How Will You Live?

Based on Luke 21:25-36

Christmas is coming! What an exciting, busy time this is. Some of the best music we sing is right now. All the decorations and parties, the anticipation of being with friends and family, giving just the right gift and receiving some surprising ones, Christmas carols, snow, there’s so much to like about the coming of Christmas. This is a time of great anticipation and preparation. It’s almost as if the holiday season just picks us up and takes us on a ride.

Christ is coming! This truth is a bit more uncomfortable for many. Some can’t wait for Christ to return. For many others, the bearer of this message is like the man walking the streets with the sign that says “The end is near!” To talk of Jesus coming back is a lot harder to get our minds around than the annual celebration of his first coming into the world as a baby born in Bethlehem. The church has been on tip-toe in anticipation for about 2,000 years waiting for his return. It’s hard to keep the anticipation level up with that kind of wait.

Besides, when the Bible speaks of the end times, it describes times that are very troubling before Jesus comes back. I remember being profoundly disturbed when I was younger and the topic of the rapture would come up, when all of a sudden people just disappear and the rest are left behind. I remember seeing bumper stickers that said “Warning: this vehicle will be unmanned in case of rapture.” In my young faith I would anxiously wonder, which will I be? The moment of truth: will I be left behind? The descriptions of a final battle between good and evil, the sun going dark like a lunar eclipse or the moon turning to blood like a solar eclipse, the world being burned up by fire, plague and war, it’s not a happy picture. It’s certainly not something to anticipate, right? It gets really bad before Jesus comes back, and when he does, everything is turned upside down and the End arrives. One day, the sun won’t come up and there won’t be a tomorrow. What then?

It was a normal spring day. People were going to work or school or heading out on their morning errands. At the water resources board, a couple who desired to tap water on their land and bottle it for sale were meeting with others who were concerned about the impact that might have. The person assigned by the board to be the arbitrator of the hearing introduced herself, shared the agenda and the process to work through the issue, and without warning, BOOM, a bomb blast from across the street shatters glass and knocks them out of their seats. A few seconds of collecting themselves and the people who were concerned about selling water are now concerned about their own safety. They exit out of the building and look at the Alfred P. Murrah building across from them. Half of the nine story building is gone. People are strewn about wounded and in shock. Emergency workers are pulling in from everywhere. The beautiful spring sun is occluded by thick, black, and grey smoke. Confusion, disbelief, and fear permeate the air. An average day in April turns into a horrific catastrophe where 168 people, including 19 children, were dead and over 850 injured, many of them permanently disabled.

As the dust settled, and the rain came to help wash away this terrible mess of destruction, love and support came from all over the nation and world to Oklahoma City. The stories of the heroes and survivors and victims were told. Countless numbers of people stuck between the links of hastily thrown up fencing all kinds of mementos and expressions of solidarity. Funerals were planned, of which 20% of the area population went to at least one. A huge memorial service, with prayer offered by Billy Graham, was a powerful testament to faith in the midst of broken hopes and dreams, and the power of unity and love against the forces of hate and division. A national memorial was constructed. The survivor’s tree, a huge elm located right next to the building yet somehow withstood the force of the blast, even though being embedded with concrete, steel and glass, expressed for many the deep roots of faith.

Life returned to normal. The regular day-to-day stuff of life worked its way on all who went through that experience. Back again were the days of average existence, the petty bickering, the soap operas of dysfunctional relationships, the everyday anxieties of life. And then it happened again that fall morning in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania six years later, when the act of terrorism in Oklahoma City seemed like a warmup to the main event. And the vicious cycle of catastrophe, rebuilding, and normalcy spins again. In the back of our minds, we wait with anxiety and discomfort for the next catastrophe to hit, those shocking events that eclipse the relatively minor disturbing events like we saw in Waukesha, Wisconsin a few days ago. Some of us wonder, are these shocking events signs of the End? Is Christ coming soon?

But there is a difference between catastrophe and The End. When the cowboy rides off into the sunset and the music comes up and the script comes across the screen The End, that’s true. The movie is over. Whereas the Greeks and Romans in Jesus’ day conceptualized time as an unending cycle of seasons, Jesus held the Hebrew understanding of time as a line that has a beginning point and an end point. There is a time when there won’t be another tomorrow. As Jesus put it, heaven and earth will pass away. But whether it is The End with capital letters or the end of your life, for every one of us the time will come when we won’t see another sunrise. What then?

