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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Are you ready?

Jesus could return tomorrow, are you prepared (Matthew 24:36-44)?

Context

• The World Cup in Qatar has begun but preparations for the Qatar football team began over twelve years ago. Although England and Wales have started positively, the debate about supporting the Qatari regime or speaking out about its human rights record (or those of other countries represented) has sharpened.
• The COP27 conference on climate change in Egypt ended with an agreement for the richest countries to compensate the poorest for the impacts of climate change but disagreement on whether enough has been done to make a difference to the ongoing rise in global temperatures.
• Elon Musk’s new regime at social media company, Twitter, continues to be rocky as more employees choose to leave.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

• The World Cup finally kicked off marking the end of months or years of preparation for the teams and athletes taking part. For England there is the usual panoply of voices shouting that ‘Football’s coming home’ and others shouting equally loudly that the manager has got things all wrong. Ultimately, the quality of their preparation will be seen in the results on the pitch over the coming weeks. For us it is similar, we can say that we are prepared for Jesus to return but we won’t know if we really are or not until it happens. Jesus is clear in the passage that, as Christians, we don’t have the luxury of a deadline – a point where the first game kicks off. Instead, we are working to ‘a day and hour no one knows’. Thus, our focus is not on a single fixed point but on a state of being, a readiness to meet Jesus whenever He comes. In the season of Advent it is worth checking our preparedness - how ready we are to meet Jesus?
• In the light of England’s first match of the World Cup versus Iran, we saw the contrast between the English and Iranian teams. The English team agreed at the eleventh hour not to wear a rainbow armband in protest at the treatment of LGBTQIA+ people in Qatar when faced with the prospect of yellow cards for their captain. The Iranian team on the other hand refused to sing their team’s national anthem despite the consequences this could have for their family back in Iran. As we look at our own lives and actions as Christians it is worth thinking whether we are prepared to deal with the consequences that might come back at us. The key question for us is whether we feel that we are prepared to see Jesus and allow him to judge the choices we have made.
• Elon Musk has been a very regular ‘tweeter’ using the Twitter website to air his views on all manner of subjects. He was outspoken in his criticism of the site and clearly thought he could improve things. His purchase of the company went through last month and the world (and especially the site’s users) have been watching to see what happened. This week we have seen more and more bumps in the road for Mr Musk as his approach to work and to his staff has been rejected by many who work there – or rather who used to work there but have resigned in the last weeks. There have also been glitches on the site and technical failings. There has been a degree of rejoicing and ‘I told you so’ from commentators over Mr Musk’s missteps and struggles as he tries to put into practice those things he said would be simple and effective when he was only a commentator on the side-lines. Jesus’ words speak to us of the futility of thinking we know how things are going to turn out but the overriding need for each of us to be prepared to meet Jesus again should He come back tomorrow.
• Climate change continues to be in the news as the question of whether the richest nations are genuinely preparing to make the changes needed to avoid catastrophe was raised again at the COP27 conference. The agreement for developed nations that have caused the most pollution to pay developing nations most affected by climate change is an historic one. However, the actions that will stop climate change worsening still aren’t being taken. The link to our reading is brutally clear. We do not know when the growing effects of human impact on the world’s climate will next affect us (although we know they will affect poorer countries most) but those impacts are coming, whether in terms of forest fires, extreme winds, flooding (one third of Pakistan was under water earlier this year) or drought. We need to prepare as individuals, but we also need to pressure our elected officials to do more to prepare our communities, our nation and the world.

 

Questions for discussion

• When do you start preparing for Christmas? What makes you feel prepared?
• What in your life do you feel you could have been better prepared for? What might you have done differently if you could?
• Do you feel prepared for Jesus coming back again? What would ‘being prepared’ look like for you?
• What would make you feel more comfortable in facing Jesus? Are there things you could do in the coming week? Month? Year?

Steve Taylor is joint-vicar of St James, Alperton (CofE) near Wembley. He shares the job with his wife, Ali, and shares his house with their two children, two cats and numerous fish.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

As the games of the World Cup take place in Qatar, team supporters wait for the results in expectation. Pundits make their predictions and sometimes the forecasts come from unusual sources. For example, on Monday Alfie the alpaca predicted on ITV's This Morning that England would lose to Iran 3-0. We now know he was wrong. England supporters had to be prepared for whatever result came and they rejoiced at the outcome.

Celebrities have been evicted from the jungle camp on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity. They have known that Ant and Dec would arrive with news but they have never known what they would say and they have reacted in different ways. Some are delighted at the early opportunity to have a warm bed and a large meal; whilst others have enjoyed the experience of the jungle and the camaraderie of the camp so much they have been disappointed to leave. The announcements of who is going home have been greeted with excitement and apprehension.

As Strictly Come Dancing approaches the quarter finals, contestants know that they stand every chance of leaving soon. In order to avoid it and secure a place in the next round, they train, rehearse and try their hardest but still have to wait for the outcome of the public vote and the decision of the judges.

Maybe these are trivial instances of people dealing with uncertainty but the actions and emotions of those who are waiting for significant news can be mirrored in the way that we wait for the return of the Son of Man.

• Who are the ones who wait well?
• How do people prepare themselves so that they are in the right state of mind to receive important news?
• In what ways can we ensure that we are ready for the news of the Arrival of the Kingdom?

Stuart Wild is the Superintendent Minister of the Blackpool and South Fylde Methodist Circuit.

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