Pentecost 25C
November 14, 2010
SCRIPTURES
Luke 21:5-19 Jesus foretells of the destruction of the Temple, warns against being misled by alarmists, and anticipates dreadful times in which his followers must bear witness and endure. Other apocalyptic scripture:" (Mark 13:1-37; Matt 24:1-25:46)
SCRIPTURE
- The signs of the end are three fold:
1. appearance of false messiahs
2. wars, international conflicts
3. natural disasters.
-In looking at our text, we need to keep in mind at least three time references. (1) The time of Jesus when he spoke these words, which was prior to the destruction of the temple. (2) The time of Luke when he wrote these words (and his hearers heard them), which was after the destruction of the temple. (3) The present time of our hearers, who live centuries after the events recorded in the discourse
-Like all the Bible’s depictions of the future, these descriptions are symbolic in nature. They are meant to inspire believers to derive whatever good they can from life’s inevitable suffering. Contrary to what some people might think, they do not point to specific historical occurrences; they are not blueprints of the events taking place in our own world. Rather, they are goads meant to spur us on with steadfastness. “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Dianne Bergant
-We live between the times, not in anticipation of the end of time.
-We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus to avoid being deceived by the many false prophets who vie for our attention.
- T. S. Eliot may better express our consciousness: “This is the way the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper” (“The Hollow Men”).
-Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable,
something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the universe,
comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness. Henri Nouwen
-Part of interpreting these verses is to decide if Jesus is predicting a future fate for believers -something we have to look forward to, or if Luke is presenting the present reality for believers in his generation. I think that the second option is more preachable Stoffregen
-Earlier in Luke, Jesus was asked by a Pharisee when is the kingdom of God
coming. Jesus told him, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can
be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' for, in
fact, the kingdom of God is among you." (17:20-21)
-There seem to be two common threads in all this week's lessons: that of the need for working for the Lord in good times and in bad and the promise of the hope that is a product of our ultimate security in God.
-. People often associate pain and trouble as the absence of God, or that God is punishing them. Jesus, is making the observation, that it is often only in the face of adversity and pain, that we most often are willing to allow God to speak to us.
-You might be surprised to hear This is Jewish
thinking. cataclysmic happening.
Amos: “In all the squares there shall be wailing
and in all streets…Alas, Alas….
Isaiah: “Wail, the day of the Lord is near. … that
day comes cruel with wrath and fierce anger
Joel: The DOTLord is coming. A day of darkness
and gloom a day of cloud and thick darkness
-Don’t have to wait; nothing is permant. We will
experience end times many times. Only one thing is permanent....God's love
SERMON A WAITING PEOPLE
-An answer to the question of "when?" is "now!" When does Jesus come? Jesus comes today. Whenever two or three are gathered together in his name, Jesus comes (Mt 18:20). Whenever we break the bread and share the cup, Jesus comes. Whenever we proclaim the Word, Jesus comes. Yet, we are still waiting for it to come.?
-We are a “waiting people” (exile, messiah, Jesus)
- Nothing in this world is permanent but our hope is that God’s kingdom is
-Life is a series of end times. Small compared to Armageddon
- Apocalyptic feelings: Anxiety, and expectations/ waiting, reflection, / hold on/ Causes isolation instead of dealing with real life problems .
-Here I come ready or not
-Life is suffering. Buddah (first of four noble truths)
-Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. William Jennings Bryan
-Don’t have to wait; nothing is permanent. We will experience end times many times. Only one thing is permanent....God's love. God's kingdom
-is like having hope; is like, I will fear no evil for thou art with me; Is like Paul: nothing can separate us from the love of God
-When will Jesus return? He already has!
-We could ask same question disciples asked. When? birth pangs / but day or hour no one knows.
-The kingdom is here among us -- and yet we are waiting for it.
QUOTES
-Brian Stoffregen "How does one preach apocalyptic literature to people who are not suffering? Do we have to convince them that they are suffering for this literature to make sense?"
-"The church is what you have left when the building burns down and the preacher leaves town."
-we have to be very careful about what we place our faith in.
-Or when the powerful forces of nature (or evil terrorists) kill thousands of people and destroy millions of dollars of property? How do we keep on believing in the all-powerful, loving, gracious God in the midst of such evil and suffering in our world and sometimes in congregations?
