On Thursday morning I woke up with the radio news: A fire has engulfed multiple residential towers in Hong Kong. So far, 94 people have died and many are missing.

It is common knowledge that disaster strikes without warning. Death comes without warning. So it is with war. The more the weaponry becomes sophisticated with advanced technology, the faster death comes without warning.

Isaiah admonishes the people against violence, teaching instead, the way of peace. God teaches through Isaiah the way of turning violence into what nourishes life:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that God may teach us God’s ways and that we may walk in God’s paths. God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Yet our nation’s total 2026 defence budget will be, part of a larger four-year $12 billion Defence Capability Plan. Our government does not consider investing that amount in our health system to assure life. Those who profit from war may argue that investing in defence is for life. I am not sure about that. Do our leaders think of transforming our defence systems and personnel into health professionals and medical equipment? I would call them to do so if I get five minutes to address them in parliament.

Last Sunday on the feast of Christ the king, I mentioned the clash of kingdoms. Today, on the first Sunday of Advent, I see the clash between the world as it is and the world as it should be. In the world as it is, there is violence, injustice, and criminality. And now, to add to it, we have cyber-crime.

In a similar context Isaiah called the people: come, let us walk in the light of the LORD! Unfortunately, many rulers of the world prefer darkness instead of walking in the light of God. In the world as it is, vigilance is required as the unexpected is inevitable.

Similarly, God’s coming demands vigilance. About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only God. Advent begins with the humbling reminder that though we can be confident in Christ’s return, and there is plenty “knowing” and “unknowing” to go around.

Jesus’s opening words in our gospel this week make it clear that “no one knows” the day of judgment that will usher in the new heaven and new earth—not even Christ himself! It continues to fascinate me how Jesus declares this truth, and yet rapture predictions go mainstream.
I tell people to ignore those teachings because what Christ himself does not know, these preachers claim to predict. It is a tactic to instil fear into people to make them do what the preacher wants. Fear is the best tool to manipulate the masses.

Advent and Christmas season provide opportunities for dreaming about what could be. The scripture readings demand such dreaming.

Have you ever thought of what would God’s ideal world look like? And what is it that keeps us from working to create that world with God’s help?

As for me, having lived through a civil war for 19 years, a new life with the rights of all people was a distant dream. When our dreams shattered, we migrated, leaving our extended families behind. Yet our hope for a better land remained, and it is gradually dawning, assuring new life for the people.

A number of organisations do the work of literally beating weapons of war into farming tools. As we begin this season of Advent with the hope of a world as it should be, think of one step you could take to bridge the gap between the world as it is and the world as it should be.

Unlike Isaiah’s text, which presents a positive vision of the world as it could one day be, Jesus offers what looks like a warning. “Keep watch, for you do not know when God is coming. The day and time of God’s victory is known only to God.

The practical advice, then is that the faithful must stay vigilant and awake, knowing that Christ will return, though the timing remains unknown. The phrase “the day or hour,” or even just “the hour,” simply means the timing. It does not suggest that the general time frame of Christ’s return can be known in advance, but that the specific day or hour is hidden.

But one thing is certain as St Paul says in his letter to the Romans: For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably. Rom 13:11-13

In this season, knowingly or unknowingly, we light up the streets and homes and churches with many colourful lights symbolising God’s armour of light that came into world to save sinners.

Let us walk in the light of God.