Zechariah's Song

Zechariah’s Story
Luke 1: 5-24, 57-79

I want to tell you a story. Its not my story it is Zechariah’s story. Here it is…in his words…

Have you ever experienced something so hard and so amazing, something so unexpected so brilliant, so painful, so transformative that all you could do at the end of the day is sing?
I have. And I know it sounds crazy – I’m not really the singing type – but after what I went through there was a song within me – a song of praise, a song of hope a song of peace.

As a baby was growing within my wife Elizabeth, that song grew within me for nine months…it was created, it was nourished and it evolved and changed shape and size, I felt it growing, I felt it getting stronger and pushing me from within…so much so that it hurt. I knew it was a song that had to be sung but it wasn’t as easy as opening my mouth. There was pain, real pain, and terrible fear not only of the song but of what the song meant for my life. What it would change, what it would demand of me, how it would make me so vulnerable and yet so strong…

You see it all began on an ordinary day. I know, people always start that way, but its true. I am not one of those guys who led a rebellious life of sin or intrigue…I have always been a man of faith. Like many of you, I imagine. I thought I was living a pretty good life, a faithful life. I loved God, I am a priest- I committed my life to God and it was even written about me and my wife Elizabeth that we were and I quote

righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord (Luke 1:6)

Which basically meant that in our daily lives, we crossed our T’s we dotted our I’s – we paid our bills on time, we were always at worship, we stood, we sung the songs - Elizabeth did I just mouthed the words, we said the prayers, we gave our tithe…we followed the rules. We had a pretty good life. Mostly. We had never been able to have a child…and we didn’t understand and we got angry at each other and at God and at ourselves. We had prayed for a baby as do probably all families who struggle this way. But as we grew older, we had grown used to the reality. I say that because we hadn’t found peace with it. Well I hadn’t. It was a big deal to “carry on the name” …and while my daily life was lived righteous and blameless…much of it was just habit because deep down there wasn’t much that was right. I was mad at God and at Elizabeth and myself too. Elizabeth and I had spent years praying for a child and nothing. And as I looked at the world I saw more nothing…as I called it, you might say unanswered prayers. The Roman government was strong and cruel, and while things were better for us than they had been for our ancestors who were exiled to Babylon – the Romans let us practice our faith and culture – the taxes they imposed were so steep that farmers and the poor were struggling to survive and the tax collectors would often make threats and take more than the government required. One day I really let one of them have it, I told a tax collector he was evil, a sinner through and through and there was no place in the house of God for one like him. There was corruption everywhere and I was powerless to do anything about it. I might have been blameless and righteous in my living but that is only because I took all of my anger, my frustration, my blame, hopelessness, and fear and allowed them to take up residence in my heart, and my spirit.

Work was frustrating too. Don’t get me wrong I took great joy in serving God through the rituals and instructions of our law, but there were many priests and I was just a number…in the priesthood there were a few rare opportunities to enter into the sacred places of the temple – where you can truly serve God by offering a ritual on behalf of many others. I think opportunities like this were the reason, besides family pressure of course, that I entered into the priesthood.

There were 24 groups of priests and each group rotated through temple duty. We worked for one full week, twice a year. It was time for my group’s duty. Part of the priesthood’s responsibility is to offer sacrifices twice day, then to clear the ashes from the alter. A sacrifice was offered on both the outer alter and the inner alter. The inner alter was in the sanctuary – one lone priest offered the sacrifice and burnt the incense in there in the presence of God. Because there were so many of us and because it was such an awesome privilege to enter into the sanctuary to offer a sacrifice – we kept a list of those priests who had yet to enter in. Year after year, my name had remained on that list. We threw lots to determine who would enter, and without a doubt I’d lose. I’d watched my mentors enter, I’d watched friends enter, I’d even seen those who I had mentored enter in to stand in the presence and offer up a sacrifice to God, while I waited outside. I so longed to be in the presence of God but the years passed and my day had never come. A few of the other priests suggested that I hadn't been chosen because I wouldn't sing. Often readings were sung, by a group of men along with the orchestra and while I did all my responsibilities faithfully, singing was not for me, and who knows maybe they were right. Maybe that was why at my old age, after my lifetime of service I had not had the honor of offering a sacrifice to God. It just felt so ingenuous, singing – putting contrived notes to holy words…it sounded better, the music affected people on a deeper level but who was I to sing the notes of God? Maybe it was because I was childless, maybe because I felt God overlooked me – I just couldn’t bring myself to sing.

