Gospel for December 3, 2023

No, actually:
“Of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”    Mark 13:32 [World English Bible]

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Mark 13:24-37
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is a part of the whole of chapter 13 known by scholars as the Little Apocalypse.  Jesus is addressing issues about the end of the age and the coming of the Son of Man.  A Little Apocalypse appears in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), with a little variation but basically the same theme and much of the same language.

It seems obvious to say that Jesus believes in the second coming, and that he is himself the Son of Man, as designated by the title given in the Book of Daniel.  The Son of Man is an apocalyptic title for the Messiah in that context.

Context is always vital in biblical interpretation, and it should be noted that the first half of chapter 13 deals with the predicted destruction of the temple, the rise of false messiahs, and a time of chaos and persecution.  And it is also helpful to note that Jesus makes these declarations about the end as he is facing his own arrest and execution.  In chapter 14 he will be anointed by the woman at the house of Simon, which he interprets to be a preparation for his burial.

The language and the imagery are extremely vivid and dramatic, as in all apocalyptical literature.  The language of Apocalyptic always strikes me as “dreamlike.”  Jesus is trying to describe the indescribable. That is not to suggest that the darkened moon and the stars falling from the skies, the Son of Man coming in the clouds, and the angels sent to gather the elect are not literal images — I believe it very likely they are, although they are beyond imagination. But they are also symbols to us of a transcendent reality that will break in at the end of the age.

Perhaps knowing how difficult this imagery is for us as humans to understand, Jesus then “accommodates” our weak understanding by using very ordinary examples — the fig tree and the master of a household.

He tells us that we can see the fig tree producing its leaves and can predict that summer is coming. And the master who puts his servants to work and goes away may come back at any moment, so they are to be busy and to be watching and waiting for him.

That seems paradoxical. On the one hand, there are signs that we can notice that tell us the time is near. On the other hand, we don’t know when these things will happen, so we have to constantly be working and watching.

What does Jesus mean when he says:

Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.

Some scholars would argue that Jesus and his followers expected his imminent return after his resurrection.

But then why does Jesus make it clear that even he doesn’t know when that day will be?

But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Even Jesus himself is an “agnostic” about the second coming, and refuses to predict it on several occasions in scripture.

Here is a possible solution.  Could it be that there are two levels of prophecy occurring here?  On the one hand Jesus is predicting an event that will happen within a generation or so of his death and resurrection — the destruction of Jerusalem.  When he refers to the generation that will not pass away until this has happened, could it be that this event is what he is referring to?  The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus occurred in 70 A.D., just a little less than 40 years after the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, by most reckoning.

On the other hand, Jesus is also talking about ultimate events that will take place when the Son of Man returns and the end of the age takes place.  About time and seasons for those ultimate events he pleads ignorance, but he warns his followers to be faithful servants, like the household servants in the parable, and be ready and waiting.  Don’t let the Master catch you sleeping!

APPLY:  

The interpretation of apocalyptic literature can be a little like a Rorshach test — we all read into it what is already in our own minds.  This can be misleading, because we fail to look carefully at the context of the teaching.

In this case, I believe Jesus is addressing two issues.  One has to do with the immediate future in his day.  We often forget when we read prophetic or apocalyptic literature that despite all the later interpretations that have been given, there was also a meaning for that time.  Here Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, and that event does happen… within four decades.  If anything, that may confirm our confidence that his credentials as a prophet are pretty good.

On the other hand, Jesus is also promising the coming of the kingdom of God.  This is especially important as he is preparing for his own death.  His words are intended to give his own disciples comfort, and also serve to remind us some 2,000 years later that history is going somewhere, and it will be somewhere GOOD!

But this also needs to be a caution to us about heeding the apocalyptical speculations that abound in our own time.  If Jesus — who is the very Son of God, God in the flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity — professes ignorance about his own coming and reserves that knowledge to God the Father only, how arrogant is it for us to presume to try and read the coded language as some sort of tea leaves, and set a definite date!

That seems the very thing Jesus tells us not to do!

Two things we need to know and to practice when it comes to the apocalypse — we don’t know when it will happen; and we need to be faithful and ready for that day whenever it does happen.  It may come at any time!

RESPOND: 

I am comforted by Jesus’ teaching about the future. The prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem helps support my faith that he is in fact a divine prophet.  But his honest admission that he doesn’t know when the end will come comforts me with his transparency.  He doesn’t know when, and I don’t need to know when.  I just need to be ready, every day.  Like Martin Luther, I need to have two dates on my calendar:

I have two days in my calendar: This day and THAT day.

Our Lord, you have made it clear that you are coming again.  This is a promise as clear as your word that you love the world, and that you died to ransom me from my sins, and that you rose from the dead.  I don’t have to know when you are coming.  Like a child I may ask from time to time, “Is he here yet?”  But like a child I also rest in the faith that you will come back for me, and for your church.  Amen.  

PHOTOS:
"Evidently, 2012 is a lie" by Geoff Sloan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 14, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 14:15-21
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage continues the narrative that begins when Jesus is comforting his disciples in the Upper Room, shortly before he is to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.  There are two key concepts that Jesus emphasizes in this particular passage:

• He defines the true criterion of love — If you love me, keep my commandments. 
• He promises that the Counselor (the Holy Spirit), will be with the disciples even after he is no longer with them in the body.

First, let’s address the subject that receives most of his attention in this passage — the Counselor, whom Jesus also calls the Spirit of truth. The word Counselor is from the Greek word parakleton.  The etymology of this word is “one who is called beside,” and is variously translated as Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, and Comforter.  This meaning is underlined when Jesus assures them:

that he may be with you forever.

