With God, Anything Can Happen

Based on Luke 1:39-45

Edited version of a sermon first delivered Dec. 23, 2012

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            This is a hard time of year for preachers. It’s Christmas. And the story of Christmas has been told so many times, in so many ways, that it is extremely difficult to say anything really new about it. What new twist can be found? What new kernel of wisdom or insight? The scripture passages we hear today and will hear tomorrow are some of the most over-interpreted scriptures in the Bible. So what can anyone say about the story that is original? You all have already heard it. It seems all we are left with is the story itself and maybe that’s enough. Maybe we just need to rehearse this amazing story once again, of how God came to the world as one of us, taking on human flesh from within the womb, and simply marvel about it.

            Consider how marvelous this story is. Some may even say it is absurd. Mary has just had a conversation with the archangel Gabriel, telling her that she would get pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and will have a boy who is the Son of God. That is some big news for a teenage girl who, according to an old tradition, had spent all her life within the Temple in Jerusalem. Of course, when you get news like this, that you are expecting a baby, you don’t just sit on that news. You have to get up and tell somebody. And the first person you tell is likely the most important person in your life. Notice that it wasn’t Joseph. Maybe that was for obvious reasons. She would have some ‘splainin to do! But no, she gets up and hurries to a small village in the hill country of Judea, to a relative who must be the most important person in her life, Elizabeth. Elizabeth may have been Mary’s aunt, which would make John and Jesus cousins. This is what has been traditionally understood. At any rate, Elizabeth was clearly someone who was dear to Mary, who she was comfortable sharing such amazing news. Can you see this girl, sneaking out of the Temple, out of the watchful eyes of the priests, and running with excitement to tell the news to Elizabeth? These days she probably would have just given Elizabeth a call. Doubt if she would have posted it on Facebook though. “I’m pregnant and God is the Father.” Would you click “like”, “love” or the “ha ha” emogji? Would you respond with “congrats”? That would be pretty weird.

            No, with a story like this, one only tells the closest people that they can trust; someone who would believe them and not think they are crazy. Elizabeth was one of those people for Mary. I suspect Mary could trust Elizabeth with this news because Elizabeth had some news of her own. The word was out all around about how Zechariah had seen an angel that told him his wife Elizabeth, well past child-bearing years, would give birth to a son who is to be named John. Surely Mary thought that if Elizabeth had her own miraculous pregnancy that she would understand what Mary is going through. In fact, there was no one else in the world who would understand what Mary was experiencing than Elizabeth. So Mary had to go to Elizabeth to share her news.

            But what happens next is even more amazing. As Mary approaches Elizabeth, John kicks her. Now there is nothing amazing about a baby kicking their mother’s uterus. What is amazing is what Elizabeth says. She doesn’t say, “Oohh, I felt that one.” Instead, she said, “The child inside me leaped for joy as soon as I heard you say hello!” And, the scriptures say, the Holy Spirit fell on Elizabeth. Now this is something impressive. In those days the Holy Spirit rarely fell on anyone. Only prophets received the Spirit for the purpose of speaking God’s message…Thus sayeth the Lord. And 99% of those prophets were men: Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, etc. But here is old Elizabeth, the priest’s wife, who has been granted the blessing of carrying a special child who will prepare the way for Jesus, little baby John who starts the preparation now by leaping in the womb. Not only does Elizabeth have within her the greatest prophet of all time, she becomes a prophet herself.

            Elizabeth is a prophet because as soon as she saw Mary and felt John leap in her womb she knew that Mary was pregnant. Mary had not yet told anyone she was pregnant. She just found out herself! Elizabeth already knows. Right away she is singing a song of blessing over Mary and the baby in her womb. The little prophet John is oozing the spirit of prophecy I guess! And there you have it, two women carrying two miracle babies. Here, in an unnamed village in the hill country of Judea, you have an old woman and a young woman embracing each other with joy. One has inside her womb the greatest of all prophets. In the other womb is the Son of God, our Lord and Savior. Amazing.

