Something very humbling happened to me Wednesday morning. I rolled out of bed and got ready for my day, all the while steeling myself for whatever rabble I felt sure I’d experience beyond the safety of my apartment walls. As I neared campus, I began to realize something: almost no one was talking. People were walking to and from their classes, and whether they were with friends or on their own, people were quiet. And as the day went on, it hit me how exhausted we all were. I heard from a reporter this week that, no matter your views or your background, politics is a poison. And I think it’s pretty safe to say we all overdosed a bit this year.
Both our gospel reading and our Old Testament reading, at first glance, paint somewhat of a frightening picture. Now normally I leave all of the reading and rereading of the gospel to me or to Jerry. But this week’s scripture has real power, so I ask you to listen to it one more time:
5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." 7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" 8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, "I am he!' and, "The time is near!' Do not go after them. 9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." 10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12 "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls. (Luke 21:5-19)
There’s uh.. there’s a little bit of scary, fiery, apocalyptic stuff in there! And then Malachi talks about a coming day that will burn like an oven. A day where all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble. Completely burned up. Aah! I’m reading all this trying not to freak out a little bit! We live in a world that increasingly seems to be stumbling towards the end of everything, and those aren’t my words. Those are the words I’ve seen on social media, in conversations, and certainly in the news. I’ve found myself increasingly distressed over this train of thought because it sounds an awful lot like a whole bunch of people are about to give up. That is the one thing that Christ tells us not to do. It’s the one thing Paul tells us we must not do in Thessalonians today, and now I say it again to you: “brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.”
Human history is fraught with challenges, losses, and victories. But in the past humanity has never given up. We’ve seen plagues. Two World Wars. Days where our own soil has burned and been covered by the ash of great steel towers. And when have those things ever once kept us down? The church and the American people are built on three great pillars: acceptance, an undying work ethic, and a devotion to our God above. I find we’re all too often quite pessimistic about the world around us. Even in our Gospel reading today we tend to hear more of the negative words, like wars, famines, and earthquakes, and less of the positive ones. But you see, the Gospel today is not reason to fear or lose faith. It is reason to hold onto it. Reason to grip it tighter. Reason to hold fast with the brother to your left, and the sister to your right. Christ says, “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified.” Do not be terrified! Have faith in the Lord. The world will continue to spin beneath your feet. He says, “you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” The Holy Spirit dwells in each and every one of us. What a gift this is, because it equips us to do God’s will. It is our shield and our sword. Through the Spirit, our God, we can do all things, and through the Spirit we are all kept safe. The Lord said, “You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
Recently I’ve heard a number of messages on overcoming suffering, and the notion that in our lives we will have to suffer as followers of Christ. The end of the gospel reading here begins to dig into this idea. “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” And it’s this idea that ties heavily into our short reading today from Malachi. At first glance it may seem like this burning day Malachi mentions, this fire, this oven, is more like a crematory. A burning fire that will punish humanity and turn the arrogant and evildoer to ash. But the metaphor is more akin to the furnace of a refiner. This fire forces to the surface all our impurities. The fire can never consume the gold it melts, instead it purifies. This concept of purification through suffering is a key concept in the book of Malachi. Yes, our lives will be full of painful experiences, but that suffering helps to purify and refocus our eyes on God. How slight is the pain we will experience on this Earth compared to the beauty and glory and warmth of our Father’s eternal embrace. “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
As I’ve grown up, I’ve felt more and more this aura of negativity pervade the American mind, and the mind of the church. After all, it’s so easy to worry. There are revolutions, war, disease, so many of these things Christ talks about in the Gospel reading today. And the overwhelming conclusion from so much of the world, is that the church is dying, and that God has long been dead. I feel the tiredness in my friends and my family. I feel the bitterness, the world over, towards a God who doesn’t singlehandedly end all suffering. And the more people push against our beliefs and faith, the more I find my foundation stronger. Of course God doesn’t make everything easy. What point is there in faith, if life is easy? The world is Earth, not heaven. America is on Earth, not heaven. Our human bodies lend us to sin and destruction, for that is what the evil one wants. That’s what he has always wanted, to pit us against our Father. And my heart breaks for those who begin to lose faith, because God works in our lives in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend.
The psalm gives really really amazing insight into the God of today. A God who is incomprehensible, and who might seem all too quiet. A God who others beat down with the facts of science and reason. I find faith in our psalm, because it paints a picture of creation: a picture of creation that shouts in confirmation of His glory and presence. “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it.” How incredible is the roar of the sea? That overpowering thunder and majesty. The raw power of the waves. The ocean’s roar forms the baseline of creation’s song. Then, it says, “Let the floods clap their hands.” The waters form the rhythm, they set the beat. It’s important to note here that floods are life giving. They renew the soil with nutrients for the next growing season. These are not floods of destruction, they are floods of life giving nourishment. They rhythmically come each year to bring new life, and how incredible is that? Then lastly we have the melody, “the hills sing together for joy.” The crisp beautiful notes of the grass rustling, the birds singing, and the breeze moving is something I think all Kansans can appreciate. You see, the psalm is painting this picture of the beautiful song that is creation. And sure, it could have happened all by chance, but each and every one of us knows within and without, that the power of something greater molded the music of our Earth. And how beautiful mankind’s symphony is. So many pieces of music have major and minor parts. Notes that make you cry and notes that make you laugh, but the dark parts of the song don’t mean the song can’t be beautiful. And it certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t a true composer behind it all.
God will never be understandable. I think that the further mankind advances, the more people turn away because of this fact: we are trying harder and harder to understand that which is never meant to be understood. Just because we can fly up in the sky, repair hearts and lungs, and talk to people thousands of miles away doesn’t mean we’re even close to understanding what God is; and we never will be. But it seems to me that there is this restlessness in us. A restlessness to solve the world of sin in which we live. And when we can’t overcome our sin. Our violence. Our hatred and intolerance. We begin to give up. But remember that we don’t need to overcome sin on Earth, because it has already been done through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, do not lose heart in the middle of the battlefield. Do not let the three pillars that hold our country fall: endlessly accept others, work tirelessly, and love the Lord your God. America is an incredible place. This world is an incredible place. A planet of roaring seas, clapping floods, and singing hills. A planet of incomprehensible majesty.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
The sheer beauty of the world within our own borders makes the head spin. This Earth is massive and beyond understanding. It makes sense then that its creator would be as well. In the midst of the storms that rage across its surface, remember how strong we are. Remember to love in the midst of hate. Remember to have faith in the midst of wars and disasters. Remember that there are many more of your Lutheran brothers and sisters in the world than there are politicians. Remember that, for all the pain and suffering of this world, there is tenfold love in heaven. We are the conduits through which to spread that love. Do not lose hope. Have faith! This world is only just beginning to blossom.
Peace,
Eric Jensen
Associated Texts:
Luke 21:5-19
Malachi 4:1-2a
Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13