We note that there is a synergism between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — Jesus says:

I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor.

Here, we catch a glimpse of the interrelation of the Trinity.

Jesus begins to outline some of the unique characteristics of the Holy Spirit:

• Unlike himself, the Spirit is invisible and unknowable to the world — he is Spirit, not flesh.
• However, the Spirit is personal — the disciples know him because he lives with them, and will dwell within them. The Spirit is not merely a feeling — he is the Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Trinity!

Jesus then reassures them that though he himself is leaving them in the flesh, he is not abandoning them:

I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me.

There may be a dual meaning here.  On the one hand, he has promised earlier in this discourse that he is going to prepare a room for them in his Father’s house (John 14:2-3), and that he will return for them — clearly alluding to his Second Coming.   He is reassuring them that his resurrection will presage their own resurrection life:

Because I live, you will live also.

However, he is also assuring them that his presence will remain with them now through the Spirit.  This may be made clear by referring to Paul’s understanding of the Spirit:

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his (Romans 8:9).

In other words, in the work of the Triune God, when the Spirit is present, God the Father and God the Son are also present.  The Spirit is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ in this passage.

This passage ends with a good example of the inner interrelation between the Father, the Son and the disciples:

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Because Jesus belongs to the Father and dwells in him, and because the disciples belong to Jesus and dwell in him, Jesus in turn dwells in them. Which means that the fullness of God has come to dwell in the disciples.  A little later in his discourse in the Upper Room, Jesus prays to the Father and asks on behalf of his disciples:

that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me (John 17:21).

In our present passage, Jesus makes it clear that the ultimate sign of the knowledge of God and unity with him is love:

One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.

At the heart of the Gospel of John is the insistence on relationship — relationship within the Godhead, between the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit — and relationship between God and those who love him.

APPLY:  

As with so many passages in the Gospel of John, this passage is packed with doctrine and applications:

• Jesus affirms twice that true love for him is demonstrated by obedience to his teachings. What a person says, or even feels is eclipsed by what they do — how do they demonstrate their love?
• Jesus reassures us that the Holy Spirit remains with us, lives with us and lives within us. As believers, we are never alone.  God is always with us.
• We have assurance about the future — with echoes of his earlier promises in John 14, when he tells the disciples he is going to prepare a place for them, he reiterates our ultimate hope for resurrection:
  Because I live, you will live also.
• And because of our love for Jesus, we dwell in God and God dwells in us — we are one with him and know him personally.

RESPOND: 

When I first turned to Christ in faith way back in the 1970’s there was a song by Peter Scholtes from the 1960’s that was still pretty popular:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

This simple song seems to lift up some of the profound themes that Jesus teaches in our Gospel lectionary reading — that our true unity is found in being one with God; and that the one true mark of our identity as Christians is love.

To a large extent, these are aspirational prayers — what I pray for on behalf of all of us.  But I also affirm that these are promises that Jesus has made on our behalf.  As Paul writes in Philippians, we can be:

confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Our Lord, I do aspire to the promises and assurances that you have made to us — all of them — that we may love you, be united to you, be assured of your constant presence with us, and may live with you forever.  Thank you for the assurance that you offer through the witness of your Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Gospel for May 7, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 14:1-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is packed with Christian doctrine.  There are words of comfort about heaven, declarations about Jesus as the exclusive means of salvation, and his unique relationship with God the Father.

Jesus begins with a word of comfort for his disciples.  The context of this speech is the Passover meal.  Jesus knows he is about to be arrested, tried, and executed.  He is “preveniently” encouraging his friends in anticipation of these difficult events.

He tells them not to be afraid, but to trust in God and in himself.  He then offers a beautiful metaphor:

In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.  Where I go, you know, and you know the way.

In this paragraph, we have a wonderful synopsis of the work of Jesus and his relationship with the Father, as well as the hope of his followers.  The metaphor is relational, based on a description of family.  Jesus is the Son of the Father.  The Father has a house with many rooms — monai is the Greek word used here, and it means abiding places.

This is helpful if we imagine the house of a well-to-do family in Jesus’ time.  The house wasn’t a single dwelling under one roof, but more like a compound built around an outdoor courtyard.  There might be dining and public rooms, but there were also additional rooms that were built around the courtyard as private rooms for individuals or families.

One way of thinking of this is to consider John the Revelator’s descriptions of heaven in Revelation.  The City of God has walls that encircle a vast garden through which the river of life flows (Revelation 21:16 – 22:2).  Archaeologists tells us that this resembles the house of an ancient patriarch — one wall of the rooms was actually part of the exterior wall of the city!

So, the family of God will be gathered together in this vast house.  Jesus is promising that he will go and prepare rooms for his disciples.  This was also a feature of the Middle Eastern weddings of that time — the bridegroom went away for a time before the wedding in order to prepare the place where the couple would live.

Jesus is straightforward.  He is telling them he is going away — this is a euphemistic way of saying he will die, but also be resurrected and return to the Father.  But it is also a promise of his Second Coming:

I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.

The disciples, however, are still a little slow to understand — and they have mustered up the courage to ask questions.  Thomas, the concrete thinker and pragmatist, wants more practical details:

 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus’ answer is that he is the way:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

This appears to be one of the I Am statements of Jesus, for which the Gospel of John is famous.  Jesus identifies himself with the I Am statement of God (in Exodus 3).  Here, it is three-fold, grammatically, and he is being all-inclusive. I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.