            So, why did it happen this way? This is why some think this whole story is so absurd. Here is the account of how the greatest prophet of all time and the savior of the world came into being. It isn’t among the powerful. It isn’t in Jerusalem, Athens, Alexandria or Rome. It isn’t among the elites. And men are only ambiguously involved. Zechariah is only involved by divine intervention and Joseph had nothing to do with it at all! No, this amazing event, an event that turns the tide, that ushers in the salvation of the whole world, is first experienced and shared by an old woman and a young girl in a small village in the hills of Judea. This is how God decided to break into our world. And we are left to puzzle why, of all the ways God could have come into our world, that God chose this particular time, in this particular place, with these particular women.

            As hard as you may try, the question of why this way and not another can’t be answered except to conclude that this is how God does things. God tends to act in ways that we don’t always expect or notice. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God’s ways are not our ways. God has a bigger view of things than we will ever perceive. We are left to marvel at how it happened, that two women on the margins of society are the first to realize how it is that God will come to save the world. It’s just amazing. I don’t know what else to say about it.

            If there is one message we can take from this, it is that God can work through anyone who has a heart open to God. It’s not just the wise people, or the people of great talents, notoriety and wealth. It is anyone who is open to the possibility that God could use them for ministry. And it’s not the size of ministry that counts. It is true that large ministries can have large impact. People who have successfully grown ministries from just a few people to the participation of thousands can be inspiring and may have some things to teach us about God and about the practicalities of growing a ministry. Leaders of these large ministries have people coming up to them all the time asking for guidance or encouragement, they have tons of Facebook friends and thousands of Twitter followers. They command a lot of influence for good. God definitely uses people like that and the large ministries they shepherd. But if the Bible shows us anything, it is that God tends to work through people no one really knew before. Elizabeth and Mary were ordinary people, at least on the outside. But on the inside they were open to the possibility of being used by God to accomplish amazing things. What is possible for us is obviously not the same as what was for them. But we can follow their lead and allow ourselves to be open to what God may want to accomplish through us. Whether God’s intention is for you or me to one day birth a massive ministry that reaches thousands or even millions or it is to bless just one person today, that’s up to God. Who God is looking for is people who are open to God’s leading, who are willing to say “yes” to God, and then see what happens. And those people are often people like you and me, just ordinary folks.

            Elizabeth carried a prophet in her womb. Maybe you have a prophetic word inside of you that needs to be expressed. Mary carried in her womb our Savior Jesus. We believe that by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior that he dwells in our hearts. We carry Jesus with us wherever we go. Every day we have an opportunity to share Jesus with others, by what we say but mostly by what we do. We can announce the good news that no matter what, God is with us. So perhaps this is something we can take with us as we rush toward Christmas: that when it comes to being available to be used by God, used by God to express God’s holiness and God’s love, that all of us are included. When God is looking for faithful servants, God is looking at you and me. Just like Elizabeth and Mary, you and I can be in on what God is up to, something that most people miss entirely because we aren’t famous and don’t have huge platforms. Being famous isn’t required to be selected by God to do something that can change the world, at least the world of one person.

Share the Joy

Based on Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18

First delivered Dec. 16, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            As you can see, purple is the liturgical color of the season of Advent. The other season that has purple as its color is Lent. Both of these seasons are understood to be a time of reflection and preparation for celebrating markers in the ministry of Jesus, his birth and his resurrection. Lent, of course, has a heavy emphasis on repentance, giving something up for Lent, committing to a more robust spiritual practice, giving to those in need. Many people incorporate fasting into their Lenten practice.

