Four Beasts - Daniel 7: 1-18

 It has been quite some time since I have had an opportunity to teach on the book of Daniel. The last time was for a group of college students who wanted to return to the stories they learned growing up in Sunday School. Once we hit chapter seven, we were out of those teachings. For many, this is not a story that they knew was contained within the pages of the book of Daniel. 

Chapter seven starts a series of four visions that Daniel has. All of a sudden, we shift from Daniel’s present situation and context as a captive in Babylon serving the various administrations to an unknown time in the future. 

Think back to the first week in this sermon series where we were in the second chapter of Daniel. Daniel offered to interpret the dream of the king, who had placed an odd demand on all of the wise people in Babylon - to tell him the intrepration of the dream only after they could tell him what the dream was in the first place. Of course, no one could so he was going to kill them all until Daniel intervened. In this chapter Daniel was telling the king what his dream was and what it meant. Now in chapter seven we have a shift and Daniel is the one having the dream. However, it still has to do with the same idea from chapter two - the rise and fall of human kingdoms what are replaced, ultimately, by God’s everlasting Kingdom. 

Daniel’s dream was about four beasts - some which are recognizable and others that are not. The first beast looked like a lion, but had eagles’ wings. This beast is known for its brute force that is absolutely uncontrollable, until its feathers are plucked off, and it becomes docile and human. 

The second beast looked like a bear on it’s hind legs, but with tusks. It had come to devour other nations in conquest. Then a third sort of looked like a leopard, but with four wings and four heads, signifying the dominion that it held over other nations. The fourth beast couldn’t even be described apart from the words terrifying and strong - it simply came to destroy as much as it could. 

Each of the beast was a strange sign of the powers to come - probably represented by certain kings, none of whom as named. Throughout the years, scholars have made guesses about which kingdom each beast may represent, but the truth is what is more important is the twofold message that one, human power is limited but God’s power reigns and remains and two, only God knows the timing of when this revelation will come to pass. We can guess, but in our humanness, we don’t know the time. 

What I appreciate about Daniel sharing his visions is that he does not do so in order to show off, make himself seem better than others, or to lift up his own name. In fact, he is troubled by the visions. Instead, he does so because he feels compelled to by God for God’s purposes. 

As we continue to journey with both the book of Daniel and Benedict on the path of Christian humility, the next step is prudence. This step goes against our inner desire to be different from others or to make a name for ourselves. Instead, we find our identity, in its fullness, in God alone. 

Have you ever met someone who truly does not care for their own will to be done? I find that such saints are the people who give without expecting even a “thank you” in return. They are the ones who give in secret and give in abundance, not because they have a lot, but because they feel so blessed by God. 

A few years ago, the custodian at the church I was serving passed away. She was beloved in the community, but it wasn’t until after her passing that we truly realized just how much she did for the church. Because she did it silently. Without seeking her own glory. And in doing so, she set and example in humility for all around her. 

The next two steps in humility - silence and dignity - are meant to train us in patience. What a difficult word! I have yet to meet anyone who says that they excel in patience. And I am in awe of Daniel receiving this vision. If it was me - I would have all sorts of questions starting with “when, Lord?” But then again, I know that I am not a very patient person. I don’t like the idea of enduring or not knowing. But it is only when I have the fruit from these two steps of seeking to live in a spirit of patience that I can speak to others with gentleness and be heard. 

Even if the midst of such a shocking dream, Daniel is truly a man of few words. Think about this, friends. If you had a dream like this, how long would it take you to explain it to someone? Probably not the few short minutes that it took us to read this scripture together today. We are people who like to be forceful and abundant with our words. We want people to hear us. 

And if anyone should want someone to hear him, it’s Daniel, who has been given this powerful vision from God! 

Yet, he chooses his words carefully, and guided by God for the sake of God. 

For the last several weeks I have been in a training about how to have conversations where we truly hear one another. Truly listen deeply. And the way that we do so is by setting out really simple rules and a pattern for sharing and listening that is easy to follow. The pattern is that there is a prompt - someone shares about it from their perspective for two minutes - then any can ask them a follow up question using the words “I’d be curious to know.” But if their follow up question becomes too wordy or complicated or sounds like they are just sharing their opinion in the form of a question we stop and try again. 

Why? Because all too often we don’t ask questions to listen - we ask wordy questions to assert our own authority. We feel like the more words we speak the better off we look, but miss the point of shining the light of Christ through our word and our thoughtfulness with those words.