I want to share a story told by William Willimon. “When I was serving a little church in rural Georgia, one of my members’ relatives died, and my wife and I went to the funeral as a show of support for the family. It was held in a small, hot, crowded, independent Baptist country church. They wheeled in the coffin and the preacher began to preach. He shouted, fumed, flailed his arms. ‘It’s too late for Joe,’ he screamed. ‘He might have wanted to do this or that in life, but it’s too late for him now. He’s dead. It’s all over for him. He might have wanted to straighten his life out, but he can’t now. It’s over.’ What a comfort this must be to the family, I thought. ‘But it ain’t too late for you! People drop dead every day. So why wait? Now is the day for decision. Now is the time to make your life count for something. Give your life to Jesus!’ It was the worst thing I had ever heard. ‘Can you imagine a preacher doing that kind of thing to a grieving family?’ I asked my wife on the way home. ‘I’ve never heard anything so manipulative, cheap and inappropriate. I would never preach a sermon like that.’ She agreed with me that it was tacky, manipulative, callous. ‘Of course,’ she added, ‘the worst part of all is that it was true.’”

When we consider the end, either the end of our own life or the end of everything when Christ comes back, there is a call to decision. And the decision you and I make in the face of the end makes all the difference. The decision will lead to fear or anticipation. Living with fear or living with anticipation, that is what is at stake. How will you live?

In the 1330s the Bubonic Plague broke out in China. In October 1347, Italian merchants brought the plague to Europe. In five years, one third of the population of Europe, 25 million people, died of the Black Death. An Italian writer of the times, Boccachio, wrote that its victims often “ate lunch with their friends and ate dinner with their ancestors in paradise.” Cyprian, a priest who had the challenge to guide people through an apocalyptic moment in history, where death was everywhere, noted that the plague killed Christians and pagans. But there was a difference in how these two groups faced this time of catastrophic disruption. While many fainted from fear and foreboding of what was coming upon the world, the Christians were able to stand up and raise their heads, because their redemption was drawing near. In the midst of unimaginable misery, Cyprian wrote: “We regard paradise as our country – we already begin to consider the patriarchs as our parents: why do we not hasten and run, that we may behold our country, that we may greet our parents? There a great number of our dear ones is awaiting us, and a dense crowd of parents, brothers, children, is longing for us, already assured of their own safety, and still solicitous for our salvation. To attain to their presence and their embrace, what a gladness both for them and for us in common! What a pleasure is there in the heavenly kingdom, without fear of death; and how lofty and perpetual a happiness with eternity of living! To these…let us hasten with an eager desire; let us crave quickly to be with them, and quickly to come to Christ.” How will you live?

Os Guiness tells the story about what happened early in American history when the Connecticut House of Representatives was in session on a bright day in May, and the delegates were able to do their work by natural light. But then something happened that nobody expected. Right in the middle of the debate, there was a total eclipse of the sun, and everything turned to darkness. Some legislators thought it was the second coming of Christ. A clamor arose. People wanted to adjourn. People wanted to pray. People wanted to prepare for the coming of the Lord. But the speaker of the house had a different idea. He was a Christian believer, and he rose to the occasion with good logic and good faith. “We are all upset by the darkness,” he said, “and some of us are afraid. But the Day of the Lord is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. And if the Lord is returning, I, for one, choose to be found doing my duty. I therefore ask that candles be brought.” And men who expected Jesus went back to their desks and resumed their debate. How will you live?

Christ is coming! Are you preparing? Are you anxious or anticipating? Fred Craddock observed, “today is a gift of God…tomorrow we stand in the presence of the Son of Man.” One day, the sun will come up one last time, and Christ will return. Until then, how will you live?

Ultimate Loyalty

Based on John 18:33-37

One of the interesting things about belonging to a church tradition that stretches back many centuries is that we have special days in our tradition that does not immediately connect with our lived experience. This is one of those days. This Sunday is the last one in the Christian year. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. On this last Sunday of the year, it is called Christ the King Sunday. The year ends with a day to acknowledge and celebrate that Jesus is the king, indeed the king of kings and lord of lords.

