Sermon: Breathing Hope

Lectionary: Lent 5(A)

Texts: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

You Shall Live
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553

In case you haven’t guessed already, today’s message comes from our Ezekiel reading.[1] It is a dialogue between God and Ezekiel, set in a valley of dry bones. It is a curious passage where God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, to speak words that God has given Ezekiel, to the bones. Once the words are spoken, God does something. But the return of life is not instantaneous; it is completed after two phases and required Ezekiel’s involvement.

What could this vision of Ezekiel mean? One interpretation that is dismissed by nearly all is where this vision is interpreted as evidence of a future resurrection of individuals. A key reason for this is that the idea of resurrection of people developed in the post-exilic period. As we will see, Ezekiel was written close to the beginning of the Babylonian exile.

First, who was Ezekiel?

Ezekiel the son of Buzi (1:3) was an Israelite priest in the deportee Israelite community in Babylonia. Dates in the book imply that he was born in Judah in 622 BC, just before Josiah’s reform, and thus lived through much of Jeremiah’s ministry there. He was married (24:18), was thirty years old when he began his ministry in 592 BC (1:1), and continued his ministry until at least 571 BC (29:17).[2]

As for the book bearing his name, scholarly views range from Ezekiel being its sole author to Ezekiel having written none of it. There are reasons to dismiss the sole authorship hypothesis, and it is impossible to determine how much of the text can be traced back to the prophet in Babylon. Therefore, it is perhaps best to conclude that the text of the book has some undeterminable relationship to Ezekiel and his time in Babylon.

The portion of text that was read comes from the fourth and final division in the book where the prophet writes about the restoration of Judah and a return to their land. The key point of the prophecy of the dry bones is found in verses 11 to 14.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”[3]

The bones represent an entire group of people as a single entity. There is no hint that the bones are about individuals. The message presented is not about a resurrection, but a return and restoration of the group entity to their ancestral lands. The message is for a people who have lost hope, “who have lost heart, who are suffering a death of the spirit, a living death in exile in a foreign land.”[4]

Is hope and the lack of it really a determinant of life and death?

You may have heard of a book by the title, Man’s Search for Meaning. It was authored by Viktor Frankl, a Jewish Austrian who survived the Nazi concentration camps and wrote about his experiences and observations while imprisoned. In it he writes how those who looked for meaning and purpose, however minute, in their lives tended to survive better than those who lost hope.

Another example comes from the city of Sarajevo and a cellist by the name of Vedran Smailovic. An explosive shell had killed 22 and wounded more than 100. To honor those who had died, Vedran played Albinoni’s Adagio for 22 days. In this war-torn city, where many civilians had died and had been wounded, Vedran, even if for just a few minutes, brought a sense of normalcy and hope that peace would return.

A third example comes from our own state, Alaska. In 2014 Craig Johnson fell through ice while riding a snowmobile 80 miles to visit his family for the holidays. A rescue chopper flew overhead without seeing him and he was stalked by a wolverine. He was ready to give up, but his hope of being reunited with his boys and family kept him going and alive.

Finally, from the world of fiction we might look at the Lord of the Rings where Frodo is the unwilling ring-bearer. He is accompanied every step of the way by his loyal friend, Sam. Toward the end of the journey, Frodo, burdened by the ring and the responsibility of carrying it, poisoned by the curse of a Nazgul, he struggles and is on the verge of giving up. But Sam is there by Frodo’s side, carrying him when necessary, and keeping hope alive for both.

Several years ago, I was involved in several suicide prevention and intervention courses. Among the many ways to intervene when someone is considering suicide, here are a couple of them. The first is to remind the individual that things won’t always seem so dark or hopeless – that there are better days to look forward to. A second is to talk with them to find at least one reason to keep living, even if for just one day.

