“… you do not know when the time will come.”

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and in today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark (13:24-37) we clearly heard what at first may seem to be a very disturbing message given directly from Jesus to all of those who would willingly listen.  On this first Sunday of Advent we might have expected to hear some other kind of message; maybe one about the need for the coming of the promised Savior into this world to be announced by a prophet, but instead this morning we are hearing Jesus telling all of us to be continuously prepared for the end of our time here on earth.  Apparently Advent is not only a time for all of us to prepare ourselves for the up-coming celebration of the season of Christmas, but it is also time for us to remember the true reason for this season of celebration; the celebration of the coming of God directly into this world in human form to bring us clear messages of hope and salvation.

Maybe the most well-known passage in the Bible is one that most of us have seen advertised on placards at almost every sporting event around the world; John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”  But the truth is … there is more to this verse.

John 3:16 really says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”[1]  That second part of the verse is really very important.  If we are expecting to be “saved,” then we must “truly” believe in God and in Jesus.  And if we are true believers, then God and Jesus will be able to tell as they will be our final judges.

Now we need to be very careful at this point, for being a “believer” is not just a matter of words.  Time and time again, we can find stories and passages in the Bible where the being a “believer” is not just a matter of words.  Being a true believer is also a matter of actions.  Being a believer is about both words and actions.

There has been in the past, in a few faith traditions, the practice of final absolution; the chance to confess our sins upon our death bed, be forgiven, and thereby gain entry into eternal life.  There have also been those times in the lives of different individuals, when they would knowningly sin with the expectation of being able to “buy, earn, or repent” their way into forgiveness.  And to be honest with you, I’m not about to claim that any of this is either true or false. 

I do believe that God and Jesus will be our final judge.  I do believe that we will be held accountable for all of our actions and all of our intentions.  But I also believe in the mercy and love of God and Jesus.  Which one of us, as parents, would not embrace and love any of our children who having done something wrong and then honestly admitted to it and humbly asked us for forgiveness?

But in today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus also included a dire warning; “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”[2]  If we are counting on having time to confess and repent at a later date, then we may end up missing the mark.  The mistake for any of us would be to think that it will be okay to break one of the Ten Commandments, after all we can confess on our death beds.  That of course is assuming that you will be given advanced notice. Personally, I’ve survived at least 3 heart attacks, 1 car crash, and a 12 gauge shotgun round striking the ground 3 feet to the right of me.  There is no guarantee that we will have advanced notice of our death. 

And of course there is also the question of intention.  I’m not 100% sure about God and Jesus, but I do know that I’ve all too often “not forgiven” an individual who smugly came to me with a fake confession, or even worse – they knew that as a Christian “I had to forgive them.”

When we pray to God for forgiveness, maybe we should remember the words of the author of Isaiah when they wrote,”Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever.”[3]

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[1] John 3:16 NRSV

[2] Mark 13:33 NRSV

[3] Isaiah 64:9a NRSV

"When was it that we saw you ... ?"

Today is Christ the King Sunday.  Upon first reflection, it may seem strange for us, as American citizens, to claim and even acknowledge that we are under the rule of a King, but we should remember two very important facts.  The first is that we are not just American citizens, for we are also Christians.  And as such we have professed a faith in a higher authority than any to ever be found among the humans of this world.  Secondly, we are among the believers and the followers of Jesus Christ who are not only expecting his return, but are also looking forward to openly acknowledging him as our King.

In today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew (25:31-46), we hear about the coming day of the final judgment.  Matthew begins this disclosure by telling everyone that the Son of Man will be seated in full glory on the Throne of Judgment; for it is before this throne that every single member of humanity will be required to await the final judgment to be pronounced by Jesus himself. 

What is the criterion for judgment?  Will we be required to repeat from memory one or all of the Affirmations of Faith found in the back of our United Methodist Hymnals?  Will we be required to list all of the Ten Commandments?  Will we be required to show all of the accounts to prove our tithe?  Which one of the Old Testament Laws did I violate?  Having broken it, did I remember to make the correct sacrifice?  How many wrong answers do I get before I am actually thrown into the pit?  What is the criterion for this final judgement?[1]

Jesus tells everyone who would be willing to listen and understand the implications, just exactly what the final judgment will be like.  Those who will be invited to inherit the kingdom are the ones who have given him food, drink, welcome, clothing, care, and visitation.  Those who will be required to depart into the eternal fire are the ones who have not given him food, drink, welcome, clothing, care, and visitation.

