Sermon: Hope in Darkness

Lectionary: Advent 1(C)
Texts: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36

I recently saw someone observe that Thanksgiving should be moved to October, when Canada has their holiday of the same name. Why? It could help spread out the number of preparations and activities that too often collide together. We might get a bit more breathing room. Instead of many folks traveling twice with only a few short weeks between, it could ease the burden of travel.

Some might object that, “Well, Thanksgiving isn’t a real holiday.” And it often does seem that way. I’m old enough to recall that even in my own lifetime, Thanksgiving was treated as a proper holiday, even by major retailers. We would get newspapers stuffed with Thanksgiving sales.

But no more. First, who gets the massive Sunday newspapers with inches-high stack of ads? And businesses, especially conglomerates and big boxes, realized that Christmas is a much more effective motivator for people to open their wallets and take out plastic to tap and swipe. Thanksgiving has become a day of gorging and watching football (okay, I don’t watch, but I hear many do). And then it’s off to continue the frantic preparation for Christmas with Black Friday sales.

But enter Advent. The Season of Advent. It is not just a day. Not just a short extended weekend holiday. It is a season.

I grew up in the part of the Christian world that had no idea what Advent was. After Thanksgiving, it was suddenly Christmas. We would immediately switch to Christmas songs (which did include Advent songs, but we didn’t know that). Sermons were often a series on various Christmas topics.

In recent years, churches like I grew up in have learned that there are these four weeks called Advent, but frequently they are still treated more like a countdown to Christmas (like Advent calendars with treats inside), instead of what the Advent season is intended to convey.

Some of you know this about me, but others probably don’t. And that is, one of my hobbies is tabletop role-playing games, where a group of people come together and basically play a version of grown-up imagine and pretend.

Now, it might seem almost trite, but I think one way of better understanding and experiencing Advent is to imagine and pretend that we don’t know about Christmas. It hasn’t happened yet. On this first Sunday of Advent, the texts we read tell us that things in the world are not going so well. We have promises that they won’t go on forever, but we don’t know when God will appear. We live in the in-between time. What are we doing?

In this season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is too easy to skip over the difficulties of life and what is happening around the world, in this nation, in our communities, and in our families, and jump straight ahead to the miracle of Christmas. However, the season of Advent tells us to pause, wait, and think. It invites us in to take on the roles of those whose tomorrow is uncertain, who face food and housing insecurities, who might be unsure of their status with governing authorities, and who might be fearful of having their families torn apart by circumstances and policies outside of their control. We are invited to contemplate their fears and longing and empathize with them.

For most of us here, who live in relative comfort and security, I don’t think we fully understand what anticipation and hope for a better future means. I don’t think we fully appreciate what deliverance from this life means. For most of us, the status quo is not that bad. As we experience the Advent season, we are invited to imagine a life and an entire community that is uncertain, uncomfortable, and fearful. We are invited to read Advent texts. Do they offer something different than what we normally hear? Can we hear hope, deliverance, salvation, and assurance differently?

Hope, deliverance, salvation, and assurance are not merely spiritual longings. They are not primarily about individuals. It is not primarily about me, an individual person, being saved so that someday I can go to heaven. It is about what is happening in the larger community and the world.

On this first Sunday of Advent, our text includes,

²⁵ … On the earth, there will be dismay among nations in their confusion over the roaring of the sea and surging waves. ²⁶ The planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken, causing people to faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. (Luke 21:25-26 CEB)

We don’t commonly hear or use the word “foreboding”. Its definitions include “an omen, prediction, or presentiment especially of coming evil,” “a feeling that something very bad is going to happen soon,” and “a sense of evil to come.” This is the kind of time into which Advent speaks most clearly.

The reading continues, however,

²⁷ Then they will see the Human One coming on a cloud with power and great splendor. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is near.” (Luke 21:27-28)

Verse 27 is often interpreted as the Second Coming event. But verse 28 indicates that whatever the Human One’s (or Son of Man’s) coming is, is still a sign for the future, a portent. Redemption is near, but it is not yet.

Jesus continues with a parable,

²⁹ … “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that God’s kingdom is near. ³² I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until everything has happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away. (Luke 21:29-33)

The season of Advent is a look back to Jesus’ time here on earth during the first century CE. It is also a look forward to Jesus’ anticipated return to earth at an unknown time in the future.

The readers and hearers of Jesus’ words in Luke would have thought most of it to have been fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE. The remaining piece would have been the return of Jesus, which they fully expected to occur in their lifetime. Yet here we are two-thousand years from that time.