            Advent can be like Lent for us, just not as severe. First of all, how can anyone really practice fasting right now with all the holiday parties? And let’s face it; there is something about colder weather that prompts our bodies to fill up on those comfort foods to pad us up so we can get through winter. How’s that for a rationalization for overindulgence? Advent doesn’t have the same intensity as Lent, but it is a time of preparation. We are reminded that even as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we also anticipate his second coming. Are we ready for the Lord’s return? That’s one of the lingering questions through Advent. This is a season, which falls at the end of the year, when we are invited to take stock, reflect on where we are in our life, what we need to let go of and take on in our discipleship. Advent can have a Lenten feel. Thus the color purple.

            But today we see that the candle in the Advent wreath which was lit is not purple. It’s pink. That’s because this candle symbolizes joy. And why not? The bright and colorful lights and decorations, the Christmas carols, the parties and get-togethers, this is a time, even though the days are shorter and the nights are longer, to lift up our spirits and en-joy the holiday season. Yes, this time of year can be hard. Some of us grieve loved ones who won’t be celebrating Christmas with us this year. But why linger in the gloom? All around us are invitations to give in to the magic of the season, to fill our hearts with joy. So we acknowledge the joy of this time of year on this Sunday.

            The passage from the prophet Zephaniah definitely has the theme of joy. “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” Why? Because “the Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies.” Further on, the prophet declares, “the Lord…will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” The prophet says, “the Lord will save the lame, gather the outcast, change their shame into praise.” Singing, rejoicing, praise. This is the ninth oracle in the book of Zephaniah. The first eight are full of gloom and doom. But in the end, at the ninth, an ode to joy erupts and the oppressed and beaten down people are given reason to hope for a glorious future when God will set things right. The Lord will come. Their salvation is drawing near.

            So let’s see where joy shows up in John’s preaching as Luke has recorded it. John begins his sermon by shouting to the crowd, “You brood of vipers!” Well that’s a fine way to start a message, by calling everyone in front of you children of snakes. He then asks in what seems to be an accusatory manner, “who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” It’s almost as if John wished that they didn’t know what was going to happen so that when the Lord came they would be all wiped out for their sinfulness. Isn’t the joy in John’s message palpable? What is amazing is that the crowd didn’t just get up and leave. In fact, they engage John by asking what they need to do so that they don’t get wiped out by the coming judgment. John then gives them specific instructions on what they need to do. And when the people began to wonder if John was the messiah, he sets them straight. He tells them that the messiah is coming, and he is bringing a winnowing fork and fire, to gather all the good people in his granary and cast the bad people into unquenchable fire. A joyful message? Well, that would be hard to affirm.

            Yet, at the end of today’s passage, in vs. 18, Luke writes, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” What good news? I don’t know about you but when I have gotten good news it usually begins with “congratulations” or “we are pleased to inform you.” I have never gotten good news that began by calling me a son of a snake. Have you? Where exactly is the good news in John’s sermon? Can joy be found in this message? I am going to try to convince you that when Luke called John’s sermon good news that he didn’t say that tongue in cheek but actually meant it.

            Have you ever worked at a place where the supervisor or an accrediting agency shows up unannounced to do an inspection? If so, you may have noticed your heart rate speed up a little bit. Your brain kicks in as you wonder, “Uh oh, is everything in order? We weren’t prepared for this!” You all may remember about a month back our district superintendent showed up with her husband for worship. It was great to have her with us. And I had no idea she was coming. Now I know she wasn’t here to do a formal inspection. We have a good, professional relationship. But my heart still skipped a beat. Surprise inspections do generate some stress. We would like to have some advance warning.

            The good news in John’s sermon is that he is letting the people know that the inspector is on their way. And it’s going to be a formal inspection with profound consequences. So before the inspector arrives with his winnowing fork, his axe and unquenchable fire, you all better look at yourselves and get yourselves together. You better repent and show fruits of repentance before he gets here. The good news here is that there is time to get ready. They, we, have been warned. We have time to prepare for the coming of the Lord. We have time to straighten ourselves out. So that’s good news.

