“Promises Beyond Imagining” – Sermon on Dec 2, 2012
December 2, 2012
Scripture:
Luke 21: 25-36
Jesus said, “It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.
“And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”
He told them a story. “Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here. Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out.
“But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”
Sermon: Promises Beyond Imagining
By Rev. Doreen Oughton
Here we have another apocalyptic text, Jesus predicting that terrible things will happen. These terrible things, the world in an uproar, are signs that something important is happening. Jesus is telling people to pay attention even when upsetting things happen, pay attention to what might be coming. Sometimes when upsetting things happen, we want to pretend they aren’t happening, or we get extra dramatic about what is happening, maybe want to crawl under the covers and not come out. We may want to distract ourselves with other things – worry about something else that is not so important, or go to a party, or shop, shop, shop, or watch tv or play video games all day long. Jesus says that’s not a good way to deal with things that may be upsetting. He says we need to pay attention. He says to stand with your head held high. He says we don’t need to be afraid, we can be standing ready with anticipation.
This reading made me think about sirens. I lived in NYC for a time, and there were lots and lots of sirens. For awhile I just found them annoying. They made so much noise they woke me up sometimes. When the vehicle – whether ambulance, police car or fire truck – was trying to get through the traffic it made things so jammed up for everyone else. Then at some point I developed more compassion, and hearing sirens made me stop and say a little prayer as I realized someone was in trouble. Maybe there was a medical emergency, maybe a crime, maybe a fire. These sirens were an indicator of bad news for someone. And so I would pray, asking God to be with whoever was in need. I liked doing it. It made me feel connected to God and to the world around me. But as I thought about this reading, I wondered what it would be like to hear those sirens if I was the one who had a medical emergency, or one of my loved ones, or if there was a fire at my house, or if I or someone I loved had been a victim of a crime. I would be, as Jesus advises, on my feet with my head up, listening, hoping, praying for that siren to bring its noise and its staff and its equipment as fast as it could. That siren would be a song of glory in a way.
Maybe this text is like a siren, and it speaks to different people in different ways. Some people may be so focused on making it in this world – succeeding by its standards, living in a self-centered way, and any notice given to distress in this world is as an annoyance, something that makes life less comfortable for us, something we’d rather sleep through. And maybe some of us see trouble around us, and care about it, maybe pray about it and even try to do something to help. We don’t mind that the sirens remind us of that. We can be grateful that they bring us to pray. But we are not standing at attention, vigilant, listening for the sirens to come even closer, even faster. But for others, the ones for whom all hell has broken loose, the ones with the wind knocked out of them, well they may hear Christ’s Word differently, as the best possible news. Help is on the way, help is on the way. May it be so.
