“How long?”
Isaiah 64:1-4; Mark 13:24-37 (December 3, 2023)
Something happened in our family this week. A joyful thing, but a little scary too. Our son, Adam, and his wife had been expecting twins. We knew that. We didn’t think they were coming quite this soon. Maybe sometime in the new year, we were told.
Babies have a habit of arriving on their own schedule. They’re not that predictable. And we’re not in charge of things either. So if you get a due date, please take it with a grain of salt.
These twins arrived early, and they are quite small. It’s amazing to see their tiny, perfectly formed, features. The important thing is they are healthy. And we are very thankful for that! We hope and pray it will continue to be so.
Advent is about a coming, an arrival. But it’s not here yet. In this way, Advent is quite different from Christmas, which is full-blown joy and celebration: Christ is born. God is with us!
Advent is different. A time to look forward with anticipation. Not only to the coming of a child long ago, but also to the coming of Christ at the end of all things. Advent is about God’s coming to be with us. And the terrible long wait that is part of our Christian journey of faith.
✠
During these next few Sundays, we’ll be asking some questions that arise from our reading of scripture. And this morning’s question is “How long?”
How long must we wait for God to be with us? How long must we wait for the reign of God to be established? How long have you been waiting? How long are you willing to wait?
Last week, on Eternity Sunday, we said that God is with us everywhere, all the time. Whether we see it or not. And that is true! With the church through the ages we confess that Jesus is Lord. And that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
But here’s the thing. I know this in my life, and maybe you do too: We don’t always see the lordship of Christ. It doesn’t always feel as though God is with us. Advent begins with emptiness and longing. Where is God, we want to know.
This morning we read the words of Isaiah arising from a nation in exile. This prophet pleads with God: “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.”
Come down from your dwelling place on high. Come and heal our brokenness here on earth. Come and make all things new. In this season of Advent, that is our prayer: That God would open the heavens and come down.
✠
In our Gospel reading, we hear some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples. Mark chapter 13 begins with them admiring the stones of the Jerusalem temple. But Jesus says that earthly temple will come tumbling down.
And it did. In the year 66, around the same time that the Gospel of Mark was being written, the Roman Army laid siege to Jerusalem. They sacked the city and destroyed the temple, the house of God.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aelia_Capitolina_(15522086868).jpg" width="243" height="75" />Mark 13 is known as the “little apocalypse.” Like all apocalyptic writing it uses powerful symbolic language to describe a situation of crisis. When Jerusalem was destroyed, it must have seemed like the end of the world. Jesus speaks of cosmic upheaval. The stars in heaven falling, the powers that hold the universe shaken.
Where is God in the presence of such things? When does it end? When will God’s reign finally be established? “How long must we wait?” the church asks in every generation. “How long?”
✠
Waiting isn’t easy. A few days ago I was held up at a train crossing. It’s not unusual in our city. Don’t those trains seem to come through at the most inconvenient time?
I’d arranged with someone to meet them at a certain time and place. I was driving down Warman Road, coming toward the intersection at 33rd Street. Everything was going as it should. The light changed ahead of me. No problem. But then I saw it, coming around the corner, ever so slowly.
The red lights at the crossing began to flash. The barriers came down. My heart sunk.
Four big diesel engines rumbled across in front of me. This train was going to be a long one. Despondent, I turned off the key, folded my arms, and began to wait.
I wish I could say that I waited patiently. But I did not. I knew this train would make me late. And we are so driven by schedules and deadlines. “What a waste,” I fumed. “How long will it be?”
✠
When is the last time you had to wait? And what was it you were waiting for? And how did you wait? Patiently or impatiently? Angrily, anxiously, fearfully, calmly?
Waiting is part of our human lives. Waiting for a child to be born. Waiting for an appointment. Waiting to speak with a real live person, not just a recording on the other end of the line.
Waiting for test results. Waiting for treatment. Waiting for a parcel to arrive. Waiting for a visit, or a holiday. Or a day of release, a day of healing, a day of freedom.
Waiting for a promise to be kept. Waiting for prayer to be answered, all these years. Waiting for Jesus, for his presence, his peace, his comfort. His salvation.
