SERMON FOR
Daniel
12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8 Grace
E. L. Church
What time it is?
Interestingly
enough, on Sunday mornings during worship, some people are more acutely aware
of time than at any other time in the week.
Actually, I’m not asking because I want to know how much time I have to
talk. It’s a trick question, because I
don’t have any time, in the sense of possessing or owning time. The only time I have (temporarily) is what
God is giving me right now. And right
now, I’m using the time God is giving me to bring you this message, His
message. That’s why He’s giving me this
time.
In today’s
lesson, Jesus’ disciples are marveling at the temple known as “King Herod’s
temple.” It was one of the wonders of
the world in its day. It was made of
enormous stones that were covered with solid gold. A historian of the time described the
reflection of the sun off the temple walls as “fiery splendor” (Josephus).
Even to us today, it would almost certainly have been impressive. To the people of that time in that place, it
was without question that the strong and towering temple would last forever.
But Jesus wasn’t
impressed. He looks at the temple and
looks into the future, and says, “See these stones? I see a time when there will not be one of
these stone here left upon another—they will all be cast down.”
The disciples were
stunned. And, later, when they are
sitting on the hillside with Jesus, looking again at the temple, across the
valley at that point, they ask him: “So, how much longer will it last? How much longer do we have with life as we
know it?” And Jesus begins one of his
most vivid and violent descriptions: He
tells them that there will, indeed, come a day when wars and earthquakes and
famines and persecution and suffering will come. The sun will be darkened and the moon will
not give light; and the stars will fall.
But in the meantime, Jesus says, two commands: Fear not. Watch.
It’s easy to understand what it is they were not to fear. But what were they supposed to watch
for? In verse 26, Jesus tells them:
“Then you will see the Son of Man coming.”
They were to watch for the coming of God into their lives.
Now, this
strikes me as hilariously funny. They
are so afraid they’re going to miss the Christ, and Jesus standing right
there. God is with them, telling them to
watch for God! They’re listening so
intently, so they can mark their calendars.
Like they’re going to have all this time—in the meantime—to live life as
they please and then, when they know the Son of God is coming, they can get
serious with it.
It’s a kind of Divine
comedy: They’re all worried about when He is coming and He’s standing
there, talking to them. It would be
funny if it weren’t so sad.
In the Gospel of Luke,
chapter 19, we get inside Jesus’ head a little, as he looks out over the city
of Jerusalem—his city—asleep, unaware of His presence. He is crying as he says, ““If you had only
recognized on this day the things that make for peace! For the day will come,” he whispers to his
people, “when your enemies will surround you and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and
your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another; because
you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God” (Luke
“I wanted to save you all
that,” Jesus said through his tears. “But
you would not believe in me. You will
not realize that I AM with you RIGHT NOW!”
And we are Jesus’ disciples. We are his people.
The Bible tells us that “Now
is the time of God’s favor; today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Why do
we continue to live as if we own the clock?
We keep rushing around, like
the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland: “I’m late, I’m late for a very
important date! How can I excuse
myself? How can I save myself? How can I make sure I’m okay?” I’ve got to get good grades; I’ve got to get
into a good school; I’ve got to get a good job; I’ve got to get married; I’ve
got to save for retirement; I’ve got to … Our watches just keep dispensing
minutes and we just keep filling them up as we please, with whatever we think
will make us most secure, earn us the most money, gain us the most approval,
help us sleep at night.
So, what does God
have to say about our obsessive attention to time and our lack of attention to
the Eternal? To answer that question,
listen to what Jesus says to his preoccupied disciples:
13:5 Beware that no one
leads you astray.
13:7 Do not be alarmed.
He repeats his
simple, two-part message over and over for emphasis: Fear not. Watch.
We are called not
to fear but to be alert to the coming of God the Christ to our lives.
So, what
would FEARLESS ALERTNESS look like?
Well, first of
all, it would not look like rushing around in trivial pursuits, worrying about
storing up worthless, earthly “treasure” or fickle, human approval. Now before you get nervous, let me calm you: I’m
not called to give you a checklist of “do’s” and “don’t’s” for your life
anymore than Jesus gave his disciples a timeline or a calendar. Think about those things into which you are
investing the years, the months, the weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds
God is giving you.
When you rush through time,
past the extended hand of Jesus, you are not merely politely ignoring him. Jesus didn’t come from heaven to earth
because He had nothing else to do. He
came to DIE for you and me. So, when we are
too busy to accept the love he offers, we are crucifying him all over again, we
are bringing God to tears.
Think about each
thing you do. Then ask yourself: Are there things that I’m doing that have no
apparent connection to eternity but that are keeping me so busy and frantic
that I couldn’t pay attention to God if he were standing right beside me? You know the answer to that question. I don’t.
And if you don’t, ask God to help you re-consider your busy-ness.
And, then in
your everyday life, look and listen for Jesus.
As many times a day as the Holy Spirit reminds you, ask yourself—“Where
is Jesus in this” In the rustle of dry
leaves, the dripping of rain? In the eyes,
in the smiles, in the tears of people around you, created in God’s image and
reborn carrying God’s Holy Spirit inside them?
Or could this be Jesus within you, inside yourself? Be quiet, listen, speak to God. Say to him, “I am here and I know you are,
too.” “Thank you, for loving me.” “Yes, I accept your authority over every part
of my life.”
Because the real
question is not what time is it…………….but WHOSE time is it.
God has all the
time in the world and then some.
Herod’s temple
took forty-six years and countless hours of human labor to build, but within
only seven years of its completion, the Roman army had reduced it to dust. You and I—no matter how healthy, no matter
how young—are only a breath away from meeting Jesus face to face. Wisdom says, “Now, while there is time, take
the hand of the One who inhabits eternity.”
It’s later than you think. Amen.
****************************************************************
Copyright
© 2006 Pastor Beverly
C. DeBord Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
All Rights Reserved.
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