            Would it be fair for you to be held accountable for your actions without it being made clear to what you are being held to account? You go in for your annual performance review. Sitting across from you is your boss with a scowl on their face. Looking at you they say, “Joe, you need to do a better job. If you don’t improve in the next three months, we will have to let you go.” The natural question to ask would be, “Sir, what specifically do I need to focus on?” The boss says to you, “I’ll know it when I see it. You just need to focus. Do your job. Get to work.” Could have been more specific.

            The good news with John is that when asked the question, “What should we do?” he gives specific answers. “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” OK, we can work with that. We can share. A tax collector asks what he needs to do. John tells him to only collect what is due. The soldier asks what he is supposed to do. John tells him not to extort and be satisfied with his wages.

            Now let’s look at this for a second. First off, it is interesting that the two specific occupations addressed are tax collectors and soldiers, two occupations that represent the oppression of the empire on the people. Tax collectors and soldiers, who are likely local mercenaries, are betraying their people by facilitating oppression. You would think that when they ask John what they should do, that John would tell them to quit their jobs and stop facilitating oppression. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he basically tells both of them to stop exploiting people for personal gain.

            Here’s the other thing. In my studies, I learned that in those days, tax collectors had to pay the state for the privilege of collecting taxes. In order to cover the expense, they would add a surcharge to the taxes they collected. And they were free to make that surcharge whatever they wanted. The system was designed to add economic suffering on to the people. And, of course, it also made tax collectors especially despised because everyone knew that the tax collectors were taking advantage of them. So John tells the tax collector to only collect what is owed. But how are they supposed to then make a living? To answer that question, refer to the first answer John gave. If someone has two coats, they must share with those who have none. If the tax collector, doing the right thing, lacks a coat or food, they must depend on the generosity of the people whom they are taxing. That’s some radical interdependence, isn’t it?

            What about the soldier? He has to be satisfied with the meagre pay he gets as a mercenary. So how is the solder supposed to make ends meet if his salary isn’t enough? He has to depend on the generosity of the people he is maintaining control over. I wonder, how might that impact how he does his job? I can imagine that if I as a soldier had to depend on others to provide my family food if I wasn’t getting paid enough by the empire that I would probably not be a mean soldier but cut the people some slack, ease their burden, try not to be oppressive to their movements and daily living. I would want the people to be happy to have me around instead of seeing me as the arm of the state with a boot on their necks. As it turns out, a sharing economy actually undermines the oppressive nature of the system which the empire designed. If these agents of the state only do what is required and rely on the people for their daily sustenance, then they would naturally maintain a soft approach and ease the burdens on the people as much as possible. And that is good news indeed.

            It would be depressing and demoralizing to hold the belief that in the end it doesn’t matter how you live. Life is just one thing after another and then you die. Lights out. As Kansas puts it, “All we are is dust in the wind.” As the preacher in Ecclesiastes put it, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” It is depressing to think that your life will make no lasting impact. You won’t be remembered. Most of us don’t know the names of our great-great grandparents. Why would you or I be different? More than likely all of us gathered here will one day be forgotten. It will be as if we never existed. Ugh.

            But that’s not what John believes. The prophet casts for us a vision. It is a vision of the messiah with a winnowing fork in his hand. All the grain has been harvested. And the messiah is throwing the grain up into the air with his winnowing fork so that the lighter chaff will drift away in the breeze. Then all the chaff-free wheat will be gathered up and stored in his granary. All the chaff left behind will be swept up and thrown into the fire. What does this mean? Maybe it is a vision of the last judgment. Those who have repented and bore the fruits of repentance are the grain that will be gathered together. But those who have not repented will be thrown into the fire to burn forever. Or maybe it is a vision of sifting, and all that is not who we truly are will drift away as chaff so that, having been purified, we will be gathered into the Lord’s granary. Maybe it means something else. But the important point here is that for John how we live now does matter. It certainly matters to God. We will not be forgotten. Certainly not by God. We will for eternity be in God’s memory. That alone is a comfort. This vision that John offers up is a vision of hope. It is a vision that says to us that how we live now has everlasting consequences. It matters not if our names are inscribed in the annals of history or that people thousands of years from now will be speaking our names. When the Lord comes, we will be gathered in, having borne the fruit of repentance. And that will be a day of rejoicing. John’s vision of future judgment is good news.