We call on Jesus by many names: savior, comforter, friend. We also call him lord and king. But what does it mean to call Jesus lord and king? For those who live in a kingdom ruled by a king, calling Jesus lord and king are terms people can relate to. But we live in a country that is not a kingdom. In fact, America specifically rejected royal rule. Our ancestors fought a war of independence to escape the monarchy. We live in a constitutional republic in which people govern by the consent of the governed. Rulership is not granted through bloodlines and divine right, but through elections. We don’t know what it’s like to live under the rule of a monarch. So, when we identify Jesus as lord and king, this requires of us the need to do some work on what that means since we don’t know what it is like to live in a monarchy. We are going to spend a few moments today to do this work, to reflect on what it means to claim Jesus as our king.

Kingship is the topic of the scripture we heard today. Pilate is trying to figure out who Jesus is and why the religious leaders want him dead. He isn’t getting anywhere with them, so he asks Jesus directly, “Are you a king or not?” Jesus gives an ambiguous answer, saying “You say I am a king.” Then he says his kingdom is not of this world. If is was, he would have his loyal subjects rising up to defend him. That’s obviously not happening. His loyal subjects, that is, his disciples, have abandoned him. So, he is a king but not of this world. I can imagine Pilate doesn’t quite know what to make of this, probably wondering to himself if he is talking to someone who is delusional. But if Jesus is just delusional, why are the religious leaders hell bent on having him crucified? For Pilate, Jesus must have been an enigma.

This talk of Jesus being a king didn’t start here at the end of Jesus’ public ministry. We can go back to the beginning and see that Jesus was identified as a king then. The wise men, who saw in the stars that the king of the Jews had been born, go to Herod to find out where the new king was born. Of course, Herod misunderstands right away about the nature of this kingship. He naturally thinks that a rival to his power has been born who will rise up and take his throne and rule over the land in his place. So, he plots to kill all the boys in the land to make sure this newborn king is exterminated. But his kingdom is not of this world. It is a different kind of kingdom. Jesus is not a king like the king of England or the emperor of the Roman Empire. The kingship of Jesus is different. How is it different?

First, let’s compare how kings are portrayed and how Jesus was in the world. Kings are portrayed as powerful and regal. They reside in palaces. They have a court. They control armies. Jesus does not look or act like a king, certainly the kind of king that the people in Jesus’ day associated with kingship. Jesus does come from a royal lineage. His bloodline traces back to King David. But Jesus has no wealth. He controls no land. He does not live in a palace. He has no royal court or army. Instead, Jesus is a traveling teacher and healer with a group of disciples. We are told that he grew up as a carpenter’s son. There is nothing about Jesus that would immediately make someone associate him as a king.

Except that Jesus acts like how a king should act. Jesus is doing things with authority and wisdom. He orders demons to depart. He uses his authority to forgive sins. He teaches with wisdom and authority. He commands the seas to be calm and the winds to stop blowing. He commands a person dead four days to get up and walk out of the tomb. There is no doubt for those who can get past Jesus’ appearance, background, and material circumstances that Jesus has authority. If the function of a king is to protect and provide for his subjects and to instruct with wisdom, then Jesus fits the bill. By his actions and the demonstration of his authority Jesus is a king. But where is his crown? Where is his palace? His army? His fancy robes and piles of gold? What kind of king is this?

It requires eyes of faith and the capacity to see beyond outer appearance to believe that Jesus really is a king. The religious leaders couldn’t get past their preconceived notions about what a king is supposed to look like, failing to see that Jesus really is a king. In spite of all this evidence that Jesus has authority, they just could not get their minds around the possibility that he actually was a king. They were trapped in their limited thinking. They couldn’t see it. But for those who could see it, the wise men, the disciples, it was clear to them that Jesus is a king, the king, the king of kings. And although they had their doubts, especially when they saw who they believed to be the king be abused by the authorities and then crucified, their doubts evaporated when they saw the resurrected Jesus, the one who even conquered death.