For the Jews who ended up in Babylon, the dry bones represent a total collapse and loss of hope. God asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” When Ezekiel answers that he doesn’t know, God tells him to prophesy to the bones, “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel becomes the agent of hope that is carried to the hopeless. He sees the bones come together, and sinews and flesh formed on the bones. But there is yet no life. Ezekiel must persist by prophesying breath into the physical forms. Only then do the bones, sinews, and flesh recover life and stand as a multitude.

The African American spirituals, of which we sang one earlier and we will be closing with another, were words of hope in what seemed to the ones singing places of hopelessness and death. They looked toward a time and place when they would be free, away from forced labor, and where families would not be torn apart for the monetization and profit for the slaveowners.

The world we inhabit today is not all that different from nations and empires of the past. The poor are still exploited by the rich. War and violence still mostly victimize the poor and weak. The powerless continue to be the victims of the whims and privilege of the powerful. Outsiders are still blamed without cause for the problems created by those on the inside. The powerful still lord power over the less powerful.

All of us, in one way or another, participate in the games of power and position. We try to hang on to what we have, lest we end up falling down the ladder of this game called life. We are scared. We are fearful. And sometimes we feel hopeless. We look at our nation and world and oftentimes it can be difficult to see any kind of hopeful future.

Maybe hope isn’t looking for something big to change. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be about waiting for something to change. Rather, it is finding something, however small it might be, to be an agent and spark of hope in someone else’s life.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is the agent of hope who brings life back to Lazarus. It is a sign that even death and the grave is powerless in the presence of Jesus, the Life and Light of the world.

We are agents of hope and life in the world as well. We may not physically resurrect dead people back to life, but we can carry the hope of a just world, the kingdom of God, to those who are suffering under the pressures of this present one. We can be agents of hope by offering encouraging words and through our work to help bear the burdens that others are suffering under.

The Season of Lent is not just about introspection. It is also about looking forward to the kingdom of heaven fully realized and acting today to do what we can to bring pieces of it to be tasted by the communities in which we live and serve. Each of us are called, as Ezekiel was, to prophesy hope and life to the world around us.

In closing I read from Romans 8:6-11.

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (NRSVue)

Let us live as resurrected people, alive with the Spirit of Christ.

References

ABC News. (2014, December 28). Alaska Man Survives Three Days Lost in Sub-Zero Temps, Fights Off Wolverine. Retrieved from ABC News: https://abcnews.com/US/alaska-man-survives-days-lost-temps-fights-off/story?id=27860053

Alter, R. (2019). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Burns, J. F. (1992, June 8). The Death of a City: Elegy for Sarajevo -- A special report.; A People Under Artillery Fire Manage to Retain Humanity. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/08/world/death-city-elegy-for-sarajevo-special-report-people-under-artillery-fire-manage.html

Tolkien, J. R. (n.d.). The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy).

Van De Laar, J. (2026, March 12). The Other Side of Suffering: Evolving Consciously in Lent (Part 5): A Reflection on Ezekiel 37:1-14. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/the-other-side-of-suffering

Wikipedia. (2026, March 21). Viktor Frankl. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

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[1] One of the hymns was Dry Bones.

[2] (William B. Eerdmans, 2003)

[3] Ezekiel 37:11-14, NRSVue.

[4] (Bartlett & Brown Taylor, 2010)

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: Struggling with Hope

Lectionary: Proper 25(B)
Texts: Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 7:23-28

A Prophetic Word of Hope

The Southern kingdom of Israel, Judah, was steadily falling to the Babylonian armies. With each defeat, the victors would send a selection of the defeated populace to Babylon as captives. Those who had little value to the Babylonians were left to eke out a meager existence while tending to the land where they were left.

Our first reading, taken from Jeremiah, was written sometime during this portion of Judah’s history. It is part of an oracle of hope, given by God, to the people who were experiencing the destruction and desolation of their land.

For ancient societies, there were two things that were vitally important: land and their gods. For the Israelites, the land was slowly being taken from them, and their God appeared powerless to prevent it. The future would have appeared utterly bleak and hopeless.

