"Ready, Set."

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
November 28th 2010
First Sunday of Advent
Libby Feagans-King
Matthew 24:36-44
“Ready, Set.”

Everything that a runner trains for comes together when they step into the starting blocks, waiting for “ready, set” and the sound of the starter’s gun. John Bingham, a marathon runner, speaker and writer, said “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” It takes courage to begin a race because you do not know what life will throw at you during the race. For the runner, it could be a leg cramp, bad weather, faulty equipment or even a loss of focus that can impede or even stop their performance. All important is the strategy that a runner is going to use to get a good start. Sprinters often practice just coming out of the starting blocks. Marathon runners try to be at a certain place in the pack before the start – some like to start in front to set the pace and some prefer to be further back to save some energy and thread their way through as the pack thins out. The common denominator is all runners snap to focus when they hear the “ready, set” for they know the starting gun will sound seconds after these two commands.
But what if the starting gun didn’t sound? What if you were in a race, but you were not given a clue as to when the race would start? The rules would state that a runner must be at the starting line, ready to run, but there was no promise that the race would start that minute, that hour or even that day? How could you prepare for such a race? How would a coach’s strategy need to change in view of this type of race?
One strategy may be to hire people to watch the starter for signs of the start. Like, is he reaching for the starting gun, does the starter’s arm look tired or does the starter’s finger start to twitch? I know, it sounds funny, but this is what coaches from other sports do. They attempt to read or decipher each other signs. That’s why in football and basketball when the cameras pan to the coaches, they often have their scorecards up in front of their mouths – so their opponents cannot see what plays they are calling. Yes, there are lip readers out there, trying to gain an edge for their teams, trying to see each other’s signs. So perhaps our race starter is being watched to see if they will indicate when the race will start, maybe by whispering “let’s wait until the wind dies down a little” to the person next to them. Perhaps the watcher is looking for nods from the other race officials. Let’s not forget that the watcher then must have a sign to send to the runner if they see any clue that will give the runner an advantage.
If we can’t get any inside information on the start of the race, what is our next strategy? Let’s break it down in time increments. Minutes - For anyone who has ever been in starting blocks for a race, you know that maintaining that position for more than a couple minutes will actually hinder your performance. Your leg muscles will begin to cramp and your neck begins to get sore. The next strategy would be to find an appropriate position that the runner can maintain while remaining in a ready position. Hours – the coach must now make sure that the runner is hydrated and has a calorie intake that supports an energy level but does not hinder the runner’s performance. After a period of eight to ten hours the coach must consider how to rest their runner. This is when the coach could create a running team, so that there is always a well hydrated, energetic and well rested runner at the starting line. Days – As the days wear on, the needs of the running team expand. The coach will need to create a support team that can tend not only to the runners physical needs, but also to equipment and housing issues. One day sleeping on the ground and eating high energy foods may be plausible, but one cannot continue this way for days. The team will need a place to rest and actual meals prepared for them. Months – this is the hardest level yet. The coach needs to find a way to keep the runners mentally in the race. Although the runners are in limbo, waiting for the start of the race, life continues to go on. Other people are going to work, to school, out to eat and basically drifting away from the starting line that the runners stand at. Not only are the runners struggling with the decision of whether to continue to the race or to give up on it, their support team is battling with the same issues. Why am I here? This race will never start?
But this is absurd isn’t it? A race that waits months to start? Why am I even telling this story? My friends, this race is the Christian life. We are the runners waiting for the coming of Christ.
The starter in this race, the one without a start time, is God. The signs for the race are there – there is a starting line, there are runners and a path is marked. But God is not checking with anyone else regarding when the starting gun will sound. It would be more like a sonic boom. When I was growing up in Mattoon, we had jet planes that would break the sound barrier as they sped away creating a loud boom. You never knew when these would happen, because you couldn’t hear the jet, and it usually scared the wee jeebers out of me. Even if you did notice a jet overhead, that did not guarantee that a boom was going to happen. We have the signs that the race is going to happen, but these signs do not tell us when.
There have been many who have tried to nail down a date for the end of the world. The most recent is the Mayan date of 2012. But the signs are not given to us as a schedule. Jesus tells us that even he does not know the time. “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, or the Son, but only God.” (Matt 24:36) The signs are given to us so that we know there is a race! It will happen. Jesus will come again.
We are not very good at identifying God’s signs. When God told Noah to build the ark – we mostly see the ark as salvation – the ark was the vehicle in which God was going to save life from the flood. Yet the ark was also a sign. As this huge ark was being built is was a sign that an end was coming to the world as the people knew it. During the first days of the building, perhaps there were people considering the purpose of this structure, perhaps they helped in the building or supplying the materials. In the coming months as the ark took shape, we know that Noah did not get much help. Noah is the runner. Noah’s family was his support team. God was Noah’s coach. When the floods came, Noah was ready and Noah finished the race. No one else did. They were so busy with life that they missed out on life. Quite a paradox isn’t it?
So let’s break down this Christian race. Minutes – God gives us signs every minute to let us know that God is in the world and salvation through Jesus Christ is ours. You become the racer when you accept Jesus Christ into your life and you ready yourself for fulfillment of God’s promise. There are no qualification trials for this race, we are all made worthy of God.
Hours – As new Christian runners, we are fed by God’s Word. Through baptism we wash away the attachments of our old life and enter a new life with God as our focus. We prepare to live in a readiness mode for the second coming.
Months/Years/Decades/Centuries – This is where the going gets difficult. But God doesn’t forsake us. God builds a support team for us. God calls us to be musicians, healers, cooks, builders, teachers and many other positions so that we may support one another. God makes for us a place where we can come to worship, to recharge. Our biggest challenge…. is life goes one. The Christian life is a constant struggle of whether we are going to be ready for Jesus, or are we going to be drawn away from the starting line by life on earth. Are we doing the things that keep ourselves and each other ready for Jesus, or do we do things to be successful in this world? Honestly, it is all very confusing. We often count our material gains as blessings from God. I’m not saying that God doesn’t want us to have houses and cars and money, but are these things blessings from God or blessings from the world we live in? The question you have to answer is this. When Jesus comes, are you ready to walk away from your house, cars and money? Are you ready to walk away from the blessing of this world? Are you ready to leave one life for a life eternal? Because it is the willing heart that is ready for the race.
Michael Johnson said “Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best." It takes hard work to be ready to perform your best. We need to be mindful of our training for the race. Mindful of which race we are training for. God’s race or the rat race of this world. When we choose God’s race over the rat race, these are the sprints that that make us strong for God. When we come together as a community for worship and service, these are the sprints that make us strong for God. When we share God’s word and welcome new runners to the race, these are the sprints that make us strong for God. My friends we are at the starting line. We need to work together to stay strong for the race.
Matthew tells us to be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. What do you need to be ready? New shoes or the right path? Are your goals a bigger house, a better car or eternal life as a child of God’s promise? Are you a runner for the world or a runner for God? The struggle between this world and God is real. So many times we look around and realize that we have wander away from the starting line, that we are no longer ready for the race. The good news is God is gracious and invites us back into readiness.
God has fed you and clothed your for the race. May God be our coach as we prepare for this race, keeping us ready for life eternal. Get ready. Get set. Go in peace.