Father Gary’s Sermon

Inspired from Mark 13:24-37

Proclaimed on November 27, 2005

In 1858 a scientific expedition passed through that part of the country we now know as the Grand Canyon. A young lieutenant by the name of Ives made this entry in his report. “This region we last explored, is, of course, all together without worth. It can be approached only from the South, and after entering it there is nothing to do but leave. Ours has been the first and doubtless the last party of whites to visit this profitless locality. It seems intended that the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed.”

Since the Lieutenant wrote these words, now here we are, almost 150 years later, realizing how foolish he was. Not only is the Grand Canyon one of the most visited sites by whites in the United States today, but it is also one of the most financially lucrative. But, had we stood beside that lieutenant back then, we probably would have agreed with him. His prediction made sense.

Today, we as a people are no different than that lieutenant; we still yearn for predictions that make sense. An entire scientific community has arisen, which through the meticulous study of nature, tries to predict what will occur in the future. And in large part, we believe them because we trust them. Today’s scientists have replaced yesterday’s prophets.

So when we read words such as those in our Gospel reading today, we are naturally skeptical. In this passage Jesus seems to predict the coming occurrence of some phenomenal events. The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from heaven, and heaven itself will be shaken. At that time the Lord will return in great glory to gather together his elect. And all of this was to happen within the lifetime of those listening.

Today, many of us may smirk, for the skies still remain and the same Lord has not returned. It seems that Jesus, or those who put these words in Jesus' mouth, were nothing but lunatics--lunatics who cannot be trusted.

However, there may be another more appropriate way of understanding these words. Indeed, what Jesus was doing in this passage goes on among us even today. For example, not long ago there was a small business in Florida that sent out a mass mailing. On the outside of the envelopes was printed, “Warning! If you throw this into your wastepaper basket unopened, a capsule of water inside will break, spilling onto a dehydrated boa constrictor. He will then crawl out of the envelope and crush you to death!” Few reading these envelopes actually took these words literally, realizing that the company was simply attempting to improve upon the standard “Urgent--important message inside.” What Jesus may have been saying to his listeners was simply, “Urgent! I have an important message to share! May I have your attention please?!” Then what Jesus shared was not intended to be a prediction; so much as it was a promise. He was promising all of us that at one time or another each of us would discover just how fragile our understanding of reality at a given time really is. We are all subject to events that occur that leave our lives utterly wrecked and filled with chaos. When these times come it seems as though the sun will no longer shine, the moon will no longer provide its light, and the stars have fallen out of the skies. It is as though all the light has been removed from our existence. His promise was that when this chaos breaks through that his listeners were not to panic. He would return to restore their security. He would be there with them, gathering them together safely under his protection.

However, like the young lieutenant looking over the Grand Canyon and only able to access its immediate value, so many us hearing the words of Jesus that day make the same assessment of his words--that they were not of immediate value nor worth taking seriously. Yet, in less than a generation’s time, the Jewish nation was utterly destroyed, along with their Temple. The world that they had known, the world that seemed so secure, was now completely gone. One group however, remained secure. Those were those early Hebrew Christians, who had experienced the resurrection of Christ and now had His Presence in the Word and Sacraments and the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit. They had watched as Jesus had warned. They had been prepared. They escaped the coming calamities. When they saw those Galilean rebels descend from the hills and take up residence in the Temple to defend themselves against the Roman army hard on their heels, they knew that it was time to flee across the Jordan River. As the Roman’s destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, killing or enslaving the Jews as they did, the Christians who escaped were building new homes, new lives, and places of worship.

Today this message is equally important to us. After all, are not all of our lives dramatically changed since the terrorists brought down the towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11? Do we not feel much less secure? Or what about the devastation of Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis, and Katrina? If nothing else, these events have taught us just how thin a veneer our sense of reality really is. As such, the truth of the message of Jesus still remains relevant today.

This is the purpose of Advent. It is like the envelope marked, “Urgent--important message inside!” It is a time to remind us to be ever vigilant to the chaos so close at hand. Likewise, it is a time for us to “watch” for our Lord for Christ is even closer. Indeed, his coming is time-full. In the past he came as a babe in Bethlehem. He now comes to us in Word and Sacrament. He will come again at the end of this age. This is not a prediction! This is a promise! So let us watch!