The final step of humility is that one bears their heart to God in all things and in all places - whether in prayer, work, service, or study. 

There is one more aspect of the beasts that we didn’t name before - the horns. The horns are a sign of strength and power, but they were also speaking arrogantly, which caused it to be plucked up. 

The little horn and even the beasts, only had a heart for themselves. They wanted to make there presence and kingdom known. But Daniel showed a different way to live - not just in recalling this vision, but in all of the passages that we have looked at over this past month - as he sought to have the heart of God leading him. 

Friends, as we end this series, I ask again - where are you on the journey of Christian humility? And by what heart is your life being lead - one of your own making or one that follows Christ alone? Amen. 

“Fiery Furnace” - Daniel 3: 1-30

 Out of the book of Daniel there are two stories that I remember from growing up. Every evening my parents would gather my brothers and I on the couch to read Bible stories together. We had all sorts of picture Bibles. Most of the pictures were animated and tame. But not so much for this particular story. It is hard to hear the words of being thrown into a fiery furnace, let alone depict it in a picture. Yet, as hard as this story is to think about, it still speaks to us today. 

Nebuchadnezzar, probably the same Nebuchadnezzar who repented last week when Daniel interpreted his dream, has done exactly what God predicted. He ends up building this large gold statute to honor himself and his leadership. More than that, he expected people to stop and venerate the statute by bowing the way to show that they saw him as a god. 

But these three men, who as a child, I simply thought as those guys with the hard names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to bow before the statute of Nebuchadnezzar. In retaliation, Nebuchadnezzar decides that they must give their lives - tossing them into a furnace of fire. Only they don’t die. Instead, when the observers look into the fire, they see not three people, but four - with an angel protecting the three men. 

Nebuchadnezzar has another “ah-ha” moment and calls Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - and again praises the name of God. Only this time he takes it a step further. Instead of simply lifting them up in the leadership structure, as he did with Daniel, he says that anyone who spoke out against them, would be torn apart limb from limb. 

When Benedict was speaking about the ladder of humility, the third step is obedience. Now in relationship to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, what I am about to say is going to sound odd. Step Three - submit yourself to your superior in obedience, out of love of God. So how did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego live into this step of humility if they weren’t obedient to the one who looks like their leader - Nebuchadnezzar . Remember that Benedict is writing to people who are to be in relationship with Christ. The person who is charge (words that I use loosely) and they are to submit to that person because they trust that person is seeking and submitting to Christ in their lives and are seeking to be led by God alone. 

This type of humility does not require Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be obedient to what is ungodly - which bowing down to a statue of a man who has made himself into a god certainly is. We are to be obedient to God, not to what is against God. When Benedict asks monks to submit to their superiors, this was to be someone who was to point the community to Christ. They are known for their relationship with God, which has been tested and seen as fruitful by the community as a whole. And we submit to the superior because we trust that they have the best interest of our spiritual life in mind. 

In my community the person I submit to is Mary. I remember when I joined the community and Mary asked me first how I saw myself serving on the worship team. I love to write liturgy and it seems like a good use of my skills. Mary received what I said, but then asked if I would become a dean - which is a person who teaches and provides pastoral care. This was something that I never considered. I thought I was too new. But Mary asked me to pray about this opportunity, while gently closing the door to my idea to help write liturgies. I then prayed and came back to Mary and said “yes”, I would serve. That is the type of obedience that Benedict is talking about. And this is certainly not the type of leadership that Nebuchadnezzar showed.

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were obedient to God. 

The problem, friends, is when we believe that we do not need to consult with the wise people who have a vibrant relationship with God. You know the type of people I’m talking about right? They might not be the named leaders. Might not have a position. But they are the people who listen to you and pray with you and want the best in your spiritual life. Do not think you are being obedient to God without asking others to examine what you are discerning with you. Those who can hold you accountable and remind you that we do not seek to be obedient to God alone. We all need people who can help usher us into deeper spiritual growth while allowing us to see the areas that we are blind to. Which is why so few people seek to truly be obedient in the spiritual life. 

The fourth step of humility is perseverance when obedience is difficult. It would have perhaps been easy for the trio if they were asked to do what met the status quo, was of benefit to them and aligned with their beliefs - but this is not usually the case. So they were obedient to God, even when it was difficult and had the very real potential to cost them their lives. So step four, weaves together both obedience and self-denial. 