But then it happened. I threw the lots and it was my turn to enter the sanctuary. It was truly the most sacred moment of my ministry-of my life-as I walked past the others…a large group stood outside praying as I entered in. The job was pretty routine, make a fire here, remove ashes, kneeling and prostrating on the ground…ordinary job but extraordinary experience of humility and joy and purpose! But then something wasn’t right. On the right side of the alter of incense, someone else was there! At first I was furious, this was to be my holy time with God-only one priest enters into the sanctuary to offer the sacrifice. I quickly realized, however, that it wasn’t another priest, I can’t describe it really it was like nothing I had ever seen before, I was so frightened, my mind and body were overwhelmed with fear. But then he spoke,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.

My prayer, what prayer? The prayer to be in the sanctuary,thanks I know.

Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.

Elizabeth, my Elizabeth, she’s too old, we’re too old.

14You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

…To make ready a people prepared for the Lord…Wow… I was trying to process it all, but it didn’t make any sense. Was I hallucinating? This couldn’t be happening. We will never have a child. God hasn’t heard our prayers, God doesn’t care. God just wants us to follow the laws or else, right? If God cared, why would people live in fear of violence, why would there be wars, why would our people have been exiled, why would we have ever been in slavery…this has got to be some kind of a joke, besides we’re old…its too late…someone is playing a trick on me…

“How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”

That didn’t seem to go over very well,

“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

And everything went…silent…

I could no longer hear the crowds outside, I tried to recant my question to Gabriel, to say, “no I didn’t mean it, sure that’s great, a son!” but I couldn’t speak and he then he was gone. I sat in the sanctuary for a long while…alone…I tried to yell, I tried to whisper, I cleared my throat, I coughed and tried again…silence. Finally, I went outside where it was clear the crowd had grown anxious at my delay. I tried a little charades and they seemed to understand something amazing had happened but I wasn’t even sure of that… Can it be true? Do I want it to be true? But this was no dream, I couldn’t speak, I could barely hear. When the week was over I went home and Elizabeth and I conceived a child, a miracle, I was so full of love and joy but I couldn’t tell her that I loved her. I was so thankful that our prayers had been answered but I couldn’t shout my thanksgiving to God for this gift. I remained silent.

All I could hear were Gabriel’s words, his promise of a boy to be called John…but also of the task set out for this child: turning the people of Israel to God, turning the hearts of parents to their children, the disobedient to wisdom…and to go before and make ready a people
John. My son, John, He will go before him…he will make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
I spent my silence wondering what it all meant. Prepare the way of the Lord, if the Lord is coming how should a people be made ready? This was an impossible task…the world was so corrupt, how could John make ready the way for the Lord? Since I could not speak and could barely hear I watched people, I saw the way they treated each other. When you watch people but cannot hear them you see their true intentions, emotions. And what I saw disgusted me: I saw lies and sin and deception, I witnessed power struggles and hostility that led to violence, I looked deeply into the eyes of the corrupt – the governments tax collectors and even those in the priesthood who were there for their glory not for God. There was so much that was wrong with the world, so much to point a finger at, so much to disapprove to classify or judge as sin. I was a voice of reason but God had taken my voice. I couldn’t tell anyone to shape up, I couldn’t tattle on the disingenuous priests, I couldn’t make opposing sides understand where the other was coming from…I watched hope crumble into fear, fear build into anger and anger manifested in violence. The world was dark, there was sin and death everywhere…A moment of hope was trampled by my own fear and judgments –I was consumed with the fighting and conflict, the power-seeking, hoarding and greed…how could this people ever be ready for God. They don’t care about God – they just want what is best for themselves…a people prepared for God is a people of peace. But we’ll never get there. Everyone is too full of complaints and upholding the status quo to work for something different, something better…

They complain about the world but then they act in just the same way. Speaking harsh words, judging, taking power, fighting…

…Silence…
And I remembered the day I yelled at the tax collector.

…Silence…

I felt the anger I had towards those with many children in all our years of having none

…silence…

I saw how my judgments of others kept me from seeing them as children of God

…silence…

…and I realized in my silence that something was changing inside of me. I didn’t have the words, which was fine because I couldn’t speak them anyway…but everytime I thought of John…when I heard Gabriel’s words, when I imagined the way John was preparing…I felt a stillness…a calm…I guess you could say a glimpse of peace…and I remembered the scripture from the prophet Malachi…

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3he 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

Is this messenger my son? A refiner’s fire – refining the people like gold and silver…I don’t know too much about refining metal but I have heard before that the difference between refining precious metals and some other processes is that when you refine silver in fire – nothing changes…the make-up of the metal stays the same – it is simply purified, the way God created it.