            But it’s more than just what happens to you after you die. How we live now really does make a difference, for good or ill. To live our daily lives as John directs, by being satisfied with what you have and sharing with those who lack, this is a fruitful way of life. It is a life that is infused with joy and gratitude.

            Maybe you have heard of this wealthy business man who goes by the pseudonym “Secret Santa.” Right around this time of year he comes up with ways to secretly distribute thousands of dollars. This year, he recruited a black, middle aged, homeless man to be the one to distribute $100 bills. The man stood on the street with his sign and his cup asking for donations. And as is typical for those who beg on the streets, most people walked right on by without even noticing him. But sometimes people would drop some money in his cup. And when they did, he would say to that person, “Hey, hold on a minute. I have something for you.” And he would hand that person a $100 bill and express appreciation for their generosity and invoke God’s blessing on them. This exchange usually ended with a hug, and even a few shedding of tears.

            One man dropped some coins in the homeless man’s cup and then received his $100. He is a father of seven. And he was financially burdened himself, worrying about how to provide presents for all his children. That $100 made a big difference. The homeless man gave 5 $100 bills to a homeless mother of three and told her how much he honored her dedication to her kids, to do everything she knew to do to care for them during this difficult time in her life. The secret Santa, of course, paid the homeless man $500 for helping him share his wealth. He claimed that money as an opportunity to start fresh. In those moments of sharing, strangers were gathered into an embrace, and anxiety and burdens, like chaff, drifted away. Tears of joy flowed. This homeless man, and the secret Santa who made it possible, will not be forgotten any time soon by those who were touched, whose lives were impacted for good.

            As we move closer to Christmas, as 2018 nears its end and we turn the page into 2019, now is a good time to reflect on how we are living our lives. What fruit are we bearing? Now is a good time to listen to John’s call to repent where needed, to bear fruit of repentance, and to be assured that when the Lord returns you will be gathered in with all who have lived a good life. In these darkening days, what can you and I do to sing and rejoice with all our hearts? How can we spread joy to others? Now is our time to share some good news.

We Have Time

Based on Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 3:1-6

First delivered Dec. 9, 2018

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Whatever you thought of his presidency or his policies, and they are definitely a mixed bag, the multi-day celebration of the life of George H. W. Bush was a spectacle. The state funeral at the national cathedral, with all the military honors and the 21 gun salute; the second funeral at Houston with 1,000 guests; the funeral train that slowly made its way from Houston to College Station so that regular folks could line up along the tracks to pay their respects; the 21 plane missing man formation flyover provided by the navy pilots in their fighter jets; it was quite a send-off for this man.

            Consider the meticulous planning and preparations that had to happen to pull all this off in what seemed to us who were watching, to go without a hitch. There was the logistics of getting the Bush family and their entourage from Houston, to Washington, back to Houston and then to College Station. The church choirs and the military choirs had to rehearse the music so they would be ready to sing when the time came. The soaring and moving eulogies to be offered by those whom George Bush wanted to speak at his funerals had to be crafted and honed. All the movements had to be choreographed to the tiniest detail: where people would sit, where they would stand, how they would move from one place to another. The cars, the plane, the train, had to be all polished and sparkling. I have never seen a train so clean in my life. All those programs had to be printed. It goes on and on. Without a doubt, what we saw was the fruits of years of planning and preparation.