These are all key words in the Gospel of John.

• Way is the translation chosen for the Greek word hodos, or road. Jesus is using this word metaphorically to illustrate that by walking in his way, one is led to the Father, and to truth. This may remind us of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount:
  How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it (Matthew 7:14).
• Truth is a word used often in the Gospel of John. Jesus is the incarnation of truth (John 1:14); his truth sets free those who are in bondage (John 8:32). For those seeking true wisdom, Jesus promises to be the answer.
• Life is also frequently used in the Gospel of John to describe what Jesus offers — a guiding light (John 1:4); eternal life (John 3:16; 11:25, et al.); abundant life (John 10:10).

And Jesus makes it quite clear that his relationship with the Father and his power to be the way, the truth and the life are unique and exclusive:

No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.

Another disciple, Philip, weighs in this time, asking Jesus to provide a special revelation for himself and the other disciples:

 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

This sets the stage for Jesus to explain that he is indeed one with the Father in a unique way.  He has already stated that by seeing him the disciples have seen the Father, and know him.  This is anchored in John’s Prologue, in which Jesus is the Word who was with God and is God (John 1:1); and this same Word became flesh in Jesus (John 1:14).  The Second Person of the Trinity, God himself, has been with the disciples all along!

Jesus seems to be disappointed that they have been so slow to grasp this reality:

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?”

His disciples seem to have forgotten, or didn’t fully understand, his claim when he was in Solomon’s Porch in the Temple:

I and the Father are one (John 10:30).

The Pharisees and priests certainly seemed to understand that Jesus was claiming to be identified as one with God.  They picked up stones to stone him for blasphemy (John 10:31)!  They stated their charge quite clearly:

because you, being a man, make yourself God (John 10:33).

So Jesus must yet again provide his evidence to the disciples, who seem to be slower to grasp his claim to divinity than even his enemies are!

The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

He is telling them that no ordinary man could teach what he teaches unless he was one with God; and the miracles that he performs illustrate the same reality.

Jesus then makes a bold claim and prediction on behalf of those who believe in him:

Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.

This must have startled the disciples, who had seen Jesus change water into wine; heal a nobleman’s son without even coming into his presence; heal a man who had been lame for 38 years; multiply five loaves of bread and two fish into enough provision to feed 5,000; walk on the stormy waves of the Sea of Galilee; give sight to a man born blind; and raise a dead man to life — and these are just the miracles mentioned up to John 14, not counting any miracles from the other Gospels!

This is quite a claim!  But Jesus says this will be possible because he is going to the Father, where he will intercede on their behalf:

Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.

There is an important qualification in this description of the power of prayer — what is asked in his name.  Words, in the Hebraic worldview, have power.  Asking for something in Jesus’ name offers the power of that name, which he has already demonstrated is identified with God.

However, there is also another possibility here.  When Jesus returns to the Father, he returns in a sense to the heavenly court of the Divine Sovereign.  Jesus is described in Biblical theology as seated at the right hand of the Father.  Therefore, Jesus has omnipotent authority and power to grant what is requested.

APPLY:  

There are an abundance of applications of this passage to our lives and hopes as Christians:

• When faced with adversity and even death, Jesus offers comfort to us. We are part of God’s family, and he has gone to prepare a room for us in the Father’s house.  We need not fear death if we place our trust in Jesus.  That is why this passage is commonly used in funeral services.
• Jesus is uniquely and exclusively the way, the truth and the life, and he is our incarnational introduction to the Father. To have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father.
  G. K. Chesterton’s term co-inherence is helpful in understanding the interrelation of the Father and the Son in the unity of the Trinity, when Jesus asks:
  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
• And Jesus teaches us how we are to pray — because he has returned to the Father, he is our intercessor and high priest (cf. Hebrews 7:25). So when we pray in his name we are asking for his intercession.  I would add that praying in Jesus’ name also presupposes that we are praying according to his will, not our own.  In other words, our prayers are not selfish and petty, but consistent with his majesty, character, and purposes.

RESPOND: 

In our pluralistic and diverse world, many people are troubled by the exclusive claims of Jesus.  Some will argue that there are many roads that may lead to one destination.  Jesus doesn’t leave that option open to us.

Although I’ve known seminarians who have argued with me that what Jesus really says is “I am a way, a truth, a life,” the grammar of John 14:6 in the Greek does not leave that option open.  And Jesus makes it perfectly clear in his next clause:

No one comes to the Father, except through me.

Wiser heads than my own have wrestled with this question — what happens to the sincere Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Moslems and many others who either never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, or who heard a horribly distorted version that they rejected?

Those of us who have come to trust in and love Jesus as our Lord and Savior find it difficult to understand how anyone could reject the Jesus we know.  But we also find it difficult to understand how Jesus could possibly reject anyone who doesn’t know him.

The only answer that makes sense to me is to affirm what I know — that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him.  But at the same time, I acknowledge my limitations of human imagination and knowledge.

Is there the possibility that Jesus will seek out those who haven’t found him?  He says:

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd (John 10:16).

And then there is that haunting passage that Peter writes in his First Epistle that has been the source of much speculation:

Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;  in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison,  who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built (1 Peter 3:18-20).

This passage is cited by the ancient church fathers as evidence for the doctrine that Jesus “descended into hell.”  If so, was his purpose to simply announce to the dead that he had come, or was his purpose even then to redeem them?  As the saying goes, this is ultimately “way above my pay grade.”  I don’t know the answers to these questions.

I do know that Jesus loves even the lost more than I do.  And I trust in his grace and mercy for their souls.

