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I saw a really interesting video clip the other day on social media about a strange cloud circle that has mysteriously appeared over Jerusalem almost like a giant eye. From this eye shape was noted an even stranger occurrence of the seeming sounds of trumpets blaring! As you can imagine, some people’s thoughts went to the Book of Revelations… the most misunderstood and misinterpreted texts in the entire Bible, all the way to, of course, thoughts of this being of extra-terrestrial origins…
My impressions in seeing it and hearing it were mixed… yes I sort of began to go there with a touch
of the Book of Revelations as well as I thought about the film I saw when I was
9 years old—Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Scientists still have no clue what to make of it, but say it just rarely
happens. The point here, is that we DO
all too easily draw conclusions about things that happen in our everyday
lives. They are either extremely tainted
by our pessimism or by our hope! Hope is
important, it is our steadfast lifeline to God, Himself. We need it, even if we’re fighting it tooth
and nail spiritually out of fear.
Like many phenomena, I hope this sermon will be a
phenomena to NOT talk about this week’s past election. I’m sure however there will be thousands upon
thousands of sermons out there going nuts about everything and anything… which
once again deprives their flocks of the Living Word’s TRUTH, they are truly
hungering and thirsting for spiritually.
Adopting a new attitude and living into it, was pretty much the summary
of last week’s All Saints Sunday focus, this week is developing a spiritual
ethic of how to live into “walking the talk” as they say.
Walking the talk takes a certain amount of trust, maybe
too much for our internally struggling saint/ sinner selves to want to deal
with… but such is the life of a Christian! Like little children, we would
rather throw a fit instead, rage, be angry and more or less, live most fully
into that powerful temptation of the Old Nature to basically bring out the
worst in humanity… If that was an “alien
vessel-cloaked and encircled in clouds” peering down upon us, they must think
we’re nuts. If it was a theological,
supernatural event of God breaking His invisible presence by perhaps taking a
peek down at humanity for just a moment… Would we hear Christ speaking to us in
reminding us in saying: How have you incorporated my Words into your lives?
Why this illustration fascinated me to reflect upon here,
is that the eye or cloud circle with trumpet sounds appeared right over the
city of Jerusalem… Kind of freaky, if
you ask me. This Sunday’s Gospel is a reflection of Jesus’ apocalyptic warning
to the Disciples to get themselves together to fight the Good fight of keeping,
living, being, the Faith. We also know that Christ was alluding to the
destruction of the temple in 70AD. Coming from a place of faith, being a
realist about it, being brave about it, being bold with it… in this day and
age, is frankly, going to get you into trouble.
But look, even God through Christ basically says life ain’t gonna be
easy, be on guard! You can’t be a
spectator however to what goes on—you ARE an ambassador of Christ, a member of the
(broken) Body that needs to get themselves together and focus on what’s
important! What truly matters….
It is the small things in our lives that sometimes God
needs you to turn the page on and see in a New-Natured way. If you stifle yourself or others impede your
process of participating, growing in your faith; just how are you going to
change the outcome? That’s where St.
Paul is starting to go, in preaching to the problem of motivation and
perseverance in Thessalonica. Jesus does
this too in the Gospel, but more or less in telling his blue-collar everyday
people disciples that the road will be a hard one, be ready—keep watch!
This current culture has a broken record playing in their
heads however of as my friend Jurek penned: “I Want, what I Want, WHEN I Want
it!” Life doesn’t work that way, however. We can’t just eat, drink and be merry and
brush the things we don’t want to deal with under that spiritual carpet… We need and must be accountable, not just to
ourselves, but truly as children of Grace and promise—this is the true reality
of Christian ethics. Speaking of that
phrase—“I Want, what I Want, WHEN I Want it!” My friend Jurek was a very
talented cartoonist for the arts and poetry magazine we both contributed to,
Strong Coffee Magazine. The cartoon he
made for that saying featured a bunny rabbit donned in pearls with a wine glass
in one hand and a fist full of dollars in the other… and the bunny was in the
midst of throwing a full blown tantrum screeching” “I Want, what I Want, WHEN I
Want it!” Time to sing a New tune if you
ask me….