            Of course, they had time to prepare. George Bush had not been the best of health for a number of years and was blessed to live to the age of 94. Everyone knew this time would come so there was an opportunity to meticulously plan everything to the slightest detail. Everything had to be ready so that when the time came, no one knew when that would be, then everyone would be ready, everything would be prepared. It was pointed out that the Oak Ridge Boys, who sang at the funeral in Houston, are touring right now. So the members of the group were travelling with their funeral clothes just in case they would be called at the last minute to make their way to Houston. The church must have had the bulletins with the order of worship all ready to go and ready for printing. They just needed to add the date and time of the service. The day before George Bush’s body took the train ride to College Station, Union Pacific installed the Plexiglas windows in the retrofitted baggage car so that folks could see the coffin as the train moved through their little town. Everything was ready. All the obstacles had been removed, everything was straightened out, so that the people of this nation could have the opportunity to get close to the president and pay their final respects. But not only that, the obstacles were removed so that the Bush family could tell a story about George H. W. Bush, a president and a patriot, not a perfect man, but a gentle man, a public servant, humble, dutiful, loyal, and loving. All that planning made it possible for their story to be told as they wanted it, to shape how they wanted George Bush to be remembered.

             I couldn’t stop thinking about these past few days while reflecting on the scriptures we have before us this morning, texts that focus on the necessity of preparation. In both texts, there is expressed an expectation of the coming of the Lord, the day of salvation. Now is the time to prepare for that arrival. This is not just any VIP. This is the Lord, almighty God. It is unquestioned that before the Lord arrives preparations have to be made. Don’t know when the Lord will come. But the Lord is coming. So we have to get ready.

            Both of these texts talk about sending in the advance team of one. For Malachi it is an unnamed messenger and for Luke it is John the Baptist. For Malachi, when this messenger comes, he is bringing fire and fullers’ soap, which is a strong, lye based soap that makes linen exceptionally clean. This messenger is coming to take the priests of Levi and put them through the refiners fire and wash them clean with the fullers’ soap of purification so that these priests will no longer be crooked but get straight so that they can offer right sacrifices again, as in days of old, as in former years. Then, once the priesthood has their act together, and everything is made right, everything in the Temple is prepared, then the Lord will appear suddenly for judgment. Look what we find in Malachi 3:5; “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien (do you hear this?), and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” For the oppressed workers, widows, orphans, and immigrants of the day this is good news, the hopeful expectation that once the priests get it together, finish their preparations, and offer right sacrifices, that the Lord will come back and deliver justice.

            Then we have John the Baptist, out in the wilderness, receiving a word from the Lord. The word of God doesn’t come to the emperor Tiberius. It doesn’t come to Pontius Pilate the governor, or Herod, or Phillip or Lysanias the civic rulers. The word of God doesn’t come to Annas and Caiaphas the high priests. The word of God does not go to the places of power and influence. No, the word of God comes to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. His is the voice crying out in the wilderness that now is the time to prepare the way of the Lord, to make the paths straight, to fill up the valleys and lower the mountains and hills, to smooth over the rough places, to remove every barrier and obstacle so that all flesh can see the salvation of God. There is preparation to be made, a baptism of repentance to be received for the forgiveness of sins. Preparations must be made so that all is ready when the Lord returns, the God of our salvation. Next week we are going to get more into the details of what is involved in these preparations. But I will give you a hint. Just as Malachi makes it clear that the priesthood needs to get their act together, so John’s message says to all who hear the sound of his voice to bear fruits worthy of repentance. John doesn’t limit this to the priesthood. He doesn’t just call out the oppressors of his day, those who knowingly or unknowingly inflict injustice on the widow, the orphan, the immigrant and migrant in their midst, but John calls everyone to change their ways, to repent, to receive their forgiveness, and then live right so that when the Lord comes, he will be pleased with what he sees, a people who are prepared to stand in his glorious presence. We have work to do.

            What preparations need to be done before Christmas arrives? My wife is a master at planning and preparation. She started back in October buying presents for the whole family, including our nieces and nephews. I just have to worry about getting stuff for her. I get off easy. We already have our presents wrapped. If you don’t have your Christmas decorations up by now you better get moving. Can’t promise you warm weather any more if you have outdoor decorations to put up yet. Maybe you have already had some holiday parties but have one or two more to get ready for. Those Christmas cards need stuffed in envelopes, stamped and taken to the post office. There are still rehearsals ahead for those of us who will be participating in holiday concerts. Maybe you have to prepare to head out to visit family in the next few weeks. Have you planned your Christmas dinner yet? So much planning and preparation we find ourselves in during this season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting for the coming of our Lord and Savior as an infant lying in a manger.

