Jesus and the disciples have finally arrived.
The fabled city of David.
A city set on a hill.
Jerusalem the Golden.
On the mount of Jerusalem.
The temple, in all of its glory.
The dream of every Jew to see.
The heart and soul of Israel’s faith and hope.
A visible sign of God’s presence, and all the promises of the Covenant: You are my people, and I am your God.
Throughout the Roman Empire, wherever there’s a synagogue, a per capta tax collected for the support of the temple – a half-shekel from every Jew around the world.
During Passover, tens of thousands of pilgrims pour into the city to celebrate the festival of their deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt.
The disciples were impressed.
Impressive buildings on every corner.
Think Washington, D.C., or London or Paris or Beijing …
I remember the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I wept.
The first time I walked along Wall Street, I felt the power of the place in my bones – I said to Donna – “the world’s economy is anchored here, in these offices.”
Or standing on the top floor of the Hancock Center in Chicago, at night, and the city stretches out north and south and west … and the dark waters of Lake Michigan to the East.
And the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the Capital Building and the White House and the Pentagon …
We know how the disciples felt.
We’ve felt it, too.
In great places.
Mighty cities.
Soaring buildings.
Lofty cathedrals.
What humankind can accomplish.
Jesus is not so easily moved.
Jesus says:
As for all these things, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.
Jesus tells his disciples of strange times to come.
Things will change, says Jesus, and change for the worst.
Hard times are coming.
And don’t be deceived by those who offer easy answers and quick fixes.
All kinds of Messiahs will pop up here and there.
Offering advice and even claiming that the end is near.
But don’t be deceived.
Don’t be frightened.
And when things really get bad,
This will give you an opportunity to testify.
That’s the verse that caught my attention this week.
In tough times, we have an opportunity to testify.
I’m sure you’ve been following the adventures of the cruisers stranded on “The Splendor” – ah yes, “The Splendor” … fire in the engine room, and the mighty ship goes off line – adrift in the Pacific … no power to cool the food, no flush toilets, no air conditioning … Navy helicopters deliver bottled water and Spam …
A blog poster wrote: "If this is considered an 'ordeal,' then it's official: Americans have now become the biggest wusses on the planet."
Another wrote: "Maybe this could be a new idea for a diet reality show! Board a ship, and get stranded offshore with only Spam to eat."
A former cruiser, wrote: "When something unexpected happens, you put on your big-girl pants, and you deal with it."
Now I like that.
Put on your big-girl pants and deal with it.
Jesus says to the disciples, “Put on your big-girl pants, you big-boy pants, and deal with it.”
Because times are always changing.
And times are always tough, more or less.
One way or the other.
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.
But listen carefully to Jesus.
This isn’t about the end of the world.
These are not terminal times.
They never are.
They are, however, transitional times.
The Bible says very little about the end of the world.
In spite of what fundamentalist preachers claim.
The Bible isn’t interested in the end of the world, because that belongs to God, and to God alone.
And however it ends, it’s going to be okay … for everyone and everything.
The Bible, rather, says a great deal about changing times.
Transitional times.
From one era to another.
As the world turns.
And those are always the hardest.
For any of us.
Growing up.
Graduating.
Getting hired and getting fired.
Marriage and divorce.
Illness and loss.
Transition and transformation.
Never easy.
Always difficult.
And sometimes really hard.
Jesus doesn’t promise his disciples a rose garden.
He says to the disciples, You may well be killed.
And some were.
All along the centuries, folks have had to stand up for their faith, and lay down their lives for the sake of Christ.
It still happens.
But we’ll not be lost.
Death is not the worst that can happen to us.
We can lose our soul, that’s the worst.
Sell our soul to temporary comforts.
Run away from our spiritual responsibilities.
Take care of ourselves and close our eyes to the large truths of life.
Choose comfort over commitment.
Ignore the suffering of the world.
Refuse to let our souls ache for justice and peace.
Avert our eyes from the least of these and live in a very small world of me, myself and I.
These are the temptations that threaten our souls.
The little prayer, “If I should die before I wake….”
Might well be reworded.
“That I might wake before I die.”
Changing times are always an opportunity for the church to testify to the larger truths of life.
That God is important.
Christ, the anchor of life.
Christ, the guiding light.
Our strength.
Our hope.
In this life, and in the life to come.
And not even death will separate us from God.
Jesus prepares his disciples for hard times.
Some folks won’t like you.
Religious people will resent you.
Governors and kings will arrest you.
Even your families will turn against you.
Why should this be the case?
Why doesn’t the world welcome Christ with open arms?
Why would religious people miss the point?
Why would governors and kings be so cruel?
Why would the gospel divide a family?
But so it is, in this world of cabbages and kings.
John’s Gospel says it pointedly:
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed [John 3:19-20].
The stakes have always been high.
The struggles always much the same.
Women’s suffrage and women’s ordination.
The Civil Rights Movement …
Labor union movements …
The struggle for marriage equality …
We’ve worked our way through much of this, and we’ll continue to work our way through to a better day.
The truth has a way of emerging out of the worst of it.
Because Christ walks out of the tomb.
Faith proves valiant.
Hope stirs the heart.
Love rises above the ashes of sin and sorrow.
Think of Christ dear friends.
Everything Christ offers.
The Beatitudes.
The Parables.
The sermons.
Blessed are the poor … blessed are the peacemakers … blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
And everything Christ does.
He welcomes the outcast and the stranger.
He snubs the powerful.
He ignores their rules.
He hangs around with all the wrong people.
He kowtows to no one.
Welcomes everyone.
Forgives easily.
Loves much.
He sees the world for what it could be and lives as if it were so.
When the disciples ooooh and ahhh over the glorious buildings of Jerusalem, Jesus says, They won’t be around long.
Nothing is, in the grand scheme of things.
Everything changes.
And it’s time to testify.
To help people change with the changes.
To be less committed to the world as it is, and more committed to the world as it could be.
Less committed to holding on to things as they are, and more committed to reaching forward, toward things as they might be.
More freedom, not less.
Less fear and more courage.
More hope and care and kindness.
Less war and more peace.
And who knows where and how it’ll all work out.
Even now as we speak, the world is convulsing.
But we have gifts to give.
We point to Christ.
We lift high the cross.
Though everything change, Christ remains.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble with its tumult [Psalm 46].
Though we tremble ourselves.
We look to Christ all the more.
We read our Bibles and find a profound comfort.
I am with you always.
I will never leave you or forsake you.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
There has never been a better time to testify to the things of Christ.
To be awake in the light of God’s love.
“For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give--yes or no, or maybe--
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep”
[William Stafford, “A Ritual to Read to Each Other].
By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Amen and Amen!
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