There have been days that I have tried so hard to speak, I have yelled and screamed and wept until my throat and my spirit were burning in pain and despair first from what I saw in the world but then as the silence drug on, by what I saw I myself. It has been painful, especially when I realized the darkness of the world can also be found within me. But as Elizabeth’s stomach continued to swell it was like there was a candle lit within me, bringing light into the darkness…but it was still a flame, I felt it burning but instead of screaming out in pain, my silence led me deep into prayer, fervently seeking God like a deer for water…

And I found something…a word, a tune, it sounded like…well it sounded like peace –

When I see the conflict of the world whether in my home, my place of worship or my community, I cannot simply expect peace or even with for peace – to truly pray for peace I have to live in peace. How can I expect my son to create the way for the Lord, to create a way of peace if I am conflicted? No, you see his work, his partnership with God has already begun…the refining fire of love has led me to peace – within myself. For that is where it begins. I cannot expect the tax collectors to act mercifully if I do not grant them mercy. This child that is coming has led me into the fire…not so that I would be changed into something different but so that I would be my best self…the Zechariah that God created me to be.

The day came and Elizabeth gave birth to our child. I have felt so much during my silence…confusion, anger, lonliness, fear, anxiety, frustration…but when I saw his face for the first time there was something new within me, something whole. I saw God…not just in the face of this child, but everywhere…in people – family and friends yes, but also in strangers, Romans, Jews, young and old…I saw them all as children of God, like John, this holy child of God.

That night I prayed, still silently, but in my heart I asked God to forgive me. To forgive me for my selfishness, to forgive me for my anger, to forgive me for my closed mindedness…and as I thanked God for answering my prayers, I made one more request…help me to remain, to abide here – in this place…grant me peace God so that I may accompany my child as he prepares the way for you.

Eight days later, Elizabeth and I took John to be circumcised. Most of our family was there and they were all talking about naming him Zechariah after me, Elizabeth tried to tell them his name was John but no one listened to her. I got so mad, it was like all these months of silence had built up within me and I was ready to explode. Don’t you understand? Why can’t you see what God is doing here? You are all wrong! And in that moment God answered yet another prayer…and in the faces of those who were being rude, in the eyes of those who wouldn’t listen…there was God, and I loved them, because they are God’s children and I knew that it was these…the not-perfect folks, to whom my peace must be offered. I took a deep breath, I said, God grant me peace in my silence and I wrote down these words…

His name is John

And in that moment my mouth was opened, I could speak and I could hear…I’m sure you are wondering what the first thing was that I said. Well, I didn’t curse the angel for 9 months of silence, I didn’t cheer, I didn’t say, “I’m glad that is over.” The words that came out of my mouth were my words, they were the words that were left from the refiners fire…but I couldn’t even say them…in joy – in humility my voice did something it had never been able to do…it sang. That song, well…some called it a song of praise, others called it a prophesy...whatever it was it was my song of joy, my song of hope…my song of peace…

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And then I turned to John and looking at him my joy wasn’t that he was my child but that he was God’s child and I thought about what he had done for me. I had denied that this moment would happen, and for that I fell into silence and began a journey from darkness to light…I watched this life come to be within Elizabeth and I came to know God, I sought forgiveness and I moved toward peace. And if he could do that for me before he was even born…he must be this messenger…and I continued my song…

76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Maybe you think my story is old and has little to do with you, but I wrote it down because John’s work is not done. He followed his call:

“proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)

For this is the way to peace – this is the way we prepare for the coming of the Lord. Just as I discovered in my silence…God guided me through pain and struggle, through honesty and doubt, through fear and anxiety, judgment of others and ultimately judgment of myself…and in silence, in darkness I found the way to peace. It was always there…within me…and now that I have survived the refiner’s fire…I join John and his cousin Jesus and all those who are preparing the way for God on earth…guiding my feet, guiding our world and singing our way to peace.

-Rev. Selena A. Wright

Christ is Coming

Christ is Coming
November 29, 2009
Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36

Now, that can’t be right!?

This is the first Sunday of Advent, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are still enjoying our tasty leftovers and today after church we are going to listen to Christmas music and decorate and then tonight have a special service as we put up the sacred decorations in our sanctuary. It is a great day!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…everywhere you go…

Right? So what in the world are we doing reading this kind of scripture today? Ya’ll know that I preach out of the lectionary – so I didn’t just close my eyes, flip through the Bible and pick this scripture at random, no this is supposed to be the first scripture of Advent, and actually if you remember I told you last year at this time, this is the first Sunday of the Christian year. So what in the world were they thinking? Today is like this perfect combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year all in one…but…that passage just doesn’t fit.
People will faint from fear and foreboding…what is that about?

I know you all came here today to hear some Christmas carols as it ‘tis the season and all…and probably expected to start hearing those old familiar stories about Mary or Joseph, you wanted images of pregnancy and expectation, but instead we are stuck with what…a warning…
Be on guard, be alert

Sure we are on guard for a great sale to buy Christmas presents…we are alert as to how many shopping days are left…26 including today…but that is not what this text is about…
This is a text about the end…again. Didn’t we just do this? The lectionary led us to Mark 13 two weeks ago and now as we start the Christian year, as Advent begins we are back here? Beginning at the end?!
…or are we ending at the beginning?

