A month or so ago, Attorney General Ashcroft called a press conference
in which he announced that there was evidence of a clear and present
danger in our country. He told the American people that we should
be "on alert". It was a short press conference but the
ramifications of it went on for weeks. Everyone seems to have
his or her own feelings. Should a threat so non-specific have
been made public? Did it just serve to unnerve the American public?
What were we supposed to do about it anyway? What was the point?
On the other hand, wasn't it better to know danger was out there
than to drift into complacency? Don't the American people deserve
to know the truth? Isn't it better to be warned? Psychologists,
political analysts, news commentators all hashed and rehashed
the issue on pages of newspapers and magazines and hours and hours
of air time on TV and radio. To no great conclusion I might add.
So here we are with our lesson today and Jesus very non-specific
admonition to be awake, be alert. "Be alert"-what does
that mean? What after all are we supposed to do? How is life to
be different for us by being "on Alert"? I am sure that
as many pages have been written by pundits and as much air time
used from pulpits over Jesus' admonition as over Ashcroft's.
Certainly the very popular "Left Behind" series of books and a movie is just the most current example. The RAPTURE and all the words about it, all the stories contrived, all the speculation and fantasy, are all based on just these two verses of scripture, these verses that suggest that in the end one might be taken and one left behind. I really can't tell you what I think of the series because I only saw the movie and started one of the books. Generally speaking I find this kind of literature hard to read. Perhaps I'm like a medical professional watching a TV hospital drama as they keep saying; well that's not what they would do, that's not good medical procedure, that wouldn't happen. I read the "left behind" books and my theological critique gets in the way of what many feel is a good story line. The ELCA has had a good discussion of the series on it's web site http://www.elca.org if you're interested.
In any case, the Left Behind series and the
flurry surrounding it are just the latest in the continuing discussion
about Jesus warning. We don't know when, we don't know where,
we don't know how, so why is Jesus telling us to keep awake, be
alert, be ready.
Isn't this just another example of a non-specific expectation
that we can't do anything about? One of the last things I think
Jesus' warning was attempting to do was cause fear. The problem
with taking just two verses out of the whole context of scripture
is that that is just what it can do. Let me ask you, do you ever
in all the rest of the gospels see Jesus motivating people by
fear. I see Jesus healing people, feeding people, teaching people.
I see Jesus having compassion and challenging attitudes of prejudice.
I see Jesus challenging peoples values-making them think, once,
twice and again about what their purpose is in the world, what
the meaning of life is. I see Jesus doing all that but I never
see Jesus threatening, coercing or strong arming people. Maybe
there's an incident you can find or think of, if so let me know,
but I can't think of it. Jesus doesn't encourage people to be
good or to do good because of fear, he does it out of love. So
if we can say anything, we have to say this warning Jesus is giving
is not meant to make us afraid. We're not supposed to think "Oh
my brother never goes to church, when the rapture comes I'll be
saved and he won't so I guess I have to scare him into believing,
cause I don't want to go without him."
So if that isn't the point, what is? First of all, Jesus is telling us we live in the "not yet". Don't get complacent that the world as we see it now is the way it will always be. The world is "not yet" what it can become. In a very practical sense I believe that means that there doesn't always have to be war, there doesn't always have to be hundreds of thousands of refugee people, there doesn't always have to be children dying every few seconds from hunger. The world is "not yet", not yet what it can be. There's more, Christ will come againand in the meantime we've got to work for fewer wars, less homeless people and an end to hunger.
Secondly, I think Jesus is saying, God's got it covered. Things will seem bad, miserable, horrible even but that doesn't mean anything because God can take over at any moment. The outcome is certain; it's in God's hands. Looking around the bookstore the other day on a shopping trip I saw one of the newest craze books, "Worst Case scenario". I see there's also a game. I think I'd be really good at it. Spinning a worst case scenario was one of the major parenting tools my father used with me all the time. I didn't realize fully until years ago when I heard him use it with my nephews. When my nephews were about 8 and 11 my parents rented an RV, a big RV and took them on a trip to northern Canada. The idea of the RV was that you could pull up along any beautiful, lake in the wilderness and stay. Which they did. Well one evening after quite a day of driving they selected a totally out of the way spot by a lake in a woods miles from anywhere. My mom and Dad got out of the RV to set things up, the boys stayed in to get their swimming stuff on. Suddenly they were all on the outside, the doors were locked and sure enough the keys were still on the inside. My rather high strung nephews got mad at everything. The situation began escalating, my nephew Will blaming David, David blaming Will etc. etc. You've all been there. So I asked my Dad what he did. Youth tapes came back all over again as He said, I just sat the boys down and asked them what was the worst thing that could happen here. After they'd decided that the bears might all come out of the woods and devour them and then they'd be in heaven and that was itbreaking a side vent window with a rock to reach in to get the keys in the ignition didn't seem half so bad. It's all in God's hands-the worst case scenario. When we know the outcome, when we trust in God, then the rest can be handled. Somehow we can cope if we're certain and sure that there is nothing beyond the scope of God's care. Oh we'll muddle around a good deal, but in the end it's all about God being there.
This is an odd text as we're headed for Christmas.
Odd text to begin the new church year. And yet maybe it isn't
so odd. When you begin by knowing the end then somehow it makes
all the difference in the middle.
Amen.