Sermon -Sunday November 19
Brothers and Sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This week’s Gospel lesson is pretty scary. Oh, it begins innocently enough with one of the disciples marveling at some large stones that a temple is constructed out of and pointing them out to Jesus. But then Jesus responds by telling the disciple that the buildings and the stones that the disciple is marveling at will be destroyed and that not one of the stones will be left upon another.
And then a few more disciples ask Jesus when all of this will take place. Jesus then warns them not to be deceived, and that many will come in His name. And then He tells them that there will be wars and rumors of wars and nation will rise against nation and that when all of this takes place ‘…the end is still to come.’
Are you scared yet? Think about it. Wars and rumors of wars? We are currently involved in a war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and there are rumors that we might be headed toward military conflict with Iran and North Korea. Surely this must be it. I mean, I was watching television this week and there was a fairly well known televangelist on there and he was talking about the end-times and how all these prophecies had been fulfilled and that he believed Jesus was coming back soon. He was saying that we, as the church better make sure we’re ready. And he was speaking of Jesus’ return as something that we should have some anxiety about.
Why? What is there to be afraid of?? We shouldn’t be afraid of Jesus’ return, we should look forward to it. God has always worked in the midst of conflict. In Isaiah 19, the prophet tells of a time when brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.
Jesus’ return is not a threat, it’s a promise. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is saying this to His disciples. The warning to watch out for people who would try to mislead them definitely applied to what the disciples would go through. Not only would people try to deceive them away from their newfound faith in Jesus, but people would try to persecute them and kill them.
Why would the disciples put up with all that? Jesus had just told them not to be alarmed. He assured them that they didn’t need to worry about all the hardship and the strife that they would encounter. And yet, after Jesus had gone up to Heaven, not only do the disciples not worry about the hardship they would endure, but they walk right in the midst of hardship and strife with no hesitation, as they furthered the ministry of the early church.
Most, if not all of the early disciples, would end up being martyred for their faith. I am not simply talking about the twelve apostles that we all know about, I am talking about the hundreds of witnesses who began the church by spreading the Gospel. What would drive them to do that??
They understood that the time that we spend waiting for Jesus’ return is not to be spent being passive. As we wait for Jesus’ return we are to proclaim His good news of salvation and forgiveness with our neighbor through our words and actions. The televangelist that I spoke of earlier said something else that, frankly I found to be a little disturbing. He said that he tells his congregation that he believes Jesus will be coming very soon. That’s not the disturbing part. The disturbing part was when he followed that up by saying that he tells them that “If they have a soul that they would like to save then save it.”
‘What’s wrong with that?’ you ask. First of all, we don’t save anyone’s souls, the Holy Spirit calls people through the gospel, that we are called to proclaim, and brings them into faith. And secondly, we are not called to proclaim the Gospel only to those whose souls we want to save, we are called to proclaim the Gospel to all nations or all people.
This past week when I was at the Word Alone conference, the president of Word Alone was speaking about frustrations that she has experienced in the past as a parish pastor working with people to come up with ‘mission statements’ in some of the various congregations that she has served in. She said she now believes that every congregation’s mission statement should be the great commission from Matthew 28:19, which of course is the command to ‘…make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’ and teaching people to obey what Jesus has commanded. She said when we get that one figured out then we can move on to a new one.
See, when Jesus tells the disciples of these buildings being destroyed and not one stone being left upon another, He is talking about more than a building. The point is not the building, but what is inside the building; God. That building would have been seen as the place where God dwells. Jesus isn’t just talking about the destruction of a building, He is talking about the barriers between sinners and God being broken.
And yet, we still can’t help but cling onto that image of God as being confined to a building. What do you suppose the ratio would be of time spent at council meetings talking about the upkeep of the building as compared to time spent talking about the presence of Jesus in word and sacrament?
I am not suggesting that we abandon all of our practical concerns. Those are very much a part of the reality that we live in. But we are called to address these matters in a way that is informed by our calling to proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus to our neighbor. And we are called to do this, not just in church affairs but in our daily lives.
We can’t define this calling on our own terms. We can’t make it dependent on our abilities to pay the bills. If this building were destroyed tomorrow, your calling would still apply to you. You would still have the same calling to proclaim the Gospel to your neighbor. The great commission would still be extended to the Grenora/Zahl area and beyond.
Indeed Jesus will come back one day and that is good news. In the meantime you are not called to try to define your calling on your terms, and you are not called to try to figure out when Jesus will return. In fact, when you start thinking that any part of God’s will is in any way dependent upon your ability to figure it out, you will only end up getting it wrong. Sin emerges when you start thinking that your salvation is dependent upon anything you do.
Jesus offered a single sacrifice for your sins, and by that single offering He perfected you, as we read in our lesson from Hebrews today. In baptism you are filled with the very confidence that the author of Hebrews writes about; the confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus.
And the sanctuary is not just a building, but the new and living way that has been opened for you through the curtain, and that curtain is the flesh of Christ Jesus. Through the sacrifice made for you on the cross you are able to hold fast to your faith in Christ Jesus.
In our lesson from Hebrews, we are reminded that He who has promised is faithful. Jesus is coming back and He has promised to be faithful. He doesn’t need us, nor want us to try to figure out when this will happen. God wants you to recognize the freedom that you have been given through the death and resurrection of His Son, Christ Jesus when sin, death and the devil were defeated for you and freed you to proclaim the Gospel through words and deeds to your neighbor. And that is nothing to be afraid of.