And I have this firm conviction based on John 3:16-18, that God loves the world, that Jesus hasn’t come to condemn anyone, but to save the world.  So, if anyone is condemned to hell they aren’t condemned by Jesus — they condemn themselves.

Simply put, God loves us. Jesus is the way to know God and God’s love. That is what we are to believe and proclaim.  As to those outside of the faith, we can rest assured that God loves them whether they know it or not, and whether they choose to love him or not.  And even if they choose not to spend eternity with him, God still loves them.

Lord, when we pray in your name, according to your authority, you promise to hear us.  Thank you that you discern what we need, and that is what you give.  And thank you that you choose to work through us despite our frailties and failures.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Epistle for December 11, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
James 5:7-10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The letter of James is one of the 23 out of 27 books of the New Testament that mentions the Second Coming of Jesus.  This is interesting because we don’t think of James as a “theological” or “doctrinal” book.  James deals with practical matters concerning faith and works, the dangers of the tongue, impartiality concerning the rich and poor, etc.

But here, James (who is identified as the brother of Jesus and the first bishop in Jerusalem) takes it for granted that the Lord will return.  What he counsels, as the church waits for Christ’s kingdom, is patience.

He draws an analogy between the patience of a farmer and the patience required of a believer.  The farmer must wait on the early and late rain in order for the crops to grow.  So must the believer trust in something that he/she cannot control — but wait with patience.  However, there is also this exhortation and assurance:

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Then James gives practical advice for how they may establish their hearts:

Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

As with other aspects of James’ advice, his concerns for the Christian community are about relationship.  He knows that grumbling, and the misuse of the tongue in gossip and poisonous speech can tear the community apart.

Finally, he reminds them of their spiritual predecessors from the Old Testament:

 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

APPLY:  

This is a helpful word for Advent.  Like the growth of crops and the eventual harvest, the coming of the Lord is inevitable.  But also like the farmer, we must be patient until the time is right.

It is so important to remember that the coming of the kingdom, like the growth of crops, is not something that we can control.  What we can control is our own actions — for example, not grumbling about one another as we wait.  Other passages remind us to love one another, feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc.

And we are not only to emulate the suffering and patience of the prophets — we are also to speak in the name of the Lord until he comes!

RESPOND: 

Although I’m not a farmer, I am somewhat acquainted with how farmers think. My mother grew up in West Texas in a family of cotton farmers.  And over the years I have occasionally served in churches located in the Arkansas Delta, with a high number of farmers in the congregations.

I admire farmers. I learned that farmers are extremely versatile and resourceful. They know how to operate heavy machinery; they can fix most things that break down; they understand seeds and soils; and they are astute about markets and commodity prices.

And they are also patient.  I might even add, whimsically, they are longsuffering.  But what inspires that patience, ultimately, is faith.  The farmer has faith that the processes of nature and growth will continue.  The believer has patience because we have faith that God will keep his promises.

Lord, when the world around me seems to be falling apart, remind me to have patience — your kingdom is coming!  And give me the power to treat others according to your teachings.  Amen.   

 PHOTOS:
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Gospel for November 27, 2022

One of life’s embarrassing moments.
“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Matthew 24:36

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 24:36-44
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Our lectionary passage is a part of what many scholars call the Little Apocalypse in the Gospel of Matthew.  A close parallel to this passage in Matthew 24 is also found in the other two of the Synoptic Gospels, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

The occasion for this discourse by Jesus was prompted by the awestruck admiration of his disciples when they went to the temple to worship:

Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:1-2).

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus and his disciples retire to the Mount of Olives, overlooking the temple mount, and he begins to share his vision of what is to happen in the near and distant future.  He speaks of events that will happen within a generation (the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman legions in 70 A.D.), and those that will happen prior to the end of the age (whose date is not disclosed by God to anyone).

In our passage, he has just finished warning of wars and plagues and earthquakes, the persecution of his followers, and cosmic signs, and has advised them that:

all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).

And then Jesus makes it clear that no one knows when that will be:

 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

In some early manuscripts, this verse reads like this:

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father [emphasis mine].

My own bias leans toward the latter view.  Although Jesus is the divine Son of God, he has chosen to limit himself by assuming human flesh.  He is making it perfectly clear that not only do human beings not know the date of his return, even supernatural beings don’t know — and not even himself!

Jesus then cites the Biblical example of a catastrophe, and draws some applications and analogies from that.  He says:

As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus points out that prior to the flood, people were living normal lives — eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. When the disaster came, people were not expecting it.  And he says:

so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus then describes what will happen on that day, when:

two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left; two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left.

We are reminded of his language concerning the judgment, that there will be a division:

So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:49-46).

Jesus then uses an unusual storytelling technique — he reverses our expectations.  When he tells his disciples to watch, because they don’t know when he will come, he briefly paints a scene:

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

This is a reversal because while the disciples may identify with the master of the house who is caught napping when the thief comes, who then is the thief?  Given the logic of the story, Jesus is the thief who comes at an unexpected time!

His point is dramatic — no one knows when the end will come.  They must be ready, then, at all times:

 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

APPLY:  

There are so many different perspectives on apocalypticism and eschatology that we can be overwhelmed and perplexed.  Jesus’ teaching about his Second Coming, known as the parousia, actually can give us comfort.

Although he does warn of famine, plague, wars and persecution, he is telling us that there will be an end to these things:

he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:13-14).

Moreover, even though there may be signs in history concerning the parousia, Jesus does not specify exactly when or how these signs will be revealed.  In fact, he warns us that we shouldn’t be deceived:

For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones (Matthew 24:24).

