Preparation in the last hour

Matthew 25:13 NIV
[13]  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.


Mark 13:33 NIV
[33] Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.


There is a one-word Greek prayer that the early Christians loved to pray as they awaited the return of Jesus: ‘Maranatha!’ – ‘Come Lord!’ They prayed it at every Eucharist or Communion time together. This 'Maranatha' cry illustrates their longing and expectancy for Jesus to come again and bring the fullness of his kingdom on earth. His friends saw him go into heaven on Ascension Day, and they were expectant that he would return in the same way to be with them forever. This 'Come Lord Jesus' prayer at the end of the book of Revelation (Revelation 22:20) is our response to his words a few sentences earlier: 'Look, I am coming soon!' (Revelation 22:12).


I like being at the arrival gate of an airport, when I am waiting for someone to come off a plane and watching people around me who also are. There is such expectancy in faces, people looking at watches, checking the arrivals board, seeing who is coming through the doors and, finally, the great reunions – the hugs, kisses, tears, and excited chat. 


Jesus said he could return in any generation, yet Christians over the centuries have struggled to hold onto this sense of expectancy of Jesus' return. We have tended to be more church-focused (how we can bring in God's kingdom through mission and social action) or have spiritualized our longing (I want to go to be with Jesus in heaven, rather than long for his coming back to earth). Yet to really grapple with what the Bible says, to truly anticipate Jesus' second coming, starts to create a wonder and an expectancy deep in our spirit. Even modern Communion services include the historic Christian declaration: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. For St Paul, part of the motivation of running the race of Christian faith and witness, was the 'longing for his appearing' (2 Timothy 4:8). Jesus could return in our generation, so can we stay expectant and longing for that great day when he will split the skies and come with the angels in his glorious return, to put the world to right and be with us forever?