After hearing the scripture reading, the thought going through your head may be, “What the heck does that have to do with Christmas? Isn’t this the first Sunday of Advent? Why are you talking about Noah? And didn’t Jesus say those things during holy week, like on Palm Sunday? Where is the Christmas story?”

Let me try to explain. There is a thing called the lectionary; some of you are probably familiar with it. The lectionary is a list of scriptures for each Sunday of the year, and other special days as well. It’s not a new idea. According to the Jewish Talmud, they used a set list of readings for festivals and services all the way back in Moses’ day. Today’s scripture  reading  from  Matthew  is one of the passages on the lectionary list for the first Sunday of Advent this year. That’s why we’re reading it today.

Now, you may be wondering why we use something like the lectionary? Can’t we pick out our own scriptures? Do we really need somebody to tell us what to preach about? Do we have to use this lectionary thing, or what? No, not everyone uses the lectionary. But there are a couple of benefits that come from preaching from the lectionary.

First, the people who create the lectionary try to  select passages that fit logical patterns. The passages fit together with a theme, showing how passages from the Old Testament, the gospels, and the epistles can all work together.

Second, the lists include scriptures from all parts of the Bible, so over the year, we are hearing from the entire story, rather than just a few favorite pieces we might like to talk about. And, honestly, this can sometimes make preaching more difficult. Sometimes, the passage on the list is one that we might not choose to preach about if it was left up to us.

For some preachers, this passage from Matthew is one of those difficult ones. Preachers and churches that talk a lot about the end of time love this passage and are happy to see it on today’s list. Those who don’t talk much about the end, well, this can be a tough day.

But back to question: Why did the lectionary people select this passage to start off the Advent season? Let me see if I can help make some sense out of it.

To do that, let me start with a story.

The story began a day or two after Palm  Sunday, with Jesus back in the temple in Jerusalem. All of his disciples were standing around him to hear what he had to say. When they first got there on Sunday, he ended   up throwing things around, calling people names, and creating quite a stir, so the disciples were curious what this day would bring. I want you to keep one eye on the disciple called Simon. Not Simon Peter the fisherman, but the other Simon, the one called Simon Zelotes. He was the one standing out at the edge of the group, looking around.

He seemed to be paying more attention to what was going on around the temple instead of focusing on what Jesus was saying. And, you might notice that Simon had one hand tucked inside his robe.

Simon Zelotes was not called that because he was from a town called Zelotes like Mary Magdalene was from Magdala. He was given that name because he belonged to a group called the Zealots. The Zealots were a political group that had the one goal of driving the Romans out  of the country and retaking control of their kingdom. The Zealots were militant and wanted to incite a full rebellion and get rid of the Romans by force if necessary. Because of that, every zealot carried a small sword with them at all times, hoping to get an opportunity to stick it in a Roman centurion. That’s what Simon was holding onto under  his robe; his sword. He was looking around the temple  at the centurion guards. According to historians, during religious festivals like Passover, there was a Roman centurion stationed at every column around the temple. The entire temple courtyard was lined with columns, so Simon was looking at a lot of bright red centurions. And after what Jesus had done the day before, most of those centurions were looking right back at Simon and his group. Along with the centurions, the courtyard was filled with groups of Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, and scribes; Jews in positions of power who kept that power because they went along with the Romans. The Zealots hated them almost as much as the Romans themselves. Simon looked nervous but excited. He had waited for this day for a very long time.

According to Matthew, Jesus began talking to his disciples, and anyone else nearby, telling them a couple of parables. He didn’t turn over tables that day, but his stories had a way of getting the point across, and most   of them pointed directly at those Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, and scribes. It didn’t take long before they had heard enough. A group of Pharisees walked over to where Jesus was standing and smiled. They said:

”Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and do not regard the position of men.”