Into this void, God spoke through prophets, including Jeremiah. God told the people that their actions had caused this, and that they would suffer consequences, but they would not be completely abandoned and forgotten. God affirms that, after some time, God would work to bring the people back to their land.

A Hymn of Hope

The reading from the Psalms seems to have been composed after the return from exile, when at least some of the people have returned to their land and Jerusalem had seen some reconstruction.

There is joy at the return and what God has done for them. Yet there is a sense that they are still facing an uncertain future. There is still a call from the people to God to continue to improve their condition and petitions that their work toward reconstruction and restoration will not be in vain.

A Sermon of Hope

Early Christians Losing Hope

Now we jump ahead many centuries and arrive somewhere between the mid and late first century in the Common Era. It’s now been a few to several decades since the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

This new sect of Judaism, because that’s what it was, was establishing communities around the major centers of the Roman empire. They had a sense of urgency, because Jesus was returning soon to finish what had been started.

But then, the years passed. Many of the disciples who had been closest with Jesus and had been the founders of this movement had died in one manner or another. There were sporadic conflicts with the Romans. There were ongoing differences with other forms of Judaism. The expectations and hope for the future return of Jesus and the establishment of the kingdom of God had not yet come to pass. The light began to dim and fade away.

At least for some of these followers of Jesus, it seemed easier to drift away and avoid any kind of conflict. For others, returning to practice more of the accepted traditions of Judaism would allow them to exist more peaceably with other Jews and the Romans would recognize them as licit Jews, practicing a state-approved form of religion.

It is to this situation to which someone speaks a sermon that we now have in the Christian scriptures as the book of Hebrews.

Unknown Provenance of Hebrews

Some English Bible translations might include “The Epistle (or Letter) to” the Hebrews in the title, but the best scholarly consensus is that this work does not contain any literary features that would mark it as a letter. Furthermore, “Hebrews” itself was added by an editor due to the very Jewish content of the work. No one knows who might have given the sermon nor the specific audience that would have heard it first.

You might have heard the idea that this work was written by Paul. But virtually no contemporary biblical scholar accepts Pauline authorship. Even in the early church, its authorship was anonymous. If one were to try to assign authorship, a couple leading candidates today include Apollos and Priscilla, with some circumstantial, but strong evidence pointing toward Priscilla.

The early church, despite its lack of strong provenance and authorship, found the sermon valuable that it was included in the collection of works that would eventually become the Christian canon.

The Hope in Hebrews

The thrust of the sermon is that Jesus is the ultimate messenger, better than prophets and even angelic messengers. Jesus is better than human priests, because, where human priests must offer regular sacrifice for their sins and they die, Jesus is without sin and he is a priest forever. Whereas human priests perform their duties in a sanctuary that is only a shadow, Jesus is the ultimate high priest who performs his duties in heaven, which is the perfect sanctuary, in the very presence of God.

If this work we call Hebrews was originally presented prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, it would have been intended to encourage the audience to remain faithful to the way of Christ, not the way mediated by human priests. The themes in Hebrews highlight the superiority of Christ over all other ways of approaching God.

If the work was presented after the fall of Jerusalem, it could have been spoken or written as a way of explaining why the Temple fell and how one might now look upon the priestly ministry that was part of being a Jew. It would have provided hope to the Christ-following sect of Jews that the real high priest and temple were no longer to be found on earth, but in heaven.

Both potential explanations offer reasons for why the early church found Hebrews valuable. It offers one of the most distinctive and precise Christologies found in scripture. It explains the superiority of Christ over all other powers and entities. And it explains why worship and religious service is better when they are not tied down to a specific location, such as a temple.

Caution When Interpreting Hebrews

But the interpretive history of Hebrews also contains dark moments. Because its basic argument is “Jesus is better than everything else,” it has led to the idea that Christianity replaces Judaism, and therefore, it can lead to the idea Jews are not as good as Christians. And then you can see how that reasoning can further lead to very dark places.