✠
There’s a song by the band U2 that riffs on the words of Psalm 40. It’s from their album titled “War,” and it goes like this:
“I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He lifts me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay
“I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
“How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song?”[1]
They’d sometimes end their concerts this way: One-by-one, the band would leave the stage as the audience continued to sing the refrain “How long to sing this song?”[2]
✠
How long must we wait? I wish I could give you an answer.
In our reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus says the time is near. “When you see the branches of the fig tree become tender, and it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” I love that image of a tree on the cusp of bearing fruit. In a dark winter world, it speaks of God’s new life coming to be!
Apocalyptic literature may sound frightening. But it’s intended to have the opposite effect. Not to frighten but to encourage. To give us hope and strength. To say that Jesus is Lord. Even if he seems very far away.
When those stars are falling, then “you will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with power and glory.” The fig tree will blossom and bear fruit. The world will be put right.
But now, listen to this: “About that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So don’t bother with predictions. They’ll probably be wrong. Over the course of history, they mostly have been.
Some things are simply not ours to know. But take hope, nevertheless. Know that Christ is coming. Even in the darkest time he is near, very near. Near. But not yet. So we must wait.
✠
And how should we wait? Well, don’t fall asleep, says Jesus. Stay alert. Be on the watch. God is God of the unexpected.
Isaiah pleaded that God would “Come with fire. Make the mountains quake and the nations tremble,” as in days of old. But one starlit night, the Christ-child slipped into his earthly mother’s arms. And only a few lowly shepherds knew anything about it.
We think God acts in big, dramatic fashion. And that may be so. But God acts in small things too. Christmas is about things that almost went unnoticed. A tiny child was born. It will change the world.
✠
“How long must we wait?” I can’t answer that question for you. I can only encourage you to wait and see how God might show up unexpectedly in your life. For none of us know when the master of the house will come.
Jesus said the Son of Man is near, standing at the gate. We should note that He gave these words to the disciples just before he was crucified and the world, as they knew it, fell apart. In that great darkness, they must have been terrified.
How long? Three days? Three years? Three thousand years? Jesus tells us to watch and be alert, trusting that even in the darkest of our days something is happening! In a world of impatience and instant almost everything, we are called to watch and wait.
“How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song?”
And then, suddenly, it happens!
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
I invite you to take a few moments now and ponder these questions.
- Can you remember a time when God was with you while you waited?
- What are you waiting for now?
✠
[1] https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/36798/, Accessed Dec. 3, 2023.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40_(song)#Live_performances, Accessed Dec. 2, 2023.“How long?”
Isaiah 64:1-4; Mark 13:24-37 (December 3, 2023)
“A different kind of seeing”
Ephesians 1:15-23 (November 26, 2023)
I wonder how many of us wear glasses? I was in my mid-twenties when I got mine. And that day still resonates in my memory.
It was a bright, sunny day. I walked out of the optometrist’s office, and stepped gingerly onto the street. These new lenses would take some getting used to. I took a look at things around me. And I was blown away!
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was so much detail: The sharpness of the lines. The features of leaves on trees. It was overwhelming!
Then it dawned on me: These things had been there all along. Yet I had not been seeing them. I had grown accustomed to a fuzzy world.
Now I realized, there was so much more. A richly coloured, finely detailed, textured, extravagant, beautiful world! It came as a great revelation.
✠
There are many things we cannot see. (And not only because of impaired vision.) We cannot see into the lives of others, for example. The fear or pain or loneliness – or joy – they may be feeling. On this Eternity Sunday, we pause to acknowledge the mix of grief and gratitude that lives in many of us.
We look through powerful lenses to observe tiny, microscopic details. We build sophisticated telescopes to capture signals from outer space. We are constantly discovering things we had not known about our wondrous universe.
And there are other things, our scripture reading tells us, that require a different kind of seeing. Realities that can only be perceived through the lens of faith.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him …” Revelation! Like the kind I had when I got my new pair of glasses.
“So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive …” things you had not known. The wonders of God that may have been unclear.