Obedience without any sting or pain is easy. 

What Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did was difficult. 

Which leads us to ask if we would do the same thing? Would we accept the challenge of obedience to the point where it requires our perseverance or would we give up and give in? Would we abandon the way of Christ for our own comforts? And would we let ourselves be brought low so that God can be esteemed?

The fifth step of humility is repentance. Now we don’t see this step of humility from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - they had nothing that we are told of in this particular story that they needed to repent from. But we do see some sort of repentance from the king. 

When we screw up and sin - when we distance ourselves from God and break relationship with other people, we need to confess that. To bring it before God and ask for forgiveness. 

Now, we might not be building tall statues of ourselves, but we do break covenant with God. So, church, what does confession look like in your life? And who are the people around you that encourage you to acknowledge your offense and bring it before God? 

Benedict actually had his monks confess their faults to an abbot - someone who had authority over them. It wasn’t the job of the abbot to scold them. It was the job of the abbot to point them to God. Why? Because left to our own devices so many of us would never bring our shortcomings and sin before a holy God. We would rather pretend that everything is okay than to have an honest conversation with God about the state of sin in our lives. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego show us the character of true humility - no matter the cost. What is interesting about this path of humility today is that no one was making another person take it. People chose to follow because it was the desire of their heart - to set themselves aside and to grow closer to God. So, brothers and sisters, what will you choose? Will you choose the path of humility no matter what? Amen. 

God's Testimony - 1 John 5: 9-13

 When you hear the word “testimony” what comes to your mind? I attended an Evangelical college, so testimony was used to describe the moment that you claimed Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. The problem was that I didn’t have one succinct moment. It seemed like everyone else, in sharing their testimony, had a singular moment where they turned away from who they once were. In most of these instances there was some sort of dramatic moment where Jesus appeared to them, they repented, and life has never been the same. 

That is not my testimony. I grew up in a Christian home where I was in church from the very beginning of my life. The first pastor I ever remembered passed away recently, but before doing so, at my ordination, he gifted me with the stole that he wore when he baptized me, a few short weeks after I was born. I remember learning about Jesus’s love for me in Sunday School and knowing, deeply knowing, that it was true. 

When I was in high school, I was invited to a Bible Study, where I joined with so many other young people craving to learn the word of God, that we out grew our leader’s living room and home, until the church eventually had a trailer we could all meet in once a week. It was there I learned more about the scripture that rooted me in the love of Christ. 

In college, I felt a tug to set aside the plans that I had for my life and pursue ministry, something that I never imagined, but was truly a calling from God. My testimony, the story of Jesus speaking into my life, isn’t one or two large moments, but an endless series of small moments of sinking more deeply into the love of Christ. 

When the author of 1 John is writing to believers about their testimony, he is saying that it isn’t rooted in human words or perceptions, but is telling the story ultimately of God. Of God who is greater. Of God who gave his very Son so that you and I can be set free. Our testimony ultimately isn’t about you and I - it’s about Christ. Who was and who is and who is to come. And that is the source of our lives. 

The problem is that we can fall into one of three traps. The first is that we try to out testimony one another. We would sometime get stuck in this cycle at camps or in Bible studies, where one person would share their story only to have the next and the next try to make their story more intense - as if trying to prove that God had saved them more than someone else. This is not the case, dear brothers and sisters. Salvation is a gift from God, that yes, may find us in different places in our lives, but does not rank some as being more saved than others. 

The second trap that we can fall into is thinking that we don’t have a testimony at all. Friends, if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have a testimony. It may not sound like everyone else’s but it is your story of God’s grace in your life. You story of knowing that God has given you eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

Which brings us to the third potential trap, not actually taking time to consider what God has done and is doing in our lives. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the day that we don’t take time to truly notice God’s presence in it or how those moments throughout the day integrate into the ongoing story of God’s love, grace, and truth into our lives. 

Which is where I want to focus us today. On that third point. For the last three weeks, we have been focusing on John Wesley’s Three General Rules, sometimes known as the Three Simple Rules, which he used to shape the people called Methodist. But as we heard last week, as we discussed what it means to “stay in love with God” that there are variety of different practices that we can glean to help us connect more deeply with God. One such practice is called the daily examen. These are short prompts or questions that help us examine our day with God in prayer. Notice that I said “with”. This is truly a time of inviting God to walk through our day with us, where we ask God to show us how he was acting in our lives, look at our day and ask God to reveal to us where we fell short, and look forward to tomorrow to live again in the grace of God. 