            But before we can get to sweet baby Jesus we have to go through John the Baptist. His voice still cries out in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord so that all flesh can see the salvation of God. What preparations need to be done so that all people can see the salvation of God? The messenger from Malachi says that there needs to be a refinement and purification. John says there needs to be repentance. I wonder what obstacles need to be removed, what crooked roads need straightened, what rough places need smoothed so that people will be able to see the salvation of God. What are we doing or not doing that prevents people from seeing Jesus? Are you and I prepared for the coming of the Lord? I don’t know about you but when I consider my life, I know there is need for refinement and purification. I need some refiners’ fire and some fullers’ soap. There are some things of which I need to repent. I need to recognize the ways in which my lifestyle is carried on the backs of oppressed workers, widows, orphans, and migrants. And I don’t believe I am alone in this. As we prepare for our annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, let us also hear the voice of John crying out in today’s wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Let us hear that cry as a clarion call for action, knowing that now is the time, knowing that we have time, to repent, to change our ways of living, to straighten ourselves out, to smooth our rough edges, to receive forgiveness, and bear the fruits of repentance. We have time. So let’s make the most of it.

Waiting Through the Crisis

Based on Luke 21:25-36

Edited version first delivered Dec. 2, 2012

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            Waiting…that’s what Advent means. We are in a time of waiting. We are, of course, waiting for Christmas to get here. But there are other things we are waiting for. We may be waiting for this year to be over, or waiting for school to be over. Maybe waiting to feel better, or waiting for that check to arrive in the mail. Maybe waiting for an answer, or some sign that will show us what to do next. Maybe waiting for the phone to ring.

            The scripture reading this morning has something to do with waiting; waiting for Jesus to come back. We read of all these terrible signs, chaos and confusion, the heavens being shaken, the nations in an uproar. It’s a description of some global disruption of epic proportions. And Jesus says that when all these things happen, we are to lift up our heads and get excited because that’s the sign that the Son of Man is coming to redeem us. And Jesus says that this generation won’t pass away until all these things take place. That’s where the waiting comes in. Two thousand years have gone by and we are still waiting for all these things to take place. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” We’re still waiting for the heavens and earth to pass away.

            But let me take it to a more personal level. Maybe what you are seeing are not signs of the world coming to the end, but maybe it is signs of your world coming to an end. You look around you and what you see isn’t pretty. The doctor comes back with the report: you have stage three liver cancer. Grandpa was out early in the morning, driving over to Jolly Roger like he always does for coffee and donuts. Out of nowhere, a speeding car crashes into him and he dies a few hours later at the hospital. You began to have your doubts, but slowly it becomes obvious that your son has become a drug addict. And he has been stealing from you to support his habit. In so many different ways, our worlds can get rocked. Life as it was will no longer continue. It has passed away. What then? What might you be waiting for in times like this?

            One option is dissipation and drunkenness. When the crisis hits and your world has come crashing down all around you, some people choose the option of self-medication. Using whatever drug of choice, the goal is to numb the pain, to experience a feeling of bliss, to push away all the struggles and hurts that life has dealt. There is a logic in choosing this option. Pain is nature’s way of alerting us that something is amiss and needs to be dealt with. Pain is like an alarm. We need to find out what is going on that is setting off the pain alarm. But sometimes, we would rather hit the snooze button. We would rather just turn the pain alarm off instead of deal with whatever set it off. Just don’t want to deal with the pain. People choose to numb the pain. But the source of the pain doesn’t go away. If you hit the snooze button, the alarm will eventually go off again. Will you choose to hit the snooze button again or turn the alarm off by getting to the root issue, in this case, getting out of bed and on with your day? When dealing with the pain alarm, there is the option to hit the snooze button with drugs or alcohol. Or, as Jesus put it in Luke 21:34, “dissipation and drunkenness.”

