Living in God’s Kingdom While
Longing for It
2017 Advent Sermon I: 12 03 17
Introduction: Are We Too Overwhelmed to Try?
Last month marked the 40th year
since I began work as a pastor, first as a Lay Preacher in Fairbanks, and then
in several places as an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament. In
that time, there has been a major shift in the way that Americans approach the
problems of the world.
· In the 1950s, when
I was born, over 70% of the American citizens said they trusted the American government
to do what is right most of the time. According to the Pew Research
Center that number had fallen to less than 20% by 2015, which is the most
recent data they had published.
· The same can be
said for schools, the judicial system, the news media and
· …the
church. Over the past 15 years, our nation has seen the greatest
decline in church attendance and religious participation in a hundred years.
Sociologists have much to say about the likely reasons for this
decline in confidence in our society’s institutions. One is the fact
that we have become more aware that there are no perfect
institutions. Institutions embody a certain amount of power, and we
Presbyterians know that human sin will show up in them sooner or later, as it
does in all people and all groups. But I do believe that the
information boom, and especially the electronic boom, have really advanced
people’s awareness of sin in institutions. The flood of information
about it can be overwhelming.
Lately, the information flood has helped feed the latest
trend--naming everything as "fake news" if we don't want to agree
with it. News agencies are suspect, unless they are on our
"Favorites" list--because we can always find some source, who agrees
with our position. Similarly, religious leaders are often not careful
about their own biases. Instead of asking people to think for themselves,
they try to portray themselves as the expert, who should tell them what to
think. For most in this generation, this kind of behavior just adds to
the distrust.
Yet, if we do not trust institutions or experts to solve the
problems of the world, we are nevertheless very aware that the problems we face
are serious.
Indeed, the problems of our society—and our Christian awareness
that sin does take form, and is taking form in our society—can be
overwhelming. People seem to be losing faith that we can do anything
real about so many issues: drugs, homelessness, poverty, racism, sexism,
religious intolerance, environmental degradation, and more. If many
in our society have lost trust that our government, our health care, our
schools, or our churches are capable of addressing issues--or that they are run
by people we can trust, where do we place our trust?
If churches are to begin to help people, they need to turn away
from pointing people to their pastors as the last authority in their
lives. We need to turn people to God. However, for churches,
this means that at least one of the issues before us is the question of what
answers God has for people facing the problems of today that seem so
unsolvable.
Today’s scripture readings begin to address questions of trust in
a world that is still characterized by all kinds of sin—including the abuse of
power that makes institutions harder to trust. Let’s look at today’s
scriptures.
According to the two readings today, we need to know who we serve.
We need to know what time we live in, and we need to know how we serve God in
this time
Who Do We Serve?
To begin addressing this question, let's look at the Old Testament
Reading for this sermon:
Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25
24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,
and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and
they presented themselves before God.
24:2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the
LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and
Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
24:3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and
led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.
24:14 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in
sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served
beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this
day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region
beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but
as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
24:16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we
should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
24:17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our
ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did
those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went,
and among all the peoples through whom we passed;
24:18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the
Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he
is our God."
24:19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the
LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your
transgressions or your sins.
24:20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he
will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good."
24:21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the
LORD!"
24:22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses
against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they
said, "We are witnesses."
24:23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are
among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24:24 The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will
serve, and him we will obey."
24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and
made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
In this passage, Joshua is at the end of a long life
of service as the conquering leader of the Hebrew people. After
Moses died, it was Joshua, who God chose to lead the people in their conquest
of the land of Canaan. He led the people as they conquered armies,
established cities, and confronted those who lacked faith in the Lord God and
wished to worship the local idols. His leadership had been long and
distinguished.
But today’s reading is from Joshua 24. At this point,
he is getting ready to hand over leadership to the next generation of leaders,
and so he gathers the people at Schechem. Here, he reminds them of
all they have experienced through three generations: a generation trapped in
slavery; a generation that escaped from slavery, but spent their lives
wandering in the Wilderness due to their unwillingness to put their faith into
decisive action; and finally, a generation that knew they were called to take action,
who entered into Canaan to build a new life there.
Each generation faced temptation in a different
way. The first were afraid to escape the injustice slavery, yet
finally followed God out of their slavery to Pharaoh. Even so, a
time came when things changed. Times when things can change for the
better are called Kairos times in the Bible. Kairos times
are moments given by God. Moses showed up and showed them how not to
be trapped. People of faith trust that God will show them the way,
and they watch for those Kairos times to develop, because they
know that when the time is right, they must act.
