Sunday, March 31, 2013

March 31, 2013, "For Thine Is the Kingdom"


Luke 12.35-48; Luke 24.1-12 

All around us, again and again.
The dark shadows of death and fear.
The soul of humankind.
Wracked with sorrow and sin.

Hatred fills our history books.
Our stories, bent and broken.
Humankind, created in God’s image.
Has adopted the ways of hell.

We sow our seeds of peace.
But reap only war.
We kill, mostly in god’s name.
Whatever our god may be.

We have high hopes.
And make many a promise.
But often find dust instead.
And bitter at night are the tears.

What’s wrong with us? we ask.
And can anything be done?
Can there be any real hope, anywhere?
Or is hope only our vanity?

And when death comes.
Then what?
Is it all gone?
Is there no more?

Our hearts ache for a better world.
A time when sorrow ceases.
When swords are beaten into plowshares.
And children laugh without fear.

When all might live in safety.
And tables are well-spread.
And to see beyond the march of time.
As days and years roll ahead.

A final hope?
A final peace?
A new heaven and a new earth?
Tears gone and death no more?

As the hymn puts it:

Up from the grave he arose; 
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes; 
he arose a victor from the dark domain, 
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign. 
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

To the risen LORD belongs the day … and to the risen LORD belongs the night … in the brightness of the day or in the darkness of the night … when when time is good and life is sweet … when times are hard and death comes near … when joy fills the heart … when sorrow lays us low … 

To the risen LORD it all belongs: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

I love Easter … it’s the capstone of our faith.

Christmas is wonderful … but it’s Easter than anchors our hope … a child was born in Bethlehem … but that child became a man, and that man, as no other, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

The dark domain does not have the final word … though powerful that dark domain may be.

A great victory has been won … a heavy stone, sealed and guarded … was rolled away … 

It took three days … it takes some time … but it didn’t take three weeks or three months or three years … there’s an urgency to God’s work here … time it may take, but God is in a hurry … it has to be done, and it has to be done quickly … to anchor history and build hope … to make a few things clear, once and for all … to lay the foundation of a new world … that you and I might even now have the courage to face whatever time brings to us … whatever sorrow or heartache might come our way … and stand firm … and stand with our eyes upon the LORD.

We must yet all cross the threshold of death.

Sin and sorrow remain, and life is hard.

Our bodies, frail and fragile, and mortality always nearby.

Yet, on the far horizon, a glimmer of hope.

The gift of peace … wrought in the agonies of the cross and in the darkness of the tomb.

When it seemed as if God were defeated.

God’s mighty work was proceeding.

And when the time was right … in the span of those three days … that stone was rolled away … with grace, mercy and peace, Jesus stepped out of the tomb … power and violence cannot win the day … death and sorrow do not have the last word.

So, we live in hope.

Hope in things not always seen.

But hope in things promised … promised by the Man from Galilee who calls us still to follow him … to lay aside our nets and boats … to find with him what life truly means … to love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves … 

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean; she doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap." Her husband looks on, remaining silent. Every time her neighbor hangs her wash to dry, the young woman makes the same comments. A month later, the woman is surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and says to her husband: "Look, she's finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this? " The husband replies, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows." And so it is with life... What we see when we watch others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

A young lady from Temple City, Alexandria Salazar, writes:

I got asked to Prom my Junior Year by this Guy named James. He has Down Syndrome and nobody wanted to go with him. When he asked me I said of course, not thinking too much into it. I remember when his mom called me on the phone crying and thanking me for going with him. She offered to pay for my dress, hair, and makeup because she said she knew nobody would've wanted to go with him. I told her it was okay and that I was happy to go with him. I remember hanging up the phone crying to my mom about how honored I was, to actually go with him. Prom night was kinda of hard to actually enjoy at first because James was kind of all over the Place, but then I remembered that this was HIS Senior Prom. Not Mine. So after that, I went a long with whatever he wanted to do and I ended up having so much fun! Out of the 4 proms I went to during high school, this was actually my favorite.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Christ is risen.
He is risen, indeed.
The stone is rolled away.
Light and life prevail.

When we grow weary of the cross … the angels of God whisper to us - Don’t give up, and don’t give in … your work is not in vain … your care for the world is right and good … your labor for justice and peace is God’s mighty work … trust the risen LORD.

When sickness lays claim to us … when our bodies fail … the angels of God whisper to us - Don’t give up, and don’t give in … there may yet be a miracle for you … a healing unexpected … pray much and pray often … trust the risen LORD.

When death comes to a loved one, and death comes to us … when medicine and science reach their limit … when the time has come for the last act and the curtain to fall … the angels of God whisper to us - Don’t give up, and don’t give in … there is still more to come … in the grave, God is at work … your loved ones belong to God, and you do, too … safe and sound are your loved ones; safe and sound are all … for God’s love is expansive and universal … all creatures, great and small, all of life, the whole of creation … don’t give up, and don’t give in … trust the risen LORD.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 

Christ is risen.

He is risen, indeed.

Amen and Amen!

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