It is interesting that both groups of individuals responded with the same question; “Lord, when was it that we saw you …?”[2]  Both those who are invited to inherit the Kingdom and those who are sent away are claiming that they never once saw Jesus in any state of distress or need.  But the reality is found in his answer; “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”[3]

 Please don’t misunderstand my words or the Scriptures.  Jesus is not giving a new list of things to do.  Rather Jesus is talking about our attitude ... our attitude towards God … our attitude towards each other … and our attitude toward ourselves.  If we are willing to embrace this attitude of reaching out to all of our brothers and sisters in the world, then we will understand more clearly this lesson given to us by Jesus. 

In closing I wish to share two thoughts.  The first is from Paul’s letter written to the Ephesians, “so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.”[4]  And the last is the first verse of Hymn 441: “What does the Lord require for praise and offering?  What sacrifice, desire, or tribute bid you bring?  Do Justice; love mercy; walk humbly with your God.”[5]

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[1] “… the criterion of judgment is not confession of faith in Christ.  Nothing is said of grace, justification, or the forgiveness of sins.  What counts is whether one has acted with loving care for needy people.  Such deeds are not a matter of ‘extra credit,’ but constitute the decisive criterion of judgment presupposed in all of verses 23-35 …”

The New Interpreter’s Bible Volume VII, © 1995 by Abingdon Press, Nashville.  Page 455

[2] Matthew 25:37 and 44 NRSV

[3] Matthew 25:40 & 45 NRSV

[4] Ephesians 1:18 NRSV

[5] Albert F. Bayly, 1949; alt. UMC Hymnal © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House.  Number 441.

Encourage One Another

     In preparation for today’s sermon I have been doing a lot of deep thinking, for there are several interesting and yet disturbing aspects of this Parable of the Talents¹. I’m not disturbed by the idea of a slave being entrusted with the property of the master, nor am I disturbed by the idea that the master issued different amounts of "Talents" to different slaves. And while we are talking about the term "Talents," I want to remind some of you that in the time of Jesus a "Talent" was a brick of pure silver worth more than 15 years’ wages of a laborer. And so the "Master" gave one man the wages of 75 years worth of labor, the second man was given the wages of 30 years worth of labor, and the last man received 15 years worth of wages for a laborer. This master must have truly trusted these men.
     Now the trust of the master was well placed in the case of the first 2 men, for both of them returned double what they had been given after a long time. As for the third man; his fear of the Master’s wrath led him to bury what was given to him so that he would not "lose" any of it.
     And here comes what at first troubled me; not that the Master told the slave that he should have at least invested the money with the bankers, nor that the Master gave the "Talents" to the one who was now in possession of ten "Talents", but rather that the Master had the "worthless slave" tossed into the "outer darkness."
     And then it occurred to me that these "Talents" in the parable just might not be bricks of silver. What if the "talents" given to each and every one of the servants were those that are defined by Webster as "a natural gift or ability"? What if those who were listening to this parable of Jesus were being told about what will happen upon The Day of Final Judgment to them if they were to decide to withhold or bury their God given talents rather than sharing or using them with their brothers and sisters … regardless of race, creed, wealth, or behavior?
     These thoughts make more sense to me than those that would focus upon Jesus giving a lesson about being a financially responsible servant to the wealth of this world to his follows, to those within the crowd, or even to the Scribes and the Pharisees. Yes, I do believe – and I do practice – tithing. If we want to give a gift to God, if we want to truly give from the heart, then these gifts should come after we have tithed. And I do not for one minute believe that tithing is restricted to our worldly wealth … I believe that we are also called by God to use our talents not just for our own interests, but also for the interests of our sisters and brothers. 
     Do you remember what was read at the beginning of the 5^th and final chapter of the 1^st of Paul’s two known letters to the believers at Thessalonika²? What a scarey passage about the coming day of judgment. But this reading also has great words of encouragement: "But you, beloved, are not in darkness … for you are children of light …"³ And as children of the light we are called upon to reach out to everyone that we meet. We are called upon to use our talents to answer the challenge that Jesus calls us to and that Paul sent to the Thessalonians as well as to us … "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other …"⁴

  1 - Matthew 25:14-30
  2 - 1^st Thessalonians 5:1-11 NRSV
  3 - 1^st Thessalonians 5:4a & 5a NRSV
  4 - 1^st Thessalonians 5:11a NRSV

Who Will Be Among the Blessed?

