Sunday, November 13, 2022

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
Malachi 4:1-6
Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:(1-5)6-13
Luke 21:5-28(29-36)

Sing to Yahweh a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

The Church calendar has a very specific purpose and pattern. It is meant to remind us every year of the story of God and our place in God’s kingdom. We begin in Advent with the promise and the coming of Christ, move into the revelation of His light and purpose, and then the journey to the cross. Holy Week takes us from His triumph over the world to His triumph on the cross to His triumph over death. The Easter season ends with the birth of the Church, Pentecost, and the reminder of the Trinitarian God we worship. The season of Pentecost teaches us how to be disciples of Christ and then ends with a foretaste of the feast to come, the promise on All Saints of an eternity with God. The week/s between All Saints and Christ the King remind us that life in this world, even with faith, is not always safe and secure and that persecution, sickness, and death is still a reality for Christians.

We end the year with the reminder for why we need Jesus. God’s promises are real, and they are ours today, but eternity is a future hope. We still live in a world of darkness that cries out for a Savior. That’s why we begin the year with Advent, the light growing in the darkness as we journey with John the Baptist and the other prophets toward the birth of the Jesus. The last Sunday before Advent is Christ the King and though we struggle with the reality of evil and suffering in this world, we celebrate that Jesus is King now and forever. We can’t see Jesus, or touch Him, or feel Him in tangible ways, but we trust by faith that He Is and that He will come to make all things right. For this moment we have to live in hope.

It is hard to hope when the world seems to be falling apart around us. We aren’t the first generation to deal with the struggles of life, however. As a matter of fact, our struggles aren’t nearly as bad as we think they are. We listen to the prophets of the age and become afraid and angry, forgetting that God can use our struggle to build in us strength, courage, and wisdom. Sometimes it takes getting to the bottom of the barrel to realize our need for His grace.

I just finished reading the book of Judges. The book repeats and then ends with this line, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” The last few chapters were so difficult to read because they were horrific. Nothing God’s people did glorified Him. I wondered why God would even tell those stories. It disgusted me that His people would act so unconscionably. I wanted to stop reading. I then read some commentaries to try to understand. God always has a purpose, doesn’t He?

The book of Judges was written to help us see that human leadership is always temporary and fallible. Even the lives of the good judges came to an end. These stories, especially those at the end of the book, would lead Israel to cry out for king. God always hoped that He would be their King, but He knew that they would need strong leadership to stay the course of His purpose for them in the world. The rest of the history books of the Bible remind us, however, that even kings are temporary and fallible. They cycle of life would always continue. Even now we have the same cycle which I describe as “good to eh to ugh to awful.” Then whenever we hit awful, we cry out to God to save us.

Sometimes God’s timing and ways don’t make any sense.

Today is the 84th anniversary of “Kristallnacht,” or “Night of Broken Glass,” when Jewish businesses were targeted in Germany. People died, businesses were ruined, and thousands were sent to concentration camps. Though they were set free, it was only on the condition that they leave Germany. It began an exodus, but not everyone was able to leave. Sadly, that night was just the beginning of the horror of the Holocaust, the attempt to rid Germany of all the Jews and other undesirables. Kristallnacht was nothing compared to what would happen in the next ten years: millions died and Germany was devastated even to the point of being divided. On this day exactly 51 years later, the wall that divided the country fell and Germany began to heal.

There is that pattern again. Things were good in Germany in the beginning of the twentieth century. Even Adolf Hitler had some positive impact. But then things got bad, and then they got worse, and then they seemed unredeemable. But God knows what He’s doing. Like those stories in Judges, the stories of those years in Germany were horrific and they make us wonder what kind of God would allow such things to happen. Why does He allow us to suffer the fire?