-"Is destruction necessary to new life?" Paul certainly seemed to think so. Over and over again he speaks of "dying" to his old life in order to be born again in Christ
-Psalm 121:1-2 "
-God is in control of our future
-I don't think that there has been a time in history when there haven't been international conflicts and such natural events on earth and in the sky.
-The kingdom is here among us -- and yet we are waiting for it
An answer to the question of "when?" is "now!" When does Jesus come? Jesus comes today. Whenever two or three are gathered together in his name, Jesus comes (Mt 18:20). Whenever we break the bread and share the cup, Jesus comes. Whenever we proclaim the Word, Jesus comes. Yet, we are still waiting for it to come.?
-Jesus didn't have to be a clairvoyant to make this prediction. Every temple is a doomed house. Every structure and system for housing the holy will wear out its use, will disappoint and die . Paul C. Duke christian century
-In the beginning the temple is a tent, simple and supple with room for a Spirit to billow through. But sooner or later we try to manage the mystery. The thing calcifies, thickens, encrusts, fills up with bad furniture, builds itself to an unwarranted weight until it has to fall. Duke
-Of course, Jesus isn't talking to just anyone whose temple happens to fall down, but to those with the courage to leave the ruins of old systems and bear new faith and the persecutions that go with it.
-It must have been difficult for the disciples to conceive that Herod’s great temple, one of the wonders of the world, would be torn down, stone by stone, until it was nothing but a heap of rubble. Such a thing was unimaginable. The temple, the very center of national life and pride, the very seat of God, destroyed? Unthinkable! Yet that is what Jesus told the disciples about this supposedly eternal temple of God, and barely 40 years after he spoke these words it lay in ruin. Jesus’ words rang true: Wilimon
-Despite Jesus’ predictions, however, the world did not come to an end during his own generation. The temple was destroyed, yes, but not the whole world. The world went on. Paul told early Christians not to marry, not to worry about whether they were slave or free because this world was soon to end. But it didn’t. So Paul was wrong, too. The end did not come in A.D. 70 when the temple was destroyed, or when the Roman Empire fell. There have been wars and rumors of wars, but still the world endures. The end has not come. Jesus said that the end was here, but it wasn’t.
-As the prophets of old said, not everyone who cries "peace, peace" is talking about God’s peace.
-My peace I give to you," said Jesus, "not as the world gives peace" (John 14:27) The peace we should desire is that peace, his peace. And it is only God’s to give, for it is based on the recognition that it is not our task to make history come out right or to save the world -- through either our bombs or our peace -- because, in Jesus Christ, history has already come out right. We have already seen the end.
And because of our bomb, and Carl Sagan’s bleak predictions for the future, it’s in us. The nuclear threat has put us in a unique position: we may be the first generation in a long time to understand Jesus on the subject of the end. Willimon
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. could you image a poster of Jesus pointing his finger at you (like "Uncle Sam") with "I want you" printed in large letters. Then, in much smaller print:
You will be arrested and persecuted.
You will be handed over to religious and secular authorities.
You will witness to these authorities about Jesus.
You will be betrayed by family members.
Some of you will be put to death.
You will be hated by all because of me.
2. (Luke) quotes from Josephus's accounts of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans:
the roar of the flames streaming far and wide mingled with the groans of the falling victims; and, owing to the height of the hill and the mass of the burning pile, one would have thought that the whole city was ablaze. . . . With the cries on the hill were blended those of the multitude in the city below; and now many who were emaciated and tongue-tied from starvation, when they beheld the sanctuary on fire, gathered strength once more for lamentations and wailing. . . . Yet more awful than the uproar were the sufferings. (War 6.271-275) [p. 359]
"These things" seems to refer to much more than just the destruction of the temple, but all of the signs/events that will occur to signify that the Kingdom of God is near (v. 31).
3. It should be noted that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius occurred nine years after the temple was destroyed -- and before Luke was written. The explosion created signs in the sky and pestilence and famine. The whole city of Pompeii was destroyed.
HUMOR
- "If you buy one of these Armageddon stories, make sure you get a money-back guarantee."
CHILDREN
-for the childrens service, one could play hide and seek. Instead of counting all the way to 10, leave a little earlier and catch some unprepared.
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