To prevent that kind of dark logic, we need to understand a few things about Hebrews.

First, it addressed an audience who were already long-time followers of Christ. It was not a message to a general audience nor one that was trying to persuade non-Christians of the superiority of Christianity. It was meant to persuade already-Christians that they should endure and hold on, and not give up hope in Christ.

Second, when the situation is dire, as it may have been with the Hebrews audience, stronger language and what could be seen as divisive language might be employed to exhort the listener. Outside of religious settings, we can see this tactic employed in other areas. An example might be a business CEO who uses strong rhetoric to motivate and inspire employees to go after the competition, or to reassure them that their products are superior.

A final point to consider is that whoever was the original speaker or author of this sermon probably had no idea it would be recorded to be read for the next two millennia. If they were aware that it would become part of a permanent collection, and had they known that it might be misinterpreted and misused, they might have used different words.

Returning to the three readings for today, each of them has hope as the thread that runs through them. For one, it is clinging to a word of hope when facing what appears to be literal existential threats. For another, it is experiencing improvements, yet still hoping for more. And for another, it is staying true to hope when expectations have not been met and the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence.

Struggling to Apprehend Hope

I really struggle with the idea of hope, because it can easily devolve into wishful thinking or naïve optimism. On the other hand, hope in God can likewise be difficult. How does one hope in a being or the being’s words when that being is seemingly absent from the world’s affairs? When we observe the disasters and cataclysms, both natural and human-caused, when we see the strife and violence and death that is everywhere, and evil seems to reign, and God is absent… can we have hope in what God has claimed?

I wish I could give you an answer to these deep questions. I wish I could have even a start of an answer for myself. But these are questions that have troubled theologians and philosophers for a very long time with no definitive answers.

Christ’s Example; Our Actions to Invite Hope

Instead, what I want to direct your thoughts to is back to Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ, through his life, ministry, and death, demonstrated what God is like. Jesus exemplified God’s love so that we humans could comprehend it.

Jesus’ own ministry was not grand or that far reaching. What he did was do and say things that uplifted people that he encountered in his daily life and travels about a limited geography.  Jesus didn’t offer grand answers to philosophical questions. But he saw every individual as a valuable person, created in God’s image. Jesus built a small community around him to continue his methods of offering hope and love.

Maybe that’s what it means to have hope and share hope. Maybe hope is found in doing things that matter to our neighbors. Maybe hope is knowing that we matter to someone. Maybe hope is knowing that our very presence has value. And maybe to love someone is to help them learn to accept that they too, have value and that they matter to us.

God says that we are loved and valued, but if we are the body of Christ, then doesn’t it make sense that how we love and value those among us might be the way we communally experience the hope of the kingdom of God as it grows among us?

Sermon: Awake in Hope

Lectionary: Advent 1(B)

Texts

• Isaiah 64:1-9
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
• 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
• Mark 13:24-37

Introduction

Back in October and November, my social media feeds were inundated with advertising for all sorts of Advent calendars, for kids to adults, for humans and pets. Traditional chocolate ones, cookies, tea, coffee, wine, beer, liquor, cosmetics, socks, candles, dog treats, cat treats, and probably dozens and hundreds more that I haven’t seen. Now that we are in December, all those ads have stopped. Because clearly, if you haven’t gotten your Advent calendar already, it’s too late.

The Advent season is a time for waiting and preparing? But for what, or whom, really? The popular mind and the Advent calendar market at least gets the waiting and counting down part of Advent.

In the broader world, the timeframe occupied by Advent is a time of preparing for Christmas. And we do that through decorating, cleaning, shopping, cooking, baking, traveling, and so on to create a memorable and meaningful Christmas celebration. Is that the purpose of Advent – to prepare for the best celebratory event we can manage?

Perhaps Advent is a time to prepare and wait for Christ? But what exactly does that mean? Are we again preparing to celebrate the remembrance of the arrival of baby Jesus? The activities of Advent lead toward the remembrance and celebration of Christmas, so its primary focus might appear to be that.

