Sermon delivered on the third Sunday of Advent C, December 16, 2012, at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Columbus, OH.

Lectionary texts: Zephaniah 3:14-20; First Song of Isaiah (Isaiah 12.2-6); Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3.7-18.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This past Friday we were again confronted by the terrible face of evil, this time in the form of a young gunman who murdered several schoolchildren and adults before taking his own life. I fear the more we as a culture continue to marginalize and jettison God from our lives, the more we will see this kind of behavior occur because God is the foundation on which all good order in society is built and established. The sheer wickedness of this act is enough to overwhelm us, not only because we understand the terrible and senseless loss that is involved, but also because it makes us realize how helpless we really are in the face of evil like this. And because we realize that we cannot ultimately control evil beyond our own Spirit-aided efforts to prevent evil from using us to spread itself, it makes us afraid, very afraid. We wonder why God lets atrocities like this happen and whether God will do anything about evil and those who perpetrate it. We cannot answer the first part of this question because we simply don’t know why God allows these awful things to happen and speculation often does more harm than good.

But because we are in the midst of Advent with its focus on waiting and watching for the return of our Lord to put all things to rights, we have the opportunity to reflect on what God is doing and will do about despicable acts like this by considering God’s promised judgment. Acts like mass murder tend to make us better appreciate the goodness of God’s justice and Scripture tells us that evil and those who commit it will meet God’s righteous judgment. And while we may all be satisfied to see mass murderers come under God’s judgment, our certainty about the goodness and justice of God’s judgment becomes less certain when it comes to us facing his judgment. When we think about us standing before God’s judgment throne (if we think about it at all), we tend to want a little less justice and a lot more mercy. It is this theme that I want us to look at briefly this morning, especially since today is Gaudete Sunday, with its themes of rejoicing and joy. How can we possibly find joy in the face of God’s impending judgment on us and all that is wrong with us? How can we rejoice when schoolchildren are being murdered?

We get our first clue from our OT lesson with its breathtaking promises of healing and restoration. But before we look at today’s text, we have to first look at its counterpart in Zephaniah 1 so that we can better appreciate what God is promising through his prophet [read Zephaniah 1.2-4, 15-18]. The word of God spoken in Zephaniah 1 is hardly reason to rejoice. In fact, quite the opposite. These are not healing but killing words. They challenge the popular notion that God is some doting old grandfather who is perfectly content to let the kiddies misbehave because everything will turn out right in the end. And they most certainly challenge the notion that God is an absentee landlord who really doesn’t care about what happens to his creatures and creation. No, here we are reminded that God does care about what goes on in his world. God finds sin and evil of any kind intolerable because it ultimately hurts and dehumanizes us, and God loves us too much to let that continue to happen forever. And so God reminded his people Israel (and us) that he would bring his holy and righteous wrath on the whole world in general and on Israel in particular because Israel failed to be the people God called them to be to bring God’s healing love and restorative justice to the world. And in doing so, God will spare nothing. This text should make us very afraid because it reminds us that God has the power and the will to deal with evil and intends to exercise that power in full one day. Not only will mass murderers be swept away but so will the rest of us because we cannot seem to get out of our own way and fix ourselves so that we no longer engage in behaviors that dehumanize us and further diminish God’s image in us. Are we rejoicing yet?

But of course, this isn’t God’s last word. Today’s text with its message of salvation, restoration, and hope represents God’s last word. But how can we reconcile the two? How can there be universal death and yet the hope of salvation for God’s people? At first blush the two are simply not compatible. But we must always remember we worship the God who raises the dead and calls into being things that were not (Romans 4.17). And this points us to the answer—resurrection, which is the basis of our hope as Christians. Death and judgment do not have the final say if God really does raise the dead. In the immediate context of our OT lesson, we know that Israel experienced God’s judgment and essentially “died” when God sent his people into exile. Jerusalem was destroyed and God brought fearsome judgment on his idolatrous people who as a whole failed to be the people God called them to be.

But there was also return from exile and this represents resurrection. Because God is gracious and always faithful to his promises, the remnant of Israel returned to start a new life beyond judgment and death, a new life of resurrection and hope so to speak (cf. Ezekiel 37.11-14). “That’s all well and good,” you say. “But we are not ancient Jews and the return from exile isn’t exactly on our priority list. What’s this got to do with us?”