Our Jeremiah text was good, what we expected:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land

This is what we want, a good ol’ promise that Jesus is on his way. After all we are waiting for Jesus right? Advent means “coming” and so we know that Jesus is coming…but while the world is telling us we are to prepare for the first arrival of the baby Jesus…as we see in Jeremiah…Luke reminds us that we are also waiting for Jesus to come again. This isn’t really an easy thing to preach about…it would be much easier to pick up a nice story about Mary and jump on the Christmas bandwagon but--advent is a part of our Christian year for a reason…we have work to do in the next four weeks, and no it is not just decorating and shopping, we have work to do on ourselves so that we are on guard, alert, open –heads raised, prayerful and strong for Jesus’ arrival.

Because truth be told we are afraid. After my sermon two weeks ago on Mark 13 I heard from many that this discussion had taken place in your homes. That the movie 2012 that I commented on had accomplished its task of eliciting fear not only of what the end will be, but also that it is on its way. In that text Jesus sought to give the disciples are larger perspective, so that they would see that while yes buildings will fall, systems will be destroyed…that when we put our trust in God and not the things of this world there is nothing to fear for God will not only endure but lead us into a new heaven and a new earth that is beyond our imagining.
And today we hear from Luke how it is that we should respond to talk of the end times. He writes:

There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world…

*for the record I don’t think that is the ideal reaction. Luke, like Mark and other Christian apocalyptic texts, as I have said before are not trying to scare us, the purpose is not for us to be afraid…listen

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.

*that’s not scary right?

Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

At first this sounded to be like raising your hands on a roller coaster…I’m not one of those kind of people…those that are already on a scary roller coaster and they fully embrace the fear and adrenaline, taking the extra risk of not holding on so they get the full effect on the ups and downs and twist, turns and loops. But I don’t think that is what Luke really means. He isn’t telling us to relax, he’s not saying that to be a good Christian we have to be thrill seekers ready to jump in to the birthpangs of the apocalypse. I think this text along with the text from Mark does tell us to hold on…just to hold to the right safety harness. Don’t hold on to the world, but hold on to God and then there is no need to fear.

But Jesus does not stop there as he did in Mark. He goes on…he tells a parable about a fig tree…he offers the tree, or all trees really as a way of understanding this new creation that he is talking about. He says,

as soon they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

What strikes me about this is that the kingdom of God has not arrived yet, Jesus doesn’t say anything about full bloom, the summer time is still yet to come…if the leaves are just coming back it is probably the beginning of spring…that in between time when we still feel winter – it has not left us yet and yet we see signs, we trust and believe that summer is on its way. This is the season of Advent.

The Old Testament text that Don read from Jeremiah is written in the middle of winter. Ironically, it is the more frightening scripture of the two even though it might not look that way. While Luke talks about distress, fear, and foreboding and Jeremiah talks about promises, justice and righteousness these passages were written from quite different places. In Luke Jesus is there, he is present in the world offering compassion and hope and healing and peace to his people, while Jeremiah is written while the people of Israel are in exile. They have been removed from their homes, and their homeland, separated from people they knew, systems they knew, culture that they knew and thrust into a foreign land where they are powerless and alone. Jeremiah is written from the bleak mid-winter…that time in winter where we can hardly remember the summer time and it feels like an eternity until it will be here again. All they had left…was hope.

Luke’s world on the other hand was a little more like our world, even though there is pain and brokenness we have comforts, we have safety and security, and so we are filled with fear…fear of losing what we have, fear of change.

Isn’t that odd…that those in the winter are filled with hope while those enjoying the summer are filled with fear?!

So how do we reconcile the two?

This is our task of Advent. Looking back and looking forward.

Yes we are waiting for the coming of the Christ child but we do so in ritual, we do so with our eyes and hearts turned back in history. The birth of this child is our past. But still we have this season, this sacred time of anticipation – as we await his coming. We decorate trees, we gather with family, we light our world with candles and Christmas lights – we sing beautiful songs…we fully embrace the sounds, the smells, the tastes of this season for we know where they lead…
To a baby boy born homeless, to an adolescent who never quite fit with expectations, to a man who wept over the death of a friend, to a teacher whose students betrayed and denied him, to questioning God’s will, feelings of abandonment, and to death on the cross…

The life of Jesus on this earth was not as beautiful as we like to make it out. There was pain and doubt and struggle and suffering…all this begins on Christmas Eve. But what do we do? We celebrate! We do not allow the fearful parts of Jesus life to keep us from rejoicing. Why? Because we know that was not the end of the story. Yes he was homeless, outcast at times, betrayed, denied, he suffered, he died…but three days later he rose again. When we look at the life of Jesus we see it all…from Bethlehem to the empty tomb and we rejoice in every step of that journey.
And so when we look toward the end…we must do the same. There will be fear and foreboding, the stars and moon and roaring of the sea and waves will bring distress and confusion but that will never be the end of the story…the end of the story is a new heaven and a new earth, it will be abundant love and peace and joy of God -- on earth!

