Challenges Ahead 11-13-22
Challenges Ahead
2 Thess 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19
2 Thess 3:6-13
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Luke 21:5-19
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Prayer – God tender mercy, as we gaze about our world there are challenges seemingly everywhere we look. Divisions in households, churches, government. Democracy, healthcare, immigration, gun reform, global warming. Walk with us Lord, keep coming to us, calling us to follow your path. As you walk with us, we believe we can make it through the challenges and heartaches of this world, by your grace, in our light, with your love – amen.
Hearing Jesus’ words of challenges, perhaps words of warning could be the basis of a sermon on the Sunday after election day in the US. The results of Nov 8th might very well appear apocalyptic in the eyes of many, with exactly the kind of unexpected aftermath that Jesus describes. Perhaps you saw the photo online of the church sign that read, “Jesus is coming. Hopefully before the election.”
But since we are gathered together this Sunday, it is likely the second coming didn’t happen. We are still here. We are likely trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces after yet another election cycle that has been contentious at best and at worst, has exposed the underbelly of all that we wish we could pretend didn’t exist in our world – rejection of election norms, attempts to scare folks with tales of CRT, drugs and killers scampering across our borders, war between Russia and the Ukraine, and that the economy is dragging us down.
Our gospel passage this morning doesn’t have much good news. Jesus is now coming to the end of the road. He is in Jerusalem where, in just a few days, he has a meeting with destiny. Just last Sunday, we saw Jesus attacked, ridiculed and derided by his opponents. Critics have dogged him every step of his journey. Less than 20 chapters ago, Luke shared of Jesus’ first sermon in his home town where the congregation was so mad that they wanted to kill Joseph’s son right then and there. They failed, but now, Jesus seems to be coming closer to is opponents having their way.
I can imagine with all of his talk about the end of the journey, all of his talk about being put to death left his disciples scared and worried for their own lives. Surely, some, if not all of them, were asking, “If they kill our Lord, what’s going to become of us? Is this the rest of the road for us as well?” I can imagine they were pretty anxious about what was heading rapidly in their direction.
And Jesus didn’t help matters much with his comments from our passage. He doesn’t just say things are going to rough for him. He speaks beyond the personal. He gets cosmic in speaking of signs on earth and in the heavens, of dark skies above and beyond. That fear and trembling the disciples were likely feeling internally, Jesus speaks about the whole of creation feeling that way. It’s as if the whole world is coming unglued, undone. Jesus honestly talks about the heartbreak and the loss that’s coming. He warns not only his followers but everybody else that it’s the end of the world as they know it with no return to the ‘good ole days.’
And a reminder of the context of when Luke’s gospel was written. Shortly after Jesus spoke these words, an armed Jewish revolt against their Roman oppressors resulted in Rome responding with a brutal and bloody crackdown on the Jewish people, Jerusalem burned, virtually destroyed and the beloved temple where Jesus had spoken these words would be left in ruins, never again to be rebuilt.
There was not much left. More than one hundred thousand people had died during the siege; thousands more had been slaughtered once the city walls were breached. Much of the destruction centered around the revolutionary headquarters – the temple and its adjoining fortress. The fortress was dismantled, and the temple recently renovated by Herod the Great, was burned to the ground. The loss of the temple struck a devastating blow to Jews everywhere. With it went a major economic center and source of national pride. With it went daily sacrifice, the solemn festival observances, and the performance of personal rites. With it went the visible symbol of God’s presence. And with it went first century hopes for redemption by a messiah who would defeat the Romans and restore Jerusalem to its former glory.
The revolution, fueled by such hopes, had ended in bitter disappointment. The loss of the temple was devastating not only for Jews but also for Christians as well. Some Christians may have been tempted to believe that one of the revolutionary leaders was the returning Messiah. At least two of those leaders seem to have made royal claims. Surely the revolt presented the best opportunity for God’s anointed king to fulfill prophecies of victory and the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple. Now with Jerusalem laid waste and the temple in ruins, all bets were off. Restoration had become much more difficult to imagine.