Amen
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This week’s Gospel lesson is pretty scary. Oh, it begins innocently enough with one of the disciples marveling at some large stones that a temple is constructed out of and pointing them out to Jesus. But then Jesus responds by telling the disciple that the buildings and the stones that the disciple is marveling at will be destroyed and that not one of the stones will be left upon another.
And then a few more disciples ask Jesus when all of this will take place. Jesus then warns them not to be deceived, and that many will come in His name. And then He tells them that there will be wars and rumors of wars and nation will rise against nation and that when all of this takes place ‘…the end is still to come.’
Are you scared yet? Think about it. Wars and rumors of wars? We are currently involved in a war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and there are rumors that we might be headed toward military conflict with Iran and North Korea. Surely this must be it. I mean, I was watching television this week and there was a fairly well known televangelist on there and he was talking about the end-times and how all these prophecies had been fulfilled and that he believed Jesus was coming back soon. He was saying that we, as the church better make sure we’re ready. And he was speaking of Jesus’ return as something that we should have some anxiety about.
Why? What is there to be afraid of?? We shouldn’t be afraid of Jesus’ return, we should look forward to it. God has always worked in the midst of conflict. In Isaiah 19, the prophet tells of a time when brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.
Jesus’ return is not a threat, it’s a promise. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is saying this to His disciples. The warning to watch out for people who would try to mislead them definitely applied to what the disciples would go through. Not only would people try to deceive them away from their newfound faith in Jesus, but people would try to persecute them and kill them.
Why would the disciples put up with all that? Jesus had just told them not to be alarmed. He assured them that they didn’t need to worry about all the hardship and the strife that they would encounter. And yet, after Jesus had gone up to Heaven, not only do the disciples not worry about the hardship they would endure, but they walk right in the midst of hardship and strife with no hesitation, as they furthered the ministry of the early church.
Most, if not all of the early disciples, would end up being martyred for their faith. I am not simply talking about the twelve apostles that we all know about, I am talking about the hundreds of witnesses who began the church by spreading the Gospel. What would drive them to do that??
They understood that the time that we spend waiting for Jesus’ return is not to be spent being passive. As we wait for Jesus’ return we are to proclaim His good news of salvation and forgiveness with our neighbor through our words and actions. The televangelist that I spoke of earlier said something else that, frankly I found to be a little disturbing. He said that he tells his congregation that he believes Jesus will be coming very soon. That’s not the disturbing part. The disturbing part was when he followed that up by saying that he tells them that “If they have a soul that they would like to save then save it.”
‘What’s wrong with that?’ you ask. First of all, we don’t save anyone’s souls, the Holy Spirit calls people through the gospel, that we are called to proclaim, and brings them into faith. And secondly, we are not called to proclaim the Gospel only to those whose souls we want to save, we are called to proclaim the Gospel to all nations or all people.
This past week when I was at the Word Alone conference, the president of Word Alone was speaking about frustrations that she has experienced in the past as a parish pastor working with people to come up with ‘mission statements’ in some of the various congregations that she has served in. She said she now believes that every congregation’s mission statement should be the great commission from Matthew 28:19, which of course is the command to ‘…make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’ and teaching people to obey what Jesus has commanded. She said when we get that one figured out then we can move on to a new one.
See, when Jesus tells the disciples of these buildings being destroyed and not one stone being left upon another, He is talking about more than a building. The point is not the building, but what is inside the building; God. That building would have been seen as the place where God dwells. Jesus isn’t just talking about the destruction of a building, He is talking about the barriers between sinners and God being broken.
And yet, we still can’t help but cling onto that image of God as being confined to a building. What do you suppose the ratio would be of time spent at council meetings talking about the upkeep of the building as compared to time spent talking about the presence of Jesus in word and sacrament?
I am not suggesting that we abandon all of our practical concerns. Those are very much a part of the reality that we live in. But we are called to address these matters in a way that is informed by our calling to proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus to our neighbor. And we are called to do this, not just in church affairs but in our daily lives.
We can’t define this calling on our own terms. We can’t make it dependent on our abilities to pay the bills. If this building were destroyed tomorrow, your calling would still apply to you. You would still have the same calling to proclaim the Gospel to your neighbor. The great commission would still be extended to the Grenora/Zahl area and beyond.
Indeed Jesus will come back one day and that is good news. In the meantime you are not called to try to define your calling on your terms, and you are not called to try to figure out when Jesus will return. In fact, when you start thinking that any part of God’s will is in any way dependent upon your ability to figure it out, you will only end up getting it wrong. Sin emerges when you start thinking that your salvation is dependent upon anything you do.
Jesus offered a single sacrifice for your sins, and by that single offering He perfected you, as we read in our lesson from Hebrews today. In baptism you are filled with the very confidence that the author of Hebrews writes about; the confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus.
And the sanctuary is not just a building, but the new and living way that has been opened for you through the curtain, and that curtain is the flesh of Christ Jesus. Through the sacrifice made for you on the cross you are able to hold fast to your faith in Christ Jesus.
In our lesson from Hebrews, we are reminded that He who has promised is faithful. Jesus is coming back and He has promised to be faithful. He doesn’t need us, nor want us to try to figure out when this will happen. God wants you to recognize the freedom that you have been given through the death and resurrection of His Son, Christ Jesus when sin, death and the devil were defeated for you and freed you to proclaim the Gospel through words and deeds to your neighbor. And that is nothing to be afraid of.
Amen
posted by Steve at 7:51 PM
1 Comments:
Not too bad. But I am a little disturbed by your theology here-what do you mean, the church isn't the building? And what do you mean, that church isn't about the upkeep of this building and whether the heat stays on? Wait a minute here-this is my church and I have to make sure it stays the way it always has!
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