November 18, 2012
© 2012
I.
One of the hazards for we who are preachers is that we have to listen
to our own sermons. Every Sunday I want to be sure I have heard from God for
myself before I presume to speak to you. However, once in a while I feel that
God is shouting to me, “Pay attention, Norm! This one’s for you.” That has been
my experience this week. I definitely needed the focus of today’s message that with Jesus as our great heavenly high
priest, we need not be alarmed by the uncertainties of the future, but can face
them together with confidence.
A.
I’m sure many of you know we made an impromptu trip to Dallas on Monday
to help our son deal with a personal emergency. From his first voice-mail
message I jumped to what I took as an overwhelmingly disastrous conclusion. When
he phoned again a few hours later and actually spoke with Candy, we learned
that though serious, his problem was not nearly as severe as I had imagined. I
have to admit I wasn’t listening to Jesus at the moment.
B.
Whether you are pleased or disappointed with the results of the
election, the immediate political future is loaded with anxiety. Will the
politicians care enough about the welfare of the people to find a compromise
that avoids the fiscal cliff? David Petraeus’ personal behavior has clouded the
already confusing Benghazi crisis. The violence between Israel and the Palestinians
in Gaza has eclipsed the violence in Syria and threat from Iran in this week’s
news. Public anxiety about the future seems to be spiking this week.
C.
In Mark 13:1-8 Jesus’ confrontations with the Jerusalem Temple
leadership were behind him and the cross was approaching. Jesus’ disciples seem
somewhat oblivious of the magnitude of the events they were experiencing. Jesus’
responses to their mundane curiosity moved them toward a future perspective.
As he came out of the temple, one of his
disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large
buildings!” 2Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one
stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
3When he
was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and
Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell
us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are
about to be accomplished?” 5Then
Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6Many
will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7When
you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place,
but the end is still to come.8For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be
earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning
of the birthpangs.
II.
Coming from rural Galilee, Jesus’ disciples were awestruck by the
grandeur of the Jerusalem Temple. When Jesus pronounced its doom, their
curiosity prompted them to ask for insider information. Jesus’ unexpected
responses to his disciples remind us that with
Jesus as our great heavenly high priest, we need not be alarmed by the
uncertainties of the future, but can face them together with confidence.
A.
Monday morning I needed to hear Jesus’ word to his disciples, “Do not
be alarmed!” but I missed it until after midnight. Whether we feel like our
personal lives are falling apart or the world is falling apart, we have a hard
time receiving what we most need to hear from Jesus, “Do not be alarmed!” Jesus
was not suggesting that the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple that was to
come in 70 AD was insignificant or good. Rather, he called his disciples, and
us, to be so anchored in him that we are not taken by surprise by storms but
weather them with faith.
B.
The disciples wanted a time line. They wanted a sign so they could have
exclusive knowledge which would give them power over the future. But Jesus warned
that seeking such knowledge and following those who offer it only leads us
astray. Jesus is clear that these disastrous events are not signs that the end
has arrived, but will be normal and expected for the world until the end comes.
How easily we are led astray by preachers of doom and disaster, by commodity
brokers hawking fear of the next crash, by politicians overplaying their power
for good and overplaying the threat of their opponents for evil.
C.
Jesus used the fascinating image of birthpangs to describe the future
turmoil. Without pushing it too far, I believe Jesus told his disciples and us
that beyond the pain is the joy of new life. Don’t despair because the
immediate future looks to dark and difficult. God is bringing something new and
glorious, and you get to be part of it.
III. Hebrews 10 continues the
exploration of Jesus as our great heavenly high priest. It includes manifestly
practical guidance for approaching the future that dovetails with Jesus’ word
to his disciples. With Jesus as our great
heavenly high priest, we need not be alarmed by the uncertainties of the
future, but can face them together with confidence.
A.
Verse 25 connects the exploration of Christ as the high priest taking
his own blood into the heavenly Temple with Jesus’ word to his disciples about
anxiety for the future and with practical guidance for us today. The writer of
Hebrews turns to the practical conclusion of this theological and spiritual treatise
on the hinge of seeing “the Day approaching.”
B.
First, because of Jesus’ high priestly work, we can approach “the Day”
with confidence, echoing Jesus’ word, “Do not be alarmed!” Verse 19 says that
we, too, can enter the heavenly sanctuary and the presence of God by Jesus’ blood
which he already brought for our redemption. Verse 22 tells us to approach with
full assurance of faith. Heart and body, our whole person, has been washed
clean by Jesus our high priest. So, as verse 23 says, we hold fast to our
confession of hope, not because we are so spiritually strong or mature, but
because Jesus our high priest is faithful to his promise.
C.
Second, we face the future, anticipating “the Day,” not on our own but
as a community of faith. Verse 25 tells us not to neglect meeting together. It
reminds me of the Woody Allen line, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Facing
the kind of future Jesus described is not for the fainthearted. We can’t do it
alone. We need each other. Verse 24 tells us to provoke each other to love and
good deeds. Facing the uncertainties of the future can be discouraging. Verse
25 tells us to encourage each other.
IV. In her 1980 book Walking on Water: Reflections on
Faith and Art, Madeline L’Engle
wrote, “When we were children, we used to think that when we were
grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept
vulnerability ... To be alive is to be vulnerable.” As we gather with friends
and family for Thanksgiving later this week, we can be especially thankful that
we do not have to be vulnerable on our own. With Jesus as
our great heavenly high priest, we need not be alarmed by the uncertainties of
the future, but can face them together with confidence.
A.
In my interim
pastor training we were taught that the interim pastor is to be a stable,
non-anxious presence for the congregation through the uncertain time of
transition between pastors. On Monday I was anything but stable and
non-anxious. Candy and I are personally very thankful that in our three months
with you, this congregation has not only accepted us but has supported us on
our journey, which has its own twists and turns. Several of you have shared
your own struggles with adult children. You have helped us know we are not
alone. Many of you have prayed for us, not just for my ministry with you but
for the concerns we have for our parents, children and grandchildren. Your encouraging
words have protected me from discounting the validity of my ministry with you.
Thank you!
B.
In our three
months with you we have walked together through funerals, hospitalizations and
surgeries, career and family transitions, joys and frustrations. As you build
your list of things for which you are thankful, I hope you will include the
people of this congregation who have encouraged you at a difficult time, the
people who have provoked you to faith and good deeds when you were faltering. My
provocation to you this morning is to express your thanks to them personally.
Face to face is probably best, but a note (even e-mail) or a phone call is good
too.
C.
I got to know Dave
and Neta Jackson in a circle of young Christian writers in Chicago. In 1974
they wrote a book on Christian community called Living Together in a World Falling Apart. The writer of Hebrews
emphasizes how much we need each other in the community of faith whether we
feel like our personal lives or the world around us are falling apart. Sometimes
the church may feel like a life raft that is just enough so we can survive.
Other times the church may feel like an advance outpost of the Kingdom of God,
representing Jesus in hostile territory. Sometimes the Church may feel like a warm
family or village that comforts and celebrates together. Sometimes the Church
feels like a safe zone where we are free to acknowledge our vulnerabilities. We
are the people of Jesus looking to him as the Day is approaching.
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