We believe that Jesus will return in glory someday. This is, by the way, one of the central themes of Advent which begins next Sunday. And when Jesus returns, it will be obvious that he is a king. He will come wearing a white robe with a host of angels, as our tradition tells us. We claim that one day every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth, and every mouth will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

But what does it matter? If we lived in a kingdom under the rule of a king and made the claim that Jesus is our lord and king, that could create a bit of tension. To whom do you give your loyalty? If Christians live in a kingdom under the rule of a king who does not claim his authority as granted to him by God, then that could lead to the need to make a hard choice. But we don’t live under the rule of a king. Does it matter that we claim Jesus as our king and lord even though we live in a constitutional republic? What does it even mean for us to claim Jesus as lord when in our society we don’t live under the rule of lords?

Even though we don’t have to make a choice between being loyal to a particular king and king Jesus, making the claim that Jesus is our lord and king does raise the issue of loyalty. Some may find it ironic, but there it is, printed on our money, “In God we trust.” That reminds me of a sign I saw by a register at a convenience store many years ago that said “In God we trust, all others pay cash.” Do we trust God, or do we trust money? In our pledge of allegiance, we have that phrase “under God” added in the 1950s when we were engaged in the cold war against godless communism. One nation under God. That line in our pledge of allegiance taps into that issue of loyalty. We are loyal Americans. We pledge our allegiance to the flag of the United States of American and to the Republic for which it stands. And we claim that we are one nation under God. This suggests that God is above America in power and authority. So, where does our loyalty lie? It seems our pledge forces us to claim two loyalties, to the republic and to God who is above the republic. The phrase “under God” was added to show the Soviet Union that we as a nation believe in God. But saying that phrase also gives us an opportunity to acknowledge that our ultimate loyalty is to God. Because here is the truth. Nations rise and nations fall. America is a great nation. But even great nations fall. The kingdom of God is eternal, timeless, and unshakable. It will never fall. As Americans who claim Jesus as our king and lord, we are left making a choice of where we place our ultimate loyalty and trust. It doesn’t have to be a choice between loyalty to America or loyalty to God. But there is a choice between where we place our ultimate loyalty.

Every day, we can choose to be loyal to Jesus our king. We can choose to trust in Jesus as our protector and provider and serve him by following his command which is to live a life of love. That’s a good choice to make. We live in chaotic times. There is so much uncertainty about where everything is headed. The world is so different from what it was like just a few decades ago. The ties that bind our nation together are frayed and have been for some time. I for one take comfort in knowing that every day I have the opportunity to recommit myself to serve Jesus. There is so much going on in the world that is beyond our control. But we can control how we live our lives and who or what we are loyal to. We can choose to serve our lord and king Jesus and follow his command of love. It’s not easy. But it is in our power to choose.

This is why it matters to us that we claim Jesus as our king. As Americans, we will never really get what it means to call Jesus our king. But by making this claim, we are making a statement about first loyalties. We are loyal Americans, but we are first of all loyal to Jesus. In a world awash in change and instability, we claim our first loyalty to the eternal lord. It is in making this claim, that Jesus is Lord, and honoring that claim by faithful obedience to his command to love, that we find solid ground to stand on, that we can live a life that makes a difference, that makes it possible for this nation to be the best it can be. But most of all, it gives us the anticipation that one day we will stand before our lord and king and hear from him these words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Community That Lasts

Based on Mark 13:1-8

One of my favorite bends in the road is in northern Kentucky on I-71 northbound just before you get to the Ohio River. If you are driving at night, it is a bonus. As you go around the bend you suddenly find in front of you on the other side of the river the spectacle of downtown Cincinnati all lit up. Usually when you are driving toward big cities you see the skyscrapers from a distance. But with Cincinnati you are just driving along and then there it is in front of you. It always puts a smile on my face, and I am struck by the beauty of the skyline of those buildings.

I remember when I got to visit Great Britain. For someone who grew up near a city founded at the end of the 19th century in a state that was founded at the beginning of the 20th, everything over there was so old. We toured a church somewhere in England that had worship services held every Sunday in the sanctuary since 1058. Oak pews that were hundreds of years old. The indentations in the stone floor where generations of priests had stood behind the altar. It took my breath away and I marveled at all that had happened in that holy sanctuary.