There is a story about a mother bird that was found in a national park after a fire. She was charred beyond recognition, but the forest ranger found several chicks under her wings. According to his story, the chicks survived, and we are to learn that God covers us with His wings to save us from the dangers of this world. It is a beautiful story. Unfortunately, it never happened. Scientists have confirmed that it would have been impossible for the mother bird to have saved her chicks from the fire just by covering them with her wings. We love these stories that help us understand the loving and caring nature of God, but human analogies rarely describe God completely. As we read the scriptures there are images of God that touch our hearts and there are some that are unreasonable. We prefer the loving, caring God than the God who allows the horrors of this world.

We forget that we do not deserve God’s grace. We are proud and we are wicked. There are aspects of our lives that would best be destroyed. We sin, we doubt, we hate in one way or another. We deserve to be destroyed by the fire. But that’s where God differs from the human analogies we use to describe Him. He is like that mother bird, covering us with His wings. But He is also like the fire, burning away the pride and wickedness in our lives, leaving behind a cleaner, purer person. He brings healing and righteousness.

When it feels like we are in the furnace, God is working good things in our lives, bringing us to the place that He intends us to be. We will face the fire of cleansing as God burns away the stubble. We will never be perfect in this world because we continue to be sinners even while we are saints, but those who persevere through the fire, resting on the promise of Jesus Christ, will see the other side.

A new movie is nearly ready for release; it will be in the theaters early next summer. It is the fifth and final installment of the popular series “Indiana Jones,” which tell the adventures of Dr. Henry Walden Jones, Jr. who is played by Harrison Ford. Indiana Jones is an archeologist who searches for some of the greatest treasures of the world. He is the good guy who made it his life’s purpose to protect the treasures from those who want to use them for selfish and self-centered reasons.

Indiana Jones is an archeologist like no other. I watch several shows about archeology, and none of them show the kind of experiences that we see in the movies. Indiana Jones is always getting into some sort of trouble. In “Raiders of the Lost Ark” he was trying to recover the Ark of the Covenant because the Nazi Germans were hoping to use its power to take over the world. He was chased all over the world, constantly running from those who wanted to stop his quest.

One of the most famous scenes from the Indiana Jones movies has to be from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” when Indiana Jones was attempting to get through an ancient obstacle course to the hiding place of the Holy Grail. The obstacles made the path difficult, and they were dangerous. He had to solve riddles to move forward step by step. He risked being impaled by spears or falling through a hole into a bottomless cavern if he got the riddle wrong. Meanwhile, he was surrounded by bad guys and his father was dying by their hands. The pressure to succeed was intense.

The Holy Grail was believed to hold the power of eternal life. Indiana’s father had been injured by one of the bad guys and the only hope to save his life was to find the cup and give him a drink of water from it. Of course, the bad guys wanted the cup to abuse its power and control the world. They followed his path through the obstacles to the chamber where the cup was hidden. There were hundreds of different goblets. Choosing wrongly meant immediate death. One of the bad guys chose a precious goblet of gold with magnificent stones, certain that the Christ would have the best of the best. She drank some water and immediately died. Indiana knew better. He knew that Jesus was a carpenter. The Holy Grail was not some fancy goblet, but a simple pottery cup. He filled the cup with the water that saved his father’s life.

During his quests, Indiana Jones moves forward by a sense of purpose. His purpose is not fame or wealth, but a search for the truth and the protection of the world’s precious treasures. He is not driven by the benefits he will receive from finding the treasures but by the treasures themselves. It doesn’t matter what he will face, as long as he is able to find what he is looking for. Guns, rolling stones, ancient obstacle courses and bad guys never stop him from finding the purpose of his quest.

For many of the people living in Jesus’ day, the Temple was the destination of their greatest quests. The Jews took pilgrimages to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and to worship their God regularly. There was nowhere else they could be so close to God as in the courts of the Temple. It was a magnificent place dedicated to God. It honored Him well. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple. When He did so, He was not just threatening a beautiful building. He was threatening the very foundation of their faith. It was a terrifying possibility. The Temple was a sanctuary from the fears and dangers of the world, and they must have felt very safe within its walls. The words of Jesus must have been shocking and unfathomable. How could that great place be destroyed? What would they do? Where would they go? How would they sacrifice to God?

