Pentecost 25

November 18, 2007
The Rev. David R. Hackett

There is a story of an American professor of philosophy doing research in Asia. She asked a Japanese colleague to explain some of the complexities of Shinto and Buddhist belief. The Japanese scholar at first resisted, but the American was persistent. So finally the scholar did her best to explain the beliefs of the two religions. The American professor listened carefully, took lots of notes, and then thanked her colleague profusely. “Now I understand perfectly,” she said. The Japanese appeared puzzled. “Really?” she asked, “You understand now?” “Yes,” replied the American, “I have pondered these questions for years, but your explanation has at last made it absolutely clear to me.” “Hmmm,” said the Japanese scholar with a troubled look on her face, “Then I must not have explained it properly.”

The study of the Bible can be like that, especially when it comes to apocalyptic scripture such as we have before us today. These “end-time” scriptures are, at best, difficult. They lend themselves to such strange interpretations. I remember during the Vietnam war that some were utterly convinced that the number “666” from the Book of Revelation stood for Henry Kissinger! As the political rhetoric is ratcheted up this year there’s no telling what we’ll hear about the frontrunners, Hillary and Rudy. A few years ago an independent church in Amarillo, TX said the true identity of the anti-Christ might be Prince Charles!

Of course, it’s that sort of thing that causes most of us to simply shake our heads in amazement. In spite of these obvious abuses and misinterpretations which tend to cause us to simply dismiss or ignore this type of scripture, we are called to somehow come to grips with them. I think that’s the value of the church’s lectionary. We can’t just skip over these difficult and strange passages. We prayed in the Collect for today that we would “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” scripture. That is one of my favorite prayers in the Prayer Book, “hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” scripture. However, these particular passages just might give us indigestion. So we need to be asking, “Where is the Good News in them? “Where is Gospel?”

The prophet Malachi, envisioning the end of time, said, “…the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up.” But then the Lord of Hosts says, “But for you who revere my name the Sun of Righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” And Jesus, when asked about these end times, told his followers, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.” He warns them, “You will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. …you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.” And then he promises to the faithful, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Luke was written after the destruction of the Temple in 70AD. The New Testament Church faced the persecution of the Roman Empire. It was illegal to assemble for worship; Christians were being imprisoned, being burned alive, eaten alive by wild beasts. The “Great Tribulation” of the Church was beginning. Death was everywhere, chaos reigned. Where was God in all of this? How long would this go one? How long could they endure?”

I’m convinced that in the midst of that kind of catastrophe one’s faith is either strengthened or it dies. Tribulation either brings greater reliance on God, or causes a falling away from trust and hope into despair and cynicism.

We of today’s Church aren’t faced with that kind of persecution, but the world in which we live does face catastrophe. We are certainly beset with wars and rumors of wars. Take your pick: Iraq, Afghanistan, perhaps soon Iran, Pakistan; nuclear destruction from nations or terrorists is certainly a possibility; the genocide in the Sudan with tens of thousands dying of starvation while no government intervenes. The AIDS epidemic in Africa continues while the largest Christian church condemns the use of a sure deterrent to that disease. Global warming is shrinking the polar ice caps; oceans are expected to swallow coastal cities. Senseless violence seems increasingly to be the norm in our society. Gasoline is predicted to cost $4.00 per gallon before long. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The list goes on and on.

For some people all of these things are indicators that the end of the ages is near. Fear mongering by some capitalizes on such scenarios. How do you and I cope with these things? I see three options.

First, live in denial. Just ignore the possibility of the end of the world. Don’t think about it; keep business as usual, even when confusion reigns.

Second option: live in fear. Books and films and preachers of flashing prophecies abound. We are bombarded by those who calculate the end and know all about “the rapture” and Armageddon. Some are lured into an existence of fear of the future, or become so enraptured by “the rapture” (which, by the way, is a word not found in the Bible) that they have been known to quit their jobs, stop paying the mortgage, forget important responsibilities, and simply climb up on the nearest rooftop and wait for the end.

The third option: to live in faith. To live in faith, I believe, is to live with the reality that is age is passing away. It means living by not having to know when that will happen. I grew up in farming country in Missouri. There was a saying there which I can’t forget: “Live as though you are going to die tomorrow; farm as though you are going to live forever.” To live in faith is to remember that God promises to be with us even in the midst of extreme trouble. Therefore we don’t withdraw from the world in fear.

We most often think of the apocalypse in terms of the whole creation. That’s what these scriptures today point to. But each one of us has our own individual apocalypse. As a priest I have been with a lot of people when they have died. It is a privilege to share that most intimate of moments, the moment of death and the times that lead up to that final departure from this life. It seems to me that we deal with our own death, our own end, in the same way we deal with the end of time.

That is, some deny. They play games with family and friends and pretend that they are not going to die. And, sad to say, they don’t prepare for death. They fail to say what needs to be said, “I forgive you.” “Forgive me.” “I love you.” “I’ll miss you.”

Some fear. Death for some is too terrible to face. They are afraid that God will not accept them. They are afraid that they will not accept God. And so they go to their deaths raging against its injustice, its unfairness or are simply silently saddened by that which awaits them.

And some die in faith, at peace with their God, their family, their friends, trusting that God will hold them in his arms in the next life as he has in this one.

I read about a father and son during the terrible days of the blitz in London. The father, holding his son’s hand, ran from a building which had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a big crater. Looking for cover as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father’s voice telling him to jump, the boy shouted, looking down into the darkness of the hole, “I can’t see you!” The father, looking up against the sky tinted read by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, “But I can see you. Jump!” The boy jumped because he trusted his father.

It seems to me that the Christian faith enables us to face life, or to face death, not because we can see, but because we believe that we are seen. Not because we know all the answers, but because we are known.

Your life, my life, has an end. This world has an end. And God is at the beginning and end of both. Holy Scripture (which I do pray we hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest) shows that the end toward which we move is in God’s hand. And the overwhelming testimony of scripture and of our own experience, is that his hand is a loving one. Meanwhile, meanwhile, until the end comes, let us live in faith, in the good news that God has each of us in his loving hands and will not let us go. Amen.