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We are no longer an age of faith that clamors with anticipation, anxiety and excitement for the second coming of Christ. If anything, perhaps some of us have even become foolish about Christ’s imminent return in taking the Book of Revelation’s coded poetry of warning, to the early Christians, way too literally. There won’t be “beam me up Jesus.” Christ, Himself in today’s Gospel says it best: “13Keep awake…. For you know neither the day or hour.” We don’t like hearing the thought of “hurry up and wait.” We probably even despise the saying of “ya snooze, ya lose!” We want to be prepared but only on our terms, our own timing, not God’s.
2,000 plus something years have passed, and it seems too
long, and our faith has changed because of our discouragement, disenchantment.
So how are we to take today’s texts? Just what do we need to hear? How do they apply to our 21st
century context? Jesus’ parable this
morning of the ten bridesmaids teaches us three important things: watchfulness,
faithfulness and readiness. When we are spiritually ready for God and realize
that relationship we have to Him, as our spiritual leader, is when we develop
these senses as His disciples. We may no longer truthfully see the sovereignty
of God in the world around us, and most importantly within us, but that doesn’t
mean we shouldn’t try.
This past Wednesday I led a workshop on creating a
devotional based on the SOAP technique.
SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Prayer, here, in this regard, is the result
of looking, listening and interpreting the scriptures deeply through your own
experience of faith. The presentation
went very well but I was troubled by one individual who couldn’t understand or
appreciate the structure. It seemed to
be so much of an issue, that there was an air of hostility about using this
technique as a creative tool to ferret out the prayer deep in your heart, only
the scriptures can release from you.
Why would someone, especially considering themselves to
be in ministry, be hostile to allowing the Word of God to do its work within
them? Human practicality and reason want
to make us go from A just to Z, but this is “penny-wise” and pound-foolish,
when it comes to our growing knowledge, development as disciples of Jesus. The end of days as Jesus and St. Paul are
alluding to today isn’t going to be cut and dry, and we should never claim to
understand God’s sense of timing in our lives.
Kairos time is God’s sense of timing and sovereign hand upon our lives.
So, God is saying again—hurry up and wait! Have faith in me, trust I’m at the
helm! Is He really asking too much of us?
Speaking of being at the helm, anyone see the news blip
about the self-steering robot van they’ve unveiled on the strip? They are monitored by one person, who merely sits
in the back without any way or control to steer the vessel. Sounds very uncomfortable, if you ask
me… I really just couldn’t trust the
thing to drive perfectly or without error. I would probably never ride in
something like that… God knows as well,
that I still have a BIG issue when it comes to flying. I don’t like flying at all. Trust me, I’ve
tried to like flying… It’s beyond the
fact that the TSA frisks you inside and out, these days, especially if you’re
wearing a clerical collar… that’s a funny right there. What are they thinking? Are they imagining my white tab to pull out
as some kind of double O seven magic ninja blade?
But my beef with flying hits the heart of the issues,
here, in today’s scriptures… I simply cannot accept, yet alone want to believe
in or trust in it. I cannot believe in a
600-ton, 2 story tall metal tube-vessel hurling into space at some 400 miles
plus an hour and escalating some 30,000 feet into the air! Does not compute and
I can’t ever be comfortable with it.
They work, I’m obviously here with you this morning. The flight to
Chicago this past week was thankfully in the morning hours where I could
clearly see out the window… but the wing had issues. When the plane was trying to slow down and
extend little robotic flaps out, the mid-section of the wing was trembling! My
mind immediately moved to Hitchcock’s classic of ‘the thing on the wing…’ but I
closed my eyes and thanks be to God, the plane landed!
The flight back to Vegas, challenged me as well. This time it was a very late at night flight
with a plane full of rowdy teenagers who were being threatened by the
stewardesses to cool it or be fined and once again, I found myself looking out
the window, to see a layer of clouds that looked as if we were in outer
space. I am still grateful that the
pilot didn’t inform the passengers how high we really were and if we were
flying above a large body of water! All
humor aside, this is a real fear for me. I’ve gotten a lot better about it, since
the past two years I’ve flown quite often…
but I still can’t trust it.