Ephesians employs an unexpected turn of phrase when it talks about seeing with the “eyes of our heart.” We see the physical world with our eyes. Can we see spiritual things with our heart? “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” Not dark. But light, full of brightness.
✠
What are the common things we see around us? A world in crisis. Alienation, intolerance, violence. A world where war is raging in all its tragic darkness. Politics of protest and division. Economic disparity.
Here in our service this morning, we acknowledge death. But what are we missing? What else does God want us to see?
✠
The reason I had to get glasses all those years ago was that I was myopic. Which means I was near-sighted. I can see objects up close. But farther away is more difficult.
I’m wondering if our collective sight might also suffer from a kind of “spiritual myopia.” We see things in the world around us, and that’s fine. But when we look for the presence of God, our vision becomes blurry.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.”
How can we become more aware of God’s presence in our lives? How can we gaze beyond the horizon of our earthly existence, to see the glory of the heavenly universe, the realm of God, present in our midst?
God is with us! Everywhere, all the time. Even if we do not see it. God comes to us in Jesus. He comes as light to shine in darkness. He opens the eyes of those who are blind. He draws back the curtain that keeps God hidden.
The apostle Paul writes, “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT)
Jesus reveals the presence and character of God. He draws the curtain to show us what we had not seen. He shines the light, so we are not in darkness.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, so that “you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”
We may grieve the loss of our loved ones. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Christians have this hope that there is more to life than meets the eye. And that in the mystery and depth of God’s loving care, death is not the end, but a new beginning.
I remember a story someone shared with me, about their loved one who was near to death. They were sitting by her bedside, holding her hand, and speaking to her softly. All of a sudden, their mom sat up and looked toward the end of the bed. “I see Jesus,” she exclaimed.
There was nothing there, nothing to be seen with earthly eyes. But the eyes of the heart see differently.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that we might also see “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe.”
There are two Greek words that lie behind our English translation. Two superlative adjectives that speak of the “immeasurable greatness” of God’s power: Hyper and Mega! As in hyper power, mega power that goes beyond and is greater than anything we can humanly imagine.
“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” This is resurrection power that brings new life. And not only in the world to come.
A few years ago, Jan Richardson, an artist, author and United Methodist minister, lost her husband. She speaks of hope through dark days of despair:
“hope,” she writes, “that raises us
from the dead—
not someday
but this day,
every day,
again and
again and
again.[1]
Life in the midst death, strength to go on, living and loving, even in the darkness – that is a powerful thing!
✠
God raised Jesus from the dead, “and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” Can you see the glory of God?
God raised him “above all rule and authority and power and dominion.” Above everything! All that is, or ever will be.
We often see rulers, wielding the sword, manipulating peoples lives, exploiting them for their own selfish ends. We see spiritual powers that are wreaking havoc in our world: pride, envy, greed, and fear …
Forces that seem so powerful and beyond our control. Powers and dominions that have their death-dealing way. We feel helpless in their long, dark shadow. But will they have the final victory?
With the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we see Jesus seated at the right hand of his heavenly Father. Which is to say, a place of authority. And we confess our faith, together with the church throughout the ages, that he is Lord. Jesus, not Caesar. Not guns or money. Not selfish ambition or anything else that stands in the way of God’s coming reign. Christ is Lord! He alone.
✠
The day will come when God’s justice and peace will be established upon the earth. And every tear will be wiped from our eyes. And every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord.
Death does not have the final Say. Not today or any day. The living Christ is with us. He walks beside us. He comforts us. He loves us. He gives his life to us.
On those days when we are full of sorrow and tempted to despair, there is a light that shines. A spark of hope that keeps us going. Can you see it?
Someone has said that coming to church is like visiting the ophthalmologist. We come here to cure our spiritual myopia. We see through a different lens, the lens of faith. Here, in the presence of God, a whole new world comes into view.
A world where life is stronger than death, and right-relationship overcomes evil, and forgiveness heals the deep gashing wounds of our souls. And the love of God embraces us. So our world becomes a brighter place. Is that what you see?
✠
I pray that God may open the eyes of our hearts. “So that we may know the hope to which he has called us. … And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power.”
