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WE PRAY

Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge:
Give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

WE READ

A theme emerging from today ’s readings is wakefulness. In Revelation, the church in Sardis is commanded to wake up. Though they have a reputation for being alive, inside, they are teetering on the brink of death. But all is not lost: there is still time to wake up and hold fast to what they’ve been taught. In Matthew, Jesus calls his followers to stay awake and watchful, warning of false prophets and deceivers. As you read, reflect on God’s call to be and remain awake.

Psalm 30

1 I exalt you, LORD,
because you pulled me up;
you didn’t let my enemies
celebrate over me.
2 LORD, my God, I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 LORD, you brought me up
from the grave,
brought me back to life from among
those going down to the pit.
4 You who are faithful to the LORD,
sing praises to him;
give thanks to his holy name!
5 His anger lasts for only a second,
but his favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may stay all night,
but by morning, joy!
6 When I was comfortable, I said,
“I will never stumble.”
7 Because it pleased you, LORD,
you made me a strong mountain.
But then you hid your presence.
I was terrified.
8 I cried out to you, LORD.
I begged my Lord for mercy:
9 “What is to be gained by my spilled blood,
by my going down into the pit?
Does dust thank you?
Does it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 LORD, listen and have mercy on me!”
LORD, be my helper!
11 You changed my mourning
into dancing.
You took off my funeral clothes
and dressed me up in joy
12 so that my whole being
might sing praises to you
and never stop.
LORD, my God,
I will give thanks to you forever.

Haggai 2:1–19

2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the LORD’s word came through Haggai the prophet: 2 Say to Judah ’s governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel ’s son, and to the chief priest Joshua, Jehozadak’s son, and to the rest of the people:
3 Who among you is left who saw
this house in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
Doesn’t it appear as nothing to you?
4 So now, be strong, Zerubbabel,
says the LORD.
Be strong, High Priest Joshua, Jehozadak ’s son,
and be strong, all you people
of the land, says the LORD.
Work, for I am with you,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
5 As with our agreement
when you came out of Egypt,
my spirit stands in your midst.
Don’t fear.
6 This is what the LORD
of heavenly forces says:
In just a little while,
I will make the heavens, the earth,
the sea, and the dry land quake.
7 I will make all the nations quake.
The wealth of all the nations will come.
I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
8 The silver and the gold belong to me,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
9 This house will be more glorious
than its predecessor,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
I will provide prosperity in this place,
says the LORD of heavenly forces.
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the LORD ’s word came to Haggai the prophet:
11 This is what the LORD
of heavenly forces says:
Go ahead and ask the priests for a ruling:
12 “If someone lifts holy meat”
into the hem of one ’s garment
and that hem touches bread,
stew, wine, oil, or any kind of food,
will it be made holy?”
And the priests responded, “No.”
13 Haggai said,
“If an unclean person touches any of
these things, will it become unclean?”
And the priests responded,
“It will be unclean.”
14 Then Haggai responded:
Thus has this people and this nation
become to me, says the LORD,
and everything that they do
with their hands.
Whatever they offer is unclean.
15 So now, take it to heart
from this day forward.
Before stone was placed on stone
in the LORD’s temple,
16 when one came to the granary
for twenty measures,
there were only ten;
and when one came to the wine vat
for fifty measures,
there were only twenty.
17 I struck you—
everything you do with your hands—
with blight and mildew and hail;
but you didn’t return to me.
18 So take it to heart
from this day forward,
from the twenty-fourth day
of the ninth month.
Take it to heart from the day when
the foundation for the LORD’s
temple was laid.
19 Is the seed yet in the granary—
or the vine, the fig tree,
or the pomegranate—
or has the olive tree not borne fruit?
From this day forward, I will bless you.

Revelation 3:1–6

3 “Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis:
These are the words of the one who holds God ’s seven spirits and the seven stars: I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, and you are in fact dead. 2 Wake up and strengthen whatever you have left, teetering on the brink of death, for I’ve found that your works are far from complete in the eyes of my God. 3 So remember what you received and heard. Hold on to it and change your hearts and lives. If you don’t wake up, I will come like a thief, and you won’t know what time I will come upon you. 4 But you do have a few people in Sardis who haven’t stained their clothing. They will walk with me clothed in white because they are worthy. 5 Those who emerge victorious will wear white clothing like this. I won’t scratch out their names from the scroll of life, but will declare their names in the presence of my Father and his angels. 6 If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Matthew 24:1–14

Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings. 2 He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.”
3 Now while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”
4 Jesus replied, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I ’m the Christ. ’They will deceive many people. 6 You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. 7 Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in all sorts of places. 8 But all these things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. 9 They will arrest you, abuse you, and they will kill you. All nations will hate you on account of my name. 10 At that time many will fall away. They will betray each other and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because disobedience will expand, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. 14 This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come.

WE THINK

  • What stands out to you from today’s reading?
  • Are you confused or stumped by what you’ve read?
  • Is there anything you encountered that makes you think, “I don’t know about that…”?
  • What resonated with you as particularly meaningful?
  • The psalmist notes, “When I was comfortable, I said, ‘I will never stumble.’” What’s the connection between feeling comfortable and confident about our footing and the call to be and remain awake and vigilant?
  • The passage from Haggai again reminds us that the presence of God is with us in the hard work we do. When we are comfortable, are we more or less likely to realize the presence of God among us? Why?

WE FEEL

  • In general, what emotions seem to be dominant at this moment?
  • How have those emotions affected the relationships you have with those around you?
  • What are you doing, or have you done, to submit those emotions to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
  • Is it wrong, or dangerous, to be spiritually and/or physically comfortable? Why or why not?
  • Is it possible to be comfortable and still exercise the wakefulness encouraged by the texts from Revelation and Matthew? If so, what might we do to remain vigilant and awake?

WE BELIEVE

We won’t always remain awake and vigilant while we wait for Christ’s coming. So, it is with confidence that we believe that God wakes the dead and restores the ruins of our lives. When mourning becomes all we can see and feel, God's joy rises with the dawn. Though our love and faithfulness may stumble, God still calls us to wake, remember, and endure. We believe in a God who does not abandon the unfinished or unclean, but who blesses what is humble and begins anew. We believe that even now, as the earth shakes and kingdoms fall, the kingdom of God is being proclaimed. It will not fail. We believe that the One who comes like a thief also comes like a gardener—planting, tending, redeeming all things. And so we wait, we endure, we rejoice. From this day forward, we trust: God will bless us.

WE PRACTICE

The church in Sardis is called to “wake up,” and Jesus warns his disciples to be vigilant in a world full of deception and disruption. This practice invites bodily and spiritual attentiveness.
Take a short walk (around your home, neighborhood, or a quiet space). Try to walk in silence, focusing on your surroundings and your breath. Let your senses help awaken your spirit to God’s presence.
With each step, pray:

"Lord, wake me up.”

As you walk, ask:

  • Where in my life am I spiritually asleep?
  • What have I let grow cold?
  • What do I need to remember and hold on to from what I have received?

PRAYER

Spirit of God, stir what remains in me. Strengthen what is weak. Keep me alert for your coming, and fill me with joy at your nearness. Amen.