“Do You Know The Time?”
Text: Romans 13:8-14
11-27-2022
In the name of our Advent King, dear friends in Christ. Do you remember back when NFL football games had a 2-minute warning? It was an alarm that would blast to let the players know that the game was almost over. Usually, the knowledge of that gave extra incentive for a team to kick it in gear because time was running out. I wish they had that rule in college football. Here’s why: Longer ago it seemed like my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers would sleep through the first 3 quarters of the game. Then, they’d suddenly wake up and start playing some serious football. However, the last year or two they embarrassed me by sleeping through the whole game! Ah, but not yesterday. No, they nailed it for 3 quarters… and then they fell asleep. How could they doze off like that with the deafening roar of the fans on every play? Now obviously I’m not suggesting that the Huskers were actually snoozing on the field. However, they sure seemed half asleep even though they were fully awake. You know as well as I do that they were keenly aware that the clock was ticking and time was quickly running out for them to get their act together and hold onto their lead.
I got to thinking that the 2-minute warning idea makes for a good illustration of what we heard in both the Epistle and Gospel readings. In verse 11 of the Epistle St. Paul says, "Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." Paul was certainly not referring to the time left on a game clock in a football game. He has in mind something far more serious. He's talking about being aware that time is rapidly ticking away until Christ's Second Coming. It’s not the end of a game that's drawing near, but the end of the world. As Christians, we know that; or at least we ought to! And yet, like those football players mentioned earlier, many believers seem to be half asleep spiritually. Here too Paul isn’t talking about actually taking a nap. Rather, in this context sleep means to be drifting off into behavior that’s identical to the way sinful unbelievers live. Paul lists some of those sins for us: "orgies and drunkenness... sexual immorality and sensuality... quarreling and jealousy." These are the works of darkness which indicate that a person is asleep in their damning sins. And these are things that a Christian doesn’t want to be caught doing when time is up and the alarm goes off announcing Christ’s arrival.
So, Paul urges Christians to wake up and "cast off" these evil thoughts and actions of sinful self-gratification. Like an old, filthy garment, they are to be discarded and replaced with something new and pure, namely the righteousness of Jesus Christ. How do we do that? By confessing our sins and returning to the promises of our Baptisms. God alone can clothe us in this "armor of light" which is Christ’s righteousness. And that’s what He does whenever we repent and receive the forgiveness of sins. In this way we are prepared and awake for Christ's return.
Jesus explains in our Gospel reading how easily our sinful nature can get lulled to sleep and ignore the alarm bells that are going off. Case in point: the time of Noah. For nearly 100 years he was busy building his famous ark. Why? Because by faith he had been listening to God's warning about what time it was. The end of the world as he knew it was getting closer and closer. But only he and his family stayed awake spiritually by trusting in God and obeying His plan for being saved. The rest of the people kept on living in the deep sleep of their wickedness. Oh, getting married, eating, and drinking are not sinful. However, they are a problem when they cause souls to ignore God's warning alarms. In those days, the most obvious sign was Noah's boat building. A project of this magnitude on dry ground surely had to raise some questions. And yet, rather than being alarmed by the signs of the times, the unbelievers went off and lived their lives as if nothing was wrong. When the flood came, they were caught unaware because they had slept through all those warnings and were destroyed. Jesus says that the same thing will happen when He returns. People will foolishly ignore what time it is and sleep through all the warning signs that the end is near. And then it’ll be too late.
Likewise with Christ’s illustration of a burglar breaking into a home. The wise home owner would stay awake and be ready if he had some indication of when the thief was coming. And that's the crux of the matter when we’re talking about Christ's return. We have plenty of warning so that no one should be caught sleeping and unaware. However, people will get so wrapped up in their pursuit of worldly, sinful lusts that they’ll be unprepared. When the end comes, they will lose their most treasured possession: their souls. And they won’t have anyone to blame but themselves.
Now, it would be easy to think, “Oh, that’ll never happen to me!" Really? What makes you any different than the people 2,000 years ago when the Son of God came to earth in human flesh? God didn’t keep it a secret. Through His Old Testament prophets, He sounded the warning alarm of when Christ would arrive. If that wasn’t enough, He sent angels to announce Jesus' birth. But the little town of Bethlehem, the capitol city of Jerusalem, and all the rest of Israel slept right through His arrival. Of all the people on the earth, they should have been first to discern the time of salvation's dawning. 30 years later, John the Baptist boldly proclaimed what time it was. He announced that the Savior had arrived and was beginning His public ministry. It was time to repent, believe, and follow Him. Thankfully, some of the people heeded that alarm and placed their trust in Jesus their Redeemer. Sadly, though, many others willfully ignored the warnings about what time it was. Not even when Christ suffered and died and rose again did they awaken from the sleep of their sin.
Pardon the pun, but all this is very timely for us as we begin the Advent season today. Advent is a time of preparation in the life of the Church. Yes, preparing for the celebration of Christ's first arrival. However, it's more than that. Advent is also a time for us to simultaneously prepare for Christ's second coming. And through it all, these Scripture lessons are urging us to ask the question, "Do you know the time?" Your answer to that question will give an indication of whether you are prepared for the great and glorious Last Day when Jesus returns.
Back in 1970, the music group Chicago had a big hit dealing with this question. All throughout the song people are asking the singer if he knows the time? They were wanting to know the answer based on a clock or a watch. However, he responds rather philosophically in the refrain and says, "Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?" Chicago accidentally stumbled upon the very problem that our Scripture lessons are addressing. Does the world have any idea that time is running out? Do they even care? The answer is: No. And the reason is because they are sound asleep in their sinful way of life, not listening to the warning alarms from God.
But more importantly, and closer to home, do you know the time? Like the Jews 2,000 years ago, we of all people should be aware and alert when it comes to Christ's second arrival. But are we? Or are we snoozing spiritually and living happily in the dream of chasing our sinful desires? Paul is urging us to “Wake up and smell the coffee!" God’s alarms are going off to rouse us from our sins. We have His Word which clearly warns us that the time is rapidly growing short, very short. The time to repent is now. The time to receive God's forgiveness is now. Don't sleep through it and be damned with the rest of the sinful world. Wake up and welcome your Savior who comes and clothes you in His armor of light, which is the gift of His righteousness. In so doing, you will be alert and prepared to greet Him as He comes to you in His Holy Word and with His very real presence in Holy Communion. Brothers and sisters in Christ, since you do know the time, live in the joyous expectation of Christ's second coming on the Last Day, fully prepared to greet your gracious and merciful Lord. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!