Even so, that same generation crossed the Red Sea, but then they
gave-in to their fears, and they never left the wilderness. The
third generation was a generation that was hardened in the
wilderness. And so they took possession of the land that God
promised them. And that brings us to today’s reading. It
was time for this hardened generation to face a reality they had never faced
before. A new time had come. Joshua is telling them the
time had come to change from being a conquering army to become citizens of the
land. Joshua had to challenge them.
Every generation has to face the need to change, including our
generation. Do you believe that the Lord God was only a war God, who
would take on Pharaoh and would led the people with the strength to occupy the
land of Canaan? Was God not the deity to follow for building
families, planting crops, and living in peace? Was this new time the
time for new gods? Or, to put it another way, was the Lord God only
one of many deities—one to serve only on the journey away from
Pharaoh? Now that they were in a new land, should they serve
other gods?
One way or another, this is the question for each
generation. Is the God, who led our grandparents and our parents the
true God? Do we choose to serve this very same God, or
not? If change has to come, then we almost certainly are being
pushed to get to know God better, and to describe what we are discovering about
God. Or…we can simply reject God altogether. Joshua put
it to the people quite bluntly: “Choose this day whether you will serve the
gods of the Amorites in the land where you are now living, or the gods your
ancestors worshiped before they found the Lord; but as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord.”
There are two things I wish to lift up in Joshua’s
words. First, it is important to choose your way in
life. To choose nothing and to stand for nothing is not
adequate. For your one and only life on earth, you need to be
someone, who stands for something. Otherwise, you may experience
your life as more of a lost life, as if you were wandering in the
wilderness. Jesus said it different: Ask and it will be given to
you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.
Second, you are free to make your own choice. God will
not force you to choose to love and serve the Lord your God, even though that
is God’s deepest desire for you, and it is what you were created
for. God truly is love, and not coercion. We see that in
Jesus, who commanded the waves and the wind, who commanded the demons, but who
invited people. God, who holds all power, will not misuse that power
when it comes to a relationship with you and me.
Illustration: Sexual Misconduct
This stands in stark contrast with what we experience so often
from one another. There are a lot of illustrations I could choose
for this, but I want one that is relevant right now, that points to the hope of
God.
Over the past few months, we have been hearing about more and more
prominent male figures, whose sexual misconduct is being revealed. For me
this has been an amazing piece of good news. I have spent many years in
ministry longing for this moment. I have worked with so many women, who
have been abused and who, mostly, have not revealed what happened to
them. They are wounded by men in their lives, who have had power over
them, and who abused that power to get sexual favors of one kind or
another. Yet, they have been afraid to speak out about what has happened
to them.
There are two common themes that I have seen that have held these
women back. So often women, who have spoken out have found themselves
re-victimized by those to whom they report. This, I suspect, you have heard
before. They are pressed with questions like "What did you do to
invite this kind of behavior? Why were you in that part of town?
Why didn't you leave after the first abuse?" Etc. No one wants to be
treated like the wrong-doer when reporting such intimate violations.
But the second reason is that many do not want to be seen as
victims--with people pouring their pity on them. People do take
advantage, sometimes. But no one should be defined primarily by their
victim-hood, as if they are incapable of owning their own power. What we
are seeing today is women refusing to be victimized. They claiming their power,
and they are standing up and insisting that the abusers be held accountable.
For me, and for many, this is a season of joy and triumph. Women,
who were pushed back when they tried to claim this power in the past, have
paved the way for this day. God's moment has come, when they can stand up
and speak out. The kairos moment is here, and it is time
to claim it.
Sex and sexual behavior, you see, should not be about
power--whether professional power, or physical power, or psychological
power. Sex is something of a sacrament. It is a sharing between two
people, who love each other and freely give themselves to each other. It
requies a truly equal invitation of acceptance and love.
Indeed, it is this loving relationship—that of the Bridegroom and
the bridesmaids, that Jesus lifts up in his parable from today’s reading in
Matthew’s Gospel. Let's look at it now:
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten
bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
25:3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with
them;
25:4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy
and slept.
25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
25:7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
25:8 The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.'
25:9 But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you
and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'
25:10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and
those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was
shut.
25:11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord,
lord, open to us.'
25:12 But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
25:13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the
hour.