So his message is really quite simple — we are to be ready at all times because he will come at a time that no one expects.

RESPOND: 

Harold Camping was a radio broadcaster and evangelist who went out on a limb and predicted that Christ would return on May 21, 2011.  It was widely publicized on billboards and in the media.  When the date came and went without noticeable incident, he said he believed that a “spiritual” judgment had taken place on that date, and revised the expected return to October 21, 2011.  Again, the coming of Christ that he expected did not occur.

It is reported that he apologized for his mistakes, and that he had come to believe that no one could know when Christ would return.

Any careful student of the New Testament could have told him the same thing, and saved him the embarrassment.  While I believe that history has a goal and a destination in the kingdom of God, and that Christ will return at the end of the age, I am also quite certain that no one on earth can predict that day.  Jesus says so in Matthew 24:36:

no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

In his last words to the disciples in Acts 1, he reiterates the same thing.  When the disciples ask if Jesus will restore the kingdom of Israel after his resurrection, he tells them:

It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority (Acts 1:7).

So then what are we to do? Jesus makes that very clear in the very next verse of Acts 1:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).

We are to be watching, waiting and working as we prepare for his coming.  Not speculating and writing books about it.

Lord, I thank you that you have a plan for history, that we are going somewhere.  I don’t have to know when.  It is enough to know that you will bring it to pass in the fullness of time. Help me to be about your business until the end of the age or the end of my own life on earth. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Evidently, 2012 is a lie" by Geoff Sloan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for November 27, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Romans 13:11-14
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul addresses the subject of preparation for the coming of the Lord.  Generally, Paul is very practical and matter-of-fact about the Second Coming.  He declares that Christ will return, on God’s timetable and not ours, and explains how Christians are to prepare for his coming.

In the verses preceding our lectionary reading, Paul has urged the Romans to obey the political authorities who govern them; and he has declared that the law of love transcends and fulfills all the laws of morality and of the state.

Now, he urges the Romans to wake up because salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. It becomes clear that this salvation refers not merely to the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God, but to a time in history that is coming:

The night is far gone, and the day is near.

The language that Paul uses is eschatological.  The day of the Lord is a term that refers to the Second Coming of Christ throughout the New Testament (Acts 2:20; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).  The imagery of night and darkness contrasts day and light to heighten the distinction.

Therefore, Paul urges his readers in Rome:

Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.

This metaphor does two things.  It maintains the contrast of darkness and light.  But it also metaphorically describes the transition from darkness to light in terms of clothing — throw off the deeds of darkness as you would a dirty cloak; and, like a soldier of Christ, put on the armor of light. 

Paul maintains both metaphors, describing the kind of behavior that is seemly for the daytime:

Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.

In order to be ready for the day of the Lord, the Christian is to live ethically as though the day has already come.

Finally, Paul continues the metaphor of clothing, urging believers to:

put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

Again, there is a contrast suggested here between the spiritual focus on Christ and the focus of darkness — the flesh and its lusts. 

Clearly, Paul sees that the darkness that prevails in this present evil age (Galatians 1:4) will be eclipsed by the day of the Lord, and the light of Christ.

APPLY:  

Salvation is not a matter of getting a “fire insurance policy,” or “getting your ticket punched to heaven.”  Somehow the notion has crept into modern Christianity that all that is required for salvation is repeating a “sinner’s prayer,” or being baptized in a manner and method peculiar to one’s denomination of choice.

Faith is not merely believing in the right doctrines, or even having a spiritual feeling.  Faith is believing in Christ and following his teachings.  This is discipleship.

Therefore, as we prepare for the day of the Lord, our faith is revealed by our lives.  We are to put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  And Paul gives an example of the deeds of darkness, although we may be sure it is not exhaustive:

reveling and drunkenness …sexual promiscuity and lustful acts… strife and jealousy.

We can deduce from other lists of sins in Paul’s Epistles that he usually identifies sins that seem to prevail in the particular communities to whom he addresses his letters.  So Paul is lifting up very common human weaknesses, but probably also addressing the context of the Roman church.

The bottom line is this, for all who choose to follow Christ:

put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

RESPOND: 

One of my favorite cinematic scenes occurs in The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers.  Gandalf, a wise and kindly wizard, has been transformed from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White who seems to be enveloped in light.  In this transformed state, Gandalf leads his small group to break the spell of evil over the King of Rohan; then leads the charge in a stirring scene where he rides, clothed in white, against the evil armies of the Uruk-hai and the Orcs, in order to rescue the besieged city of Helm’s Deep.

The fact that J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) was a Christian adds poignancy to this depiction.  We may take Gandalf to be a Christ-figure in the story, but I prefer to see him as the representation of the Christian who has put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

As Christians, we are responsible for confronting the forces of evil and acting as soldiers of light, with acts of love and compassion — feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and bearing witness to the love of Christ.

Lord, I know that the great and glorious Day of your Light is coming. I anticipate that Day with joy and hope.  But I also know that I am accountable to prepare for that day, not with deeds of darkness but with deeds of light.  Show me your light that I may live in that light.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"'Put on the Armor of Light' ~ Romans 13:12" by Art4TheGlryOfGod by Sharon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for November 13, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Apostle Paul has been reminding the church at Thessalonika about his teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus.  But he also has a very immediate focus — the spiritual growth and discipleship of the church.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Paul has been very specific about the false teachings of some of these rebels, who have taught that the day of the Lord has already come.  He doesn’t advise his church to argue with the heterodox teachers. He simply says:

withdraw yourselves from every brother who walks in rebellion.

