Christ United Presbyterian Church, Nov. 17, 2013; Sermon

Here's the text of my sermon and here's the video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0uI6wX_jsk&feature=youtu.be


“What Did You Say?”        
 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

In this morning’s Gospel Jesus tells the apostles that in the future many clever people will show up trying to convince you that they have all the answers.  Don’t be fooled by them.

The scene in this Gospel lesson begins with Jesus and some people standing outside the Temple in Jerusalem.  Some of the people have spoken with awe of the beauty and strength of the Temple.  Jesus tells them that even this magnificent structure will be destroyed one day. 

So the people want to know when it’s going to happen.  Not why.  Not how.  Just, when?  Can you give us some sign to watch for?  Jesus tells them essentially that the “when” is really not important.  Not only that, but he tells them that some clever rascals will even try to tell you that the end of the world is coming and that they alone know when it will take place.  They will tell you that disasters, war, famine, pestilence, climate change are signs of the end.  Don’t listen to them. 

Back in 169 AD the bishop of Antioch spent a great deal of time calculating what he called “the number of years from the foundation of the world.”  He concluded that in 169 the earth was 5,698 years old, give or take 200 years.

In the Seventeenth Century, John Lightfoot, the vice chancellor of Cambridge University concluded that based on the evidence of the book of Genesis, Adam was created at precisely 9:00 AM on some day in the year 3928 BC.  Around the same time James Ussher, who became the Bishop of Armagh – that’s in Ireland – calculated that the world first appeared on the evening before October 23 in the year 4004 BC.  That date was incorporated as a margin note in the 1701 edition of the King James Bible.  And Jewish tradition holds that as of what we call 2013 the world is 5,773 years old.¹

Even today, there are people still arguing about the age of the earth, how long the seven days of creation actually were in a human understanding of time, and the date of the end of history. At least 1000x more people than have ever read Darwin want to argue about Darwin’s “godless” theory of evolution, ignoring the fact that modern science has made some significant corrections to Darwin’s calculations – he didn’t really understand genetic inheritance. 

Don’t even get me started on the meaning of time!

Jesus says: “Don’t be led astray.”  Don’t put your trust in human calculations even if they come from people who claim that they are defending the faith.  And so many of these arguments are done in the cause of maintaining the integrity of scripture or the gospel of Jesus.

Jesus says: “Trust God.”  Live your life as one who is accepting the reign of God as the only authority in your life.  It will get you into all sorts of trouble and perhaps even persecution and bodily danger.  Even when you get into all sorts of trouble, even if you are put on trial, trust God.  If you are doing the work of the Lord, then trust God to see you through!

I know that history documents all sorts of death and destruction carried out by people who were mistakenly convinced that they were doing the Lord’s will.

For the moment, let’s not worry about other people.  Let’s look at you and me.  How do we know – just between God and me – that we are doing the Lord’s work? 

Scripture gives us several tests to apply to our own words and actions as followers of Christ. The benchmark of Christian behavior is pretty clear if you take the time to read what scripture has to say.  First, are you acting out of the love of God, in loving obedience to his will?  Second, are you acting out of love for the other person?  Does what you are doing demonstrate any of the “fruits of the Spirit?”  In Galatians 5 Paul tells us: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  In fact Paul also tells us that the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit includes:  “idolatry, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy….”

Is it really so hard to tell the difference? 

Perhaps we should begin all of our meetings – we Presbyterians do have a lot of meetings – by reciting the fruits of the Spirit.  After all, those words do represent our spiritual goal.  But make no mistake, the world is driven by those other things that Paul mentions.  As nice as you may think the fruit of the Spirit may sound, designing your life in such a way as to produce those fruits will put you into conflict with the powers of the world.

If you live your life first from love of God and love of the other people around you; if God is your only God, and God’s laws are the laws that you follow first; sooner or later we shall come into conflict with the world.  

What does God’s love and God’s covenant with us mean to you?  Can you declare with the Psalmist: “God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you…. Because your steadfast love is better than life…. So I will bless you as long as I live….  [Psalm 63, passim]”

Jesus makes it quite clear:  “You will be hated by all because of my name.”  It’s enough to make you ask:  “What did you say?” 

Deciding to follow the way of the Lord is a difficult decision to make.  If you read what scripture describes as the way of the Lord, it’s not really so hard to tell the difference between the way of the Lord and the way of the world; between what Paul calls “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit;” between  idolatry, strife, jealousy, anger, factions, envy and the love of God and joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and gentleness.

Sisters and brothers I call upon you to persevere and work diligently as you pursue the way of the Lord.  Love God foremost. Trust in God.  Be wary of all the human cleverness and calculation.  Trust in God.  Jesus assures us that by our endurance we shall gain our souls.

Amen. 

1.  The facts were quoted on P. 61f.; Brilliant Blunders, by Mario Livio, Simon and Schuster, New York: 2013.