When we at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I invited the congregations I served to engage in the examen together as an act of testimony and hope. Each day, I posted the questions from the daily examen on Facebook to help us reflect upon the day and discern the movement of God’s spirit that we maybe wouldn’t notice if we did not pause and think about it. Each day, we would ask each other -where did you notice the presence of God this week and what brings you hope?

We shared our responses on the internet, in phone conversations throughout the week, in texts. Wherever we could as we intentionally looked for God’s movement in and amongst us. 

But the Examen isn’t just for that time. Or other times that are difficult. It is meant for us to focus on God every single day - to lead us to both praise and confession. 

Today you should have received a small examen card as you entered into the sanctuary. I want us to take time together to practice seeing God in our daily lives and telling that story. Take a moment to think back over yesterday - where did you see God moving in your life? Where did you fall short? And what brings you hope for today? Then, if you feel comfortable doing so, turn to your neighbor and share. 

Friends, this is your testimony. This is your story to tell. Of how God has given you enteral life and is with you every. Single. Day. Amen and amen. 

“You Shall Be My Witnesses” Acts 1:1-11

Sometime the Sunday after Easter can feel like a letdown. The sanctuary may not have the same feel as last week. Perhaps we were able to gather with loved ones who have since went home. We aren’t sure what to do with this Sunday after such a big celebration. 

In the Christian calendar, while Easter is the day when we celebrate that Christ rose from the grave, we also celebrate the season of Eastertide from Easter Sunday until Ascension Sunday. Now, I’m going to possibly confuse us - this text that we are hearing today - it’s one that is usually read at the end of the Easter season - on Ascension Sunday. But as we have said several times, all Scripture can be read and proclaimed any time - so today we enter into the book of Acts. 

Last week, we gathered together and proclaimed the heart of our faith - Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected, but Luke tells us in the book of Acts that there is even more to the story. After Jesus was resurrected, he walked with his disciples, continuing to teach them. But he could not stay on this earth with them forever. He needed to ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and assume the Lordship we know he has over heaven and earth. So we do not just claim Jesus crucified and resurrected, we also proclaim that Jesus is Lord. 

And if we are honest, there are times that we aren’t quite sure what to do with that statement. 

For the first disciples, Jesus gave them very clear instructions - stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift that has been promised to you - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

They are asked to do an incredibly difficult thing - to stay in the place where Jesus had been put to death not to long ago. The place where they hid for their lives after his crucifixion. And now Jesus is telling them to stay for an indeterminate amount of time without him. They must have felt like they had just gotten Jesus back with them and now he is talking about leaving again. Not just talking, but literally leaving before their very eyes!

The disciples don’t seem to yet understand Jesus as Lord because instead of following his instructions they are caught with their eyes gazing up to heaven instead of going out to do as they told them. Until two angels show up and ask what they are doing.

Sometimes I am blessed to work with pastors who desire to be ordained. There are lots of different components to that work and twice you need to write thesis papers about what you believe about things we say as a Church that are central to who we are. One of those questions is about Jesus as Lord. 

And folks get stuck. 

Not because they don’t have the words - they have lots of words to describe Jesus’s Lordship, but because they haven’t yet distilled those words from head to heart. And I don’t blame folks at all when they struggle with that, because it is so true of many of us here and now today, just as it was with those early disciples. It is easy to say that Jesus is Lord, it is harder to follow him, especially when he asks us to do hard things or doesn’t give us all the details that we desire. 

The disciples were living in this between time. Between the resurrection and what was to come next. Between what they now know - Jesus is standing with then and has been walking with them for the last several weeks - and the unknown of Jesus saying that he is leaving again. How do you think the disciples received this news? I would guess that they were disappointed and that this holy space of the between time felt all-to-short. 

The reality is that the disciples were still shortsighted when it came to Jesus’s Lordship. They ask this question - “are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words, are you going to be the leader that we expect? Are you going to do what we want you to do? 

And Jesus tells them that isn’t for them to know. 

Their vision is too small. They still think Lordship is about the here-and-now, overthrowing the Roman government, when Jesus is trying to show them what his Lordship is about. That he is in the business of transforming the world and that they are invited to be part of that work. 

And yet, they can’t even follow the first instruction. 

Because Lordship asks them to surrender their ideas and inklings and actually follow Jesus. 