Then Jesus told them that not a hair on their heads would be destroyed. This seems like a ridiculous statement. If only it would be true! I rip a dozen or more strands of my hair every time I brush it. I can’t tell you how often we have to clean the drain because hair has created a blockage. And whatever happened to the bald guy next door? Will he think it is a sign of God’s wrath that his hair is gone? Or the cancer patient that is wearing a scarf to cover the loss of hair from chemotherapy? Hair has a purpose, but it is not vital to our existence. Our hearts, lungs, and brains need to be protected. Hair can be cut, colored, woven, braided, pulled, knotted, shaved and made to stand on end without harm to the body.

So, why would Jesus begin a lesson with a warning about the destruction of the Temple and end it with a promise that the hair on their heads would be unscathed? The Temple was where God dwelt among men. In the story just before this message, Jesus pointed out to a widow who gave a measly mite to the Temple offerings. His point was that she gave more than the others who had put so much more in the plate because she gave everything. She gave her only coin, her well-being, her future to God. The others were giving just a portion. She was an example of faith in dire circumstances. She trusted so much in God that she gave Him everything, knowing that He would be with her through her troubles.

The Gospel lesson is about the end of the age, and we might focus on the end times because we see wars and rumors of wars, and false prophets touting their goods in the public squares. We can read this warning for our own time and place because there are many reasons to be afraid. Will our walls come tumbling down? Jesus reminds us that we have a purpose in this life and worrying about the end times will not make anything happen. It will not make anything better. We should not sit and wait for His coming or worry about the destruction of our temples; our purpose is to be His witnesses in this world.

Though Jesus said that not a hair on our head will be harmed, we must not read this as a promise that we won’t suffer. The Saints throughout the ages discovered that being a witness for Christ might lead to a martyr’s death. Many were beheaded, impaled, hanged, and slaughtered for their faith. The word martyr means witness. Persecution will lead to the opportunity for us to glorify God as His witnesses.

We are reminded that through it all, even if it all leads to death, God is concerned about even the most insignificant parts of our bodies. He has counted to the number of hairs on our heads. He knows our every thought, prayer, concern, and doubt. He also knows that every bit of His creation is perishable. We will see the cycle of life and experience the pattern of God’s story over and over again. We’ll see the good, the eh, the ugh, and the awful. We will see the darkness and the coming light. We’ll learn how to be disciples, growing in faith, receiving strength, courage, and wisdom. Today is just one of the many days in which God walks with us, His wings over our heads as we face the horrors of this world.

When Jesus told the disciples about the Temple, they asked, “When?” We are not waiting for the destruction of the Temple, but we are waiting for the return of Christ. We have been waiting for His return for two thousand years. We, too, ask “When?” Jesus tells us the signs, but every generation has seen these signs. Perhaps we are the generation that will see the return of Christ, but probably not. We must not make this the center of our focus or the quest for our lives.

I have been watching old videos. Well, I’ve been skimming through them to see if there is anything worth keeping. I occasionally stop the fast forward and watch what’s happening. It brought back such memories to watch the early years of our children. I found video of my mom and dad from when they were young and healthy. Many of the videos are from my daughter’s theater days. I found one of her High School troupe doing “Robin Hood” which I watched in its entirety. Though they had other shows that won awards, I thought it was their best. The actors were talented; the sets and transitions were creatively done.

Instead of closing the curtain between scenes, the director decided to allow the audience to see the set changes. A wandering minstrel played a song under the spotlight while the crew moved the pieces into place in shadow. Everyone was in costume, including the offstage crew, to keep the up the image of medieval England. The set changes were choreographed, and it was vital that every member of the cast do their part. If they were assigned the duty of moving a tree, the tree had to be moved in a timely and effortless manner. Every member had to do their part for the play to be successful. It worked and surprised the audience.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that each member of the community has a role to play and a task to complete. When everyone does their part, everything works well, both in the Church and all of creation. He encourages all Christians to be active participants in the world around them, working to provide for their own needs and for the needs of the community.

