Creekside Church Sermon of December 2, 2001 "Jesus, The Thief " Matthew 24:36-44	Rev. David Bibbee
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Last month the men had a retreat at Camp Mack. The theme of their gathering was, "The difficult sayings of Jesus." I don't know if the passage before us is one they explored, but I do know it is a difficult one. At advent we focus upon Jesus' birth and the impact his life has made upon our lives. And on the first Sunday of Advent the focus is not upon the first coming at Bethlehem. The focus is upon the future when Jesus shall return as he promised and establish his reign among us. Then the church's long wait will be over, and in the words of Julian of Norwich, "All will be well."

But the doctrine of the second coming has been a difficult one for the church. On one hand there are Christians who claim inside information and have made specific predictions about when and how Jesus will return. In recent years many books have been written, each with new information pointing to Jesus' immanent return. In troubled times like the present there is renewed interest in the second coming. Millions of copies of the aforementioned books have been a mint for the authors, some of whom must not believe Jesus will return "real soon" because they are building mansions with their royalties.

On the other hand there are Christians who are agnostic about the doctrine, and others who assign no weight to it at all. We need to find footing somewhere in between. The church has spent every moment of its existence waiting. Advent is time to rekindle our hope that he will come and set things right, without frantically searching for signs or claiming to know what we cannot know, but instead, going about our lives in ways that honor him.

Let's turn to our text to discover the light it can cast upon this theme. It is not easy to do because the passage poses a problem from the start. Jesus seems to give a conflicting message. "Like the blossoming of a fig tree heralds the coming of summer, there will be signs which will indicate the time is near…" Jesus said the generation to whom he was speaking would not die without seeing his words come to pass.

But in the next paragraph Jesus said, "Of that day and hour no one knows, myself included. There is no telling when it may happen. When the Son of Man comes he will come like a thief in the night." So which is it? We will know or we won't know? One way to resolve it is to say Jesus was wrong. The human side of Jesus calculated incorrectly. The generation he said would not pass before seeing his words fulfilled all died along with all generations up to the present. Another way to resolve it is to say Jesus' was absolutely right, not about his return, but about the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome some 40 years later. There were people who heard Jesus' words and saw them come to pass.

Today we will think about Jesus coming and the element of surprise. I want you to recall how God has come into your life. We think of times when God came in response to something. Something happened to us… we were sad or sick… disappointed or desperate. "Oh God, I lost my job, I lost my family, I lost my faith, composure, my control, my wits, my marbles. God, I need you!" And God does come to us, sometimes. Deep need can heighten our openness to God. But God isn't obliged to come according to our schedule or terms.

More often than not, God takes us by surprise. Think of the times you weren't seeking God, yet God came. You weren't expecting him. You weren't thinking of God. You weren't in touch with a need for God, then surprise! It had nothing to do with anything you said, did, or desired. It was God's doing.

I took a summer class at Notre Dame several years ago and remember the professor's account of her surprise conversion. She was a graduate student at Duke University and she had put great distance between herself and her Christian upbringing. She stepped from a campus bus at midnight. No one was at the stop. She then looked down at her feet and saw a message written on the pavement in colored chalk. It said, "Aslan lives!" Aslan was the mythical lion in C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia. Many have taken Aslan as a symbol for Jesus. Standing on chalk written words, God came to Deborah Douglas. She was flooded with the certainty that Jesus lives. He took her by surprise, and nothing was the same.

On a Friday evening in 1971, an 18-year-old lad was at his friend's home, waiting for the friend to get ready for a night of "hanging out." He waited at the kitchen table, talking with his friend's mother. It was a normal conversation. At the time he had three aspirations in his life… play music, going to school, and having a good time. She looked him in the eye and with a calm, assured voice she spoke to him as if he were her own son and said, "You are going to be a minister." Imagine my surprise. My plans for my life were messed up.

Lodema Hoke had decided she would probably remain single the rest of her life. Marriage was fine, but she was secure within herself and didn't have to be married to be a full person. Then she went to a Christian singles retreat in Pennsylvania. There, God surprised Lodema. Before long she married a chap named David and became the step mother of three children.