Just this. The promise of resurrection and hope triumphing over judgment and death is ultimately realized in Jesus the Messiah, God become human to be the true Israel to bring real healing and restoration to the world. On the cross, Jesus bore the full brunt of God’s wrath and just judgment for our sins so that we do not have to bear it. The darkness on Good Friday fulfilled the prophetic word of Zephaniah 1.15. But just like that word, the death of Jesus was not God’s last word because God raised Jesus from the dead and launched his promised new creation that will be implemented  fully when Jesus returns again to execute God’s final just judgment on all humanity. Jesus’ resurrection, of course, represents God’s vindication, not only of Jesus but of all who believe in him so that death and judgment are not the final word, but rather resurrection, life, and hope are. Because of the blood of the Lamb, God no longer looks on us in anger and wrath because his justice was fully satisfied in Jesus’ death. Instead, God looks on those of us who accept by faith his gracious gift offered to us with great delight and rejoices over us with singing, in fulfillment of Zephaniah 3.17. Let that image of God singing over you sink in. Ponder it and muse on it a good long while this week. Dare to believe it, not because you are some extra-special good person but because God is an extra-special, gracious, and faithful God! No wonder Paul tells us to rejoice without ceasing! No wonder he tells us not to be anxious about anything and to bring all our cares to God. How can a God like this do us wrong?

Do you see the necessary psychology here that is for our own good? We have to be jolted out of our complacency and delusional thinking about sin and God’s response to it. Until we let the full force of Zephaniah 1 sink in, we will never be ready to accept the breathtaking promise of Zephaniah 3. Instead, we’ll continue to think that it’s OK to just muck along and do our own thing because God really doesn’t care what we do or isn’t around to notice it. But once we understand that God does take sin seriously and will not let it go on forever, we are ready to hear the even more wondrous Good News of how in Jesus God has dealt with our sin and the separation it causes. When by God’s grace we accept his gift offered to us freely, we are ready to let God heal us thoroughly. That’s when we are ready to experience the peace that passes understanding because it is not of our own making; it comes from God. This is also why we can rejoice, even in the face of massive evil. Maybe we cannot rejoice right now because it is all still too fresh and raw. But eventually we can and we must if our faith is ever going to make a difference for us. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, God has demonstrated that he is in charge, that evil and death have been defeated decisively, and that history is going somewhere, and for the good. God judges evildoers, us included, and judges them severely. But for those who have the humility and good sense to embrace God’s offer in Jesus to a life of resurrection and new creation, there is no reason to fear because God has won the victory for us. And the promise is available to us right now, even in the face of evil. And so I ask again. Are we rejoicing yet?

So what do we do with this? On a personal level, if you are one who is struggling with the notion of whether God can really love you, study the promises of Zephaniah 3 in light of Jesus’ death and resurrection. While God cannot tolerate sin, evil, and rebellion forever, remember that God created you for relationship, not destruction, and ask the Spirit to open your mind and heart to the depth of God’s love for you expressed in Jesus’ death and resurrection. One can only wonder what a difference this would have made for the Newtown shooter had he really had a living relationship with Jesus.

And as we apply all this to those who were murdered at Newtown, we must focus on God’s last word so we remember that evil and death do not have the final say, but rather God’s power to redeem does. The One who told his disciples that they would never enter the kingdom of heaven unless they became like little children and chastised those who tried to prevent little children from coming to him, has surely now embraced those who were murdered and will redeem them when he ushers in fully his new creation. This doesn’t diminish the horror of their murders nor will it take away the terrible sense of loss and grief their families and loved ones feel. Rather it reminds us that God’s last word is resurrection and life, not evil and death, and from that hope can eventually spring forth and grow so that they (and we) can be sustained.

Second, when we really believe that God does love us and in Jesus has taken his just judgment from us, it inevitably changes us so that we work hard to live a life pleasing to God. We see this dynamic illustrated in today’s gospel lesson. When John’s audience starts to accept what he has to say about the coming judgment, they ask what they must do and he tells them. John’s answer shows a concern for the least and the lost, for God’s justice to be implemented, and for those asking what they must do differently. Likewise with us. That’s why we have so many projects going on right now as Jesus’ body. We don’t engage in good works to earn our salvation. We engage in good works because that is what God calls us to do so that he can use us to help bring about his kingdom on earth as in heaven. When we realize what God has done for us in Jesus, the Spirit creates in us a natural desire to be conduits for God’s good instead of evil, and God blesses us with each other to help hold us accountable to his call.