This is a real kind of skepticism, fearfulness that
reigns in our hearts about understanding the future. It is universal, in some
senses. We have a really hard time
taking that leap of faith, even when it seems like God is giving us a good kick
in the fanny or shove off that spiritual cliff, to prove to us that we should
harbor no fear. Sounds pretty foolish
doesn’t it? The story I just shared
about my fear of flying? I’m prepared
and watchful, but not in the way God needs me to face every challenge to my
faith that comes my way. I just see myself
getting off the plane and kissing the ground! My sense of urgency doesn’t
include God in the instant picture at that moment and that’s our problem. We are so into the notion of the here and now,
and the desire to have absolute control over it, we’ve missed the boat. We’re like those foolish bridesmaids who
forgot to get extra oil because their worry and mistrust got the better of them.
Again, I say—Ya Snooze, Ya Lose!
All is not lost, remember what our timeless God
says—never say never and He is a God who has come down to us. A God who has come down to us to not only
save us, but who died, rose, ascended and watches over us still, through His
Holy Spirit! AMEN I say, this is what we profess to believe… then, why do we
challenge it? Will we ever let the justice of God roll down like waters and His
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream? When we, as a people, are shaken to
the core, do we allow ourselves to truly hear God? Prayer is a funny thing, it is definitely not
one-way, though our “logic” makes it seem so.
This past Sunday, was another Sunday we saw another
corner of the world shook by horrible violence, evil. We were in the midst of a wonderful
Turkey-day themed congregator’s fellowship… (which God Bless Don Schmeidel’s
regularity, for we cannot have a congregator’s potluck, no matter what theme,
without his infamous sauerkraut!)… We were, in the midst, of celebrating being
thankful, feeling blessed and hoping towards a future where we would all grow
in being a blessing to others in our ministry together. During this same time
and place, in the state of Texas, inside a church, no less, 26 people were
murdered, an eighteen-month year old infant, among the casualties.
Across America, people were expressing their prayers for
these people, and the light was on the tragedy itself to have taken place, in a
place that is considered truly, sanctuary…
Some Hollywood elites, journalists and partisan politicians, however,
either pointed fingers or made fun of the notion of prayer. Actor Michael
McKean said “They were in church. They had the prayers shot right out of them.
Maybe try something else.” What an awful thing to say against people of
faith? Yes, gun control is a great
issue, but the bigger issue here, was that people of faith, once again were
made the brunt of those who have contempt towards those who believe, beyond
themselves.
The whole of the Christian journey, the goal of the
Gospel is one to be lived beyond the self—meaning transformed and shaped by God
to love Him and neighbor. We are in a
culture that revolves too much around the self, we cannot see timelessness and
transcending towards the Kingdom of God—an imminent future for us all who
believe. We are buffered towards God and see the natural world as our
controlled environment—cause and effect. The way things are, however, is not
how God wants, needs them to be for our well-being. We can’t sit back and watch
the world go by. We can’t rest upon our
thoughts like Rodin’s Thinker… we are called to Gracious action. The God of Love, Grace and Mercy has given us
something we are called to tap into—the New Nature. That New Nature is not only a seed to be reap
but it is our spiritual lamp that we must keep a burnin’ till the break of days,
end of days.
Acting out of hope is trusting in God who is always with
us, everywhere… No matter how corrupt
and evil things may become in these challenging days of transition and global
anxiety; we truly can’t afford to snooze, or we will lose something much
greater. We will lose our hope by
wandering through the graceless wilderness of our own depravity and
self-concern while the light of the Gospel grows dim through our ignorance and
abuse. We will never know Him, if we
continue to try to control God’s reign and presence in our lives. Our willfulness over and above God’s Will,
only leads to our destruction. The
Kingdom of God and its future need to be heard and lived in the heart.
Let us Pray,
O God of love and compassion,
Help your willful children to keep
The light of faith burning brightly
In the darkness and times of trial we have brought to
bear
Help us to grow spiritually awake to Your Word
May we harbor a gracious light that never needs to fear
being extinguished
You are a God who has always been here with us, good and
bad times
May we be truly watchful, faithful and ready for when You
come again.
AMEN
November 12th,
2017; Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost; Year A; Proper 27; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon By:
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins
Psalm 70; Amos
5:18-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
The link below is to this sermon's delivery at First Congregational Church
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