We could tell lots of stories about plans which were derailed by God's surprises. A lesson to learn about Jesus' return is this…it will be a complete surprise. No one knows when. Not the angels, not Jesus, not the authors who think they have it all figured out. Only God. In Noah's day, people went about the business of life, working, marrying, forming families, watching Monday night football. Then came the rain. The water was up to their knees before they knew what was happening. Jesus said, "This is how it will be. A total surprise. He will come like a thief in the night. A thief. Jesus is known by many names and metaphors, but a thief?

What is a thief's most important tool? The element of surprise. Can you imagine a thief sending a note to the home he is going to knock off? "Dear Nelsons: Before you go to bed, be sure to lock the doors and windows. Set the security system. It will pose no problem. Turn out the lights and sleep tight. In case you hear sounds in the night, don't worry… it is only me stealing your cherished possessions."

Ludicrous, isn't it? If you knew a thief was coming, you would stay awake to spoil the robbery. But Jesus is not your typical thief. He comes to take something away, but he leaves something better in its place.

I knew a couple who built a beautiful country home nestled in a secluded woods. They came home one night and found that their home had been broken into and ransacked. Everything of value… their TV, stereo, expensive cameras, and heirloom jewelry, was gone. They were beside themselves. They installed an expensive security system. They set a high fence around the perimeter of the house. They bought three German Shepherds with an attitude. They took lengthy measures to secure themselves.

Months later they moved. They couldn't live there anymore. Their home had become a fortress. Later they had a shift of perspective. The husband said, "I think the robbery actually helped us. We spent too much on stuff. We lived as though property was the most important thing in our lives. We didn't have possessions. They had us." Collectibles had become controllables. Thieves robbed them, but they received a surprise gift. They had time for others they didn't have before. They moved from being peripheral members of the church to the center of its ministry. They underwent a wonderful spiritual transformation.

Something like this happens quietly and unexpectedly when Jesus enters our lives. He comes to take what we think is so important. But he is a "good thief" because he wants to leave us with something far more valuable than we ever asked to receive. What does the good thief want to take from you and give to you?

Advent is the season of surprises. So stay alert. Keep your eyes open. Be ready for intrusions into your life every day. And on that great, final day when he shall come in glory all the world shall know he is King. Jesus didn't tell us of his coming to frighten us. He gave the promise for hope and the strength to carry on.

Oscar Hujelos wrote a wonderful novel called Mr. Ives' Christmas. Ives was a soft-spoken, deeply devout Catholic man who loved God dearly, but it could not prevent a terrible tragedy. His beloved son was studying for the priesthood, and on a night near Christmas and near their home, a drive by shooter killed him. Mr. Ives was devastated. Though he knew he shouldn't hate the murderer, hatred filled his heart. In the years that followed he prayed for grace to get on with his life.

On a day near Christmas, he was in a Manhattan office building. He got off an elevator where he saw a clock across the hall that seemed to glow blue. He stood and stared at that clock for a long time as it continued to radiate blue light. He felt engulfed by a warm embrace. He turned, the elevator opened, and he stepped inside. He had a smile on his face. It glowed like the clock. He was humming Christmas carols. He stood next to a woman who said, "You certainly seem full of the spirit of the season."

He told no one of his experience. His grief was still with him. His problems had not vanished. But like Mary, he kept that moment, pondering it in his heart. God had given Mr. Ives a surprise to help him carry on, and an assurance that God was with him.

Jesus never committed an offense…except breaking and entering. Christmas is about God's grand intrusion. He intruded upon the lives of shepherds, wise men, Mary, and Joseph with dreams and voices and visitations none had requested. They were robbed of their settled notions and left with the knowledge that life was bigger than they had ever imagined.

"About the day and hour nobody knows." There is no telling when the thief may break into your life. It will be in his time and in his way. So let's not lose ourselves in trivial pursuits, but keep awake, be patient, open, and watchful for the Son of God is coming at an unexpected hour. Are you ready?

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