And that we might see Jesus, risen from the dead, seated at God’s right hand “above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.”
Christ. Above all things. Everywhere. All the time.
God is still at work in the world God loves, whether we see it or not. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is present and active in our midst. May it be so in you and me this day!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
✠
[1] Jan Richardson, https://paintedprayerbook.com/2014/11/19/so-that-you-may-know-the-hope/#.VGzLvN7vZUM, Accessed Nov. 21, 2023.“A different kind of seeing”
Ephesians 1:15-23 (November 26, 2023)
I wonder how many of us wear glasses? I was in my mid-twenties when I got mine. And that day still resonates in my memory.
It was a bright, sunny day. I walked out of the optometrist’s office, and stepped gingerly onto the street. These new lenses would take some getting used to. I took a look at things around me. And I was blown away!
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was so much detail: The sharpness of the lines. The features of leaves on trees. It was overwhelming!
Then it dawned on me: These things had been there all along. Yet I had not been seeing them. I had grown accustomed to a fuzzy world.
Now I realized, there was so much more. A richly coloured, finely detailed, textured, extravagant, beautiful world! It came as a great revelation.
✠
There are many things we cannot see. (And not only because of impaired vision.) We cannot see into the lives of others, for example. The fear or pain or loneliness – or joy – they may be feeling. On this Eternity Sunday, we pause to acknowledge the mix of grief and gratitude that lives in many of us.
We look through powerful lenses to observe tiny, microscopic details. We build sophisticated telescopes to capture signals from outer space. We are constantly discovering things we had not known about our wondrous universe.
And there are other things, our scripture reading tells us, that require a different kind of seeing. Realities that can only be perceived through the lens of faith.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him …” Revelation! Like the kind I had when I got my new pair of glasses.
“So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive …” things you had not known. The wonders of God that may have been unclear.
Ephesians employs an unexpected turn of phrase when it talks about seeing with the “eyes of our heart.” We see the physical world with our eyes. Can we see spiritual things with our heart? “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” Not dark. But light, full of brightness.
✠
What are the common things we see around us? A world in crisis. Alienation, intolerance, violence. A world where war is raging in all its tragic darkness. Politics of protest and division. Economic disparity.
Here in our service this morning, we acknowledge death. But what are we missing? What else does God want us to see?
✠
The reason I had to get glasses all those years ago was that I was myopic. Which means I was near-sighted. I can see objects up close. But farther away is more difficult.
I’m wondering if our collective sight might also suffer from a kind of “spiritual myopia.” We see things in the world around us, and that’s fine. But when we look for the presence of God, our vision becomes blurry.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.”
How can we become more aware of God’s presence in our lives? How can we gaze beyond the horizon of our earthly existence, to see the glory of the heavenly universe, the realm of God, present in our midst?
God is with us! Everywhere, all the time. Even if we do not see it. God comes to us in Jesus. He comes as light to shine in darkness. He opens the eyes of those who are blind. He draws back the curtain that keeps God hidden.
The apostle Paul writes, “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT)
Jesus reveals the presence and character of God. He draws the curtain to show us what we had not seen. He shines the light, so we are not in darkness.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, so that “you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”
We may grieve the loss of our loved ones. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Christians have this hope that there is more to life than meets the eye. And that in the mystery and depth of God’s loving care, death is not the end, but a new beginning.
I remember a story someone shared with me, about their loved one who was near to death. They were sitting by her bedside, holding her hand, and speaking to her softly. All of a sudden, their mom sat up and looked toward the end of the bed. “I see Jesus,” she exclaimed.
There was nothing there, nothing to be seen with earthly eyes. But the eyes of the heart see differently.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that we might also see “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe.”
There are two Greek words that lie behind our English translation. Two superlative adjectives that speak of the “immeasurable greatness” of God’s power: Hyper and Mega! As in hyper power, mega power that goes beyond and is greater than anything we can humanly imagine.
“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” This is resurrection power that brings new life. And not only in the world to come.
A few years ago, Jan Richardson, an artist, author and United Methodist minister, lost her husband. She speaks of hope through dark days of despair:
“hope,” she writes, “that raises us
from the dead—
not someday
but this day,
every day,
again and
again and
again.[1]
Life in the midst death, strength to go on, living and loving, even in the darkness – that is a powerful thing!
