Sweeping House in the Unexpected Hour

Lectionary Reflections for the First Sunday of Advent (A)

By Mark Harris

Readings for Advent 1, Year A, Nov. 28, 2004

Isaiah 2:1-5

Psalm 122

Romans 13:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

We remember the promise to Noah that there will not be a flood again. No matter, God will clean house again – the house, of course, being the whole inhabited world, and the need for such cleaning being God's justice. The Gospel lesson on this First Sunday in Advent recalls Jesus' words, “they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, and so to will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:39).

The illustrations of the state of affairs prior to the sweeping away, and examples of those so swept away are worth exploring. In the time of Noah, those who ate and drank and marred and gave in marriage – that is, those with sufficient blessings in life to have food, drink and sufficient resources to contemplate and conclude marriage contracts – were all swept away, having been corrupted, it seems, by the good life. The only ones not swept away were those of the household of Noah – the righteous who listened to God, and at the last put all their efforts into building an ark. Those swept away were those who kept right on living the good life until the time when life itself was overwhelmed by God's judgment.

By the way, the image of being swept away in this terse apocalyptic statement is not to be confused with an image of being taken up, swept up, as in the vision of the rapture. It is instead like sweeping out the house, with what is swept out destined for the dustbin.

The assessment of humankind was this, “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:11-12). God determines to start over with the few who see beyond bread, wine and a little “thou” (for a bride price), and the violence and corruption that seemed to go with wanting it all.

Again there will be a sweeping out of the house, but this is not a general condemnation of the whole inhabited world. This time one will be swept away and the other, next to the first, not. When housecleaning happens again it will not be a general deluge, it will be a more precise calling to account.

And with the coming of the Son of Man? Here Jesus' illustrations are more troubling: Again there will be a sweeping out of the house, but this is not a general condemnation of the whole inhabited world. This time one will be swept away and the other, next to the first, not. When housecleaning happens again it will not be a general deluge, it will be a more precise calling to account.

Noah's righteousness is a matter of God's favor. Noah, it seems, was not like those who “knew nothing.” Noah knew enough to come in out of the rain, and more, he knew to listen to God.

What of the one in the field or grinding meal who is not swept away? What is it they listen to? What makes them ready for the coming of the Son of Man, as Noah was ready for the flood?

The answer lies in this business of “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). Jesus Christ is the Ark that keeps us from being swept away. Jesus warns us to stay awake and be ready, and Paul suggests that the followers of Jesus know what time it is. It is time to build the Ark, or more pointedly, to take Jesus Christ seriously, and to build ourselves into his image.

And, as in Noah's time, it is easier to eat, drink and grab a little thou than it is to work at the business of love. Being attentive to the true needs of others, to live for others, to fulfill the law as only love can, requires a radical change in how we engage the world.

Such radical change is not a matter determined by the agendas of this or that ecclesial, social or political group. The radicalness of this new way of being is beyond the edges of the progressive, more ancient than anything we would wish to conserve. It is a change found in the radical transformation of “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and making no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14). It is, in other words, being Jesus Christ in the world.  

Such a radical change is at its core a spiritual matter, beyond all the nomenclature of party, theology, sexual or social ethics, or even personal faith. In a way almost beyond words, the one who is awake, alert, and ready loses self in Christ Jesus.

As it is with all other movements within the church, progressives sometimes forget the spiritual requirements of this calling.   True witness is the action of love, and that witness becomes the Ark of our salvation. Those who truly await the unexpected hour must take up the spiritual practice of self-emptying so that Christ is all in all. And the beginning of that practice, and perhaps its end, is to love selflessly, and (as does God in Jesus Christ) absolutely everybody, but remembering too God's special preference for the poor.

The Rev. Canon Mark Harris is director of the Coalition for Justice and Tolerance in Lewes, Del.  He is author of The Challenge of Change: The Anglican Communion in the Post Modern Era , and a member of the Episcopal Church Publishing Company's ( The Witness magazine) board of directors. Mark may be reached by email at poetmark@worldnet.att.net .