Paul offers himself as an example, both in teaching and in lifestyle:

For you know how you ought to imitate us. For we didn’t behave ourselves rebelliously among you, neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you; not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us.

Paul has made it his practice to be self-supporting in his ministry.  We are told in Acts 18:2-3 that Paul’s trade was tent making.  In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul establishes the right of apostles and pastors to receive financial compensation for their ministry, but he makes it clear he has not chosen to do so in order to remove any question about his motivation for preaching the Good News.  So though he had every right to receive compensation, he has chosen not to do so.  This means he is able to offer a strong example of his work-ethic.

Thus, when he gives his next instructions, he seems a little less hard-hearted:

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him eat.” For we hear of some who walk among you in rebellion, who don’t work at all, but are busybodies.  Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

Evidently, those who were rebelling against his doctrine were taking advantage of the generosity of the Thessalonians — possibly even passing themselves off as teachers in order to receive remuneration.  This command, not to feed those who won’t work, accomplishes two things:

• If the busybodies are engaged in gainful employment, they don’t have time to be sowing seeds of rebellion or heresy.
• Second, this command reinforces the importance of responsibility and a strong work ethic.

Finally, Paul encourages the hard work and the good works of the Thessalonians:

 But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing well.

APPLY:  

Paul may seem harsh.  Let’s be clear.  He isn’t telling the Thessalonians to be unkind or ungenerous to the truly poor.  He himself has taken up an offering from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia for the poor in Jerusalem who had been suffering under a famine (Romans 15:26).  He encourages the church to support widows who are too old to remarry (1 Timothy 5:9-10) — although he does encourage young widows to remarry if possible, so they don’t place a burden on the community of faith.

But if someone is able to work, he believes that they should work:

we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

This may well be the foundation for what Max Weber, the famous sociologist, calls the Protestant Work Ethic — although this teaching is Biblical, not Protestant!

In Paul’s famous description of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, he describes the complex inter-working of various gifts, all working together for the good of the whole community:

There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:5-7).

RESPOND: 

There is an old proverb: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”  Folks who are underemployed are more likely to be busybodies at best, and serious troublemakers at worst.

What Paul advocates is that Christians should be responsibly, ethically, and diligently employed.  Christianity doesn’t support a system of entitlements that give people something for nothing.  That isn’t good for the individual or the community.

On the other hand, Paul is not addressing the problems of a modern economy when there is recession or depression, and jobs are scarce — although he might argue that the job-seeker need not be picky when it comes to job opportunities.  Nor is he arguing that those who cannot work should not be assisted — the widow, the orphan, the aged, the handicapped.

What we find in the Bible is balance.  On the one hand, we are to be “poured out” for those who are last, least and lost.  Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner, we do these things for him (Matthew 25:35-4).  On the other hand, if we are able to work, we should not expect others to do for us what we are able to do for ourselves.

Lord, make me generous to those who are in genuine need; and make me responsible and diligent to earn my own keep. Amen.

 PHOTOS:
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Epistle for November 6, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

St. Paul ventures into the bewildering subject of eschatology — the last things or the end of the world.  Ironically, Paul is not writing as one who is bewildered by the future.  He is reassuring the Thessalonians:

Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.

He is advising the Thessalonians not to be deceived in any way.  Evidently, some preachers were teaching a kind of realized eschatology — i.e., that the day of Christ had already come.  He also wishes to advise them that if they have been led to believe that he has taught this doctrine, it is not true.

Paul assures them that they haven’t missed the Second Coming!  There are certain signs and events that he tells them must happen first:

For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction….  

First, the departure needs to be carefully explained.  The Greek word is apostasia, which gives us the word apostasy.  The departure to which he refers appears to be a departure from the faith.  He suggests that hasn’t happened yet, but when it does it will be a sign of the beginning of the end.

The second sign is embodied in a person — the man of sin, the son of destruction. The words that Paul uses for this man are also interesting.  Man of sin is a translation of the Greek anomias, which can also be translated as lawless one. This phrase conveys a sense of anarchy.  And destruction is a translation of apoleias, which suggests an annihilator. Its Latin translation calls this figure the son of perdition.

There is also a fascinating side note concerning the phrase son of destruction.  In John’s Gospel, Jesus prays The High Priestly Prayer.  In one section of this prayer, he declares that he has preserved his disciples during his earthly ministry — except for one:

Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 17:12). 

The son of destruction here is obviously a reference to Judas Iscariot.  And then there is this, from John’s Revelation, concerning Satan himself who presides over the locust-scorpions from the abyss of Hell:

They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”,  but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon” (Revelation 9:11).

Apollyon (or Destroyer in Greek) is derived from the word for destruction, the same word Paul uses here in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

Whether this being is a personification of evil, or an actual ruler who will assume control over the world, Paul foresees that the end will not come until the man of sin and the son of destruction has usurped even divine authority.  Paul describes this figure as a blasphemer:

who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

Apparently, Paul is going over doctrine he has already taught the Thessalonians when he was among them:

 Don’t you remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things?

In the verses that our lectionary reading for the day leaves out (verses 6-12), Paul continues to remind the Thessalonians of his teachings.  He tells them that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the lawless one is restrained by the Lord.  And eventually, the lawless one will be destroyed by the breath of the Lord.  And Paul warns that those who have been deceived by Satan will be lost:

because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

But Paul returns to his pastoral concern for the new believers in Thessalonica, giving thanks for them because they are:  

loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth; to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This sentence is a brief primer on the way of salvation.  They are loved by the Lord, and salvation includes the completing work of sanctification of the Sprit. 

