Remember when political philosopher Karl Marx described religion as the “opium of the people.” Opium puts people to sleep. His perception of the religion was that it blindfolded people to the social injustices of the day. Whether his claims were true or not, I don’t know.
If Marx was talking about the kind of Christianity that St. Paul preached, he had things completely backwards. Christians were supposed to be the most awake people on earth, because they knew that at any moment the final event of history was about to take place. They dared not get caught sleeping (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11).
“For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
Will the world be alert and ready when Jesus returns like a thief in the night, or will people, by and large, be caught up in the everyday routines and pleasures? The gospels tell us that most will not be ready. Even we Christians who read these words of Paul can be so consumed by the activities of our culture that false ‘peace and security’ tricks us into thinking Jesus is not really going to return.
Paul reminds Christians that they have passed from death into a new level of life. We, by virtue of our baptisms, are not “of the world.”
“But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.”
Our lives are not determined by market trends, the latest fashions, and the newest forms of entertainment. Living in the light, means we consciously put the Lordship of Jesus first in all we do.
“Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Christians, by definition, are countercultural. We do not do “as the rest” because we do not want to be caught asleep when Jesus comes to take us home. It is much easier doing “as the rest do;” it is the path of least resistance. We, humans, are a “peer-driven” species. If everyone rushes to a sale, so do we. If everyone looks up in the sky, so do we. If everyone laughs at the idea that Jesus will come like a thief in the night to put the finishing touches on history, we are inclined to laugh with them. It is not easy to walk to the beat of a different drummer, especially if we are criticized for it.
Knowing this, Paul talked about the responsibility we have to keep each other alert and sober.
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, as indeed you do.”
These words make us wonder how well we are doing encouraging each other to stay awake. Maybe we figure that this is our pastor’s job, and he may or not being doing a good job with this. Paul, however, was not writing to pastors but the flock of Christians. Each of us is challenged to keep one another alert to the unexpected coming of Christ. If we fail to do this, then our brand of religion can become the opium that Marx talked about.
“Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord” (Ps 27:14).