Third, God’s gift to us should naturally want to make us share that gift with others. How are you doing in talking to others about why Jesus is essential to you? The recent shootings give us the perfect context to do just that. If Jesus isn’t essential for you during times like this, he never will be. And are you still inviting others to come to church? We can introduce others to Jesus anytime, anywhere. But once we do, those who are just learning to know Jesus will need to feel his presence and support in and through other faithful Christians just like we do, and that’s why we invite folks to church.

Last, our texts remind us that God is in charge and is very much present and active in his world. God has dealt with evil on the cross, defeating the powers and principalities. He continues to deal with evil right now, primarily in and through his healing love offered through his people living in the power of the Spirit until Jesus comes again in great power and glory to consummate his victory won on the cross. This gives us hope, even in the face of evil. And because we believe that resurrection and new creation is our destiny, we have God’s peace that passes all understanding. This, in turn, enables us confront evil the way Jesus did, through our prayers and suffering love, believing that God will use us to help defeat evil. That is why we can live like people who have Good News, now and for all eternity. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon delivered on the second Sunday of Advent C, December 9, 2012, at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Columbus, OH.

Lectionary texts: Malachi 3.1-4; Benedictus (Luke 1.68-79); Philippians 1.3-11; Luke 3.1-6.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is the second Sunday of Advent and we have lighted the second purple candle on our wreath that represents the OT prophets. As we saw last week, Advent comes from the Latin word, adventus, and means coming or arrival. It is a season of expectation and preparation in which the Church prepares to celebrate the coming of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks ahead to his final advent as judge at the end of time. In addition to our candle, today’s texts also emphasize the prophetic role of God’s people, both in announcing the coming of God’s promised Messiah and in our call to continue to proclaim God’s word to his broken and hurting world in word and deed now that Jesus the Messiah has come. It is this theme that I want us to look at briefly this morning. Specifically I want us to answer this question. Whose way are we preparing? Our own or Jesus’?

As Luke makes clear in his gospel, the coming of the Messiah is rooted firmly in history. That is why Luke the historian tells us about all the movers and shakers who were ruling when John the Baptist appeared. This reminds us that history is going somewhere and based on John’s announcement, God is clearly inviting us to be part of his party that will heal and save God’s world. More on that in a moment. But before we can come to God’s party, John reminds us that first we must repent so that we can have our sins forgiven. As with the Four Last Things that are appropriate grist for reflection during Advent—death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell—talk of repentance quickly produces eyes rolling up in the backs of heads and looks of incredulity. I mean, come on. Aren’t we past all that silly repentance stuff? It’s depressing to talk about and makes us feel bad! Haven’t we progressed enough to put to rest all those outdated notions of right and wrong, good and evil, and ultimate Truth? Don’t we all know that we really have transcended the problem of evil and that what we need is more sex, money, power, and toys ?

Well, no we haven’t and no we don’t. Because if we are really honest with ourselves—and some, if not most of the time, life has to smack us squarely in the face before we are ready to be honest—deep down we know how broken we are, and how desperately we need to be healed and forgiven. The evidence is all over the place for us to see that all is not right in God’s good world. We read of puppies being tied to cars and dragged through the streets. We read about murder-suicides that leave babies orphans. We are aware of people and systems that will do anything or hurt anyone for their own self-aggrandizement. And if we dare look closer to home, we must admit that we are part of the problem. Oh, we may not be murderers or thieves or sadists, etc. But we all know what it’s like to have suffered through broken relationships, to take advantage of others for our own benefit, and to experience guilt, fear, and failure. We don’t much like talking about such things, not only because they are no fun to talk about (a surefire symptom of our human pride) but also because we know our brokenness needs to be fixed and we don’t know how to fix ourselves. Even if we did, we don’t seem to have the tools to do so. This, of course, is what has caused much of the evil and mess in God’s world today. It seems that almost from the very beginning, we humans weren’t satisfied to be the wise stewards of God’s creation we were created to be. No, we wanted more. We want to be the rulers, not just stewards. We want to play God even though we are thoroughly ill-equipped to do so and we are busy trying to prepare a path for our own advancement, not God’s kingdom. But just because we live mostly in denial about our human condition doesn’t change the truth of the matter. Simply put, left to our own devices, we often make a mess of things, including our own lives. And if we think about it long enough, we realize that frankly, it would be easier for God to just chuck the whole thing, us included, and start over.

