it were some hidden code in the Bible.
Gerald got it all right, even if it was for the wrong reason (mistaken prediction of the end of the world). The Scripture passage from Mark’s gospel has Jesus giving a parable about a man going on a journey and trusting his servants to keep guard. The challenge to the servants was to stay awake and not be caught sleeping on the job. Well, Gerald had been sleeping on the job. But because of Harold Camping’s prediction, Gerald awoke from his slumber and began doing the kinds of things that he needed to be doing: relationships, giving, forgiveness.
There is a saying that goes: “live each day as if it was your last and one day you’ll be right.” It isn’t the when that matters, it’s the how. How we live in each present moment (loving or hating; forgiving or grudge holding; giving or greedy) is the key. I hope Gerald doesn’t stay mad at Harold Camping for long because I want Gerald to see how much fuller life is when he is acting as if his end was near and because I want Gerald’s family, the food pantry, and Sam to know the love of God shown through the actions of Gerald.
Prayer
Loving God:
Give to us EYES so that when we look at this world,
we might see your vision of how the world could and should be.
Give to us EARS so that when we listen to others, friend and stranger alike,
we might hear your voice, reminding us that we are all creatures of God.
Give to us LIPS so that when we speak,
we might speak words of hope, love, forgiveness, and peace.
Give to us HANDS so that when we reach out,
we might touch the lives of others.
Give to us COURAGE to see, hear, speak, and touch this world so others might,
through our lives, feel your grace.
In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Rev. David Stackpole
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