Recently, Kim and I were walking on Gay Street over to the Palace and we walked past someone who had his phone held up like he was filming the tall buildings around us while talking to someone on the phone about them. His eyes were wide. For him, it was so cool to be walking in downtown Columbus that evening. We assumed he must be from the country or some small town and that this was his first time in the big city. Kim and I giggled about it. But I remember walking around with my head looking up the first time I visited Chicago or New York City. Being at the top of the Sears tower and watching clouds float by below us was amazing. Standing next to one of the World Trade Center towers, looking up, and not being able to see the top of the building because it went up so high was dizzying. These are impressive structures, skyscrapers. City skylines at night are beautiful. Being inside buildings that have been used for 1,000 years is memorable.

Jesus’ disciples were doing the same thing as they walked around the Temple with Jesus. It was an impressive structure. The walls were constructed of large and thick white stone blocks. The east side of the Temple was plated with gold. Being built on the top of a hill, people could see the Temple from miles away. And when the sun rose, and the light was reflected by that gold plate the brightness would make you have to avert your eyes. It was an impressive structure, and rightly so because in the holy of holies it was understood that God was present. Some believed the Temple to be the literal center of the universe. The building was built to impress. And the disciples were duly impressed.

But Jesus didn’t seem impressed as they walked away toward the Mount of Olives. Jesus said to his disciples, “You are impressed with that building? One day every one of those stones will be pulled to the ground and that building won’t be there anymore.” Oh, to have been there in that moment to see the expression on the faces of the disciples. To say that the Temple, that impressive edifice, the place where God lives, would one day be torn down must have been very concerning to those disciples. So much so that later some of them meet privately with Jesus so he can tell them what to look for before the end of the world because only in the end times would the Temple be destroyed.

We do get attached to our buildings. We all remember the horror of watching the collapse of the twin towers, not only over the loss of so many lives but the shock of seeing those buildings come down in billows of dust. The thought of the White House or the U.S. Capitol building having potentially met the same fate that September morning is disturbing. We expend resources and do the best we can to maintain the church building we are currently in even though it is a burden and takes a good bit of our resources. We do it because we feel we need a church building to function as a church. We need somewhere to gather, a sanctuary space that is beautiful, that helps us worship. So many holy moments have happened inside these walls. These structures are important to us.

Jesus challenges us to instead focus on building and maintaining community instead of building and maintaining structures. Jesus didn’t seem to be too concerned about maintaining property. There was that person who once asked to follow Jesus and Jesus responded that foxes have holes and birds have nests but there is nowhere for the son of man to lay his head. In other words, to follow Jesus meant to be always on the move and staying wherever someone would let you. Jesus never said no to a dinner invitation, probably because he didn’t have anywhere else to go to get something to eat. The main point I’m trying to make though is that Jesus was focused on two things: sharing his message and building a community of disciples who would continue to share his message after he was gone. Jesus was building a community of relationships, not a community of structures. And when he blew off the impressive structure of the Temple by telling the disciples that it would be destroyed someday, he was letting them know that their energy and focus ought to be directed at building something that won’t be destroyed and that would be a community of relationships.

As I said, when Jesus told the disciples that the temple would be destroyed, that prompted in them some curiosity about when the end of the world would come because that’s what the destruction of the temple would be like…the end of the world. They wanted to know what else to look for that would serve as an advanced warning so they could get themselves mentally prepared for what would be happening next. Everyone wants advanced warnings, from what the weather will be like in a few days to when will be the destruction of the planet, so that we can prepare.

Instead of talking about signs, Jesus first talks about false leaders who will lead many astray. These false leaders make claims about themselves that are not true. But desperate people will follow charismatic leaders who make boastful claims about themselves and who seem to have a plan to ease their desperation. We see this happening all the time. When the disciples brought up the scary topic of the end of the world, Jesus’ first concern was to talk about false leaders.

Leaders gather followers and they build a community. It has become a truism. A leader without and followers is just someone going for a walk. Leaders need people and together they build a community of relationships. But what kind of community is it? What holds it together?

These false leaders make it about themselves. They claim that they are the saviors, that they can fix it, that they have the answers, the solutions to your problems. They claim that they can lead us in fighting back against our enemies who are trying to take something from us. These false leaders say that they will protect you and keep you safe from all the evil in the world.

One false leader in particular went by the name of Bar Kochba, which means in Hebrew “son of a star.” He led the Jewish revolt against the oppressive Roman empire that ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem, including the temple, around 70-72, about 40 years after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. More modern examples would be Jim Jones and David Koresh. There are many cults that have come and gone. There are always people who are willing to follow one of these cult leaders. But cults come and go. And in the case of the cults of Jim Jones and David Koresh the end is abrupt and deadly.