But it is to the glory of God that God will not chuck the whole thing, us included, and start over. God remains faithful to his plan to re-create and renew his broken and hurting creatures and creation. That is why he called his people Israel through Abraham to be his faithful agents to bring his healing love to the world so that through Israel God could set the world to rights. But of course Israel was part of the problem and often failed miserably to answer God’s call. However, because God is faithful to his promises and because history is going somewhere, specifically toward God’s promised new creation, we read in our texts this morning about God’s prophets announcing that God’s Messiah would appear and do what was necessary to establish the conditions for God to fulfill his promise to set his world to rights. Most of Jesus’ contemporaries expected the Messiah to appear just as God promised. What nobody expected was that the promised Messiah would be God himself embodied in the person of Jesus.

And because Jesus was faithful to God’s call, it made it possible for God to use Jesus’ death and resurrection to bear himself the punishment of his own just judgment on our sin and rebellion. Put another way, because of Jesus’ blood shed for us, God is able to look at those of us who accept his free gift through faith with fresh eyes so that God neither sees or remembers our sins any longer. Do you believe this? You can never hope to be really healed unless you do.

Not only that, God defeated the powers and principalities on the cross and ushered in his promised new creation when God raised Jesus from the dead. Obviously the new creation is not fully consummated but it has begun and God invites everyone to come to the party and build on the foundation laid by Jesus our Lord. But we can’t build on the foundation of Jesus’ accomplishment until we have begun to really accept God’s forgiveness offered to us and decide to stop building a path for our own glorification. This is why John preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins. When by grace and the power of the Spirit, we come to a real faith in Jesus, we realize how shallow and futile are our own efforts and fall on our knees in praise and thanksgiving for the healing love offered to us in Jesus. When that happens, we are willing to change directions, to work to build God’s kingdom, not our own. In biblical language that is what it means to repent. In other words, we are willing to make straight paths for our Lord who loved us and claimed us from all eternity.

But what does that look like for us today? We make straight paths for the Lord by imitating Jesus in humble love and service to others. Every time we feed the hungry or clothe the naked or offer forgiveness where none is deserved, we make a straight path for Jesus’ rule. Every time we resist exploiting others for our own gain, we make a straight path for Jesus’ rule. Every time we speak out against injustice and oppression and evil of any kind, we make a straight path for Jesus’ rule. Every time we treat others honestly and fairly and insist that others do likewise, we make a straight path for Jesus’ rule. Every time we study Scripture together and pray for each other to be the fully human stewards God calls us to be, we make a straight path for Jesus’ rule. This obviously is not a comprehensive list but you get the idea.

We do none of this, of course, on our own power but in and through the power of the Spirit and with the help of each other. And as we saw last week, we see again the importance of prayer illustrated in today’s epistle lesson. In praying for the Philippians, Paul emphasizes three critical themes. First, Paul prays that their love will grow in knowledge. This immediately alerts us to the fact that biblical love is not some sappy emotion but rather emerges from those who think about and act on how they can best serve God and others in the context of their lives.

Second, Paul prays that the Philippians (and we) should have common sense. Yes, that’s right. Common sense. Paul knew that we are going to be bombarded by all kinds of competing ideas about what spirituality and life in the Spirit really look like. We’d better be prepared to use our God-given reason, knowledge, and good common sense to help us sort out the good from the bad from the ugly. Otherwise, for example, we may do goofy things like advocating a life of sin so that grace may abound (cf. Romans 6.1). Why is that goofy? Because while God always accepts us where we are, God is never satisfied to leave us where we are because God loves us too much to leave us in our sin. We won’t find this out until we’ve plumbed the depths of Scripture and lived the shared life of the Spirit for a fair amount of time, i.e., until our love grows in the knowledge of Scripture and we acquire common sense.