✠
God raised Jesus from the dead, “and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” Can you see the glory of God?
God raised him “above all rule and authority and power and dominion.” Above everything! All that is, or ever will be.
We often see rulers, wielding the sword, manipulating peoples lives, exploiting them for their own selfish ends. We see spiritual powers that are wreaking havoc in our world: pride, envy, greed, and fear …
Forces that seem so powerful and beyond our control. Powers and dominions that have their death-dealing way. We feel helpless in their long, dark shadow. But will they have the final victory?
With the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we see Jesus seated at the right hand of his heavenly Father. Which is to say, a place of authority. And we confess our faith, together with the church throughout the ages, that he is Lord. Jesus, not Caesar. Not guns or money. Not selfish ambition or anything else that stands in the way of God’s coming reign. Christ is Lord! He alone.
✠
The day will come when God’s justice and peace will be established upon the earth. And every tear will be wiped from our eyes. And every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord.
Death does not have the final Say. Not today or any day. The living Christ is with us. He walks beside us. He comforts us. He loves us. He gives his life to us.
On those days when we are full of sorrow and tempted to despair, there is a light that shines. A spark of hope that keeps us going. Can you see it?
Someone has said that coming to church is like visiting the ophthalmologist. We come here to cure our spiritual myopia. We see through a different lens, the lens of faith. Here, in the presence of God, a whole new world comes into view.
A world where life is stronger than death, and right-relationship overcomes evil, and forgiveness heals the deep gashing wounds of our souls. And the love of God embraces us. So our world becomes a brighter place. Is that what you see?
✠
I pray that God may open the eyes of our hearts. “So that we may know the hope to which he has called us. … And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power.”
And that we might see Jesus, risen from the dead, seated at God’s right hand “above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.”
Christ. Above all things. Everywhere. All the time.
God is still at work in the world God loves, whether we see it or not. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is present and active in our midst. May it be so in you and me this day!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
✠
[1] Jan Richardson, https://paintedprayerbook.com/2014/11/19/so-that-you-may-know-the-hope/#.VGzLvN7vZUM, Accessed Nov. 21, 2023.“A different kind of seeing”
Ephesians 1:15-23 (November 26, 2023)
I wonder how many of us wear glasses? I was in my mid-twenties when I got mine. And that day still resonates in my memory.
It was a bright, sunny day. I walked out of the optometrist’s office, and stepped gingerly onto the street. These new lenses would take some getting used to. I took a look at things around me. And I was blown away!
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was so much detail: The sharpness of the lines. The features of leaves on trees. It was overwhelming!
Then it dawned on me: These things had been there all along. Yet I had not been seeing them. I had grown accustomed to a fuzzy world.
Now I realized, there was so much more. A richly coloured, finely detailed, textured, extravagant, beautiful world! It came as a great revelation.
✠
There are many things we cannot see. (And not only because of impaired vision.) We cannot see into the lives of others, for example. The fear or pain or loneliness – or joy – they may be feeling. On this Eternity Sunday, we pause to acknowledge the mix of grief and gratitude that lives in many of us.
We look through powerful lenses to observe tiny, microscopic details. We build sophisticated telescopes to capture signals from outer space. We are constantly discovering things we had not known about our wondrous universe.
And there are other things, our scripture reading tells us, that require a different kind of seeing. Realities that can only be perceived through the lens of faith.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him …” Revelation! Like the kind I had when I got my new pair of glasses.
“So that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive …” things you had not known. The wonders of God that may have been unclear.
Ephesians employs an unexpected turn of phrase when it talks about seeing with the “eyes of our heart.” We see the physical world with our eyes. Can we see spiritual things with our heart? “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” Not dark. But light, full of brightness.
✠
What are the common things we see around us? A world in crisis. Alienation, intolerance, violence. A world where war is raging in all its tragic darkness. Politics of protest and division. Economic disparity.
Here in our service this morning, we acknowledge death. But what are we missing? What else does God want us to see?