Note that this is a parable. That is, it is not
reality. I do not believe a bridegroom in Jesus’ culture married a
bunch of bridesmaids. However, this is a parable—it is
symbolic. In the ancient world, kings married bunches of bridesmaids, so
this points to the King. The New Testament often describes God as
the bridegroom, and the church as the bridesmaid—or in this case, the people of
the church as the bridesmaids. It is a marriage—a loving
relationship.
And this helps us understand the other thing that I said we need
to know. Not only do we need to know who we serve, but we also need
to know the time we are living in and how to serve God in this
time. The Bridegroom and Bridesmaids parable explains to us the type
of time we are living in.
What Time Are We Living In?
The Bridesmaids are already a part of a covenant relationship with
the groom. In Jesus day, to be betrothed meant that the promise of
marriage had already been made, and that it is really not
changeable. It was a transaction, one that would be fulfilled on the
wedding day, when the bridesmaid would move in with the groom’s
family. But the transaction was done. The bridesmaids
therefore know that they already are a part of the groom’s family, they simply
have not yet entered into the groom’s home.
This is what it is to be Christian people. We long for
the fulfillment of that reality that will come when we live in the transformed
world of God. And, in our hearts, we already do. We know
that we are saved already, don't we? Jesus lives in our hearts, and
points us to live in a new way, a way that is characterized by the saving, transforming
love of God. We already have experienced God’s
salvation. Yet, that salvation is not yet brought to full fruition
in our world. Indeed, we still live in a world of sin.
And what of the lamps in the parable? The lamps speak of
what we are to do, as people of faith, in this time:
What Are We to Do?
Jesus spoke of lamps another time in Matthew’s
Gospel. Do you remember in Matthew 5, when Jesus said this:
Matthew 5: 15-16
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand,
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand,
and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before
others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father in
heaven.
We are to stand out because of our good works. Our good
works do not save us, but they serve as lamps that shine out and point out the
way into the kingdom of God. They are meant to tell people the
truth, that we are different because we know who our God is, and we live
according to the ways of the Kingdom of God, and not of the Kingdom of the
world.
We live in a time when we know that God’s transforming power is
true, because we have already experienced it in our own hearts. We
are on the journey to God. We know who we will serve, and we choose
to be different because of it. We are not forced to be different,
but we are invited, and we are empowered by God to live different than we have.
We are also called to make our societies more and more like the
kingdom of God. This means that we are not afraid to look at the
difficult problems of society. We know that times come when
significant change is possible. These are Kairos times. Sometimes,
we are just getting ready for the Kairos times—like slaves
getting ready to escaped from slavery, like bridesmaids gathering oil for the
right moment to let them shine. But we know that that day is coming,
and we are getting ready.
Conclusion:
The theme of longing—longing for God to come in a decisive way;
longing for a way of living as Christian people in a way that makes a
difference, especially now in such a sinful time; longing for the kind of
waiting for the Messiah that is also “doing,” because our living is an active
thing, and we need to be doing the stuff that means “life” to us—the theme of
longing is always the first theme in the season of Advent. And…it is
a theme in our lives. We know that Jesus has come, and that the
Spirit is with us now. We know that God’s moment for action—another
moment for the Messiah’s action—builds momentum until something good suddenly
becomes possible. We know that it will all go even beyond that, to
the moment when God will bring a new heaven and a new earth…in fulfillment.
So, with this knowledge, this is the question for you.
We live in a different time than previous generations, and our
faith life will have to look different—just as the faithful lives of the tribes
of Israel had to look different when they were slaves than it did when they
were free. In the one case, they had to be ready to stand up against
the power of Pharaoh, so they could escape. As free people, they had
to be able to build a whole new society. Every generation has to be
different. But the message of scripture is that God is the same—we
just need to know God better.
What are the challenges you face? Where does it seem
that God wishes you to learn to live differently than you have in the past?
Is this a time for getting ready for big change in your life?
Like
the Hebrew people in slavery, who had to become ready to stand up to Pharaoh’s
power?
Like
the Bridesmaids, who had to gather lamp oil, so they would stand up and be
noticed?
Like the women, who
finally were able to claim their power and insisted that a new season
of justice must dawn today?
… OR …
Jesus tells us this a time for your light to shine, through good
deeds that stand out. What do you do, and how do you live, that is
different from the world—that shines the light of Christ through your own love
and your own action? How do your actions—your way of life—speak out
and proclaim Who the God is that has saved you, and that you serve?
And in your church...
how does your church stand out in the
community...
how does your church stand
out as a place that lives for God...
and as a
place that cares about those within the community, and their longing (their
NEED)
for acceptance,
and justice and peace in this world, today?
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