What so many of these leaders have in common is that they say they can read the signs of the times and know how the world will come to an end. They can answer the question that the disciples asked Jesus. You want to know the signs of the coming of the end of the world? These false leaders have answers for you. These are the leaders, the ones who can answer those questions and claim that they can lead us through to the other side of destruction, that Jesus warns his disciples not to follow.

In the end, all these false leaders distract from what should be the main focus. Rather than predicting the end of the world, fighting back against the enemies, protecting the community from the evil outside world, the focus should be loving God and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. That is the kind of community that Jesus was building. Not to focus on building impressive structures. Not to focus on who can answer our questions about the signs of the times and who will keep us safe from the evils of the world. The focus should always be on loving God and loving neighbor.

After warning the disciples about not following the false leaders who make it about themselves and focus on the wrong question, who focus on interpreting the signs of the end times rather than focusing on loving God and neighbor, Jesus speaks about these signs of the end times by describing what is common to the human experience since the dawn of humanity: war, earthquakes, and famines. How are these signs of the end times? People have always fought each other. Earthquakes happen naturally. Famines, either as a result of natural causes or as a tool of war, is nothing new. Why does Jesus point to these common sources of human suffering as signs of the end?

Jesus says that these common forms of suffering are but the beginning of the birth pangs. That is so evocative that Jesus brings in the experience of childbirth with this talk about when the end will come. Childbirth is a natural process. There are visible signs that a woman is pregnant. Although, I have learned the hard way never to assume that a woman is pregnant. You witness the signs. And when the time comes for delivery, there is a great deal of pain. But the pain is tempered with the anticipation of new life. And it is a natural process that unfolds. It is not to be resisted or controlled. Birth just happens.

When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end, Jesus’ response was to tell them that there is not anything really to know or to resist or manipulate. The end will come. The new life that God is making possible will happen. What the disciples need to do is trust the process and instead focus on loving God and loving neighbor.

This is the community that we build as followers of Jesus: a community that loves God and loves one another. By building and maintaining this community, we can trust that we can endure war, earthquakes, and famines. We are building a resilient community. This community of Jesus followers will endure long after the communities of false leaders fade. As we live together focused on loving God and loving neighbor, we trust that the process God has initiated a long time ago will unfold and that in due time there will emerge new life, even a new world.

Every Moment Matters

Based on Mark 12:38-44        

        All Saints Day, which is November 1st, has been a tradition in the church for many generations. Its purpose was to be a kind of “catch all” day to recognize the heroes and heroines of the Christian faith. A lot of these heroes and heroines have their own day. For example, Saint Mark is on April 25th, Saint Mary Magdalene is July 22nd and Saint Luke is October 18th. But there have been so many saints over the years that there just aren’t enough days to include them all. So, the church set aside November 1st to recognize all the saints. It has been our tradition over the past many years to let this be the day that we remember our family and friends and members of our church who have died since last All Saints Day.

I want to tell you a story about one of my heroes of the Christian faith, Saint Francis. One day, someone saw St. Francis hoeing in his garden. This person asked St. Francis, “Father, if you knew that you would die today at sunset, what would you do?” St. Francis responded, “I would finish hoeing my garden.” Isn’t that a wonderful perspective on work and life? St. Francis was such at peace with God that he saw no need to do anything before meeting with God. He was ready to go, doing whatever he had put his hand to that day. Even the chore of hoeing the garden was an act of devotion to God.

Compare that story with the person who ran up to the preacher one Sunday following church, anxiously telling him, “That lady there says she saw a vision of Jesus at the altar! What should we do?” And the preacher responded, “Look busy.” Maybe this kind of response would be a more common one than the one St. Francis gave. If someone told you that Jesus was showing up any minute, that would likely stir up in us a feeling of anxiety and the need to be doing something impressive or important if we knew that Jesus was about to show up or that our life was about to end. We certainly would want to be on our best behavior.