The reading from Luke concluded with the following words from Jesus:

³⁴ “Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, ³⁵ like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.” (Luke 21:34-36)

The exhortation here is to remain alert and be prepared for Jesus to return.

Returning to my growing up years, one of the central theological themes driven home was “to be ready” and “be prepared.” Implied and emphasized, again, was for me as an individual to be personally ready through a personal relationship with Jesus. The repetition and emphasis gave rise to the sense that because the message was repeated, it must be difficult to get ready and remain prepared. An unspoken fear was always present with the question, “I am really prepared?” I’m sure invoking fear was not the intent, but that was what I experienced.

Now though, I realize that these words of Jesus were never directed to an individual person, but to a community of the faithful. There is something about having others to rely on, others to help keep watch, others to pick another up when one falls, that is heartening and hopeful. Being ready and prepared is not a solo effort; it is a team undertaking. I think that the modern idea of salvation as a solely individual decision, consumed with one’s personal relationship to Jesus, is a distortion of the good news of the kingdom of God. What I see in the Christian scriptures is salvation and life in Christ as teamwork, not an individual undertaking.

Therefore, Jesus speaks to his community. His admonition to his community is, one, to not become so comfortable with how the world carries on that we become dulled to the hope that is found in him. And two, conversely, don’t become so anxious about what is happening in the world that we lose hope that is fond in him. Together as a community, we can help one another remain alert yet not anxious.

Returning to the experience of role-playing games, when playing the game, it is often a bad idea to run off and try to face challenges alone. A few bad dice rolls and your character could fall, die, or experience some other bad thing from which they cannot return. But having other members of the group around you means they can resuscitate you, they can help take the hits so you aren’t taking all of them alone, they can fill in your weak areas with their strengths, they can take watch while you take some needed rest, and so on. It makes survival and achieving success much more likely.

Advent does lead to Christmas. And it leads to the return of Christ. Advent is a time of preparation. Yes, we can prepare to celebrate Christmas. But it is also a time when we as a community of believers take stock of the spiritual path we are on. It is time to review how we are doing together to manifest the kingdom of God among the community in which we live. Are we hopeful people? Do our actions reveal our hope? Do we express concerns about what is happening around us without succumbing to anxiety? Do we act upon these concerns, bringing people into the kingdom of God, and be a beacon of hope in the world?

The season of Advent is not just a countdown to Christmas. It is a time for us to be reminded that the world is not how things are supposed to be. The world is not the kingdom of God and never will be. The time is coming when the world will be recreated into something new. But we live in the in-between time. As a community, we prepare for that new kingdom by practicing what it will, at least partially, look like when the kingdom principles are lived out among us. In this in-between time we look forward to the kingdom by living hope. We live justice. We live righteousness. Not to be saved, but because we are already saved, delivered, and redeemed. We live a life that is both alert and awake to the realities of this world, yet not succumbing to anxiety and fear.

At the beginning of today’s worship, we lit the candle of hope. I believe that the light of hope is not a solitary flicker, but one that is meant to spread to all who are in community, as we walk the way of Christ together and encourage one another. We do not travel the journey of redemption and salvation as solo travelers. We do this in community with fellow travelers on the same journey.

May we be people of hope. May hope be not just spiritual aspiration, but a way of life that is seen by all around us. May that be the attraction to the kingdom and to Jesus Christ.

Sermon: The Significance of "Name"

Text: Luke(20:45-21:1-4), 21:5-19

Lectionary: Proper 28(C)

Where’s the Good News?

Today’s reading from Luke’s gospel doesn’t seem to have very much gospel – good news – found in it. At least it sure feels like there isn’t. This passage is the first half of a text that is sometimes called “The Little Apocalypse.” There are parallel passages in Matthew and Mark. It seems to be predicting mostly bad news for those who follow Jesus.

Jesus speaks these prophetic words when he is in the temple, surrounded by a crowd. Luke does not specify whose words prompt Jesus’, but they are prompted when he hears some of the crowd oohing and ahh-ing over the magnificent, opulent, and grand temple buildings and its decorations and ornamentations.

In response, Jesus tells those around him that the temple will be utterly destroyed. It can be difficult for those of us here to relate to the kind of magnitude of destruction that would have been felt by those who heard Jesus’ words. For us in the United States, it would be akin to having the entire nation fall into the hands of a foreign adversary. But something like that is nearly impossible given the geographical size and the population number of the nation. It was much easier for Rome to destroy Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, given their respective size and power.

But perhaps we could more readily imagine an internal collapse of systems and structure of the nation, much like what the Roman Empire experienced that led to her collapse. We might more easily imagine the chaos and fear that such an event would bring about.

