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This is the last Sunday before
Christ the King Sunday, which is the quote end of the church year calendar.
These endless “extra-ordinary” Sundays in the season of the spirit, the season
of Pentecost are all these little lights through the wilderness of helping us
to see and realize what we must do growing up with the Holy Spirit’s help into
this resurrected life. This is a time of Thanksgiving. It is a time to
see the boundaries that we put up and the ones that God keeps tearing down in
order to teach us. The resurrected life smacks right up to the beginning once
again of Advent. The season of Advent is that time of expectation, that time of
waiting for the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into our world,
for our sake.
Have we realized enough of what a
resurrected life looks like is? Do we know what it really means for us, as
disciples, those following Jesus? Those were the things that stuck out for me in
looking at these texts. Have we ourselves, individually seen a resurrection
within, by tapping into reaping that New Nature? Have we started to feel those
birth pangs of endurance? Well we're not exactly in a world that is supporting
the power of faith yet alone giving it much credence to listening to Christ and
His call for us to think about the future. We have well-established our
boundaries. These are boundaries that are not only between one another but have
truly created a great gap between us and God once again.
Today's Gospel sounds like it's
something written to influence the Book of Revelation. It is the Gospel writer
Mark’s “mini apocalypse” as it is called. What's Jesus doing here? We know He's
always trying to get through the thick heads of the disciples what they need to
do in order to proclaim and live into the good news in the world… but what is
truly the most significant thing He is teaching here? Sometimes I think God
leaves us with more questions than He does answers. We hear sort of a shorthand
summary of the awful things that we know is the quote “end of the world…” but I
think Jesus is talking about something truly spiritual here. Our Evangelical
brothers and sisters would probably love to go into the ‘Left Behind’ series
and talk about all that stuff, but that's not what this is about. For we will
not know the day or the hour that the Son of man will return and the “true end”
or perhaps really, a “true beginning” will take place.
I went back to Chicago this past
week and it wasn't necessarily a very good trip. This was not just because
there's never enough time to see friends and family, but there were elements of
grief, anxiety and sadness that pretty much put a big black cloud over my
celebrating my dad's 76 birthday, as well as seeing the few friends I could
see. It's not been a very hopeful Fall for me either… but God keeps trying to
touch our hearts to see that there is a “New and Living Way” that He has opened
for us, that is a bright light. Having and keeping in building up that towering
faith-potential that we have within ourselves can make us feel like perhaps we
are stewards of the “Tower of Babel.” That we're playing a continual game of
Jenga and not really winning. Those are our boundaries though, not God’s. God
has no boundaries and God never gives up on us. We give up on one another as
well as ourselves much more often then it seems perhaps God has left us.
There were many places and the many
faces I saw on that trip. At one point however, I felt as if I was looking
inside a coffin. They were empty shells of my former life. Boy, I sound pretty
depressing here, don't I? Maybe that's not to be heard in such a sad way but
that I have begun to grow and see much more clearly where God needs me to go.
Jesus had to say a similar thing to these disciples. They needed to hear that
it wasn't going to be an easy road. They needed to wake up and smell the coffee
to the eminent reality of persecution. We are in a world that is persecuting,
and it is in subtle ways these days. You could be filling out a form online in
hopes for getting a job and they're asking overtly a political question.
Technically this kind of question should be illegal… but through semantics, it
found a loophole to be within this application. The right answer to dealing
with the death works of politics in this current society is to not have an
opinion or voice especially if you need to keep getting your “bread-and-butter”
money to survive this world.
One of the readings that I read
before I went on my vacation was a wonderful piece written by the professor
from my Proclamation class. It was, in essence, his review of this book called:
‘The Death Works.’ It is one of those books that talk about the struggle, challenge
and failure of the culture of “doing and being” Church is facing against the
power and oppression from the secular world. I didn't necessarily agree with
some of the author’s views in saying that Art is a part of the death works. Our
Lord, our God is a Creator. He created the universe. We have been given the
capacity to create as well, but it is to be an expression and more or less a
layer to reflecting on the world. Art can be something that imprisons but it
also can be something that is profoundly freeing...