Last week we read together the first eight verses of Mark 16, which is some ways felt like a very unsatisfying resurrection proclamation. The women were afraid. They didn’t go and tell. But the later writings of Mark added a more robust explanation, where Jesus appeared to the disciples again and again and told them to go and preach the Gospel. And then what comes next sounds similar to Acts 1 -  “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God” But they also did the work in Mark’s text. They went and proclaimed, preaching everywhere and performing signs that accompanied the words. They did the work of witnessing and glorying Christ. 

The work that we are still called to today. 

In some ways it feels like we are living in our own between time. Between looking up with the disciples and not really following Jesus’s directions as our Lord and Savior in Acts 1 and witnessing to Christ as our Lord in Mark 16. Between hoping that we misheard Jesus when he asks us to do hard things and actually following him to the very ends of the earth. Between hoping that someone else will do the Kingdom work for us and trusting Christ to lead us into the work that we are called to do. 

But in order to move out of that between season we need to examine what it means to say that Jesus is Lord. To proclaim that Jesus as Lord lives on in the church through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Which means we need to do that work of moving from our head to our heart. I once had a congregation member named Mr. Jack, who was so, so wise. Two things that he has said, amongst many, that have stuck with me are ‘you can’t be so heavenly minded that you aren’t any earthly good.’ And ‘the most dangerous place to be is the eight or so inches between your head and your heart.’ We can’t be caught with the disciples just looking up at the clouds instead of following Jesus as Lord. And we can’t be so caught up in our heads that we never actually proclaim Jesus is Lord with our hearts. When we get caught in those in-between places, well, it makes it hard to do what we are asked - to go and be Jesus’s witnesses to the fact that he is the resurrected Lord! Amen. 

“Resurrection” Mark 16: 1-8

 If I asked you to tell me the highlight of the Easter story as you recall it, what are some of the big things that immediately come to mind? Women going to the tomb. The stone is rolled away. Jesus is not there - he is risen from the dead! And…

The women went to go and proclaim the good news that defines us even here and now today as Christians - that Jesus is resurrected! Amen. 

Only each of the Gospels tells the account of Jesus’s resurrection in different ways and we have a tendency to smush them altogether. It’s completely understandable. It’s what we do with stories in our everyday lives - as we work to make meaning, we combine details or change timelines. 

Why do I say all of this? Because the resurrection story as told by Mark is completely different from what we would find in Luke and Matthew. So let’s untangle some of our mixing of the different Gospel accounts this day in order to hear the Good News in perhaps a different way. 

The Sabbath is over. Not only the Sabbath, but the Passover, which turned from a time of celebration to a time of deep sorrow as the women watched their Lord hang on the cross amongst the jeers of the crowds. When his body breathed it’s last his body was taken down, but not tended to because of the rules around the Sabbath. But now, after the Sabbath, after the Passover and all the preparations that proceeded it, and life is going back to the routine of the everyday. 

Only today is not the everyday. It’s not the routine or the normal. For the women are walking silently in the early morning towards the tomb of Jesus. The grief in their hearts is echoing through their heavy steps. The only words that are recorded amongst this painful journey to go and anoint the dead body of Jesus was a question about the stone - the stone put over the entrance of the tomb to “protect” Jesus’s body from being stolen by the Romans. Who would roll that stone away from the entrance so that they could do the hard but necessary task of love that they are compelled to do. 

Only when they arrive they find that the stone is already rolled away. Jesus is not in the tomb! And there’s an angel present telling them not just that Jesus has been resurrected, but that they are to go to tell the disciples this good news. 

And….

Then the women are to shocked to say anything. 

Is that how you remember the ending of this Gospel text? Probably not. It was so disconcerting that Matthew and Luke intentionally made the ending more complete. And a piece was added to Mark later to try to add clarification. 

The truth is that we want a different ending to this text in Mark. We don’t just want the women to flee from the tomb. We want action. Triumph. The joy of this day as we know it today. But we are told that the women had alarm, terror, amazement, and fear. We want the word to go forth on that day down to us here and now today. Yet, that isn’t what we find. 

Mark doesn’t try to over-explain what the women were going through. He doesn’t try to cover up the discomfort. He doesn’t take the challenge of verse eight and sweep it under the rug. Why?