The people see the temple and assume it will stand forever. After all, it is dedicated to God. Would God allow something to happen to God’s temple?

Yet Jesus tells them that indeed, the temple will be destroyed.

Warnings from Jesus

I can imagine the shock and incredulity of the people who hear this. And they ask, “When will this happen, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

Neither question is really answered in the portion of Jesus’ response that was read this morning. What Jesus offers first is a prelude of things to expect before the destruction itself is imminent.

False Christs

The first thing that Jesus warns about are people that will claim to be delivering messages from him; messages that purportedly offer assurances of certainty and explanations for the chaos and confusion that are being experienced. Jesus says they will “come in my name,” but he warns, do not follow after them.

Global Chaos

Jesus then notes that there will be upheavals among and within nations, sometimes violently. But to not be alarmed or terrified, because these are things that happen. But these are not the signs of an impending end.

Jesus says the natural world will also experience upheavals. But these too, are not signs of the end.

Persecutions

Jesus goes on to detail persecutions that his followers can expect to face. But these will take place even prior to the upheavals just spoken of. Why are Jesus’ followers persecuted? Why are they sent before political and religious authorities? Why are they betrayed by family? Why might some be martyred? Why would Jesus’ followers be hated?

What’s in a Name?

According to Jesus, it is “because of my name”. "My name" is noted twice in this short section.

These two, with the use of “in my name” found in the first warning section, brings to three the mention and use of the phrase “my name”. And that piqued my curiosity. What is the significance and meaning of “my name”?

For most of us, end a prayer “in Jesus’ name” is perhaps our most familiar use of Jesus’ name. But what does that signify and mean? Other than rote habit and tradition, I don’t think we put much thought into it.

In some Christian traditions, a practice found during worship and prayer might include repetitions of calling out “Jesus.” This might be related to the saying that “there is power in Jesus’ name.” But what exactly is meant by that?

For most of us moderns living in the Western civilization, a name is an identifier and not much more. In a few cases names may harken to a noted family member that the child is named after.

We, therefore, have a broadly understood concept of “name” that has little to do with what seems to be the use of names in the Bible.

Ancient Significance of Names

A Jewish scholar, Professor Elinoar Bareket, in an article he writes,

The act of naming someone was a matter of great consequence in the Bible and in the ancient Near East. Indeed, it was widely believed that the name of a thing reflected its essence and very being; in other words, in some sense, the act of naming something meant creating it…

From time immemorial, naming someone demonstrates sovereignty or mastery. Even now, parents name their children, and people name their pets. It is understood in biblical texts that names are generally given by parents. When Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses in the Nile, she names him; this is a sign that she is planning to keep him and adopt him.[1]

Loren Graham, at MIT and Harvard University, writes about a few ancient beliefs surrounding the use of names:

A common concept in history is that knowing the name of something or someone gives one power over that thing or person. This concept occurs in many different forms, in numerous cultures—in ancient and primitive tribes, as well as in Islamic, Jewish, Egyptian, Vedic, Hindu, and Christian traditions…

The ancient Egyptians similarly believed that one gained power over a god if one knew his name. According to the Jewish religion, the name of God was so holy that it was not to be said out loud. A likely reason for this prohibition was that naming God might be seen as an attempt to assert dominion over him, to duplicate illegitimately a power that God uniquely possessed.[2]

Name and Power

The two key understandings about ancient beliefs about names that are applicable to our reading today is: 1) that the use of a name is associated with power of the named entity, and 2) that the essence and very being of an entity is associated with its name.

When Jesus warns his listeners to be on guard for those who will come in his name, I think that this use of Jesus’ name is related to the idea that names have power, and that the wielder of the name has the power of the being that is named. It is very much magical thinking, but for people who lived in a time where this was the very air they breathed, for those who were following Jesus, it wouldn’t have been at all far-fetched to go after someone offering assurances and certainty in Jesus’ name.

We might want to believe that we would not be so naïve as to succumb to that kind of ploy. But the historical record shows otherwise. There have been many proclaimers of an imminent end whose proclamations have not come to pass. Some have been sincere but who have misunderstood scripture. But others have been far more nefarious, using the Bible and Jesus to satisfy their own egocentric desires, to manipulate and defraud, and even kill. At this very time in our history there are many who are using the name of Christ to advance a false gospel of security and certainty that is believed to be possible through accumulation of power, and power over others.

Name and Being

Genuine followers of Jesus will face persecution “because of” Jesus’ name. And here I think that the second understanding of “name” is finding application. Genuine followers of Jesus don’t use his name. Instead, their actions and very nature toward the world reflect Jesus’ actions and attitude toward the world.

