Sunday November 15th, 2015
Pentecost
Proper 28
Year B
Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
With the events over the last week in Lebanon, Paris, Syria, and Iraq, I am sure the words from Jesus in the text from Mark today, seem to resonate as the times Jesus speaks of. I cannot say if this is the beginning of the end times, nor would I even venture to guess. Some would say our 911 bombings were the beginning but the same said that of WWII and WWI.
Jesus tells us not to worry. He says; “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.”[1] I am not sure however if those are comforting other than that Jesus says “don’t be alarmed.” We are told not to worry throughout the Bible. That is the core of faith, trust in the promises of God. Trusting is not worrying but trusting. Again, sometimes easier said then done.
The text from Hebrews today explains in different words some of the same things we confess in the Nicene Creed. From the Nicene Creed we hear what Jesus has done for us, when we say the words, “For us human beings and for our salvation he came down from the heavens, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became a human being. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death, and was buried.[2]
This was, not is or will be but simply was done. As it is says in Hebrews, “14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.[3] It is done once and for all, for all. This was done for all of humanity in order that they might believe. Through this act of love and grace our sins and our lawless deeds will not be remembered anymore. Our salvation has been secured in the faithfulness of Christ, Jesus.
We celebrate, worship and remember every Sunday what God has done for us in the Son’s faithfulness. We take inside of us, with confidence that allows us into the holy of holies, the body and blood of Jesus. By this, we are no longer separated from God but joined to the Father, Son and Spirit so we can have eternal life always with our God.
So, are we in end times? Maybe we are, be we are a people of end times. We look forward to a new and everlasting life with God, which cannot come for all, until Jesus comes again. When does Jesus come again, but during the end times.
Are we in end times? Maybe we are, maybe we have been so since 911 or was it WWII or WWI or even long before that. The things that Jesus tells us must happen have been happening even before he walked the earth. When it ends, when it finally culminates with Jesus coming again, only the Father knows.
Living as if it were the end times, rather than living in the moment and living life to its fullest, can be a living hell. That is not what Jesus wants for us. Living life to its fullest, living out the gospel as good news and telling others what Jesus does for them is how as end times people we shall live.
When you get caught up in the world, when Jesus, seems absent from your life, know that He is not. Know what He has done for you. When you cannot see Jesus and you are walking in hell, remember our confession in the Apostles Creed, which says that Jesus died and descended into hell. The absence of God is hell but Jesus has filled even hell with His presence. In doing so, “God takes the absence of God’s self into God’s reality through Jesus Christ.” Duane Priebe 4/9/15
God is there with you always, Jesus is with you always and comes to you in your darkest moments. It was Martin Luther who said that we are all christs. Not in the sense, with a capital “C”. But we are filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus promises not to make us orphans and abandon us.
From Luther’s Works Volume 31, Luther says; “Surely we are named after Christ, not because he is absent from us, but because he dwells in us, that is, because we believe in him and are Christs one to another and do to our neighbors as Christ does to us.”[4] In these times of uncertainty for some, be christs to one another, fear not, no matter what, Christ is with us.
Let me leave you with this story I heard on my retreat last week. A dad is at home and mom is out on a business trip. A really “important” football game is on. Dad puts his daughter to bed a little early so that he can make sure that he can watch the game. He tucks her in and prays with her and tells her to remember that Jesus is with her. Off downstairs he goes to watch the game.
Just ask the kickoff comes, he hears, daddy, I am thirsty. He gets up and goes to her with a glass of water. She takes it and he says to her, remember, Jesus is with you.
As he is watching the game she again calls out, daddy! He goes up to her and finds out that she is cold, so he gets her another blanket and then tells her that Jesus is with her. Dad heads back down to the ball game.
It is right near the end of the game, the score is tied and his team is in scoring position when the quarterback begins to pass and he hears, daddy! He goes up to his daughter and she says that she is afraid of the dark. He tells her not to be afraid, Jesus is with her. She says, daddy, sometimes I need a Jesus with skin on. He stays with his daughter until she is fast asleep.
Sometimes we need Jesus with skin on. Sometimes we need to be Jesus with skin on for others. Do not worry but when you do, look for Jesus with skin on. Jesus is with us always.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mk 13:7.
[2] Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 23.
[3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Heb 10:14.
[4] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 31: Career of the Reformer I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 31 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 368.