Who will be among the blessed?  This is a question which has most likely come into the thoughts of every human being since the beginning of time.  Many of us in our modern society are still dealing with this same question.  There are those who are all too willing to tell us the truth, if we can pay them the right price.  Our society also has a few answers.  Blessed are those who have the most money, for they can buy anything made in this world.  Blessed are those who have great beauty and talent, for they will be rich, famous, and envied by all.  Blessed are those with great political power, for they shall make the rules by which all others must live.  And on and on goes the list.  But the reality is that most of these blessings are fleeting.  We have discovered that over time beauty fades, talent is lost, power is taken away by others, and as for money and other treasures of wealth … you can’t take any of it with you into the after-life!  The best we can hope for is to be able to leave it behind for our loved ones or for others.

And so we are still left facing the basic question:  “Who will be among the blessed?

Today’s scripture readings contain words of hope and celebration, as well as an implicit warning.  In the Revelation reading (7:9-17) we heard an elder asking, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?”[1]  What a golden opportunity for this author to announce to everyone who would read this text that these are the chosen ones: the ones who were blessed by God from the very beginning of time to live a life of rich blessings in great comfort without any struggles of any kind.  But that is not what the elder declared.  The elder tells the author (and all of us who would read these words) that, “These are they who have came out of the great ordeal … They will hunger no more, and thirst no more …”[2]  

In case you missed these very important implications; the ones who are among the blessed are the ones who have faced “the great ordeal,” and they have hungered and been thirsty.  God has never promised any of us that every second of our lives here on earth would be kind, gentle, or easy.  What God has promised us is that even in our times of trouble and our moments of deepest despair, we will not be alone.

In our reading from Matthew’s Gospel (5:1-12) we hear Jesus speaking to the crowds of people … and yes – even to us today.

His message is about how we should really understand what it means to be among the “Blessed.”  Jesus is not using a “worldly” standard in his listing of who are among the blessed.  He is using a standard which has been given by the Creator.

Some of those who are listed as being among the blessed are very obvious: the pure of heart, the merciful, and the peacemakers.  Of course even though these may seem to be obvious to us, we should also remember that each of these individuals will be judged by God; for it is God that will be able to see the true motivation of each heart.

The others may not at first seem as obvious: the meek, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those whom other people revile and persecute.  But it is again important for us to remember that Jesus is helping all of us to understand that God will not be judging us by our worldly standards; rather it is the Creator who will be looking into the very depths of our true motivations for all of our actions.

In closing I will share with you that these scripture readings are listed for November 1^st of each year.  This day is known in the Christian calendar as “All Saints Day.”  It is a time for each one of us to pause and remember those who have gone before us. 

Is it possible that God will find value in the life of each of those who have gone before us?  Is it possible that we have known and lived with “saints” in days past?

A friend of mine, from many years ago, was an artist who loved to paint and sculpt.  One day while we were both at an old Boy Scout Camp helping to clean up the grounds, we came across a piece of drift wood.  It was misshapen and half rotted, but he decided that he wanted to take it home rather than just add it to the pile of firewood.  That following spring we were again helping to get the camp ready for a new gathering of summer campers, and he asked me come with him to the craft shed.  When we got there, I saw the most beautiful piece of carved and polished wood that I have seen in many years.  It was hanging over the door, inviting everyone to come into this place of creation.  Jack smiled when he saw my reaction, and told me that this was the piece of wood that I was ready to toss “just as useless trash” into the fire.  He was a very creative man who was able to find value in every object. 

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[1] Revelation 7:13b NRSV

[2] Revelation 7:14b & 16a NRSV