Because I think Mark understood that in particular seasons of our lives we may find ourselves right there with the women. We may not do what we were told to do because we are so confused or fearful or don’t understand. But that doesn’t mean that God is done. Nor does it mean that God doesn’t give us second chances - just see the next part of the Gospel of Mark for that truth. 

In our discomfort that this is not what we expect to happen, we come face to face with elections of our own actions or inactions but it also bring us face to face with God’s grace. God’s truth that keeps working on us even if we don’t fully understand the details or the vastness or importance of what we are celebrating today - that Christ is risen!

But the Good News is not just that God continues to work on our hearts and redeem us even when we fail to follow through in the moment. There is also these words of the angel that the women are to go and tell the disciple and Peter that Jesus is risen. Peter is deliberately included. Peter who turned away from Christ out of his own fear, alarm, and terror. Peter who God is redeeming in even this invitation and moment. The promise that Jesus will meet them again, including and especially Peter. Christ is doing transformative work in him. 

And that my friends is good news, not just for Peter, but for the women. For us. That our sins, faults, and failures will not have the final word in the light of the cross and the empty tomb. If only we will go where Christ has gone. Even if we don’t understand. Why? Because God isn’t done yet with Peter either. 

Just as we can understand Peter turning away from his promise to Jesus on the night of Passover when Jesus was arrested and tried, we can also understand the women. We try to put ourselves in this morning’s text and think of course we would go and tell everyone and anyone what just happened, but what is it that the women fear? They have just watched Jesus be killed. In the flesh. And now they are seeing something unlike anything they have experienced before. Even if they were present when Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, they saw his body come out in linens and all. This is new. This is terrifying. And the threat of the Roman Empire is still hanging over them. 

But God is not done, even because of those real fears. 

God was still moving and speaking. Because in the long term, the women did tell. The Good News did go forth. Peter did find healing and became the rock upon which the church of Jesus Christ was built. 

The question, then, is how are we living into the Gospel? How are we being part of what has yet to be written? 

Maybe for some of us, the idea of being part of carrying forth the Good News terrifies us like did the women so long ago. What did the women have to fear? Everything. Absolutely everything. They had watched Jesus died. They had returned to care for him and were met by an angel/ stranger who told them that Jesus was risen and told them to go back and tell the disciples to go to a place and a people they may not understand what has happened. 

If they were honest, they didn’t understand what was happening either. It was simply too much to process.

Sometimes, we too have fears. Fears that people won’t understand. Fears of rejection. Fears that people are going to ask us questions that we don’t have answers for. So we flee the sight of the empty tomb. 

But for others of us, maybe the idea that we are invited to be part carrying for the Good News amazes us. Maybe we are asking, “Are you sure you want to use me Lord? Do you know who I am? Do you know what I’ve done?” To which Jesus replies, yes. Now go. We may not fully understand all the ins and outs of proclaiming “Christ is Risen indeed but we are humbled that Jesus is inviting us to be part of this Kingdom work before us. 

And maybe for others what we feel is joy. Joy to go forth. Joy to keep going forth no matter what. Joy because the resurrection has changed us and now we can be part of sharing that with the world! When we proclaim that “Christ is Risen!” We are also saying that Christ saved me. Christ took what my life once was and raised it from the ashes and made it into something new. And you so desperately want that for other people.

No matter what we may be feeling, we are part of the story, Church. God is not done yet. The Gospel keeps going on. So, I ask you again, how are we being part of what has yet to be written? Because God is still at work, in and through us, in this world today. Amen. 

“End of the Age” Mark 13: 1-8, 24-37

 Since the point when Jesus ascended into Heaven his disciples have been looking for his return. Immiatley. And in every age since there have been people who have tried to guess when Jesus is going to come back, using everything from fancy counting methods to just straight up guessing again and again and again. If I’m honest, these attempts to nail down the date when Jesus will return frustrate me, because Jesus says in this passage that even the angels, even he, the son of God, do not know that date. It’s for God to know alone. And yet, we keep trying to guess, as if we know better than Jesus. 

The question is why? Why are we so fascinated with texts like this that talk about the end of the age. The Gospel of Mark is thought to be written shortly after the temple is destroyed. Christians are living in persecution. Things look really bleak. So they start to look for the signs of the times that point to Jesus coming back and setting them free from all of the pain and suffering that they are currently experiencing. 

I think we can understand that as well. We, too, live in a time where things seem bleak - even if it looks completely different then the believers who lived during the time when the Gospel of Mark was written. So we, too, look for that day and time when Jesus will return. It’s one of the reasons I think the Left Behind series were so immensely popular. People are yearning for Jesus to come back. 