Last, Paul wants the Philippians (and us) to bear the fruit of righteousness, a different way of telling us to make straight paths for the Lord. Paul also reminds us that history is going somewhere by reminding us we are to expect Jesus to reappear at any time to finally consummate his great victory won on the cross and vindicated in his resurrection. Paul knows we are who we are by the power of the Spirit and he reminds us that God always completes what he starts. As we have seen, God has called us to be his people in Jesus the Messiah to bring about his kingdom on earth as in heaven and we do that by how we think, speak, and act. When we work for the kingdom, we always subordinate our needs to the demands of Jesus, no matter how difficult or painful. Always. And because we know history is headed somewhere good and God always completes the work God starts, we continue to work tirelessly and humbly in Jesus’ name to embody his sacrificial and healing love to others who desperately need it. Don’t misunderstand. God brings in the kingdom, we don’t. But God uses our good works in the process and God always finishes what he starts.

So whose kingdom are you working to build? If you are working to build your own more often than Jesus’, what do you need to add or jettison so that you can join the party and engage fully in the only relationship and work that can possibly satisfy your deepest longings? Pray about this using Paul’s prayer as your model. Remember that despite your flaws and mistakes, you are still covered by the blood of the Lamb, assuming, of course, that you are not willfully hostile toward God and God’s good purposes for you and others, and accept in faith God’s forgiveness.

And if you are making straight paths for the Lord more often than your own, keep at it and pray for both perseverance and for growth in your understanding of how to love and what you need to do to show that love to others on behalf of the Lord. Resist the temptation to become discouraged when you do not see immediate results. Remember that history is going somewhere, and for the good, and that God always finishes what God starts in you (cf. 1 Corinthians 3.11-15; 15.58). Your work in God’s name is never yours alone. You enjoy God’s forgiveness through the cross, are promised that the new creation is coming through Jesus’ resurrection, and are helped to do God’s work in the power of the Spirit, thanks be to God!

In closing, I would like to read to you an updated rendition of Luke’s gospel lesson today because it sums up nicely what I have tried to say this morning. In the fourth year of the reign of Barack Obama, president of the United States—when John Kasich was governor of Ohio and Michael Coleman was mayor of Columbus—during the episcopate of Roger Ames, bishop of the ADGL, the word of God came to the people God assembled and formed into St. Augustine’s Anglican Church to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, to work with Faith Mission and others to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to visit Worthington Christian Nursing home and elsewhere to visit the lonely, to bring God’s healing love in Jesus the Messiah in the ways they conducted themselves in the contexts of their daily lives, to pray for each other, and to study the Bible in small groups and support each other when it hit the fan. None of this made total sense to those whom God called because despite their fervent prayers and hard work, things really didn’t seem to change much. But in the power of the Spirit, through God’s word in Scripture, and God’s presence in worship, fellowship, and the sacraments, God made his people understand that God is faithful and always finishes the good work he starts in and through his people, especially those at St. Augustine’s. And so in and through their humble work in Jesus’ Name, they continued to encourage each other in the Spirit and to make straight paths for the Lord who loved them and claimed them from all eternity by doing the good works and speaking the good things he called them to do and speak. And when they realized that God always delivers on his promises and starts what God finishes, they knew they had Good News, now and for all eternity. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The good former bishop of Durham opines on how and why to read the Bible. Check him out and see what you think.

Read my bishop, Roger’s, Advent letter. From the ADGL’s website.

The season of Advent will soon be upon us and with it the start of a new liturgical year. So much has happened in our shared life together in the past year. We have seen our diocese more than double in size. There is such a spirit of joyful expectation and possibility in our midst. It is no coincidence that we find ourselves on the entrance into the season of Advent.

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which “all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption,” it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Read it all.

Sermon delivered on Advent Sunday C, December 2, 2012, at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Columbus, OH.

Lectionary texts: Jeremiah 33.14-16; Psalm 25.1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3.9-13; Luke 21.25-36.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Happy new year, St. Augustine’s! Today is Advent Sunday. We begin a new calendar year for the Church and have lighted the first purple candle on our wreath that represents the patriarchs. Advent comes from the Latin word, adventus (parousia in Greek), and means coming or arrival. Advent is a season of expectation and preparation in which the Church prepares to celebrate the coming (adventus) of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks forward to his final advent as judge at the end of time. Advent is not part of the Christmas season but rather a preparation for it. It is an appropriate time to reflect on the Four Last Things—death, judgment, heaven, and hell, always popular things to talk about, especially in today’s culture—and the theme of judgment is prominent in our lectionary readings today. Consequently, I want us to do two things. First, I want us to look at what the texts suggest about the nature of God’s coming judgment. Is it a good or bad thing? Second, I want us to look at what the coming judgment of God means to us for the living of our days right now.