The theme for today, the first Sunday of Advent, is hope. What are we hoping for? What fulfillment of hope are we waiting for?

And finally, there is the admonition to “keep awake” in our gospel reading. In what way do waiting and keeping awake help explain Advent and hope?

Prayers of Lament and Deliverance

The reading from Isaiah and the reading from Psalms both contain words that look back to God’s powerful acts in the past and a longing, and even demands, for God to re-enact similar great works to bring about salvation in the present time. Both are literarily categorized as laments, and their liturgical function was quite likely as prayers. The lament in Isaiah was written in the context of the Babylonian exile of the southern tribe of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Psalm lament was most likely written in the context of the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel.

In light of destruction and devastation suffered by a community, these laments raise up cries for God to act like he did in their long-ago historical memories. Both question where God is and why he has allowed this destruction and suffering to come to his people. Although the Isaiah lament contains a brief mention of the people’s sin, both laments place most or all of the responsibility on God. Both end with call to God for him to act and restore and save his people. Although not explicitly stated in the texts, both laments end with an implied confidence and hope that God will act.

The gospel text in Mark was also formed and read within a community that was probably experiencing some degree of intermittent persecution and suffering from within their own Jewish community and outside from the Roman empire. They too, are longing for deliverance and salvation.

Our Context is Different

That is what makes this set of Advent readings difficult for us to understand. Even though we likely have difficulties and challenges, none of us are likely facing truly existential challenges. We have a life that is mostly comfortable, and challenges we face, we generally don’t have too much trouble handling.

I think that if we are truly honest, many of us really don’t need God’s intervention. We are content with how things are, and we don’t really need or want God to intervene and shake things up.

Yet in places around the world, people and communities are facing dire challenges to their very existence. Some are more well known and publicized than others. Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine are among a few that immediately come to mind. Much closer to home, we remember the very recent landslide and loss of life and property in Wrangell. Right here at home, even next door to where we are meeting today, Humanity in Progress exists only because there are those within our very community who find meeting their basic needs a challenge.

Deep within us, even though our immediate circumstances may be quite comfortable, we know that there is something wrong with this world. Even though there are enough resources to take care of everyone, the dominant powers are unable and unwilling to do what it takes to care for all. Many of us have bought into the philosophies and priorities of the dominant powers and, even if we don’t overtly recognize it, we subconsciously divide people into who we think are “more-deserving” and “less-deserving”.

Keeping Awake

Perhaps one part of incorporating “keep awake” into our lives this Advent is to become more intentional about how we view and judge the world around us. Throughout scripture God is described as not showing partiality and those who follow God are also to be impartial in their dealings with others.[1] Maybe we are the ones who need the “breaking through” of God into our lives to reveal our hypocrisies and correct our partialities.

Another element of “keeping awake” may be to reawaken us to the reality that disasters and suffering can easily befall any of us. What is our response when something terrible upends our lives? One line of thought, common in some circles, is to accept whatever happens stoically and even be thankful[2] because “all things work together for good for those who love God”.[3]

If you want to do that, great. That is your choice. But don’t if it is only because you were taught that is the “proper Christian response” to tragedy and suffering.

There are other responses that are acceptable and exemplified in scripture. Psalm 80, which we read, contains one such example.

Even though the Isaiah, Psalm, and Mark texts are in the context of community and existential challenges, our individual tragedies and misfortunes can feel existential. Just because the texts are communal doesn’t mean they cannot be read as expressing individual lament.

Praying a Lament

How might we pray a lament? Let’s read through Psalm 80 once again.

¹ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
² before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
³ Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

The prayer begins by reminding God of who God is, what God has promised, and demands that God act according to God’s character.

⁴ O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
⁶ You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
⁷ Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

The prayer moves to a complaint. The complaint is that God’s inaction is the cause of God’s people’s suffering and God’s reputation to be sullied in the eyes of others.