Thessalonica was dealing with a time of uncertainty. They knew that Christ would return, and that time was short. However, they could not define the time. Many assumed that the end would come during their lifetime, and they were misled by the Gnostic idea that the flesh no longer mattered. Some thought they did not need to work to care for their needs because they would soon have no flesh for which to labor. They managed to keep their bellies full by eating the food shared by the other members of the Christian community. They did nothing to provide, but took advantage of the grace of others, leaving few resources for those who really did need help.

They forgot that everyone has a purpose and the gifts to fulfill that work, even if they are needy. They have a role to play and tasks to do. The widows had no money, but they could help teach and guide the young women, offering their time, wisdom, and experience to help them grow into disciples. Unfortunately, some of the widows spent their time being busybodies and gossiping rather than doing what they could do. As they say, “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.” Those who seemed to have no purpose in the community spent their time doing things that would never benefit the believers. As part of the community of believers, we are all called to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel in words and deeds. Our work will never gain us salvation, but as Christians it is up to us to live as God has gifted us to live. As part of the body of Christ, we are meant to do our part for the smooth and successful operation of God’s kingdom on earth.

God is faithful, and because He is faithful, we have all we need to live and work in His promises. The psalmist calls us to make a joyful noise and sing praises to God. Paul encourages us to be active, working to make our own living in this day so that we’ll have enough for ourselves and for those who cannot provide for themselves. Though it seems like the world is about to end, we should not be idle.

More than two thousand years after the apocalyptic warning from Jesus, we are still seeing the signs of the end. Jesus’ words warn us today as much as it did His first disciples. We still have temples that will fall. Our temples are not just places of worship. Other temples might include our jobs, our homes, and our relationships. Sometimes God shakes the foundation of our perishable world so that we will look to Him and toward that which is imperishable.

Jesus is coming to judge the earth; He has come and will come again. Until that day, we will suffer during troubled times, we will experience persecution, we will die. We don’t know when Jesus will come even though we can see that there are signs pointing to the end. It isn’t up to us to worry about the day, to even try to figure out when it will happen. “When” is not the right question to ask when God reveals the coming of Judgment. We should be asking, “What should we do?” We are called to endure in faith, to wait patiently through the fire, and to do whatever needs to be done in the meantime. God is always working, and though we may not understand what He is doing, we can trust that it is good, right, and true.

Jesus didn’t tell them when, but warned, “Do not be fooled.” The scriptures at the end the of Church year are not pleasant. Malachi talks about the day of the Lord, when the arrogant and evildoers will be burned. Paul warns those who believed the Gnostics and were idly waiting for Christ’s return that they will starve. Jesus talks about the destruction of the Temple and the danger to the believers. Even the psalmist talks about vindication and judgment.

When the world around us is confused and without hope, it is easy to be fooled. We listen to the wrong voices. Jesus knew that there would be those who would claim to be from God, offering promises they could never fulfill. He warned us not to believe every charismatic speaker who promised prosperity and wealth or every leader who said that they would take care of us. He knew that desperate people could fall easily for lies.

The walls of our Temples might come tumbling down, but God doesn’t dwell in those buildings, He dwells in the hearts of believers. So even if the walls are gone, God is still here. There isn’t much left of the Temple in Jerusalem, but God is still among His people because they believe, not because there’s a beautiful house where He can dwell. Knowing this, we can enjoy what we have today, and do the work we are called to do. When our world falls apart, we must hold fast to the promise that God is faithful. He is with us. His right hand is manifested in the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. His holy arm is the Holy Spirit that reaches out into our lives to give us faith and hope so that we might live in peace doing that which He calls us to do in this life even if we face difficulty.

We look forward to the day when Christ will come again, but we should not reject the things of this world like the Gnostics. God has given us life to live and His Word to share. The hair on our head may not last, but it doesn’t matter. The temples we build might fall down, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that God is with us through it all and He has promised us something greater. Those who persevere resting on the promise of Jesus Christ will receive a place His eternal kingdom and dwell with God forever and ever.