This was the context in which Luke was writing and in his gospel message this morning Jesus promised that there would be distress in families, political difficulty and oppression, wars and rumors of wars. The challenges of getting through day to day is enough and now Jesus is saying things may get worse. When all the world is coming apart and things are in chaos and disorder, what about us? What about us?
Jesus assures his disciples and through Luke’s recount, hearers in the first century through our present moment 5 days after another national election that despite the certainty of disaster and hatred, we prevail. Christ will be with us in tangible ways when we encounter opposition. When we follow Jesus in our own passion journeys through suffering, trials, and even physical destruction, our souls remain secure.
As I reflect upon our passage this morning it is almost as if Jesus’ predictions for the future have some truth even in our own world 2000 years later. From natural disasters to health crisis due to Covid, from fractures in families due to differences of opinion and beliefs to political conflict and oppression around the globe, from churches torn apart due to authority of scripture to ordination of women or people with a different sexual orientation, we are facing challenges across nearly every aspect of human life.
Recently I have been reading a Brian McLaren book entitled, Do I Stay Christian? – A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned. I was intrigued by the title and have found it to be a breath of fresh air, honest and gracious, and yet challenging. McLaren’s book is written to help us wrestle with and how to live this thing called Christianity. The first half of the book lays out ten reasons to say decisively “NO.” He then lays outs ten reasons to respond with a sincere “YES.” And finally, he turns to a related question, which may in fact be the most compelling – ‘how do we become more human whether we stay Christian or not?’
In part one, the most damning chapters address Christianity’s challenges which include anti-Semitism, violence, colonialism, money and patriarchy, and to be quite honest by the time I finished those first ten chapters I was ready to give up on the faith. McLaren didn’t minimize or gaslight the evil that is part of Christianity’s past, and present. I also must admit that my compassion for people who want nothing to do with Christianity today was deepened. In the US, where we seem addicted to denial and blind optimism, there’s a countercultural edge to his truth-telling.
Although I was unsettled, I pressed on, and found inspiration through discussion of ‘freeing’ God, being human, ‘our legendary founder – Jesus’ who never imagined starting a new religion, and the reality that Christianity is still in its infancy, ie, it has gotten older but still not reached maturity. In the second part of his book, McLaren reminded me that there are both personal and interpersonal reasons to stay faithful. He cites Jesus himself as a reason to stay, the reality that Christianity is in fact changing and is not yet done maturing as well as some of the prophets of our current age such as Black theologian Howard Thurman, spiritual writer and former Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor as well as Pope Francis who is slowly reframing the Catholic church.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons to stay is how can we give up now? So much has been accomplished; and there is much yet to do while there is so much for those who are Christian to contribute to the becoming better human beings enterprise. Any spiritual path that guides and teaches you to love yourself, love other people, love creation, and love the transcendent (whether you can call this God really doesn’t matter) it is good. Like McLaren, I still see Christianity as my heart’s path into this mysterious and sacred web.
So whether we are facing challenges as a world, a country, a community, a church or as an individual, Jesus is a pretty good reason to stay engaged in the faith. Jesus has a way of showing up in all kinds of mysterious and amazing ways when the ‘you know what hits the fan.’ We can’t deny the struggle that Jesus’ advent among us incites, struggles within humanity and community. Jesus also reminds us that God works even within painful catastrophes, sustaining and even creating something new. Even in the midst of challenges ahead, we have the opportunity to also glimpse what God is doing among us, even in the darkness and disaster.
So I offer to you this morning a reminder that even with the challenges ahead that we face as a church, God is working, God is creating, God is still speaking. The future may mean further losses and disasters, changes that we never imagined or could foresee, and still God is walking with us, perhaps to envision something new and totally out of the box. As I noted last week, one of the requirements for resurrection is death. But that is the good news, disasters and loss don’t have the last word – God does, and God isn’t finished with us anymore than God isn’t finished with Christianity – thanks be to God – amen.