Today we call ourselves “Christian”, but the earliest followers did not. In fact, “Christian” was an insulting name that was coined by outsiders to call those who followed Jesus.[3]

What are some of these actions and attitudes that Jesus demonstrated? A couple of short episodes immediately preceding this morning’s reading offers some examples.

^20:45 In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and who love respectful greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

^21:1 He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; ² he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ³ He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, ⁴ for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 20:45-21:4 NRSVue)

First, Jesus is against self-aggrandizement and the use of wealth and power to create division and excuse oppression. Second, he notices people and their actions that don’t seem much in the world’s eyes, people and actions that are overlooked and even dismissed as irrelevant and unworthy. These are actions and attitudes that go against all prevailing powers of the world. They disrupt the social order. If wealth and power are not respected, if they are in fact disdained, entire power structures will be destroyed; those who benefit from them will lose their place and privilege.

This is the very essence and being of Jesus. It is also the very essence and being of God. One of the early Christ-hymns recorded is found in Philippians chapter 2, part of which reads:

⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
⁶ who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
⁷ but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
⁸ he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 NRSVue)

This is what it means to live a life where others can accuse you of having Jesus’ name.

Assurance and Security

Earlier in his gospel text, Luke recorded Jesus saying,

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. (Luke 17:33 NRSVue)

When the world around us is chaotic and uncertain, it is tempting to look for someone or something offering security and certainty. Jesus tells his followers that it is not through wealth and temporal power, even if some may attempt to align it with the name of Jesus Christ.

What Jesus seems to be telling us is that the world will always appear to be chaotic and the future uncertain. What Jesus seems to be telling us is that instead of trying to find stability in this world, we should use the opportunity to speak out against the evils that wealth and power bring, to speak out against oppression, and to notice and lift up those that the world dismisses as unworthy and inconsequential.

We will not attain worldly influence or power through such means, but the God who noticed the widow giving all that she had will keep us secure, such that even though we may die, we will gain a life greater than what we experience today.

---

[1] Bareket, Elinoar. What’s in a Name?: The Bible vs. the Middle Ages - TheTorah.com (https://www.thetorah.com/article/whats-in-a-name-the-bible-vs-the-middle-ages)

[2] Graham, Loren. Philoctetes - The Power of Names: Religion & Mathematics (http://philoctetes.org/news/the_power_of_names_religion_mathematics)

[3] IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament; 2^nd ed. Acts 11:26. “Christians” occurs in the New Testament only here, as a nickname given by outsiders, and in 1 Peter 4:16, as something like a legal charge. The title is formed on the analogy of adherents to a political party: the “Caesarians,” the “Herodians,” the “Pompeians” and so forth. Had it been interpreted politically (“partisans of the executed Judean king”) it could have stirred persecution, but here it apparently functions merely as derision. At least by a later period, Antiochans were known for making fun of people. By the early second century, however, Jesus’ followers had welcomed the title.

Sermon: Do Not Be Terrified

Gospel Text: Luke 21:5-19

Lectionary: Year C, Proper 28

Weather forecasts, financial market forecasts, interest rate direction forecasts, political polls, sports result predictions: these are a few of the many ways that we try to bring a little certainty into an uncertain world. We might have some vested interest in certain outcomes. Some predictions have better success than others. Some types of things we are interested in predicting are trivial while others have more far-reaching life consequences. 

Our brains are wired to favor certainty. Uncertainties and ambiguities demand more mental energy, and we can only handle so much of that before our psyches are exhausted. When we experience or hear things that unsettle us, our natural inclination is to find the least costly way to resolve the discomfort and return us to a place of certainty and security. 

For Jesus’ disciples, their Temple was heart of their religious, social, and political lives. It was the place where they came to meet and worship God. It was the basis for many or perhaps all of the traditions and rituals governing their social interactions. And it was a symbol of their national identity and unity, even if they were in reality, subjects of Rome. 

When Jesus seemingly off-handedly mentions that the Temple will be utterly destroyed, it is a shock to their understanding of their world. It introduces a threat and uncertainty in their entire view of life that they need resolved. 

Two-thousand years later, from our perspective, it might seem that the destruction of the Temple shouldn’t elicit such a strong emotional response. There really isn’t an equivalent that we might readily identify with. But perhaps suggesting that America and the American way of life will be utterly destroyed by a foreign power, and that all of us will be exiled away, might be a close analogy. If that doesn’t seem like the end of the world, is there anything else that would? Or for some others, being told that their family will be torn away from them, never to be seen again might elicit a similar kind of response. 