Paul also reminds them that they were called into faith through his own proclamation of the Good News — so he urges them to:

stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter.

Paul is clearly advising them to steer clear of these other teachers who are confusing them with heterodox views, such as the claim that the day of the Lord has already come.

Finally, he offers a prayer to comfort them and strengthen their faith:

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.

APPLY:  

There are certainly a great many teachers and preachers who have made it their business to offer scenarios for the end of the world.  So far, those who have made predictions have all been wrong.

In Paul’s time, one school of thought was that the day of the Lord had already come.  We don’t know exactly what these teachers offered as proof.  We might say that this was the first appearance of a theology that is called realized eschatology.

The term realized eschatology tends to be used by theologians today who question the literal interpretation of eschatological passages in Scripture.  They would argue that the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus has already arrived with his presence — and that the day of the Lord has already come.  Our part as Christians, they would say, is to live into that reality until the kingdom of God is created by our love and service.

While there may be some truth to the notion that the kingdom of God has begun to be revealed, careful study of the Scriptures informs us that we don’t bring the kingdom, God does!  There is a now to the kingdom of God; but there is also a not yet.  For evidence, I can only point to the hunger, war, catastrophes and suffering that exist in the world.  This is not yet the world that Jesus and the apostles promise.

We are safest when we cleave to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles — which is exactly what Paul advises the Thessalonians:   

So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter.

RESPOND: 

In one of my churches, there was a very sweet lady who kept asking me a question for which I had no good answer.  She wondered why I didn’t talk more about the Antichrist. 

I think I know what she was really asking.  With so many End-Times books and preachers in the popular culture, she wanted me to weigh in on the subject.

But I was wary of taking the bait.  I certainly do believe the Biblical witness, that Christ will return on the day of the Lord.  Not only is that doctrine attested multiple times throughout the New Testament, it just makes sense.  If creation, time, and history all had a beginning point, it seems logical to me that creation, time and history will have an end.  And this is the note of hope in the New Testament — that the world will not simply careen from one disaster to another forever, but history is going somewhere!

However, I am very cautious about trying to read the Bible as a kind of blueprint for the End-times.  It is enough for me to trust God with the future of the planet, and my future.  Jesus told his disciples, when he was taken up into heaven:

It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:7-8).

I believe my job is to be a witness to the person and work of Christ, not to speculate about times or seasons.

Our Lord, we do live in confusing times. Such uncertain times brings “End-times” teachers out of the woodwork. And that adds to our confusion.  Help us to cleave to the faith once delivered to the saints, and trust you to complete your work on earth in your time and in your way.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
"The future is...?" by Yana Lyandres is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for August 14, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:49-56
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

How different is this Jesus from the Sunday School version that we gravitate toward!  True, he has taught and modeled love and forgiveness and healing and hope.  But the teaching of Jesus in our Gospel reading for this week reveals the prophetic side of Jesus — the realist who is warning his disciples about the inevitable divisions that will occur because of his ministry.

His warnings are dire, and they seem to hearken back to his cousin John the Baptist’s denunciations early in the Gospel of Luke.  Jesus says:

 I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!

John had forecast this prior to his arrest and execution, when he held forth at the Jordan River:

I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire (Luke 3:16-17).

It doesn’t seem much of a stretch to imagine that Jesus is remembering John’s prophecy, and is calling attention to it.  What is this fire? According to John’s proclamation, it is associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

If John is a transitional character from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the prophet Malachi probably is one of the several voices that forecasts John.  In Malachi 3, he speaks of the Messenger who will come to prepare the way of the Lord.  And then he says this of the day of the Lord’s coming:

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness (Malachi 3:2-3).

Clearly, from a prophetic perspective the fire comes as a source of purification — and that is one thing that Jesus will accomplish through his death.  His baptism is not a mere ritual — it is nothing less than crucifixion.

But even more troubling than his desire that the fire may be kindled is his prediction of conflict.  He hasn’t come to bring peace, but division.  His gospel is not a “do-it-yourself” improvement project.  His teachings, and his life death and resurrection require a radical choice to follow him.  And that means a break with the status quo.

Even families will be divided:

From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

To some extent, Jesus has faced this division even in his own household.  On one occasion, his own family was seeking “face time” with him:

Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.  And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”  But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:19-21).

To be sure, his mother was with him in the end when he was nailed to the cross, and after the resurrection; and his brother James became not only a believer but the first leader of the church in Jerusalem.  But his message is quite clear — his true family consists of those who are radically committed to fulfilling the gospel message.  And as we see throughout the Gospels, the disciples who truly follow Jesus are willing to give up land, careers and family.

Jesus also warns the crowds that they must be astute about discerning the events that are unfolding around them.  While we might be tempted to interpret his statement along apocalyptic lines, the truth may be more immediate.  Tensions are rising between himself and the authorities in Jerusalem that he knows will end in his own crucifixion.  He is telling them that if they can forecast the weather, they should be able to see what is about to happen to him:

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

It seems clear from the context that he is advising the crowds to interpret the present time in which they are living.  What they will witness when he arrives in Jerusalem will kindle a fire that will purify the world!

APPLY:  

It is okay to admit that there are some things that Jesus says that trouble us.  He meant to trouble us, in order to bring us to repentance and discipleship.

But Jesus isn’t necessarily gentle and meek — at least not in the modern interpretation of those words.  He yearns for the fire to be kindled.  Even if we believe that this fire represents the work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot escape the fact that the work of the Holy Spirit will only be commenced through his own death and resurrection.