✠
The reason I had to get glasses all those years ago was that I was myopic. Which means I was near-sighted. I can see objects up close. But farther away is more difficult.
I’m wondering if our collective sight might also suffer from a kind of “spiritual myopia.” We see things in the world around us, and that’s fine. But when we look for the presence of God, our vision becomes blurry.
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him.”
How can we become more aware of God’s presence in our lives? How can we gaze beyond the horizon of our earthly existence, to see the glory of the heavenly universe, the realm of God, present in our midst?
God is with us! Everywhere, all the time. Even if we do not see it. God comes to us in Jesus. He comes as light to shine in darkness. He opens the eyes of those who are blind. He draws back the curtain that keeps God hidden.
The apostle Paul writes, “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT)
Jesus reveals the presence and character of God. He draws the curtain to show us what we had not seen. He shines the light, so we are not in darkness.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, so that “you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”
We may grieve the loss of our loved ones. But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Christians have this hope that there is more to life than meets the eye. And that in the mystery and depth of God’s loving care, death is not the end, but a new beginning.
I remember a story someone shared with me, about their loved one who was near to death. They were sitting by her bedside, holding her hand, and speaking to her softly. All of a sudden, their mom sat up and looked toward the end of the bed. “I see Jesus,” she exclaimed.
There was nothing there, nothing to be seen with earthly eyes. But the eyes of the heart see differently.
✠
The writer of Ephesians prays that we might also see “the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe.”
There are two Greek words that lie behind our English translation. Two superlative adjectives that speak of the “immeasurable greatness” of God’s power: Hyper and Mega! As in hyper power, mega power that goes beyond and is greater than anything we can humanly imagine.
“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” This is resurrection power that brings new life. And not only in the world to come.
A few years ago, Jan Richardson, an artist, author and United Methodist minister, lost her husband. She speaks of hope through dark days of despair:
“hope,” she writes, “that raises us
from the dead—
not someday
but this day,
every day,
again and
again and
again.[1]
Life in the midst death, strength to go on, living and loving, even in the darkness – that is a powerful thing!
✠
God raised Jesus from the dead, “and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.” Can you see the glory of God?
God raised him “above all rule and authority and power and dominion.” Above everything! All that is, or ever will be.
We often see rulers, wielding the sword, manipulating peoples lives, exploiting them for their own selfish ends. We see spiritual powers that are wreaking havoc in our world: pride, envy, greed, and fear …
Forces that seem so powerful and beyond our control. Powers and dominions that have their death-dealing way. We feel helpless in their long, dark shadow. But will they have the final victory?
With the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we see Jesus seated at the right hand of his heavenly Father. Which is to say, a place of authority. And we confess our faith, together with the church throughout the ages, that he is Lord. Jesus, not Caesar. Not guns or money. Not selfish ambition or anything else that stands in the way of God’s coming reign. Christ is Lord! He alone.
✠
The day will come when God’s justice and peace will be established upon the earth. And every tear will be wiped from our eyes. And every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord.
Death does not have the final Say. Not today or any day. The living Christ is with us. He walks beside us. He comforts us. He loves us. He gives his life to us.
On those days when we are full of sorrow and tempted to despair, there is a light that shines. A spark of hope that keeps us going. Can you see it?
Someone has said that coming to church is like visiting the ophthalmologist. We come here to cure our spiritual myopia. We see through a different lens, the lens of faith. Here, in the presence of God, a whole new world comes into view.
A world where life is stronger than death, and right-relationship overcomes evil, and forgiveness heals the deep gashing wounds of our souls. And the love of God embraces us. So our world becomes a brighter place. Is that what you see?
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I pray that God may open the eyes of our hearts. “So that we may know the hope to which he has called us. … And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power.”
And that we might see Jesus, risen from the dead, seated at God’s right hand “above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.”
Christ. Above all things. Everywhere. All the time.
God is still at work in the world God loves, whether we see it or not. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is present and active in our midst. May it be so in you and me this day!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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[1] Jan Richardson, https://paintedprayerbook.com/2014/11/19/so-that-you-may-know-the-hope/#.VGzLvN7vZUM, Accessed Nov. 21, 2023.