The Holy Spirit led me through being
an artist, painter then into poetry and then to where I am today for a greater
purpose. I still don't understand, and I do feel often at times a “rebel
without a cause.” The world we live in deconstructs the heart’s motivations to
persevere and endure all kinds of evil and imprisonment that we not only place
upon one another but fall prey to, to our own undoing. The destruction of the
temple that Jesus is alluding to with these apocalyptic words… yes, are
speaking to what really did happen but I think He is really trying to get the
disciples to think about the potential destruction of the temple within
themselves. This temple within us is the heart. This is faith’s first church,
where the Holy Spirit dwells and where the seed of the New Nature is planted.
The heart is our first church within
our temple of the “self.” At the center of this first church, if you are a
disciple of Jesus, is Jesus. He is that great light. He is that great anchor
that keeps us strong and helps us through our ever-challenging days. The world
we are persevering right now has been deconstructing many things. It has been
tearing down our encouragement, but Jesus is not only calling His disciples
here, but He is calling to us to be a part of the plan of building it up,
rebuilding. Reaping that New Nature seed of the New Creation within us is not
going to be an easy journey at all. The world does not approve of the Christian’s
radical sense of freedom. We see this with regimes shutting down and tearing
down churches and we see this even in our own backyard with the “death work of
politics” over running every single thing that we do.
The author of Hebrews tells us to
hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. What a powerful
thought! Just this past Sunday we heard Pastor Mary preach on a Psalm of
strength. It was also the Sunday to celebrate Veterans. There is no such thing
as a just War sorry to disappoint St. Augustine, but it is the truth. These
brave men and women however knew and were called to reach out and be a part of
rebuilding peace in the world. All of us are “veterans” of something. We may
have never wielded a gun or anything like that, but we've definitely seen and
survived or barely survived the battles and challenges this one solitary, earthly
life has thrown at us, whether we like it or not. It's easy to think at times
or despair that we're doing this alone… I’m glad that God keeps having to prove
us wrong all the time.
This is no less different for the
church as well. The steeple and the people.... do we function well together or
not too often enough? We are those Jenga bricks that build the post-modern
church. Jenga doesn't sound too promising for a solid structure does it? I
think being one of those Jenga bricks is pretty precarious and definitely
challenges your endurance. I must confess I've never played the game, but I did
think it was amusing seeing it on television shows such as the Big Bang Theory
and the continual jokes about the unpredictability of humanity to choose. But
if you actually did think of yourself as one of those bricks and you were
building this structure and things had to be moved around and some bricks were
removed by people who couldn't stand or couldn't stay in that place.... The
reality is, is that the church is a very delicate place. As my one friend likes
to joke, “Flex Seal” wouldn't necessarily help the situation either.
Being perhaps the overly
conscientious biblical scholar, I like to be, I quoted some scripture where I
had someone comment: “what's your point?” Human nature made me get defensive,
when I was merely quoting Ephesians chapter 4 that talks about our task to
empower, enlighten and encourage others with their varying gifts that we all
have a place in God's plan as His church in the world. But perhaps just like
the disciples, this person was perplexed why I wasn't talking about or debating
through doctrine alone. Doctrine is or has become our boundaries, where we've
perhaps imprisoned or torn down God's Word with what we feel is, “the truth.”
Perhaps when we feel we need to express ourselves one way or the other and
God's Mission really isn't in the forefront… is when we're one of those Jenga
bricks being taken out of the Tower or taken out of the steeple that makes up
the people of the church.
Another bright spot that highlights
the Gospel’s call for us to be enduring and persevering as Christians in a
hostile wilderness is what the Prophet Daniel teaches us in saying: “… those
who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky and those who lead many
to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” The righteousness that we
understand from Christ comes from reaping that New Nature and seeing the power
of love to build up and resurrect us. Perhaps those empty shells those sad and dark
places my heart was wrenched to feel this past trip was God once again
reassuring my heart that I have been following Him and I have begun to
transform. Through Christ, we see the promise of the new world revealed
by His cross and by His resurrection. We will begin to really know and see His
Providence over us the more we begin to become those stable weight-bearing
Jenga bricks.
