The Message, November 30, 2025: "People, Get Ready," Matthew 24:36-44

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
December 02, 2025

 

“People, Get Ready!”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 24:36-44

            We are entering into the holiday season; the season of parties and social gatherings. So, let me ask you, how many of you enjoy having people … guests … arrive at your home unexpectedly?

            I mean, having company, entertaining, extending hospitality are all wonderful, especially this time of year. But … it is nice when you know that they are coming so that you can make proper preparations.

            Have you had this experience? You are sitting at home, relaxing with a book or watching the game, when a car pulls into the driveway, or up to the curb. You do your best Gladys Kravitz and peek out the window to see who it is and where they are going. And then, to your dismay … or perhaps horror … they head toward your door.

            You instantly kick into white tornado mode. You scramble and run through the house trying desperately to make it look presentable, kicking laundry into the closets and throwing the kids’ toys under the bed. You dust with the sleeves of your shirt or a stray sock you found on the couch. If you have a spouse … or a teammate … you have them create a diversion. “Show them around outside!” Then with heart racing, you swing the door open, and breathlessly say, “What a wonderful surprise! Come on in!”

            When I served the church in New London, New Hampshire, the parsonage was across the street from the church. In my previous church in Norfolk, Massachusetts, the parsonage was right next door to the church. Because of their proximity, I would often schedule youth group activities or church meetings at the parsonage. However, I did seem to have a problem remembering to tell Renee or put it on the calendar.

            We had many occasions when she would ask me, “So, what are the youth doing this afternoon?” The air would get still … the room silent. The angels in heaven began praying for me. “Are they coming here?” Meekly, I would reply, “Ummmm … yes?” And then, with sweat on my brow and a pit in my stomach, the frantic scurrying began.

            Now, I am certain, that all of you live in immaculate homes without a speck of dust. Guests are welcome any time. But even so, we like to know what is happening. We want to be prepared.

            As I was making my notes this week, I thought of another scenario that is different yet related. How many of you enjoyed walking into class and hearing the teacher or professor say, “Please put your books away. We are having a pop quiz!” Everyone loved the pop quiz, right? Of course, it is fairly likely that there are a handful of last-minute studiers and crammers that pulled all-nighters here this morning. Even when we know when the test is coming, we … some of us … still wait until the last minute to prepare.

            And those of you in the congregation that are teachers and professors may have had a few of these folks in your class that asked you: “Excuse me, Teacher, is this going to be on the test? Excuse me, Professor, is that going to be on the exam?”

            I had one professor when I was in COLLEGE actually write everything out on the board. Yes, she hand-wrote all of the notes on the board right there in front of the class. All we had to do was copy it down and memorize it.

            Those first century followers of Jesus Christ were expecting something. They were expecting an arrival, but they did not know when. They were not even sure what was coming. They were expecting a great crisis, a devastating event that would sweep over Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and destroy the Temple. And as I just said, they had no idea of Want it would be, or WHEN it would be. Some thing at some time was going to occur that would devastate lives and families and entire communities. And Jesus’ word to them, his admonition was, “Be ready … all the time. No last-minute cleaning. No last-minute cramming. Be ready.”

            The lesson was delivered to the followers of Jesus in three parts:
            First, something is going to happen, but NOBODY knows when it is going to happen. Not the angels, not even Jesus himself know when.
            Second, that thing that is going to happen is going to occur suddenly … surprisingly. Life will be going on as usual right up until that moment. The world will change in an instant.
            Third, that event will divide families and colleagues and communities right down the middle.

            That was a lot for those first members of the fledgling Christian community to take in. It was a lot for their brains to take in and process. And the reality is that these words, this lesson, are not … is not … easy to comprehend today. For centuries scholars and theologians have argued and debated what this passage means.

            I do not need to tell you that human beings are funny creatures. We do not like uncertainty. We want to know what is happening and when it is happening. We need to make our lists and check them twice. We need to know who is being naughty or nice. We need to explain everything, even that which is unexplainable … even things that we are told are unknowable. Still, we hypothesize and theorize, we make our arguments that satisfy our needs.

            The theologians and scholars pondered and postulated:
            Was Jesus wrong? He said that this cataclysmic event was going to happen in that generation. Was he wrong? (Even though he said right in the passage that even he DID NOT know when it would happen.)

            Were his words in this passage a mistake on Matthew’s part? Was Matthew borrowing from Mark’s Gospel and mixed up the message? “And [Jesus] said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” (Mark 9:1) Because, if that was the case, some could very accurately point out that the Kingdom of God DID indeed spread dramatically during the First Century.

            Was the devastating event that Jesus was referring to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem? Because that also did occur approximately forty years after Jesus spoke these words.

            The reality is that it is the epitome of human pride and arrogance, combined with our need to know, that has resulted in people trying to predict what and when Jesus was talking about for centuries. It is spiritual arrogance to think that we can pry our way into the heart and mind of God. It is spiritual arrogance to think that we can predict God’s timing. There is no point in spending generations playing biblical “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” when even Jesus himself said that he did not know the day or the time.

            So then, what are we to do?

            Well, we are NOT to waste our time or our energy trying to figure out the what or the when of this. That is a pointless endeavor, because as we noted even Jesus does not know. Rather, we should spend our time and our energy following Jesus.

            He was essentially saying to us, “Be ready. I wrote it on the board for you. Do what I told you. Do what I showed you. All the time.”

            There are many people in our world today that understand this passage to be the basis for the “Left Behind” theology. However, that is not an accurate translation or interpretation of what Jesus was talking about. He was not talking about a supernatural salvation event during which the “righteous” would be lifted up and taken away, while all of the “others” would be left to face destruction. Sorry. It sold a lot of books, but it was not what Jesus was telling us. You can stand by the side of the road if you want, holding a sign that says, “The END is Near!” or “The END is HERE!” but that is not what Jesus instructs us to do.

            The word that is often translated as “taken” was actually understood to mean “received.” Therefore, the passage is more accurately understood to mean that those who are ready, those who follow the Way of God, those who follow the Way of Christ faithfully will be received into the Kin-dom of Heaven.

            We know that salvation is not a prize that we win, or a reward that we earn. Salvation is the new life that we live because we have been touched by the love and grace of God.

            The lesson that Jesus was teaching was to be ready. Stay awake. Pay attention. Be alert. Live as Jesus taught us to live … all the time.
            Love as Jesus showed us how to love … all the time.
            Share and care as Jesus taught … all the time.
            Offer compassion and kindness and justice … all the time.

            This is not a pop quiz. Jesus showed us God’s vision for the world. Be ready … all the time. Amen.

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