Both the OT and NT make clear that God judges sin and evil and will one day bring about a great and final judgment on evil and those who perpetrate it, both  humans and spiritual beings alike (cf. Exodus 7.14-12.30; Joel 2.30-32; Amos 5.17-19; Rev. 11.1-12.17). This final judgment is typically called the great and terrible day of the Lord or just simply the Day. But here is the curious thing. The process of God’s judgment, while surely a terrible thing, will result in something wonderful. That is why we sometimes read apparently conflicting statements about the Day. For example, the prophet Amos writes, “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light” (Amos 5.18), while the psalmist talks about all creation rejoicing when God comes to judge the earth (Psalm 96.11-13; cf. Romans 8.22-25). How can this be? Because in judging evil, God will bring about his righteous, just, and merciful rule, and evil (and those who perpetrate it) will be forever banished. What is not to like about that (unless, of course, you are a committed evildoer who hates God)?

We also see the goodness of God’s judgment reflected in all of our texts this morning. Jeremiah writes about the just and righteous rule of God’s Messiah that will bring about the salvation of God’s people. It is important for us to remember that Jeremiah wrote these words during the final Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, a time of God’s terrible judgment on his people for failing to be the people God called them to be to bring about his healing love and righteous rule to God’s world. Surely there would have been some in Jerusalem who looked around at their imminent destruction while hearing Jeremiah’s words and thought the prophet was either nuts or talking nonsense. We can relate because many still think likewise in our world today!

The psalmist also celebrates God’s good, just, and merciful rule while asking God to number him among the righteous who would be saved as a result of God’s coming judgment on evildoers. We find this same sentiment reflected in Paul’s epistle where he encourages the Thessalonians to persevere until they find final respite when Jesus returns to usher in fully God’s promised new creation so that they can enjoy living in God’s direct Presence forever. And Jesus tells his followers to take hope when they see his predicted signs come about because their redemption is drawing near. More about that in a moment.

And of course, because we Christians are covered by the blood of the Lamb so that we can enjoy a new and healed relationship with God through Jesus, and because we believe that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead so that God’s promised new creation was finally inaugurated, we have every reason to have hope when the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives because it means that God’s new creation with all its wonderful promises will be consummated. In other words, because we believe that Jesus’ resurrection is firmly rooted in history and is history’s single most important event, we know that history is going somewhere, and for the good. That is why we are to long for the coming of God’s righteous judgment. We are certainly not to gloat over or desire the destruction of those who are firmly opposed to God righteous rule and who perpetrate evil. We don’t gloat because we remember that before coming to faith in Jesus we too could not stand in the presence of God’s perfect holiness. And we don’t gloat because doing so would reveal to others and ourselves that we are still wickedly proud and hostile toward God’s great love for all his human creatures that results in God’s desire to save all people so that everyone might enjoy his promised new creation. If God desires this, how can we who claim to love him desire otherwise? Does not compute!

And it is here that we need to look briefly at what Jesus said in today’s gospel lesson about folks in his generation not dying before they saw the Son of Man coming on a cloud. Was Jesus talking about his Second Coming? If he was, he was clearly mistaken. And if he was clearly mistaken, how can we have any confidence about the truth of his Second Coming? After all, twenty centuries plus have passed and he still hasn’t returned to fulfill his promise to do so. If Jesus was wrong on this, how can we have any confidence about anything he said, let alone about his return and the promised new creation? These are questions we must answer!

The answer, of course, is that Jesus was not talking about the end of the world and his return in today’s passage. Luke firmly believes in the Second Coming but this is not one of those passages that deals with it. Our lesson today is part of Jesus’ teaching about the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple that begins at Luke 21.5. Jesus uses classic OT imagery to describe this world-shattering event for Jews of his day. Ancient Israel used language like the stars falling from the sky and the sun being darkened in a highly symbolic way to describe cataclysmic events. Think of the language you used when you learned about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union or when witnessing the destruction of 9/11. Sometimes in the midst of dramatic events, we find it hard to come up with the right words and so we may speak about these events symbolically, not unlike when we talk about all hell breaking loose in the midst of some catastrophic event. So here is Jesus, using language that any first-century Jew would have readily understood, talking about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, not the end of the world. If Jesus had been speaking about the end of space, time, and matter, why would he have urged his followers in a previous verse to flee to the hills? Survivalist shelters like the hills would hardly do any good if the world is ending!

