33rd Sunday OT
I was introduced to the Bible when I was nine years old. An older friend told me about the Great Tribulation found in the Book of Revelation. I was particularly struck one image he mentioned from chapter 14: “. . .the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage...blood poured out...to the height of a horse’s bridle for two hundred miles.” Being an imaginative kid, I had no trouble seeing in my mind's eye the angel, the sickle, the wine press, and the great ocean of blood. I rushed home to read the rest of Revelation and found myself hooked on the fantastic images and language of the End Times. For the next decade, I worried about the apocalypse and my place in it. Are the signs showing us the end? When will the Lord return? Will I be among those raptured into heaven? These were the years when Evangelical Protestantism dominated religious programming on TV: Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell. Their best fundraising pitches always revolved around matching current events to the signs and symbols from the prophet Daniel and the BoR. Their biblical numerology was mesmerizing. Still, I wanted to know: when, Lord? When will you come again? I wanted to be ready! But the signs were unclear. Unfortunately, Jesus gave me no answers.
He does prophesy the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. His listeners want to know when this will happen. Of course, he doesn't give them a date, a day and time. Tues., March 3rd at 4:15pm seven years from now. That's the answer we want. That way we can be ready! Or more likely, so we know exactly how long we have to party before the end. What he gives them instead is a string of cryptic “signs” that could apply to any day of the week or week of the year. Wars, rebellions, plagues, earthquakes, famines, “awesome sights and mighty signs [coming] from the sky.” Had I been among his listeners, I might have yelled out: “But those happen all the time!” And Jesus would have pointed at me and said, “Exactly! So, be ready!” The Nine Year Old Me and the televangelists wanted the signs and wonders of the BoR to match up neatly with current events so we could calculate the exact timing of Christ's return. We didn't consider the possibility that Christ could come again at any moment. That we ought to be always ready. Some forty years after Jesus' prophecy, in 70AD, the Romans destroyed the temple. I wonder if any of those who heard his prediction were there to see the temple pulled down and remembered. . .
We can be frustrated with Jesus' answer. And we can continue to run after apparitions and biblical numerology and seers and visions in a quest to understand the day and time of his return. Or, we can take him at his word and simply listen. What he is describing is the past and future history of the Church living in the world. Creation is fallen. Earthquakes, floods, plagues, and wars are everyday events in a fallen world. In a fallen world, men will claim to be the Messiah. I found a list of about 40 claimants btw 1830 and 2022. In a fallen world, teachers will teach false doctrine. Some of those teachers are ordained. Some have PhD's and others wear miters. In a fallen world, the world will persecute the Church. 360 million Christians live in parts of the world where following Christ will get them killed. Our persecutors can be religious – mostly extremist forms of Islam. Or atheistic – mostly forms of left-wing political ideology, e.g., Chinese communism and woke progressivism. In a fallen world, those who follow Christ serve as an irritant to the comfort of those who serve the world. Our allegiance belongs to Christ not the princes, politicians, and prophets of this Age. Our citizenship is in His Kingdom. We're just passing through.
Jesus assures us: “You will be hated by all because of my name...” OK. So, where's our hope? Where do we find our strength? He continues: “...but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” Alright. Good to know. But what do we do in the meantime? “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” By persevering we will be victorious. Persevering in what, exactly? Persevering in trust. Persevering in hope. Persevering in loving one another. Persevering with the Body of Christ in the Body of Christ to live wholly and only for Christ until he comes again. How do we persevere? Obedience to the Spirit. Not just compliance but truly listening to the Spirit as He speaks to the Church and by consecrating ourselves – setting ourselves aside – in His service. The Spirit has spoken, is speaking, and will continue to speak. And He has said, is saying, and will continue to say just one word: Christ. He says nothing new. Nothing contrary. And nothing contradictory. False Messiahs, teachers, and prophets will tell us that the Spirit is doing something or saying something new, something completely novel. No. The Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. That love is eternal. And there is nothing new in eternity. Our NO to the novelty of the Age puts us in conflict with the world. And this conflict is what Jesus is describing to us this morning. Our persistent, persevering NO to the world is also a persistent, persevering YES to Christ. The temple was destroyed as he prophesied. When will he return? Any minute now. Any day now. My job, your job is to be ready.
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