So maybe this scripture is right? Maybe as we live in this time of advent…this time when Christ is “coming” we are to anticipate and prepare for the 2nd coming in the same way we anticipate and prepare for the first.

When we think the words or hear the song….its beginning to look a lot like Christmas…we are excited and anxious and expectant of what is to come…
And so when we see the signs…when it seems like the kingdom of God is drawing near…let us be filled with the spirit of advent…with hopeful expectation of the coming of Christ. Amen.

Perspective

Perspective
November 15, 2009
Mark 13: 1-8

Are we there yet? That is what I have been asking…like a kid on a road trip I feel as if I’m twiddling my thumbs – crazy excited to get where it is that we are going. I guess I’m just having a hard time being in the present. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but its not here yet. And while Christmas decorations are already up in Brush and have filled the stores for over a month now it is not Christmas yet, it is not even Advent, our true time of waiting.
So what is today? What is the point of today? Or does that even matter? The world is telling us today is a shopping day…a day to start preparing for Thanksgiving if not for Christmas. Today is a day that we live for the future…but that doesn’t feel right either.

Last week my hope for our service on stewardship was that we would “take stock” of our resources. Particularly the work of our hands…how is it that God is calling us to use our hands to bring resurrection to the world. We read our stewardship scripture from the last book of the Bible, from Revelation 22 but this week its as if we are in a flash back. Last week we saw the new heaven and the new earth and the tree of life with the leaves for the healing of the nations – we saw the river of life and we heard that there was no more night, no more darkness and no need for a lamp or for the moon because God will be with us and will be our light at all times. The light of God shining evermore is the not yet…that for which we wait, that for which we work. For it is by the work of our hands in response to God’s call that we grow and strengthen and heal the love and light and peace and joy and hope that already exists in our world. As John the author of Revelation painted a beautiful picture of the kingdom to come we came face to face with the not yet of God’s promises. We know, we trust that we are on the road to a new heaven and a new earth – a place where there is no death or poverty or despair or pain – but as a parent repeats to the anxious child…no, we are not there yet.

Instead we are in world where we hear of shooting sprees in Texas and Florida. We are in a world where children are hungry and homeless, where racial, ethnic, religious and political divides and tensions lead not only to fear, hate and apathy but also acts of violence. We live in a world so full of war we don’t even remember that war is not only taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan but also in Israel, in Somalia, in India, in the Congo, in Columbia, and Uganda to name only a few. We live in a world that fears the environment – we are uncertain but afraid of the dangers of global warming, we worry as we hear of the rising number of hurricanes and the unexpected ones like Ida that made land this week. We are in a world where we hear daily about nuclear weapons in North Korea or elsewhere –

We look at the world and see pain and violence on a global scale but even closer to home we hear of abuse and violence, of death and suffering, of lost jobs and lost hope…

There are days that it feels like the whole world is crashing in around us…and we wonder…is it? Are we approaching the end times? Are these the trials – the birth pangs – that will lead us into a new world?

There is much speculation about this, especially since this weekend a new film was released, 2012…a film that uses the ancient Mayan understandings to predict the end of the world.

The movie has received much negative press for creating a culture of fear – seeking to cast itself not as fiction but as prophesy. The 2012 phenomenon is based on the Mesoamerican Long Court Calendar which counts days and cycles…Dec. 21, 2012 is considered the end of the 13th cycle – and therefore the end of the world as we know it. Scientist, Historians and Mayan scholars all argue this is a misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the Mayan understanding, but hey, it sells. Interestingly enough, those who made this movie also made Independence Day – a movie about the world ending due to alien invasion and the Day After Tomorrow (a movie about the world ending due to global warming). These people have figured out that “the end” sells…images of the statue of liberty crumbling at the force of a 20 story wave, pictures of land masses breaking apart, explosions, alien ships blowing up the white house, create enough fear and adrenaline in consumers that we cannot stay away.