I remember getting asked that question once when I was young. It was likely at some evangelistic meeting. The evangelist asked us kids, “If you knew Jesus was coming to your house tonight, what would you need to do to get ready?” My response was as if someone important was coming to my house. I would need to hurry home and clean up my room. I would want my mom to make the best meal she knew how to make. I would invite my friends over. I would get a haircut and get new clothes to wear. I would make sure to be on my best behavior. I may even come up with a short list of questions I always wanted to ask Jesus. I would do everything within my power to present a good impression, to show Jesus that I had it all together. Hoeing the garden would not be on the priority list. I wonder what that’s about? To think that someone could impress Jesus seems a bit vain.

Hear these words from Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.” Here is another passage about vanity. It comes from a whole book about vanity, the book of Ecclesiastes. From chapter 3 we find: “What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time…It is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him.” St. Francis saw no need to try to impress Jesus. He would keep on doing what he was doing: hoe his garden. Getting your house all clean and trying to impress Jesus with a good meal and a list of thoughtful questions…for what purpose? Really, when it comes to impressing God, that seems backward. God will always be more impressive. Why would we ever think that God would be in awe of us? Rather than trying to impress God, the prudent action is to stand in awe before God.

But those teachers of the law that Jesus saw parading about the village wanted people to stand in awe before them! That was Jesus’ critique. They wore those fancy robes, demanded the best seats at dinner, offered long prayers, with the expectation that everyone else would be impressed with their holiness. They wanted to be seen as people who have it all together. Everyone else was beneath them. They were so entitled, as Jesus saw it, that they would devour widow’s houses. What does that mean? I take it to mean that they would demand of widows to give all they had to the temple, only to use that money to purchase for themselves those fancy robes. How pretentious and vain.

The truth is that none of us need to stress about impressing God with our holiness and having our lives together. Nor do we need to stress about impressing other people. Each one of us are precious to God. Each one of us is important to God, just as we are. And every moment of life we receive is a gift. Why waste it doing things to try to impress people or to impress God? As the writer of Ecclesiastes would say, using our limited time that way is vanity.

In all the days of life, I encourage us to take on the attitude that is expressed in Psalm 127, Ecclesiastes 3, and in this little story about St. Francis hoeing his garden. Let us be fully present each moment, doing what we are doing with diligence and gratitude. There is no need to dwell on the past or be anxious about the future. Simply live in the present moment, do what you are doing, and be thankful. Live for the moment. Understand that every moment is holy, is a gift, is an opportunity to express devotion to God through the task at hand. The past can’t be changed. The future is yet to arrive. All we have is the present and we have control over how we live in the present moment. Live for God in the present moment and be thankful.

There is a story I ran across regarding the making of parachutes in WW II. These parachutes were packed by hand in a tedious, painstaking, repetitive, boring process. The workers crouched over sewing machines and stitched for eight hours a day. The endless line of fabric was the same color. Then they folded, packed and stacked the parachutes. All that was left was for someone to pull the rip cord.

How did they stand it? They withstood the tediousness of the work because every morning before they began their work they gathered as a group. One of the managers reminded them that each parachute would save someone’s life. They were then asked to think, as they sewed and packed, how they would feel if the parachute was strapped to the back of their son, their father, their brother. These laborers worked sacrificially, unerringly, uncomplainingly, because someone connected what they were doing to a larger picture, to a larger mission that involved the saving of lives. Maybe even the lives of those they loved.

Every moment of your life and whatever you are doing, from household chores to doing “church work,” is all a part of a greater plan, of God’s plan for your life. There are no insignificant moments, even the tedious ones. Of course, it may seem that most of what we do in a day seems rather insignificant. But it’s all a matter of perspective. Think of the widow’s mite. It wasn’t much but it was all she had. And she offered it. Jesus acknowledged how much that insignificant amount was, declaring that it was not insignificant at all.

If you look at a brick wall, you see lots of individual bricks. Each brick looks about the same. If you were bored, you could stand there and start counting how many bricks make up the wall. That would get tedious pretty quick. If you stand back and look at the wall as a whole, the bricks all sort of blend in together. If you took out just one of those bricks, it would weaken the entire wall. Every brick is important. Every brick fits in its place. Every brick belongs. Every moment of your life is like one of those bricks. Lay your bricks, one at a time. And trust that as you lay your bricks, as you build your life, one moment at a time, just as everyone else is building their lives, that somehow God is involved. Trust that God, through our lived-out moments, is building a house, a world house, with many rooms, spacious enough for every life, for every saint, to inhabit for eternity.