Matthew 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Do you like me get annoyed with the shop signs that say, “back in 30 minutes”, but you have no idea at what time the 30 minutes started. I. The city of York, evidently, such shop signs have additional information. “Time started at…..”
On other occasions there are people who are good at reading the signs. I recall visit the Lizard in Cornwall and walking down the costal party to the headland and passing a local gentleman, who said, “rain in twenty minutes!” Oh how I wish I taken notice of his warning. Although the sky above gave no indication of rain clouds, sure enough in 10 minutes the heavens opened and I got drenched.
However, what I take from the gospel is not so much about trying to anticipate the signs and the times but that Jesus wants us to stay alert to his leading. Is it about being in the moment. You see sitting with Jesus clarifies our thinking and emboldens our faith. It may be a brief moment, preceded by heart preparation in the Scripture or it may be an extended time of a loving, intimate encounter.
During the late-Medieval period, London had a strange law on the books—each entry gate into the city had to keep a musician on duty. This could be a dangerous job—city gates were where attackers and other threatening outsiders first appeared. It’s like border patrol nowadays, but they gave the job to musicians.
As strange as it sounds, musicians took charge of many essential services back then. Why musicians? The most obvious answer is that musicians were ideal first responders because they could sound the alarm in case of a major disturbance. Certainly, a loud horn or drum helps in that regard. This signalling capacity of musical instruments also explains their longstanding use in military operations.
In the same way, every follower of Jesus is called to stay awake, to stay at our post, to guard and protect, and pray for the “city gate” where the Lord has posted us.
Living God, keep us awake in faith,
faith that acts;
when our faith grows weary, strengthen us
when our faith grows fearful, give us courage
when our faith grows despairing, give us witnesses
and when the faith of others falters,
may we be a light in their darkness. Amen
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