Besides, fire does purify.  But it also destroys.  We remember what Paul says to the Corinthian church.  He tells them that the only foundation on which he builds the church is Jesus Christ.  But then he goes on:

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.  If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.  If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

What the fire doesn’t destroy will be tempered and purified.

So, we are called upon to decide — will we follow him, or will we turn away?

RESPOND: 

[Note from Celeste: Tom wrote this post in August, 2016. 2022 is not an election year, but our denomination is still facing the possibility of schism.]

We are in an election year. And my own denomination is facing the possibility of schism. Someone has said, “you can’t be a centrist anymore.  You can’t stay on the fence. You will have to decide. ”

I believe that the Scriptures are clear concerning the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and the call to discipleship and holiness.  I don’t believe that there is any equivocation about right and wrong.

Still, it is up to each generation to read and apply the Scriptures to our lives and our circumstances in our present time. 

Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian from the 20th century, was once quoted in Time magazine:

“[Barth] recalls that 40 years ago he advised young theologians ‘to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.'” (Time, May 31, 1963).

Granted, fewer and fewer people read newspapers anymore, but the meaning is still the same — be aware of the world around you and current events as well as the Scriptures.

Let me be clear — I don’t interpret this to mean that current events and the Bible are equal.  The Bible is the timeless Word of God.  But I do believe that the Bible intersects every era of history, and challenges each generation to discipleship.

I also don’t believe that it is healthy or helpful to try to read the signs of the times concerning the Second Coming of Christ.  While I believe with all my heart in the return of Christ at the end of the age, I think there is ample evidence in Scripture that we are not to waste our time and energy with speculation and apocalypticism.

Instead, we are to be ready and faithful in our own time by applying the teachings of Scripture to our own lives and to the world around us, as we seek to evangelize the world, make disciples, feed the hungry, care for the poor, visit the sick.

Lord, sometimes your words comfort me — and sometimes your words trouble me.  I know it is not up to you to accommodate me — it is up to me to conform to your Word.  Help me to understand your Word, and then to follow it.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
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Gospel for August 7, 2022

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:32-40
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This short passage is a word of encouragement to Jesus’ disciples.  He knows that it won’t be long before he is arrested and crucified.  He is also looking beyond his own death and resurrection to his return at the end of the age.

But he also knows that his followers will experience persecution, adversity and even martyrdom — these things will begin the moment he is arrested, and they will continue until the moment he returns.

So he says to them:

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

This is a statement of faith — but it is a faith grounded in certainty.  Jesus knows the Father, and knows his Father’s love for his little flock. The kingdom is promised, and will come.

However, there is a cost to following Jesus, and he does not refrain from telling them what his followers must do — he tells them not to be attached to their possessions, but to sell them and give to the poor.  There is a reasonable logic to this — if his followers have been promised the kingdom, why do they need to focus on the wealth of this life?  Their priority is the kingdom of God, not earthly treasure:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus turns his attention to the anticipation of the end of the age.  He counsels preparation.  In a lovely metaphor, he says:

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.

The image of a wedding banquet is a common metaphor in Scripture for the heavenly feast that God prepares at the end of time.  So the return of the master from the wedding banquet is eschatological.  Having the lamps lit is likely a reminder that they are to be conscientious and expectant as they await his return.

And then there is an astonishing reversal.  When the master returns to his house, he will serve the slaves instead of the slaves serving him!

Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

And finally, in another startling metaphor, he speaks of being prepared for his return by comparing himself to a thief!

But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

His point is important to remember — no one knows when the Son of Man will come, so his followers must be ready at all times.

His word about the end of the age is one of both comfort and caution. He assures his little flock that it is God’s pleasure to give them the kingdom.  However, he is also cautioning them that they must always be prepared to let go of this world in order to be ready for the next.

APPLY:  

When it comes to the Second Coming of Christ, there are some themes that are persistent in the New Testament:

• God’s pleasure is to include us in his kingdom.
• If we are to be invested in God’s kingdom, it means that we must become somewhat divested from the present age.
• We must be prepared at all times, because we cannot predict when Christ will return.

The certainty is that Christ will come at the end of the age.  The Biblical record on that doctrine is too insistent to ignore.  But it is also certain that no one knows when.

RESPOND: 

As I get older, I am more and more aware that there is more time behind me than there is ahead of me.  I have long believed in the doctrine of the Second Coming, but I have never been one to become obsessed with Hal Lindsey or other apocalyptical speculators.

However, I am aware that one way or the other, life as I know it will be altered!

So a passage like this gives me both comfort and caution.  The promise is that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.  I need not fear the future at all, no matter who is elected, or what happens in the Middle East, or with the European Union, or in my own life.

On the other hand, I am reminded that this world is temporary — so I need to practice a certain level of detachment from its pleasures and treasures. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with the good things God has made.  It is just that they are not to be my greatest good, or my ultimate goal.  For example, wealth should be a means to an end toward helping the poor.

A word that we don’t hear much anymore is renunciation — letting go of those things that tend to hold on to us.  We need to reset our priorities:

Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Lord, how I long for your coming!  When I consider the complications and conflicts in this world, I know that the Son of Man is the only one who can solve our problems. At the same time, I also know that I have a responsibility in the meantime — to minister to others, to be prepared for your coming by living the life you’ve called me to live. Give me the power to live a prepared life so I’m ready for your coming. Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"Luke 12:32-3" by Baptist Union of Great Britain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.