But as people of faith we ask different questions, we have different expectations, different fears and different hopes. Last week we studied the true end…the end of the Bible – the last image of God and God’s people…and it was…beautiful. No death, no darkness, instead we saw rivers and trees and fruit and joy. This is the picture of the end that we as Christians look toward – the new heaven and new earth where wars have ceased, the hungry are fed, the outcasts welcomed, where hope has been realized. It is our happy ending…but depending on our perspective there is much between here and there…

This is what Jesus provides for his disciples in our text for today, perspective. Reading the 13th chapter of Mark sounds like a chapter out of Revelation but it is in the gospels it is in the middle of the good news of Jesus, but the tone of this chapter has received attention and even a nickname…the little apocalypse. Apocalypse means unveiling – contrary to common understanding it is not a prophecy or a foretelling of what will happen…it is the unveiling of a truth that already exists. Emily Dickenson once wrote that “the hope of the future is hidden in the present” and that is what I think of when I hear the word apocalypse…that somewhere in our world is the truth, the hope, the promise of what is to come. In our little apocalypse Jesus and the disciples are walking out of the temple and the disciples are in awe of the grand structure like rural folks first visit to the big city… “check out these stones and how tall these buildings are!” Jesus and the Disciples are right there staring at the massive structure of the temple that was rebuilt by King Herod. I imagine they were straining their necks, squinting their eyes as they stared up at this massive and beautiful structure. Like my first trip to New York City as a small child – I remember standing at the base of all those huge buildings – and feeling afraid – they cast shadows on the earth, and made me feel so small, so insignificant.

But when Jesus stands at the base of these structures he does not share my nor the disciples awe, instead he says;

"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

It must have been impossible for the disciples to realize what Jesus was saying. As they stared up at the temple and the other large buildings…how could they even fathom this same city in ruins? The buildings were so much bigger than them, and everything that was taking place in Jerusalem was built around and functioned with the support of these structures.

I can’t read this scripture without thinking of the World Trade Center…I picture the towering presence that I experienced as a child – and what they represented…those buildings were powerhouses, not only in steel and iron but in the institutional structures of our society – we trusted that they were strong and would endure…
And when I read Jesus’ words to the disciples I see those horrible images of flames and dust and rubble…

"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

On September 11 we all paused in shock and in fear and somewhere within us we asked…is this the end?
But in the days that followed something happened, something changed. Somehow through the dust and despair of that great tragedy, if only for a moment we saw the world differently – we gained perspective.

Have you ever experienced a shift in perspective like this?

You are looking around and everything feels larger than life, the obstacles, struggles, challenges ahead of you feel insurmountable. You stand beside a crisis or a worry and you feel so small, so weak, so powerless like an ant trying to navigate through our world. That is what the disciples felt at first, they stood among those huge buildings and they too believed that they were powerless, that the world around them towered over them…but then they gained perspective. Jesus saw them looking up with awe and fear and trembling at these buildings and he said…no you are not seeing it right…come get a different view…and he took them to the Mount of Olives so that they were looking at the buildings from a distance, and they looked different – smaller, limited, especially in contrast to the expanse of land and sky that surrounded them. Just like the images on the powerpoint…both of downtown Denver but one the buildings tower over you, they are all there is, but in the other…there is sky, there are mountains, we are able to see that these structures are not everything. From a different view the disciples realized the possibility of what Jesus was telling them…these buildings will be thrown down…and when they could see the buildings in their entirety, and within the context of the wider world a few of them were able to take Jesus seriously and ask: when will this happen, how will we know, what will be the signs?

Jesus tells them this is not the question to be asking, in verse 32 he says:
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father

We hear in this text that what is important is not the date but the perspective…
View matters. When we are standing at the bottom of the building and we can’t even see the top of it, or see around it, we are without hope. But when we change our perspective, back up a few steps or even a few miles we see that this moment, this challenge, this pain, this struggle has limits too, it might even be a bit smaller than we realized when we were at its base.

As Christians we have the blessing of the big picture if we allow ourselves to see it. Jesus was not trying to scare the disciples, nor is that the intention of any of our Christian apocalyptic writings – they are not there to frighten us into faith or to say to unbelievers, agree with me or else – they are there to give us perspective. Jesus was trying to tell the disciples, you may look at these buildings and think they will stand forever, you can put your trust in these structures believing that bigger is better but you are looking at it wrong. You are too close, you have to take a step back…and realize that these buildings will fall…all that you know will change, the things of this world that you put your trust in, that bring you feelings of safety and security will be destroyed…

And he was right. That temple did fall to the ground only 40 years later around the year 70. And with the destruction of the temple, the system of laws and sacrifices that was inherent in the structure of the temple ended…the way of life that they knew came to an end. But in an end there was a beginning. Mark, the first of the gospels was written right about this same time. Scholars disagree as to whether Mark was written before or after the temple was destroyed but either way…as the temple fell…our scriptures were created…

So what does this say to us, to our fears…to those images of buildings that we trust in, rely on, crumbling to the ground. I think we can take any building, any system and structure that we put our trust in and hear Jesus telling us

Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

We have seen it happen, we saw it on September 11 and we learned from that tragedy that buildings do fall, stocks do fall, systems crumble…everything changes.
But this is not for us to fear. Being prepared for destruction is not about being right, judging others, nor is it living in fear or even looking for signs that destruction is coming…instead we learn from this little apocalypse and Revelation to seek a bigger perspective. To put our hope and trust in God and not on this world, not on buildings or institutions or systems or structures…all the worldly things that bring us feelings of safety will be destroyed…but this does not have to be bad news…as I said, it is gospel, it is good news

It is the good news that all those things that keep us from God, all those things that we put our faith in, all those things we trust will fall away and there will only be God. God is, God was and God will forever be.

We are to trust in God, put our faith in God alone, not on politicians, not on statues and buildings and structures…but on God and the promises of Christ for at the end of all that we know…there is God.

And so the question is not are we there yet, but where are we? Where are our hearts, our priorities our trust, our hope right now. This is a text about today - not in the future of the holidays, not in the fear of 2012, but today…Mark 13 does not teach us about tomorrow but gives us a wider view to live today. Amen.

-Rev. Selena A. Wright

"Tree of Life"

Tree of Life
Revelation 22:1-5
Stewardship Sunday, November 8, 2009

Today is the 3rd week of our annual Stewardship Campaign. This week we have to make some hard decisions as next Sunday, Nov. 15 before our Thanksgiving Meal we will all present our pledges of what we will give the church in 2010. So lets not beat around the bush…this is a sermon about giving. You know it and I know it. The reality is that financially we are struggling, according to last month’s board report we are over $16,000 in the hole for our operating budget. And so the stewardship committee has done good work, hard work to reduce our budget 2% for the next year, and all the while they are still honoring the people and the ministries that support the church and they are bravely stepping out to do new things, to take risks and to trust in where the Spirit is leading us.

In the past few weeks we have heard the details of our budget which demonstrated the transparency of the stewardship committee – in that they want everyone to know the reality of our financial situation – the celebrations and the struggles…and while a budget is news…even a budget with all plus signs and no negatives is not the good news we come here to receive. We are here because of the good news of Jesus Christ, and so today I want you to think about this church and the good news of Jesus – what it has meant to you in the past, what it means to you today, what you hope for in the future – but also I want you to think beyond yourself, beyond this building, beyond this community…and hear what the good news of stewardship is for all people and how we are called to give, how we are called to participate, to contribute, to share.
Our scripture for our stewardship campaign has not been, lets say, traditional. The stewardship committee did not choose a safe scripture from the Old Testament about tithing the appropriate 10% of your income, nor did they select texts on storing your treasures in heaven and not on earth, or the most popular response of Jesus: give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s – considering of course that all that we have is from God.

No our stewardship committee…the rebels that they are who often hold their meetings at Dairy Queen chose a scripture from Revelation. Sometimes when we hear about the book of Revelation we think of plagues and devastation, of weeping and gnashing of teeth, of judgment and rapture…now while that might be motivational for some folks, the stewardship committee does not think these are the end times, not at all. I don’t even think they thought of that as they chose this scripture because we are not a people of fear – we are a people of hope…a people of resurrection and that is truly what Revelation is about. That through struggle and pain, unpaid bills, anxiety, loss, and doubt… God is making all things new…
God is making all things new right now, not later, not once we get things straightened out, but now, right now, God is making all things new.

This is what we hear in our text and this is what we experience in our world. All around us there is pain and struggle, even our weather – while it has been beautiful the last few days – teaches of resurrection. We do not fear leaves falling, flowers dying because we trust that in the cold of winter…God is making all things new. And so a scripture from Revelation – the end – the story of the end, the end of our Bible is actually a beginning – as it is a picture of resurrection, an illustration of hope, a portrait of peace. John, the author of Revelation is retelling of his vision and that vision is of a world where God reigns, where there is no death or darkness, no poverty or oppression, no economic crisis, and no debates over healthcare. I want to say it is a world of joy and peace and love…but that is wrong it is not a world—it is our world that is full joy, life, peace, love, hope. The distinction is important because these things already exist, joy, life, peace, love, hope. We have experienced all of them and so this vision in Revelation is not totally abstract or unimaginable, it is the best of ourselves, the best of our world in full embrace of God…and while we are not there yet we stand in the liminal place of “already and not yet.” Already God is making all things new, already there is joy and love that is stronger than hate or fear or despair, already God is with us – but not yet do we all acknowledge God’s light, not yet have we ended poverty, not yet do we live in peace with all people, not yet do we see each person as a child of God…Already and not yet…
With this already/not yet mindset let us read our scripture again…

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.

