I have two stories for you this morning. They have given me a sense of what Jesus is up to in the Gospel passage for this morning. One is a story I read in a book called Reading Luke. The other is a story from my own experience. Before I get to them, there are certain things to say about the Gospel passage: why we read it now; what the passage is; something we believe we know about the passage.
Why we read the passage now:
Two reasons: One, at this time of year in Episcopal churches the lessons focus on The End, when God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. This is because the church year is drawing to an end. Next Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, is the last Sunday — the end — of the church year. It seems fitting, then, to read in sections of Scripture that tell of The End, the long awaited accomplishment of God’s purposes for God’s Creation.
Second, we are on the doorstep of Advent — the first season of the church year. In Advent the theme is preparation — preparation for the in-breaking into the world of God’s Kingdom in and through Jesus. We soon will be preparing to celebrate his birth — that celebration is only 37 days away. And we will be preparing for his second coming — frequently we forget that Advent is about that as well as about celebrating his birth.
So we look back in these final weeks of the church year, back to Jesus, God incarnate, and what he taught concerning The End, and we look forward to our celebration of his advent in the world, his coming, and to his second coming — the final accomplishment of God’s purpose for the world.
That’s why we read the passage now.
Now, what the passage is:
It belongs to a category of biblical literature called apocalyptic. A ten dollar word. Apocalyptic in Hebrew Scriptures reflects times of great hardship and persecution for the people of God. This type of writing arises when the people long for God not only to deliver them but also to vindicate them through overcoming their persecutors. Often, they conceived of that happening in a great period of upheaval and judgment that is a prelude to the coming of the Kingdom.
That’s what the passage is: apocalyptic.
Now, what we think we know about the passage:
First: When the gospel of Luke was written, people who worshiped Jesus as their Lord were in a time of struggle, upheaval and persecution. There was growing tension and even enmity from Judaism, the Jews who did not worship Jesus. Remember what we know from the Book of Acts: that the first Christians remained faithful Jews in the pattern of their master, Jesus. Acts 2: 46, “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple (observing the Jewish hours of prayer), they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all people.” That rosy picture soon changed as Jews began to suspect that worshiping Jesus as Lord was really worshiping two gods and therefore blasphemy; and as growing numbers of gentiles became suspicious of and opposed to them. So, it was important for the community that produced the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts to encourage one another through remembering all their Lord had endured for them, as they endured many of the same things. It was important for them to remember that as he had trusted and hoped in the face of persecution, so they could trust and hope, for he had endured all for them and been raised by God. So would they be vindicated for their faithful endurance.
Second: we believe that Jesus himself believed The End was imminent, just over the horizon, so to speak. So did St. Paul. And through what Jesus taught and what he endured, Jesus demonstrated that though the body be killed, God’s truth abides and God preserves life in the truest sense. So stay faithful through whatever happens, for God abides with God’s disciples, just as God abides with Jesus. Through whatever comes. Disciples can, and must, pray — that is essential — and work, with our eyes and our attention on Jesus, on the hope Jesus gives and on the certainty of resurrection life. We know that The End did not occur then and has not yet occurred. I attribute that to God’s grace. We know, as well, from thousands of years of faith history that when everything is up for grabs, when the earth shifts under our feet, we have one certainty to hold on to. It is that God in Christ Jesus abides with us and enables us to pray and to work, enables us to endure until our work is done.
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Now for the stories:
In the book, Reading Luke, Bruce Larson tells of a man named Robert Russell. Mr. Russell is blind. Mr. Russell lives alone on the banks of a river. For exercise he goes rowing on the river almost every day. A bell is his guide and compass. Attached to the end of the dock he leaves and returns to is a bell on a timer. The bell rings every 30 seconds. Mr. Russell judges his distance from the dock by the sound of the bell. And when he is ready to return, the bell rings him home – he follows its sound back to the dock. Larson quotes Mr. Russell: “The river lies before me, a constant invitation, a constant challenge, and my bell is the thread of a sound along which I return to my quiet base.”
The invitation, indeed the call, to venture out on the waters of faith has been issued by our Lord. To answer the invitation is to take on many a challenge. It can be dangerous to us. There is little chance that you and I will be tortured and killed for our faith, of course, in this part of the world. Still, there is every likelihood that living according to Christ will bring us into conflict with the prevailing values of our age, just as it has for Christians of preceding eras. Every chance that we could find ourselves separated from certain of our friends, co-workers, even family members because of our faith. Any of us desiring to live for Christ will need to be listening for him, depending on him so that he can sustain us and bring us home. He is our compass and guide, our bell on the river. Whether we endure in the faith or not depends on returning daily to him. That’s what praying is; returning to him, and that brings endurance.
Second story:
On Tuesday morning, November 12, 2001 I was on a flight from Boston to Pittsburgh. The previous morning, November 11, there had been a plane crash minutes after take-off from Kennedy Airport. Shortly after my flight attained cruising altitude, the voice of the captain came over the pa system. He welcomed us; thanked us for choosing the airline; gave us the customary information about weather, in-flight time; turbulence we might encounter; temperature outside the cabin … the usual. Then he said, “Since the events of yesterday, I haven’t been able to make any sense of what happened. But on the way to the airport this morning, I saw the new moon and the morning star, and that made the difference. If there’s anything you need during the flight, please let the attendants know.”
My eyes filled with tears at that moment. At the time I couldn’t have told you why exactly. But I have come to believe it was because his words pointed a planeload of passengers to beauty and permanence in the face of mayhem, suffering, death and destruction.
The captain got out of bed that morning and went to work. When he did, he saw the new moon and the morning star. Martin Luther, they say, was asked what he would do if he learned that the end of the world would come in one hour. He replied that he would go right on teaching his class, because the best preparation for the future is faithfulness in the present. I think that’s what Jesus is telling his disciples and anyone listening in in this morning’s gospel. Yes, The End is coming. Yes, there are things happening all the time that can be read as signs and portents. Yes, there is upheaval of every kind in our past, in our present and in our future.
And through it all there is the God of the Gospel. The God we know in Jesus… there for us in Jesus, world without end. God is the bell that brings us back. God is the new moon and the morning star. God is our hope, our compass, our guide. Therefore, we will pray and we will work and we will endure in the faith, whether The End is imminent or delayed. He is our God. We are his people. We are blessed. Amen.
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