This next section includes a large portion that was skipped by the lectionary editors, but it adds important context to the psalm.

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹ You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
¹¹ it sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
¹² Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
¹³ The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
¹⁴ Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,
¹⁵ the stock that your right hand planted.
¹⁶ It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

¹⁷ But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.[4]

Once again, the prayer reminds God of God’s early actions in caring for God’s people. And then it again accuses God of allowing destruction to come. It ends with a demand for God to act to restore and save.

The three parts of this lament each end with three refrains. They are similar but with small differences.

The first refrain is “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” The second refrain is similar, but changes the first line to “Restore us, O God of hosts.” The third refrain changes to “Restore us, O LORD God of hosts.” The development is from a generic “God” to “God of hosts” to the most personal “LORD God of hosts.” One might imagine the one praying moving from a lament that is within the boundaries of “proper theology”, to a developing anger that causes the prayer to start to break out from “theological boundaries”, to anguish and anger at seeming betrayal in which one’s personal and close friend has failed to act.

What this says to me is that when we are disappointed with God, it is acceptable to express our anger, rage, and disappointment. If as a community, there is something where we think God has failed to act appropriately, it is okay to step out of “proper theology” and express our feelings as a community toward God. God is not threatened by our feelings. If we sincerely believe God is as personal as our theology claims, if we sincerely believe God is as loving and caring as our theology claims, then we ought to be able to express our complaints and disappointments about God without fearing that somehow, we are violating proper boundaries.

Conclusion

If this season of Advent and reminders about waiting for God bring up memories and feelings of disappointment with God, this might be the time to allow them to be expressed. If you are facing challenges this Advent – it might be financial, it might be your health, it might be something family members are facing – it is okay to express your frustrations and anger, and demand that God act.

While we wait for Christ’s return, we are to keep awake. Depending on the season of our individual and communal lives, it might mean working to alleviate the sufferings around us. Or it might mean crying out to God to act. I believe that the key point is to remain engaged with God and God’s desires for the world. To fall asleep is to succumb to the ennui that we are powerless to make any difference, and that God too, is asleep and doesn’t care.

We are the embodiment of Christ in the world. As long as we are engaged both with the world and with God, we remain beacons of hope in the world. We keep hope awake that justice and righteousness will be restored.

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[1] Among the texts: Deuteronomy 16:19, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Job 32:21, Matthew 22:16, Acts 10:35, Romans 2:11, James 2:1, 9 and 3:17.

[2] Ephesians 5:19-20.

[3] Romans 8:28.

[4] Psalm 80 (NRSVue).

Sermon: Reaffirming Hope

Lectionary: Proper 27(A)

Texts: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Introduction

Ordinary Time. That is the portion of the liturgical calendar that we have been in since June. The anticipation and celebration of Advent and Christmas is long past. The period of Lent, the horrors and Holy Week, and the joy of Easter are now distant memories. The power of the Spirit given at Pentecost might seem to be just barely holding us together, getting us from one week to the next. The humdrum of everyday routines and the regular cycle of the passing of seasons keep us engaged and busy. Yet it seems like it often becomes almost unthinking rote actions that we perform. Even the liturgical calendar, with its reminders of Christian history and life, might be just another routine that we move through year after year.

Have you realized that the first Sunday of Advent returns in just three weeks? When we think about Advent, it is almost always in association with Christmas. But Advent is a season that looks not only to the first Christmas, but also to the future return of Christ. These last few Sundays of the church year contain readings that bring us full circle from the first Advent to the anticipated second.

Second Advent and the Rapture

The Second Advent, or the Second Coming, of Jesus Christ, even if the general belief is nearly universally accepted by Christians, there is broad range of emphasis that is placed on it and how often you might hear it preached. There is also a huge diversity of specific beliefs, ideas, and details about it. The Second Advent has been the source of date setting for Jesus’ return, doomsday cults, dispensational theology and the Left Behind series, all manner of prophetic interpretations, and strong influences on national and international politics. It is not a benign doctrine. What someone or a group of people believes about the return of Jesus does have effects that go beyond their immediate circle, and they can be wide-ranging.