“Fear or faith?”
Matthew 25:14-30 (November 19, 2023)
Are there any “Trekkies” here today Do you know what I mean by that? I’m referring to fans of Star Trek, a TV series that originated in the 1960’s.
Do you remember how it began? “These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations.” And this final line, “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” The music swells. The Enterprise streaks across the screen. Every episode begins with the same invitation to grand adventure.
And what I want to suggest this morning is that our lives are meant to be the same. Not that many of us will ever explore the depths of space. There are other adventures Jesus calls us to.
I’m talking about the church. And I’m also talking about each one of us as individuals. We are called to go where we have not gone before. We are invited to risk, to venture forth, to set out on journeys. Whether we’re young, trying to find our place in the world. Whether we’re old, trying to navigate a new and challenging reality. The people of God are called to live boldly for the sake of Christ, and his kingdom.
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In our Gospel reading we heard a familiar parable: A man went on a journey. But before he left he called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 
They all received an incredible treasure. Just one talent was 15 year’s wages!
The master left his servants in charge. And some time later he returned and called them to account for what they had done. First the five talent servant, then the two talent servant, then the one talent servant.
The first two received the master’s approval. “Well done!” he says, enthusiastically. “You are good and faithful servants.”
Don’t you hope that, one day, the God of heaven and earth will say those words to you? Those servants had worked hard, taken risk. They handed back double what they’d been given. “Come and share my joy!” the master says to each of them, beaming with pleasure.
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But the third servant was different. Rather than seizing this opportunity for adventure, he was overcome by fear. So he retreated. He took his treasure and buried it in the ground, where he supposed it would be safe. And it was.
When the Master returned, the servant took his shovel and dug it up – a little tarnished now. But at least it was intact. The treasure was still there. Not a bit of it had been lost.
“See how well I’ve done?”
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Can you imagine the servant’s surprise when the Master expressed his disapproval? “I knew that you are a hard man,” he said – knees shaking, lips quivering. “I knew you’d be asking a lot of me! And the world’s a scary place, after all. So I was afraid.” I was afraid!
Like you and I can be afraid so often in our lives. When the future is uncertain. When the chaos of the world presses in upon us. When enemies oppose us. When we think we have neither the strength nor the wisdom, nor courage to do what God is asking.
So we take the treasure and hide it. We take our lives and closet them so no one can disturb us. We take the gifts that we’ve been given –love, hope, our ability to serve. We take the gospel of Jesus Christ and we bury it.
“You wicked, lazy servant!” The Master thunders. The servant bows his head in shame. He’d never intended to be wicked or lazy. It takes effort to bury treasure like that, don’t you know?
I believe he wanted to do good, and to please his Lord, and not to make some colossal blunder that would have seen the treasure disappear. But I also believe the servant was terribly mistaken.
We too can live our lives, and play it safe. And in doing so face the judgement of God.
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There’s a saying attributed to Martin Luther that sounds quite provocative. I wonder if you’ve ever heard it? “Sin boldly,” Luther said. But before you take that as license to go out and rob a bank, let me tell you the story of how and why he said it.
Luther had a friend and colleague named Philip Melancthon. Melancthon was very timid and cautious. He was so concerned about doing the right thing that he often failed to do anything at all. So Luther got frustrated with him.
In 1521, in a contentious and dangerous period of time, Luther wrote a letter to Melancthon telling him to stop worrying. “Just get up and do something!” he said. Sometimes our fear can be so great that it paralyzes us. We’re so afraid of making a mistake.
Luther wrote to Melancthon, “Do you believe in grace or not?” And here, Luther had amazing insight into our lives. He knew that we can never be sure of doing the right thing. Even when we think we’re doing good, we may not be.
We live in a world of sin, he said. It’s unavoidable. So you just have to do what you think is right. And leave the rest to God.
You have to live, you know! That’s the point. And in order to live you have to make decisions. And you have to act. And it will often be ambiguous. But you can’t let that stop you.
“If you are a preacher of grace,” Luther wrote in his letter, “then preach a true, not a fictitious grace. …. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly; for he is victorious over sin, death and the world.” In the end it will be OK!