Singing a New Song deals with that painful word we always
in some form or another fight, resist in dealing with: CHANGE. Let’s face it,
we naturally just don’t like change or want complete control over it… but
again, hear Jesus whispering to the ears of your heart in saying: 34“Be
on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and
drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35like
a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be
alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” We want to dwell and at times, even wallow in
the here and now, of this one solitary earthly life… But the Kingdom of God needs us to think
outside of the box and spiritually “live there,” in the sense of embracing all
of our challenges, our “growing pains” of our faith to be the best we can be
for a much greater goal, purpose.
Singing a New song is like changing the soundtrack of
your lives to have God at the center guiding you as you turn that scary corner,
turn the page. Taking an idiom from
popular culture being the end of days, that scene where Pippen shares his fears
with Gandalf in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series saying “I didn't think it would
end this way….” Gandalf reminds him
about the tides of change and life: “End? No, the journey doesn't end here.
Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of
this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.”
The dialogue goes on to talk about the reality and
promise of heaven, but when you hear those words in spiritual terms it goes back
to that challenge we all must face spiritually in order to grow and live truly
into the Christian life. This is the Death of the Old Nature and the reaping,
birthing of that New Nature life planted and revealed by Christ’s Grace, THERE
for us NOW to accept and incorporate into our everyday lives. What must end is our bad attitudes, what must
begin is a constant process of reflection, confession, repentance and renewal—the
daily life of faith for the truly “progressive” Christian.
For what progress is made if we just “want, what we want,
when we want it” and don’t live for anyone beyond ourselves? We can’t gain the
world with the Gospel of Christ, if we aren’t willingly to face the challenges
of living into our faith… As a pastor devoted to Christ, it’s not my task to DO
the spiritual work for you. YOU need to
live into this encouragement by actively, naturally living into your
faith. Incorporation means change
spiritually—walking the talk! This is
completed through the heart’s natural response to our loving and Gracious God
who indeed watches over us!
As a freely responsible servant to the Gospel of Christ
fueled by a love for God and neighbor; I must, as well as you must hold yourselves
accountable. Accountability takes a bold
witness, perhaps often at times, a very painful witness where losing loved
ones, friends to misunderstanding and abuses of power… as Jesus’ cautions the
disciples of, is our road to bear. But
we must continue onward, walking with God’s Word in full trust of Him being in
control, and our continuing to hope in things we can’t see or control. We need to look towards Christ as
faith-filled servants with our greatest expectations being upon ourselves to
change our tunes!
The world’s many foundations may be shaking in one way or
another, but our hearts’ foundations are a mighty fortress to God’s love and
Word. That first church is what we must
always stand watch for, for the Gospel’s sake.
We must nurture our hearts’ spiritual formation to continue to grow as
well as, we must outwardly love and accept our neighbor, with this same heart.
It was upon that entrance of the Black gates once again from
the ‘Lord of the Rings,’ where Aragorn encourages us to hear the same
sentiments from today’s lessons to keep watch and keep the faith in the face of
challenge: “Hold your ground! My brothers… A day may come when the courage of
men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but
it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of
men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day, we fight!! By all
that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand!!!”
Christ is counting upon us all, to take a stand in our
faith but it is one marked by Peace and prayerful action. It is one that must begin within us before it
is lived through our hands and feet for the Gospel’s sake!
Let us Pray,
Gracious & loving God,
Help us to faithfully incorporate the Gospel
To truly live in hope by faithfully changing our hearts
to conform to Your will and mission for this world
In this world, may we fight fear and the temptations of
the Old Nature
And think, be and do “outside the box” in consideration
of God and neighbor.
You are at the center of our lives and help us to trust
You through these challenges
In Your Name we pray and are Your children.
AMEN
November 13th,
2016; Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 28; Year C; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by:
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins
Psalm 98;
Malachi 4:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-13;
Luke 21:5-36
The link below is to this sermon's delivery at the Grace Hub's 8am service.
https://youtu.be/ZnOB0sLORxU
https://youtu.be/ZnOB0sLORxU
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