The text for today that is found in 1 Thessalonians, specifically 4:17, is where the doctrine of the rapture finds its origins. The general doctrine of the rapture should not be controversial. The hymns I chose for today all refer to it in some way.[1] But when “rapture” is mentioned among Christians today, what comes first and foremost to mind is a specific rapture doctrine that finds its speculation and novelization in the Left Behind series. (For clarity’s sake it should be noted that the Presbyterian Church (USA) rejects dispensational theology and its applications, including the kind of rapture scenarios found in Left Behind.[2])

There are many other variations on views of the rapture. Historically, most of the views are quite recent, with many of the variations appearing in the 19^th century or just before. These years, with modernist philosophy coming of age, with industrialization and technological advancements, but also with increasingly deadly conflicts, brought about increasing interest in the theological study of the end times. With pessimism that Christianity could actually change the entire world, and with the world seeming to go from bad to worse, many prophetic and apocalyptic texts seemed to have direct and literal applicability to the times that were being seen and experienced.

I should add here that my own personal history includes many years in a church denomination that arose from such an apocalyptic reading and creative interpretations of prophetic texts. We did not believe in dispensationalist theology, but we had our own unique spins on the concepts of the millennium, tribulation, resurrection of the dead, and judgment. We had almost a checklist of when, what, and how things were to happen leading up to the return of Christ. Granted we didn’t know the exact time, but there was a sequence of events that preceded the Second Coming. Although this was quite different from what is found in Left Behind, looking from the outside now, the principle doesn’t seem that different. Although the Second Coming was something for us to look forward to, there was also a very real sense of fear that I would miss out for missing the signs and not being ready when the events unfolded.

Context of Thessalonians

Although in these modern times, Christians have looked to the text in 1 Thessalonians as primarily eschatological (i.e., end times) and supporting the doctrine of the rapture, is that what Paul meant and what the recipients at Thessalonica drew out? The answer is neither yes nor no.

The opening sentence of this subsection (pericope) is often glossed over, but it is quite puzzling when we think about it. It reads,

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.[3]

Why are the Christians in Thessalonica grieving their dead as if there was no hope for them? Had they not heard about the resurrection of the dead? The next sentence reads,

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[4]

Paul includes the Thessalonians as those who believe in the resurrection of the dead in Jesus. So, what is the problem?

The common response is that they (including Paul at the time of writing this letter) believed Jesus would return while they were still alive, and thus the death of some of them in the interim raised questions. But the resurrection of the dead at Jesus’ return should solve any issues, shouldn’t it?

The problem seems to stem from a misinterpretation of what Paul had taught them. Paul taught that the age to come had already begun. At least in part. But it appears that the Thessalonians thought the age to come had come in its fullness. One commentary explains this confusion in this way.

In our reconstruction of the millennial radicalism of this congregation, it appears that death was thought to have been abolished with the dawning of the new age, which explains why they would grieve “as others do who have no hope.” An important effort to resolve this puzzle was made by Joseph Plevnik, who suggested that an apocalyptic doctrine of assumption into paradise as a way of escaping death had been taught by Paul, which the Thessalonians erroneously took to mean that those already dead would not be caught up, or raptured (Plevnik 1984: 274–83). They are lamenting “as though there is no afterlife or resurrection” (Richard 1995: 225) because, as I would explain it, having already been resurrected by their membership in the new age, there would be no further resurrection for those who have died. In effect, the congregation thinks it has already been raptured by means of its charismatic ecstasy, placing them beyond death. This would explain both the shock at the death of loved ones and the fear that they had “believed in vain.” However one explains this unprecedented confusion on the part of the Thessalonians, it is clear that they “feared their dead would lose out on the chance to be assumed to heaven at the time of the parousia”.[5]

Summarized, the Thessalonians believed that because the new age had already come, they had already been resurrected, and that there would be no additional resurrections. Their fear and dismay may have further been influenced by Greek and Roman ideas about what happens to those who die. One idea that existed was that those who died did not cease to exist, but that they continued in a diminished form.[6] Without a resurrection, they would forever be stuck in a state where they were not able to enjoy communion with God and the rest of the saved. The loss of ability to have relationships was perhaps more fearful to them than death in the present life.

