Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44

What is the sign of the true Messiah arriving? There will be peace on earth.
This is the ancient belief at the time of Isaiah as well as for many people today.
In the time of crisis, people are especially longing for peace and stability.
The previous passage in Isaiah described God’s wrath about the behaviour of the people in the Holy City, i.e. Jerusalem. Now, the prophet Isaiah calls for reconciliation with God to escape God’s wrath: go up on the mountain and follow God’s ways – bring peace to the world by turning weapons of war into tools of preparing the soil and of harvest. Once we have done the preparations, we will be walking “in the light of God”.

In the Letter to the Romans, the people are reminded again that they need to be prepared for the coming of God. We might currently be waiting in the dark – but when God comes, we need to be ready. God will bring us the light.
The way this Letter follows the passage from Isaiah shows the connection of the theme of preparation and the coming.
When swords are turned into ploughshares, they can be used to turn the soil, bring air and light to the soil, and prepare it for planting and ultimately for harvesting. Only those who carry out the preparation will also be able to harvest.
The light of the day will also expose any wrongdoing. So, we need to be ready for the light. Salvation is almost here – but we don’t know the hour. We need to be prepared at any moment.

Today is the first Sunday of the Year of Matthew. We are beginning this new church year with the call to be prepared.
In Isaiah 1 there was reference to Jerusalem, the city of righteousness. Here, in Matthew, we hear about a righteous man: Noah. Noah followed God’s instructions meticulously and was prepared when the flood came. He didn’t hesitate or turn back. He trusted God.
When the hour comes, we can’t ask for a few minutes more. We need to be ready for God and live our lives as if we were judged at any moment. Matthew goes so far as to say that the Son of Man would come “at an hour you do not expect”. The surprise seems to be planned and calculated.
This is a different readiness to runners who get the signal “ready – set – go”. God doesn’t ask us if we are ready before acting. God expects us to be ready at all times. The example in the Gospel refers to a potential burglar. We don’t know when the burglar comes. Today, we sometimes use cameras to be prepared. While we can’t make things undone, we can go back to the recording and find out what happened. However, this solution for preparedness doesn’t work when it comes to God. God comes when we don’t expect it – and if we think technology can help, we need to consider all eventualities, including a power cut… God is more powerful than any human solution could be.

Today, we are lighting the Candle of Hope, the first candle on the Advent Wreath. We are hoping and longing for peace in the world – in a world where weapons are not needed anymore and swords are transformed into ploughshares.

BM