When Jesus was teaching his disciples, they were marveling over the temple before them. This magnificant building that stood the test of time, and was believed to be the home of God. Under that wisdom it could never falter. But Jesus, in this time of private teaching with his disciples, points out to them that things are not always as they seem. The stability of a building, even the very house of God, does not last forever. Something new is coming. 

The disciples had to be shocked. Wouldn’t we be shocked if we heard that the very things we trusted most in our lives were going to come tumbling down? Yet, Jesus is reminding his disciples, and reminding us, that a time of change is coming. 

Peter, James, John and Andrew then had an even more private conversation with Jesus and asked the most rational of questions - when? When is this going to happen Jesus? And what’s going to tell us that it’s going to happen soon. 

And Jesus had a beautiful answer. Watch out that no one deceives you! Friends, we can get so distracted by the when that we totally miss the why. This teaching that Jesus is passing on is the bridge between all that the disciples have experienced with Jesus so far - the teaching, the miracles, the healings - and his Passion that is come. This time when Jesus would give his very life in order to change the world. 

For some that would seem like the end of the story, but it goes on. The Son of Man will return in final victory. Jesus will return in all of his power and glory. 

Church, that is surely exciting. But when we get so caught up in what is to come, we miss out on the present mission that Jesus has given us here and now. 

Normally, I am a pretty fast walker. I attribute it to having short legs that need to move faster in order to keep up with other people. Unless I am at camp. Whenever I am serving as a camp counselor, I know my place. I am at the back of the group of students with the folks who are the stragglers. Some would find this to be a frustrating place, but I find it fascinating. Because I notice more. When I slow down with these campers I notice new things, even if I have been in the same place so many times before. When we go too fast, we miss seeing what is right before our very eyes. 

When we are distracted, looking for signs of what is to come, we can miss the mission of the present. We can miss what God is trying to point out to us here and now. We can overlook the call to pay attention. 

There is, however, a flip side to being in the present as well. The things that Jesus says we will experience are frightening. Wars. Rumors of more wars. Earthquakes. Famines. It is sometimes hard to find hope in the midst of so much pain. But Jesus points out that pain is not to be seen in a fatalistic manner - instead it is like a birth pain. The pain that comes before something new emerges. 

Jesus goes on to tell them a story about keeping watch. That they (and we) are keep alert like we are waiting for the owner of the home to return. We don’t know when. So we stay alert. We are watchful.

For some of the earliest disciples, they were so convinced that Jesus was coming tomorrow, that they forgot the mission. They quit their jobs. Sold their homes. And just waited. And waited. And waited.

Friends, as we are watchful, it is not an excuse to give up what God has appointed us to do. We are certainly waiting for the owner of the house to return, but until then we are stewards of that which is entrusted to us. And that’s a pretty weighty thing that we are in the care of - Christ’s work in the world. 

When we give up on the mission, we are giving up on souls. It is like we are saying that people don’t matter and we are more interested in Jesus’s return than people coming to know him. I have told people many times, that it is our job to keep sharing the Gospel until Jesus returns, because I don’t know about you, but for me, there are people I know who if Jesus came right here and now today, don’t know him. And that breaks my heart. And I hope it breaks all of our hearts as the Church of Jesus Christ and gives us fuel for the mission before us. 

We are not passively waiting for Jesus to return, friends. We are actively waiting. We are to stay focused on the mission at hand and the truth that is before us. 

At the end of the day, the disciples didn’t get the answer they were hoping for. In fact, Jesus tells them that even he does not know the day and time. But he calls them to something greater with his answer. He calls them to faith and vigilance, even in a present and a future that will have suffering. He is telling them of the hope of the Kingdom of God, even if they do not fully understand or recognize it. He tells them of a freedom from that which binds their hearts and lives that will be broken at the end of the age. 

These were meant to be words of encouragement, but also challenge. Words that propelled them, even in the absence of Jesus, to be the people of God. 

I think there is always a fascination with knowing what will happen tomorrow. But the truth is, none of us know what tomorrow holds. Recently someone in this parish told me “things can change so quickly.” And that is true for any of us. The question is what are we going to do with the gift of today? Let us not be so caught up in what is to come that we forsake the mission and call in the present. Let us be emboldened to share the mission of God, here and now. Amen.