The ideas concerning heaven as a place for the righteous, the resurrected being caught into heaven, and the trumpet call were already part of the cultural milieu of the time, in Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. Paul was not inventing something completely new. He was reinterpreting what was already accepted among the people of his time. In other words, he was utilizing the language, images, and metaphors of the time to communicate theology. Greg Carey writes as follows regarding eschatological texts in the Bible:

Eschatological texts feature a profoundly poetic dimension, even when they are not written as poetry… A great deal of eschatological material works through images and lyrics, often appropriating images from antecedent texts or refracting images over against—more precisely, in interaction with—one another…[7]

Paul is not making doctrinal claims; although he is not writing poetry in the conventional sense, he’s speaking the peculiar kind of poetry characteristic of eschatological literature.[8]

In other words, Paul is not giving his readers a detailed and specific checklist of how Jesus will return. He is using imagery, metaphor, and language common at the time to correct an erroneous interpretation of one of his teachings that had caused the Thessalonians to fall into despair.

It’s All About Hope

The study of end times, eschatology, often leads to fear. “Will I make it?” is often the question at the end of hearing about the rapture, regardless of the specifics of it.

For Paul, the return of Jesus Christ is all about hope. It is about reuniting and restoration. When we speak about the return of Christ, when we talk about the end times, let hope be the theme and the purpose of our speech. If anyone walks away with fear about the end times, it is a signal that perhaps we have miscommunicated and a chance to reflect and improve our communication for the next time.

In the name of God who inspires hope,

In the name of God who will complete our hopes,

And in the name of God who sustains our hopes…

Bibliography

Allen, R. J., & Cornwall, R. D. (2023). Second Thoughts about the Second Coming: Understanding the End Times, Our Future, and Christian Hope. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Black, J. (2014, March 22). Ascension to the heavens in ancient mythology. Retrieved from Ancient Origins: Reconstructing the Story of Humanity's Past: https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ascension-heavens-ancient-mythology-001471

Carey, G. (2023). Death, the End of History, and Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Johnston, S. I. (2017, March 31). Many (Un)Happy Returns: Ancient Greek Concepts of a Return from Death and their Later Counterparts. Retrieved from Coming Back to Life (McGill University Library): https://comingbacktolife.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/8/51

PC(USA) 118th General Assembly (1978). (2010, March 17). Eschatology: The Doctrine of Last Things. Retrieved from PC(USA) Presbyterian Mission: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/eschatology-doctrine-last-things/

Poythress, V. (2009, March 13). Understanding Dispensationalism. Retrieved from Westminster Theological Seminary: https://faculty.wts.edu/lectures/understanding-dispensationalism/

Tabor, J. (2023, November 4). If I Ascend to Heaven … Paul’s Journey to Paradise. Retrieved from Biblical Archaeology Society: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/if-i-ascend-to-heavenpauls-journey-to-paradise/

 

 

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[1] PH 6 Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending; PH 449 My Lord! What a Morning; STF 2282 I'll Fly Away (Presbyterian Hymnal; Sing the Faith)

[2] (PC(USA) 118th General Assembly (1978), 2010).

[3] 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NRSVue).

[4] 1 Thessalonians 4:14.

[5] (Dunn & Rogerson, 2003, pp. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

[6] (Carey, 2023, p. Kindle location approximately 1607)

[7] (Carey, 2023, p. Kindle location approximately 928)

[8] (Carey, 2023, p. Kindle location approximately 948)