Bible Text: Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 24:36-44
I honestly first learned about this miracle product when watching The Red Green Show, this comedian said that he believes, “Duct tape is the handyman’s secret weapon.” He also said, “If the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.” Did you know that Steve Smith or Red Green as he is mostly known is also from the beautiful city of Hamilton, my home town. Did you know that Red Green has been the Ambassador for 3M Duct tape since the year 2000. We all have those stories of when duct tape came in handy. One might even claim that duct tape saved them from a sticky situation. Here’s the thing about duct tape. Originally duct tape was invented, not for sealing ducts as is often believed but in 1942, at the height of the second world war, duct tape was invented for the military as a way to protect their ammunition cases from water. Soldiers during the war quickly realized that it not only worked well for their cases but for fixing all kinds of army gear. It was the soldiers who also nick named it “DUCK” tape due to its waterproof characteristics. Or so the legend goes. The point is that something that was created to protect weapons has become a useful, even lifesaving, tool. The same might be said for the microwave which was invited by the US military during WW II as a way for soldiers to heat up food. Or perhaps most remarkably, the Epipen whose original purpose, with its sprung needle was not for epinephrine, but rather to offer a quick antidote to soldiers in the event of nerve gas or chemical agents. Of course, that technology definitely does save lives. It is really incredible how many handy tools were inspired by military inventions. It is as if the image in Isaiah of swords turning to ploughshares or spears into pruning hooks really is not just some prophetic vision but a reality. Isaiah sees a world in which the desperate creativity involved in war transforms technology so that its true purpose is to sustain and better the lives of God’s people. I don’t know where I would be without my microwave and my Mother’s epipen has indeed been a Godsend. But to imagine a world without duct tape is utterly impossible!
Today we encounter two visions and decrees. We have the words of Jesus found in Matthew and the words from Isaiah. Both deal with a future that is unknown, which can be cause for panic but within them are words of hope. Also both were originally written or said to a group of people who were experiencing major change and needed some reassuring.
In Matthew and for Matthew’s audience there is a real frustration that some of the proposed events around Jesus’ coming have not happened. In fact it seems like Jesus is not the person they expected him to be and they are frustrated that the coming of the Messiah is not manifesting itself the way they had planned. As a result what they tend to miss is some of Jesus’ important words. Firstly, Jesus consistently reminds them that God is bringing about change and that this change is being put into place through Christ. The whole reason why Jesus isn’t really the Messiah that everyone expected him to be is because God isn’t doing the same old stuff. Rather God is transforming what it means to be the Messiah- just as God is transforming what it means to be prepared as followers of Christ. As followers of Jesus we must be prepared but what does that really mean?
Jesus points out that the community should prepare not by doing special activities or making sure that traditions are in place but rather Jesus instructs them to continue to live witnessing to the goodness of God. When Jesus says, “be prepared” he is reminding them of the importance to faithfully follow Jesus. In many ways, Isaiah has a similar instructions. Isaiah encourages the Hebrew people to remain steadfast despite the changing world around them. For Matthew’s audience people are anxious because the Roman culture around them is becoming ornery and aggressive. For Isaiah’s audience they are anxious because they can see the Babylonian superpower coming to destroy them. For today’s church we are anxious because the present culture tells us that faith is not important. But the message is clear- remain faithful, for God is at work.
Jesus also points out that this is not like some due date or deadline. It is not as if the followers can see the date as it approaches and begin to cram at the end when they realize that there is still a lot of work to go. Rather, this manifestation of the plan will act more like a pop quiz and those who have been studying throughout will get an “A” and those who have been goofy off, well, that remains to be seen. We would, do well, however, to realize that while many have come to understand this section in Matthew as describing the rapture, that no where does Matthew actually call it as such. Within this congregation I can guarantee you that we have different opinions on how the second coming is supposed to occur and certainly when. Some likely believe that we live in the last days- certainly it is not hard to believe it with various news reports. Some likely believe that the final days are still ahead. It might be soon, it might not be. Sill others might believe that the use of these apocalyptic images are just figurative and that the second coming is more metaphorical. What Jesus is telling us in Matthew’s gospel is that it really doesn’t matter which one you believe because in all three options the call is the same, remain faithful at all times. New Testament scholar Ron Allen explains it like this, “Jesus calls the disciples, and empowers them, to witness faithfully to God’s ultimate purposes of love, peace, joy and abundance. Coming to such clarity is a powerful way to prepare through Advent.”
Isaiah is clear about this too. For Isaiah, God has proclaimed and given him a vision that while things may look bad, really bad, right now, there will come a time in the not too distant future when Zion will experience a transformation. While the word Zion is used to refer to the temple in Jerusalem the literal translation is Tzion meaning a “marking” or “indication”. God is indicating an eternal presence that will transform this realm and the next. You see, traditionally the temple is understood as a place of worship and prayer bringing the relationship between God and people closer. However, in this passage from Isaiah the temple is not a place of mediation for God and people but rather God acts as mediator between nations- bringing people from previously enemy nations together under one roof. War will be replaced by peace- so much so that even technologies developed in and for warfare will become handy tools.
For Isaiah this image of transformation not only changes Zion or the people but even the earth is transformed. You may not have caught it but Isaiah says, “all nations shall stream to the mountain.” Or in some translations it says shall flow like a river to the mountain. We all understand our geography enough to know that rivers normally flow away from mountains not towards them. God’s power of transformation is so amazing that it has the capacity to even shift the continental divide.
Advent is a season of being prepared but it is also a season of hope and it is hard to hear the words of hope found in these end time prophecies but they are there. Just imagine a world in which military weapons become household items, imagine that they improve the quality of life rather than killing lives. There’s hope after all because that world isn’t that hard to imagine. Advent is also about transformation. Imagine a world in which God transforms our entire relationship based on a child born in a stable. Amen