In just saying the name of Jesus,
even when to warding away the devil and evil things… we know we are in good
hands. We know He never abandons us and holds us. He keeps us strong. His Holy
Spirit continues to keep us strong even when we feel we look death straight in
its dark face. Christ’s life is to be seen as a tapestry. This is one that we
must see from His Incarnation to the Cross, to the Resurrection and Ascension
to the final Triumph--which is the resurrected life. The final Triumph is that
the tower of Faith still stands firm and is holding itself together in the face
of anything and everything that the wilderness of the world will throw at it or
into its path I should say. Our lives are always going to go into valleys
and climb out upon mountaintops and descend once again. It's not a vicious
cycle. It's just a part of what we must do in being strong as disciples who
truly follow Jesus. We truly follow Christ and take up our own crosses every
other day. We feel the stress of despair at times. We feel those tears that are
too real. Tears which make us feel very frail as we go forward with the Good News.
Our hope is in the Lord who made
Heaven and Earth; who has no boundaries but endless love and grace for
us. A wonderful overflowing hope, a powerful vision— a bright light, that
is what keeps us strong. We are His children of Grace and of promise. Hope is
not foolishness, it is strength. Keeping to the promise is not idle thinking,
it is our missional motivation. Christ is counting on us to change the
world. Yes, that sounds like “Pollyanna-hippie” idealism but it is our calling.
Each one of us has been given gifts from God to use, wield against evil in the
world and be that strong Jenga brick within that wonderful Tower.
A closing note for this Sunday for
us to really think about is the vocation of discipleship. The way the world
sees vocation is what kind of job that you have, and you are then, ranked,
filed and assimilated by the Judgment of others. Through and with God, vocation
is something much more profound and beautiful. The only judgement God wields
against us is when we choose or fall weak to sin over the mission of the
Gospel. This is when we become one of those Jenga bricks to be removed and move
where we feel like we'd like to move to “grow and go,” the way we see fit and
not necessarily with God's blessing or guidance. The commission of the Gospel
only has one “agenda.” This is to be a great, overarching peace and unity that
builds to loving God and neighbor, revealing the kingdom of God, here and now,
in this world.
One of my friends, I was only able
to see for one day.... He’s not really had a very good year as well, with many
things that have happened for him. I thought it was interesting in how the Holy
Spirit had me connect the scriptures with his story and where he now lives. His
new teeny, weeny, tiny apartment is facing a church. His former home was also
facing a church. His girlfriend, who just like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory,
he continues to deny, is his girlfriend… lives across the street from yet another
church, as well. Neither one of them felt to be a part of the “Body” especially
the one that my friend continues to serve, thanklessly and selflessly. He's
like one of those Jenga bricks that didn't want to be taken out of the Tower
but be a part of serving a greater mission and story. Sometimes though, we like
tearing people down as well as doing other divisive evil things for the
justification of ourselves and our worldly priorities.
I must confess I wasn't really that
great of a guest visiting with him, all day the second day of my trip. I had a
very hard time holding back tears. This was not only in feeling sadness for him,
but just wondering where the world is going. In his little tiny home, he has
two bookshelves his father made for him when he was a young man. This,
plus a few things, are all he has left. But he keeps persevering even going
back into his former home that greed, in the "name" of church.... has
not sold yet and turning on lights and turning on heaters so pipes don't burst
over the cold. More thankless ironies, he must persevere. I love my friend and
I pray for him daily. That's being one of those Jenga bricks of support.
I have perhaps said it in other
messages before, but being a “rebel with a cause,” is persevering as a disciple
of Jesus. The Gospel is our great strength that is that invisible mortar to the
heart’s walls where His Holy Spirit dwells in teaching us, leading us onward,
into an unknown future. Perhaps though, our boundary is thinking it is unknown?
Perhaps we need to be beginning to think that everything is held in God's hands
and care… that our wavering faith will always fall short of His glory, but we march
onward with His Word. Amen
Let us pray—
Loving and Gracious Lord Jesus
You continue to hold our frail temples
together with Your Love and Grace.
Continue to help us to be strong and
be there for other people.
Help us to be really grateful,
grateful with love and thanksgiving
For not only everything You have
given us,
But for all those in our lives that
are Your lights in the world
Persevering through the darkness.
We thank you Lord Jesus for every
gift, for every day and for each other. AMEN
November 18th, 2018; 26th Sunday
after Pentecost; Year B; Proper 28; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by: Reverend Nicole A.M.
Collins
Psalm 16; Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews
10:11-25; Mark 13:1-13
The link below is to this sermon's delivery at the Grace Hub at 12:30pm
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