Note too, how Luke begins this passage:

21:5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God…

This was not just another building. It was a sacred treasure, dedicated to God. For the Temple to be destroyed as Jesus said would seem to imply a complete abandonment by God.

I think it is with a deep sense of terror and panic that the disciples ask Jesus when this will happen and what signs they should expect leading up to this cataclysmic event. After all, this is Jesus who just spoke of the destruction, and they know he is no ordinary man. He is at least a prophet of God, if not something more. 

It is curious that what Jesus says next seemingly has nothing to do with what his disciples asked. Jesus doesn’t say anything about the when or what, but goes and offers a warning about those who claim to speak in Jesus’ name and claim to have inside knowledge about what is about to happen.

Modern neuroscience has shown that when our brains are affected by fear and threat and when there is a strong emotional reaction, it wants to act instinctively to protect the person. Higher-order thinking and discernment take longer to process, going through a longer path, and it takes effort to suppress the initial, instinctive reactions. And so reasoned decisions takes a back seat to instinctive responses. The brain wants to return as quickly as possible to a safe and comfortable place, and if an easy, inexpensive path is offered, the tendency is to take it. Even if it means the path leads to longer term problems. Even if in hindsight it is a bad choice. Even if it means accepting falsehoods.

Another cognitive pattern research has shown is that the brain assigns greater weight to what it first hears. So perhaps that is why Jesus offers the warning first, before he responds more directly to his disciples’ question. By giving the warning first, it is the strongest piece of information that is associated with the context of the destruction of the Temple. The brain stores memory by context: sight, smell, sounds, and emotion. Jesus’ warning is stored in his disciples’ minds in association with the Temple and the terror and panic associated with its destruction. Whenever the context is recalled in the future, the warning too, will be present as one of the most important pieces of information associated with it. 

The message given by Jesus would then appear to be that when we are faced with something that terrifies us, where we might want to instinctively resort to fight or flight, to give enough time to allow our higher-order reasoning to process the information. “Don’t go after the first person or thing that seems to offer a solution and a way out,” Jesus seems to be saying. Just because something or someone is offering to improve your feeling of comfort and security doesn’t mean they have your best interest in mind. 

Only after this does Jesus begin to speak about some signs. These signs include increasing conflict and violence among nations and peoples; increasing incidents and intensities of natural disasters; and ominous signs and portents in the heavens. But don’t be terrified. And the end is still a ways off. 

But even before all that occurs, his disciples will experience persecution and possibly even death. Friends and family could turn against them. Don’t see this as a calamity, but see it as an opportunity to testify about Christ. And don’t worry about preparing in advance, because Christ will supply the necessary defense that cannot be refuted. 

One way of transforming terror and fear is to reframe it. First, Jesus sets expectations about some of the things that will happen. And then he offers a different way of looking at what initially can be seen as a negative experience. At the heart of Christ’s gospel is that even the greatest evil can be redeemed and transformed. The primary demonstration of this is, of course, Jesus’ death and resurrection, but here Jesus seems to be offering another way in which his disciples can play a part in the grand narrative of redemptive grace. 

We now come to the last two verses for today:

21:18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 

21:19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

How can Jesus say that “not a hair of your head will perish” when he had just also said that some listening may be put to death? I think that the key to understanding this apparent paradox is to go back to the start of today’s passage where Jesus predicted that the Temple would be utterly destroyed. In comparison, those who faithfully endure will be preserved, even beyond physical death. Everything about them will be preserved and restored in the full realization of the kingdom to come. So much so that even the exact number of hair will remain. 

The physical structure of the Temple, where people have given their treasures and dedicated them to God, will be destroyed. Not even one stone will be left on top of another. In stark contrast, the person and being of Jesus’ disciples will be preserved, down to the very last hair. 

It is this knowledge and hope that has sustained the church of Jesus Christ through two millennia of trials and tribulations from both within and without. This is the basis on which individual Christians and communities of faithful have kept their courage when by all appearances, their cause seemed lost.

Fear can be contagious. But so is courage. 

A healthy Christian community is a courageous one. It absorbs the fears and terrors brought by individuals and transmits courage in return. 

When for so many of us, the world seems like a very scary place and getting scarier with each passing day, it is easy to succumb to fear and terror. We might resort to anger. Or maybe depression. Or disassociating. Or any number of unhealthy coping methods. Just to get through another day.

We need hope and courage to replace our fears. Yes, individuals can each ask God for courage. But it seems that the primary task of transmitting hope and courage is given to the body of Christ. Hope and courage are learned by living in community with others who possess them. 

My exhortation and prayer for you this morning is that this church be known as the community where hope and courage vanquishes fear. May we fully live out Jesus’ command to us, “Do not be terrified.”