            Another option is to fret and be anxious about your situation. This is the option of lying awake all night playing through your mind every conceivable negative outcome. You spin out one disaster after another. Say for instance you think your performance review at your job is going to be horrible. As you lie in bed fretting about it, you imagine the boss saying, “I can’t cut it.” Then I’m going to get fired. And I won’t be able to find another job in my field. And I’m too old to go back to school and launch a new career. And no one will want to hire me because I’m overqualified. We’re going to lose the house. My wife will leave me. I’m going to end up living on the streets because my car will be repossessed. My brother and dad will write me off as a failure. My life will end up a total waste. From “my performance review is going to be terrible” to “my life is a total waste.” That’s quite a stretch! But that’s an option when you see signs of your world falling apart. You can fret, stew, talk yourself into paralysis. When a crisis hits and our lives spin out of control, it can be scary. Everything we used to take for granted, where we had a sense of security, can get rattled. And when that happens, fear raises up its ugly head. And fear can easily cause us to stop dead in our tracks. We get confused, unsure, anxious. We don’t know for sure what to do next. And then the simplest of tasks becomes a monumental struggle. We can become trapped in our fantasies of gloom and doom.

            There is a third option, the one that Jesus suggests when the world, or our world, starts to fall apart. We can stay alert and pray. We can pay attention to what is happening and look for those who can help us. We can look for signs that God is still with us, even as we wait expectantly for God to see us through the time of crisis. We can simply ask ourselves, “What do I need to do right now? What is the next faithful step I can take?” A counselor reminded me once that when you get your car stuck in the mud, you can either go backward or forward but to get unstuck you have to keep moving. When you find yourself stuck in a crisis, keep moving. Stay engaged with life. You may be surprised what you discover when you pay attention to life in times of crisis. Someone who was experiencing a deep crisis discovered that he had a lot of friends who were there for him, to help him take care of his life when he didn’t have the strength or desire to take care of himself. He used to think, “Life is great, it’s people that annoy me.” Now it’s reversed. For him, people are great, it’s life that’s annoying sometimes. That’s the benefit of staying alert and engaged with life during times of upheaval, instead of numbing your senses with drugs or freezing yourself in fear of what might happen. God not only gets us through the crisis but also gives us wisdom.

            When we see signs of our world falling apart, Jesus calls us to pray. Whether those prayers are written in a prayer book, or your own conversation with God, or sighs and groans, just keep praying through those world-shattering times. I have found that in times where life was chaotic and topsy-turvy, that I could find a measure of order and stability by sticking to a set time of prayer. Whatever time of the day you choose, pick a time, and go to a specific spot in your house. Maybe you have a chair in the corner of the family room, or maybe it’s looking out the kitchen window. Have a book of prayers in hand, or read some scripture, or simply sit still and share your thoughts with God. Be still and know God’s presence. Feel the tension of the chaos, experience all your feelings, in those moments of prayer with God. Sticking to daily prayer can do wonders in creating moments of calm during times of chaos and confusion.

            Our tradition teaches us that one day the heavens and the earth will pass away. We also know that one day every one of us in this space will pass away. And as long as we are alive on this earth, we will face struggles and our share of catastrophe, when it seems our whole world is coming to an end. When these times come, Jesus would tell us to lift up our heads and be assured that the Lord is coming to redeem, to save, to carry us through the chaos and set us down in a better place. That is our hope, our expectant hope, as we wait for our salvation. When it seems the world is coming to an end, don’t get drunk, don’t be overcome with worry and anxiety. Instead, stay alert, pray, look for signs of God, pay attention to what life is trying to teach you, and keep moving. For God is with us, even as we wait for the second coming of Christ. And in God, whether we live or die, our life in God will never end.