Proper 28C 2007

Luke 21:5-19

The apocalypse of Luke is addressed to an unnamed “they” and takes place in the temple, the most sacred place of Jewish life and thought in the time of Jesus. Apocalyptic literature sees our suffering in the present because the world is under evil powers and the future for the faithful who suffer now is to be rewarded so people are encouraged to be patient in present suffering and expect blessings when God finally intervenes and makes things right.

The text refers to a time before the fall of the temple, written by Luke after the destruction, and when we hear it we need to translate the message into our time and place. Jesus was not forecasting the fall of the temple in as much as he was correcting religious folks about trusting too much in earthly constructions. Any sacred thing or place is subject to the destructive forces of war, nature, and accident. If the sacred place is all that connects us to God, it is idol worship – even as we appreciate the small chapel in which we worship, it is not a substitute for God. If we understand that our lives are enveloped in the dangers of war, environmental change, public health concerns, economic trends, we describe ourselves as “suffering.” We wonder where God is in all this mess. Why does God let us suffer? Why does our good God who loves us come to our help? What is our individual and collective response to human suffering? I wonder if we can be instructed by texts such as this one from Luke written to long ago to people who were actively persecuted for their faith when we rarely suffer for ours.

Few of us have been threatened with arrest, imprisonment, or death for believing in God. We may be laughed at, ignored, or dismissed as superstitious or unenlightened but we are not generally killed unless we deny our faith. I have traveled to places where such persecution did occur and we have all read about it in books and historical writings, but I suspect few of us have actually faced dying unless we denied God.

Jesus taught by word and example that trusting God in all conditions of our lives is faithfulness. Jesus asked that the cup pass from him but that did not happen. If we could be so trusting we might resist the temptation to think our disappointments and struggles are so hard…because we find the help we need beside us…God with us. No one event, destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, or the war of wars is the sign of the end of time. Jesus said, no sign will be given but the sign of Jonah. Could that sign be Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection? Can it be that Jesus who lived and died and rose is the sign of God’s love to everyone and us for all time? Yes, I think so.

In the first generation of Christians Paul and others expected the return of the Lord very soon, even in their lifetime. When the early apostles began to die, Peter and Paul martyred in Rome in 64 CE, another understanding began to evolve: that Jesus comes to us in the waters of baptism, in the sacrament of the table, in the communion of saints, in the fellowship of faith. We need not put everything on hold while we wait for God to perfect all things supernaturally. We can work for the kingdom now, in faith, in trust, as agents who have the spirit of the living God.

I think the time in our text is present tense, then and remains so now. I believe that every generation has heard of wars and insurrections somewhere on the planet. Nations and kingdoms have fought each other, earthquakes, famines and plagues ravage people today as they did then. These things do happen. So Luke is right to say, do not be afraid. Too often we hear preachers or evangelists use apocalyptic images to frighten people into doing what they think right or best rather than using it to comfort and assure people that God is in control and God is present with the faithful.

The challenge for us is being faithful. Imagine a recruitment poster like the one with Uncle Sam pointing at you with large printed letters: I want you. In smaller print the recruitment ad says: “you will be arrested and persecuted, you will be handed over to religious and secular authorities, you will witness to the authorities about Jesus, you will be betrayed by family members, some of you will be put to death, you will be hated by all because of me.” I believe Luke presented this because it described the experience of faith among his companions. In Acts, Luke tells us of great persecutions, how at the martyrdom of Stephen he witnessed about the Lord Jesus.

Today we too are called to witness to the Lord Jesus. How do we do that here at St. Paul’s? Today we gather our pledges upon which we construct our operating budget for 2008. We trust our jobs and health will be sufficient for us to live into our promises. We trust that we can pledge because we can trust God for our future. We trust each other to be with us when we are sick, when we experience grief through the death of a beloved, that we will care for and respect each other. We trust that if someone talks about us in a denigrating manner, we will speak in positive terms because we know that each of us are a part of this body, that none can say to the hand I have no need of you. We can disagree about which hymns, service liturgy, homilies, service projects, outreach and mission opportunities….and still be faithful to God and in solidarity with each other. When a visitor comes into our midst, we welcome him or her, even if we have to stop some important conversation to engage the newcomer. When a special event is scheduled, we do all within our power to arrange our other commitments to be present and help with the work. In our faith, the press has been a lot more interested in our treatment of sexuality than our generosity in rebuilding the homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but in both we are being a witness.

Stick to the convictions of your faith even in situations where you find opponents ready to tell you where and why you are wrong. In Jill Hudson’s book, “When Better Isn’t Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21^st Century Church” she writes: “Everything has a cost. WE know this in our heart, and yet we try to avoid it. We want the “old” church just as it was, with comforting hymns, informally claimed pews, and familiar liturgies. We also want the benefits of the “new church”, full of young families and hope for the future. We want new believers who mature in Christ and share responsibilities of church membership. We don’t want anyone mad, ever! We want it both ways. We want the comfort of the past and the promise of the future without alienating anyone.” (p 20).

The energy in this parish for mission and outreach is important. We have energy for mission and it does cause conflict. We often disagree about our priorities, where we go and what we do there, but that we go is worthy of praise. I tell you, faith does not remove us from conflict, but faith identifies who we are in it. We are those who witness to the grace of God revealed in Jesus our Christ.

Today, in this place, we celebrate two important events: the collection of our time and talents for the work of the Lord in and through this parish and the completion of the Coming to Communion program by the youth of our parish. Our children have been reading, thinking and discussing the central part of our faith practice on Sunday morning, sharing bread and wine blessed by God’s spirit and given to every one of us as spiritual nourishment and as symbol of God’s presence with us. As these children take their share of the bread and wine of Christ at our common table, look and see the future of St. Paul’s. As you follow and take your share of the communion gifts see in these elements the evidence of God with us, now, here, and be faithful.