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The third servant in our story was afraid. He buried his treasure.
If I make the wrong decision about what I’m supposed to do with my life: if I go down the wrong path, if I choose the wrong career, if I marry the wrong person, if I invest my Master’s fortune and the investment goes belly-up, will my life be ruined?
Do you know that I “write icons” – which is to say I paint a certain form of religious art?
Sometimes I get to a certain stage, and stand back, and say, “That’s pretty good.” It’s so good, in fact, that I don’t want to go any further! Because I if I go on to the next stage, I’ll mess it all up. I’m sure I’ll put the wrong colour of paint in the wrong place. And then the whole thing will be ruined.
So the temptation is to stop. To live with a half-painted icon, and call it quits. Because I’m too fearful to complete it.
I think a lot of us live with half-completed lives. We go so far and then we stop. We’re not willing to take any further steps. Not willing to risk the brush-strokes that would turn our lives into a thing of beauty – God’s beauty. Because we’re too afraid.
A person can stop living at any age. At 18 years old your life can be paralyzed. At 65 years old your life can be paralyzed. At 90 years old your life can be paralyzed. At any stage we can bury our gifts and say we’re done. And that’s a shame.
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Do you know that, because of grace, it’s OK to make a mistake? Whatever you’ve done (or haven’t done), your life is never beyond redemption.
Here’s the big mistake this servant made: He completely misjudged the Master. “I knew you are a hard man,” he said.
A lot of us cower before a God who always seems to be angry and perpetually unsatisfied. But the God revealed in Jesus Christ is One who extends mercy to even the greatest of sinners! A God who gave his life on the cross – an extravagant act of generosity – so that our sins could be forgiven and we could have a new beginning. (Maybe not just one new beginning, but many of them.)
It’s not that God doesn’t hold us to account. One day every one of us will have to answer to God for all that we have done. Or not done.
But when we trust our lives to Christ, when we take that step to believe in him, when we act in obedience – even if we do it badly – then the final word will always be love, forgiveness, and grace.
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Our church has such a rich heritage. And the last thing we want to do is squander it. We want to be faithful with all that God has given.
But faithfulness isn’t about burying our treasure. It’s about investing it, trading with it. Your life, and my life, are not meant to be kept safe. Rather our lives are meant to be invested. To be risked. Even to be given away. Just as Jesus gave his life away.
These days I wonder if we see the gospel as a treasure or not. Does it embarrass you, to tell your neighbour that you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ?
It’s really all we’ve got. This Gospel. This Good News. Any service that we give, any love that flows from our lives, and help that we can be to our neighbour – it all flows from this one thing: The grace of God given to us in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is our greatest treasure.
Scripture tells us to live boldly. Not to hide it. Or soft-pedal it. Let it be part of who we are!
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We live in strange times – full of fear. It’s all around us, in newspapers, financial markets, politics, in our schools, and in the streets of our cities. And it’s a terrible thing when the church is fearful too. Whatever happened to “boldly go where no one has gone before?”
God’s goal for our lives is not self-preservation. The church is not meant to be a museum, a monument to the past, a relic from days gone by. The church is meant to be a vibrant community. A place of life. And hope. Brimming with forgiveness and love. Overflowing with Good News for the world.
I remember some time ago, someone came to me and said, “You won’t be seeing me for the next few weeks.” I knew this person liked to travel, so I asked her where she was off to. She said, “I’m going to Jordan to participate in a group build for Habitat for Humanity.”
It never ceases to amaze me what God’s people can do. Here was a person well into her senior years, eager to serve her Lord.
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One day we’ll all have to stand before the Master with the treasure we’ve been given. And he will say to us, “What have you got to show for your life?” The older I get, the more frequently I ask this question of myself.
The worst thing we can do is bury our gifts. To take what God has given and play it safe, and avoid the great adventure. The worst thing we can do, this parable seems to say, is nothing.
And the best thing we can do? I want you to take a moment now and think about that. What will you risk in the week that lies ahead? What gift will you invest? What Good News will you share? What bold journey for Christ and his Kingdom will you make?
