Watch a video of this sermon from November 29, 2020.

“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Mark 13:24-37 (NRSV)

Do you ever find yourself lying awake in the middle of the night? I think the older I get, the more trouble I have staying asleep. It used to be thinking about work I needed to get done, or dreaming about how I would redo my kitchen if I won the lottery… now it’s more likely the aches and pains of aging that keep me awake at night. But one of the key causes of insomnia is stress, and during the pandemic, lots of people were experiencing sleeplessness as a side effect of pandemic stress. Researchers even coined a term for it: “Caronasomnia”.[1]