Have you ever had that happen? Someone walks up and is all smiley-faced and sweet-talking, but you know full-well that they’re just setting you up? Yeah. Jesus just looked at them as they continued:

“Tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

They smiled. They had him now. If he said it was lawful to pay the taxes, he was showing support for Rome. That would anger the zealots. But if he said it was not lawful to pay the taxes, he was speaking open rebellion against Rome, and that would bring the Centurions. That’s what Pharisees do. Their job is to keep track of all of the Jewish laws, all the way back to the time of Moses. And there was a pile of laws after several hundred years. Making   it even more difficult was the fact that any rabbi could give his own interpretation to the laws, and each of those interpretations became kind of a law itself. As you read the old books you find a lot of: “Rabbi Gamaliel says… but Rabbi Schmalich says… and Rabbi Gelbin says…” all depending on how each rabbi interpreted the original law.

So no matter what you said or did, if a Pharisee wanted to, he could easily find some reason to catch you breaking a law. That’s how they kept people under control. They played a very good game of “Gotcha!” That’s what they were doing with Jesus. No matter what he answered: “Gotcha!”

In my mind, Jesus smiled. He knew the game of “Gotcha!” He looked at the group of very proud and smiling Pharisee-snakes, and asked: ”Who’s picture is on the money?”

The Pharisees paused a minute, a bit confused at his response, and finally said, “Caesar’s picture.”

Jesus shrugged and said, “Then, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” The Pharisees glanced at each other, then at Jesus, then back at each other, then over at the group of Sadducees who had been watching the whole thing, then just kind of walked away. Their trap did not work.

The Sadducees smiled a snarky little smile as the Pharisees walked past. The two groups disagreed on lots of things, but the biggest difference between them was that while the Pharisees all came from middle-class Jewish families, the Sadducees all came from the upper crust, from the rich and powerful privileged families. The Sadducees believed that God gave people what they deserved, so the rich were rich because God thought they were better than the people who were poor. Plus, the Sadducees did not believe in the idea of a resurrection Jesus had talked about. As the Sadducees walked over to Jesus they had two goals: one was to catch Jesus, and the other was to embarrass the Pharisees. The Sadducees were also good with laws, especially theological laws, so they came up with a really good “Gotcha!”

They said, “Suppose a man dies with no children, and his brother marries the widow to raise children for his brother’s sake.”

That was one of the old laws created to make sure a family lineage continued even if a man died before he had children. Although it sounds really strange to us now, so far they were just stating a fact.

The Sadducee continued: “But what if there are seven brothers, and they all die? So, the widow actually ends up marrying all seven of them. In this resurrection you talk about…who is married to who?”

Again, in my imagination, Jesus smiled as they waited.

They were ready for any answer he might give.

Except for the one he gave them. “You people don’t understand the resurrection at all, do you?”

While the Sadducees mumbled among themselves trying to come up with a suitable retort, the Pharisees came back for another shot, pushing the Sadducees out of the way.

They said, “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?”

Usually, when you called someone “teacher” it was a sign of respect. This time it was pure sarcasm.

Jesus smiled again. This was a good one. There were ten commandments and different groups believed that different commandments were the most important. No matter which one he chose, he was going to make someone mad.

He paused briefly and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

One of the Pharisees started to respond, but Jesus kept going.

“And a second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

The Pharisees smiled as one of them started to point out that neither of those two things was actually one of the Ten Commandments, but that’s when things changed. I think the smile left Jesus’ face as he took a step toward and looked at both the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew doesn’t include it, but in my imagination, Jesus begins with “And now I’ve got one for you…”

He said, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?”

Both Pharisees and Sadducees smiled at this youngster challenging the experts.

“The son of David.”

This was Law 101. Any entry level Pharisee or Sadducee could answer it. Can you see the smirks on their faces?

“How is it, then,” Jesus said, “David called him ‘Lord’ instead of ‘son’?”

They all recognized the phrase from Psalm 110. The Pharisees glanced at the Sadducees. The Sadducees glanced at the Pharisees. They all began to debate and argue.