And what about his reference to the Son of Man coming on a cloud? Again, Jesus is using OT imagery, this time from Daniel 7. There the Son of Man is not descending but ascending to God’s throne room in heaven where he is vindicated by God. Surely this was an allusion to his future resurrection and the vindication Jesus would receive from it. These events clearly took place within Jesus’ generation and it is because Jesus was vindicated in his resurrection that we can lift up our heads in hope when we see the Day arrive. Jesus is who he claims he is. And because he is, we know that history is going somewhere and we can live as people of hope.

“That’s all well and good,” you say. “But we aren’t first-century Jews. We are 21^st century Americans and the fact that Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in AD 70 is pretty much irrelevant to us. How do Jesus’ words apply to us today?” Fair enough. We aren’t first-century Jews but irrespective of where and when we live, we still live in a world that has not seen Jesus’ return and God’s final judgment so that God’s world and its people are finally put to rights. In fact, in some ways, living as Christians in the 21^st century is getting even harder than it was for some first-century Christians. Paul and others apparently believed Jesus would return in their lifetime, but he didn’t. And with every passing year that Jesus does not return, we are tempted increasingly to abandon our belief that he will (and with it our accompanying faith), and our culture is only too happy to help us do so. Think about it. Some of our friends think us odd that we would spend Sunday mornings at church. We are increasingly told that our faith is outdated and out-of-touch with what’s going on in our society. Our critics point out that the world is still a mess and God is not doing anything about it. They point to our past and present mistakes as Christians as proof we are simply chasing a pipe dream. Of course, they conveniently forget about all the good Christians have done for society—the schools and hospitals built, for example, not to mention the countless lives that have been transformed in the power of the Spirit. No, they say. What we need is more sex, more parties, more money, more power, more stuff. The Lord hasn’t returned and we’d better get with the program because he isn’t going to return.

And our response to all this? Prayer, perseverance, and mutual encouragement in the fellowship of the body. As both Jesus and Paul remind us, we are to continue to meet together and remind ourselves of the important stories in the Christian narrative. For example, we are to remind ourselves that the resurrection is firmly rooted in history and therefore God’s promises to us in Jesus are true. God has vindicated Jesus in his resurrection. Jesus is Lord. The promised new creation has been inaugurated and will be consummated, even though we do not know the day or hour. But we have to remind each other of this by rehearsing our stories so that we can live our lives like we believe it, i.e., like God’s holy ones. Otherwise, if we try to do this by ourselves we will likely get distracted by the stuff of life and fall away.

When we have faith and confidence in our stories and in God’s sovereignty and ability to deliver on God’s promises, it brings new fire and purpose to our praying. We don’t come to God with our fingers crossed, hoping he might be able to do something about the mess that is his world and our lives. We know God can and will deliver when we ask for the right things, like his will to be done on earth as in heaven. We see this reflected in Paul’s prayer in today’s epistle lesson. Notice how he calls God Father and Jesus Lord and pairs them together? There’s a reason for that. Paul is essentially acknowledging that the God to whom he is praying is able and willing to answer his prayers to help him and those for whom he is praying to persevere and lead holy lives that are pleasing to God because of what he has done in and through Jesus. God raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord. Can God not answer any of our prayers that are in accordance with his will?

This, of course, takes great faith on our part. But it is also what enables us to persevere in these trying times and in the face of the unrelenting criticism of the enemies of the Cross (and therefore our enemies). Our prayers, coupled with the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit and other faithful Christians, enable us to be the people Jesus calls us to be—truly human, who reflect God’s great love and image out into his broken and hurting world. Make no mistake. I am not suggesting this is easy. It is quite the opposite and it is impossible if we try to do it on the basis of our own puny strength and effort. That is why we need each other and the help of the Spirit. And that is why we must be at prayer in the manner Paul suggests to us this morning so that we can persevere. That way, despite the immense difficulties and opposition we face, both from within and without, we will not succumb to excess and distraction, and can face the coming Day with hope and expectation, not because we are better than others but because we are humbly following Jesus our Lord by whose blood we have been saved and in whose Name and power we act to bring about God’s righteousness, mercy, and justice to our little corners of the world. That’s what it means to be God’s holy people. And when know we are God’s holy people, despite the prospect of God’s judgment, we know that we really do have Good News, now and for all eternity.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.