Matthew says, “No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.”

But Jesus was just getting started. He spent the next few minutes talking to each of the groups standing there; the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, and the scribes.

“Woe to you…” he said, describing them as hypocrites who use their position for wealth and power, instead of for mercy and faith. He said they were like somebody who polishes the outside of a cup but leaves the inside all moldy and messy. He said they were like someone who strained the gnat out of wine, but swallowed a camel. He said they looked beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, they were like a pile of dead man’s bones. He said they were like “blind guides,” and when they teach someone to follow them, what they are actually doing is creating another “child of hell.”

Jesus then paused, looked around the entire temple area, said something about the true desolation that was there, and then walked away. As he left the courtyard, apparently one of the disciples made a comment about how grand the temple building was. Jesus turned to him and said: “Truly I say to you, there will not be one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

He then walked down the path, across the Kidron stream, and up the Mount of Olives to the place they were staying. As they walked, Jesus tried to explain more about what was going to happen.

Can you see Simon’s face now? In my mind, he keeps looking behind them to see if anyone was following them. His hand was on his sword. He wanted to be ready.

That evening Jesus tried to explain to them what was going to happen. At one point, someone asked Jesus when it would be; when was the new kingdom finally going to come?

Matthew tells us a lot of what Jesus said, but in short, he said, “Dad is the only one who knows, and he’s not talking. What is important is that you are ready for whenever it does happen.”

And that’s when I imagine Simon stood up, pulled  his little sword from his robe, and said proudly: “Don’t’ worry Lord, we are ready! We will drive the Romans out, and those that won’t be driven away will meet the edge of our swords!”

Everyone cheered — except Jesus. Leave Simon for a moment and look at Jesus’ face. The expression that says, ”Again? They still don’t understand. How many times have I tried to teach them?”

How many times had Jesus explained that what he was offering was a not just another political kingdom, but was an end of the corruption of the temple, an end of all of the unjust laws; a different kind of kingdom?

Still, after all this time, they did not understand.

But honestly, we can’t blame them…or fault them…

I think we can all relate to what it felt like living under the pressures; the constant threat of being attacked or criticized for breaking some rule that we did not create; the corrupt leaders who spoke words of justice while performing acts of injustice.

I think some of us have talked about the day the pendulum will swing, and we will retake control of our kingdom. The day those now with power will see what it feels like to be powerless and will experience our version of justice. That day when we will drive out our modern Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and priests, all of those controlling our lives, and it will be our time to repay them.

No, I don’t think we can blame them…or fault them.

Many of us have dreamed of the day we will take our steps to make the world great again. We will, once again, be in control.

We still do not understand. It is not about control. It  is not about controlling others by playing “gotcha!” with laws to keep others in their place, or away from our place. It is not about retaking control or welcoming a nice, new kingdom that gives us that control and opportunity to repay others.

It is something bigger.

And it is not important for us to worry about when change will take place.

Our task is to simply be ready. And that simply means to love God, and love your neighbor as you love yourself… no more, no less. That is what it means to be ready. That is all we can do. That is all that we control.

But, going all the way back to where we started, what does this have to do with Christmas?

Again, to me, it all comes down to control.

We have Christmas under control. No swords nowadays…but schedules, plans, menus, gifts…we raise our lists and announce: “We’re  ready  Lord,  come  on  in! We started shopping, stocking store shelves back in September and we have done everything we could do to make sure we can have a Christmas that goes smoothly, and fits right in with our expectations, and won’t disrupt things too awfully much. We have it under control.”

Over the next few weeks, we are going to remind ourselves that the real message of Christmas is a message of surprise! It’s like magic… something unexpected… something new…something out of our control.

So, plan your travels… plan your meals… plan your gifts… all the rest of it to prepare for another merry, and controlled, Christmas.

But, just be ready…. Amen.