Think of what we already have…rivers, water that brings life, trees that produce fruit, leaves, healing and God as our light. But when we hear of the water of life flowing down main street we think, not yet, seeing God’s face – not yet, no more night – not yet…
But let us look at the second verse a little closer:

On either side of the river is the tree of life* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

There is much in this one line for us to explore. First of all the tree…when we often think of the tree of life we see one tree, the tree of life, but we read in this text that the tree of life is on either side of the river which tells me it is not only one tree…just like the largest gatherings of trees out here in Eastern Colorado are all lining the river, so too it seems the trees of life stand on the edge of this beautiful river. The trees stand together, they are different but connected, by the water source, by roots and by their very nature.

For the last few weeks you have seen this image – this tree of life – our tree of life. As we, First Christian Church, stand on the edge of the river we are one of many trees, standing tall…and the leaves of the tree (as the text tells us) are for the healing of the nations.
Our leaves look a bit different than those on the trees outside. These leaves are our hands – big hands and small hands – serve as the leaves…that when placed on the tree of life are for the healing of the nations.

I thought this was an odd illustration to be found in Revelation because while some leaves do have healing properties, this is not always true. Leaves are something we most often take for granted. Sure we have noticed them lately as we rake them into large piles and they continue to blow around our yards…but I went exploring into what this verse could mean and how it could impact us today. Last week we learned the science of clouds, this week it is leaves.

Here is a picture of the work of leaves:
*It’s in the leaves that photosynthesis takes place. Photosynthesis is the process by which the tree is able to use light (“photo”) energy to make (“synthesis”) food for the tree in the form of carbohydrates. The leaves work as little factories that separate oxygen and carbon from the sun, water and the air in order to give the tree what it needs to grow. What surprised me the most as I had my science lesson this week was in the way we look at the relationship between leaves and trees. I had always thought that beautiful trees grow leaves, but in fact the leaves are so important that they grow the tree. The leaves create food for the tree and store up enough food to last through winter to allow the tree to live, grow, thrive…
Already – not yet

So now let us look again at our image…and hear our scripture…the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Putting this in context…in this last verse of our Bible, as John is painting the picture of how the world should be, how the world will be when God is at the center…and we see that the power to move into the not yet…already exists…in our hands.
Our hands are for the healing of the nations!

In this perfect picture of our world each one of us has a responsibility to care and to share and to heal and to love and to share: To use our hands not only for our own care and well-being, not only for our own family, for our own church, for our own community, our own country…but for the healing of all the nations. Now when we hear something like that, something big and beautiful and yet abstract we say…I can’t, I don’t have the time, I don’t have enough money, I don’t have the energy. And that is right. No one of us has the time or the money or the energy or the drive to heal the nations, to feed the hungry, to run this church – and we are not asked too…it is not for the one tree…but for the leaves working together each one to grow the tree to heal the world.

Think about this if 100 of us would increase our giving of just $24 a week for the rest of this year, for the next 7 weeks we could make up for the $16,000 deficit.
When we take seriously the work of each leaf to grow the tree anything is possible!
And I’m not just talking about money. Stewardship is about working carefully, intentionally and generously with all that God has given us…time, talents, passion, and energy…we must be good stewards of it all. A church with all the money in the world but no one to sing, no one to learn or lead or pray or play is like a tree with no branches or leaves with no tree…it just doesn’t work.
*On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

We have talked about the tree and the leaves but let us pause in the middle…and think about the fruit. The tree of life produces twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month…is this one of those “not yet” things? I am not so sure. The tree of life meets our needs as our needs exist – it sounds to me a lot like manna. Remember with me the story of the Exodus as Moses and the Israelites fled Egypt and entered into the wilderness. They had no food and were very afraid, but God gave them manna, bread from heaven but it came with specific instructions…we read in Exodus 16:

This is what the Lord has commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.” ’ The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.

What is amazing about the manna that is echoed in today’s scripture from Revelation is that God gives us what we need for today. Just as there was enough manna for everyone to have their share, the tree of life grows 12 kinds of fruit, one for every month, so it is sustained, there is always enough and a promise of—as we say each week in our prayer, “daily bread.”
Now let us hold this verse together as one…the tree of life – our church
The leaves – our hands – for the healing of the nations
And twelve kinds of fruit producing for each month

Take a moment to look at your hands. What have they done in this world, who have they touched, how have they worked, what strength do you have in your hands…how has the work of your hands grown your children or the grown a garden or a tree or the church…how have your hands healed a child or healed a nation…?
Reflect on the already…what have your hands done already in service to God in this world…how have you fed the tree of life?

And now again looking at your hands…imagine the not yet…what is there still for your hands to do, for God has work for all of our hands: Fruit for us to produce each month. As long as we live we are called to create and synthesize just like the leaves of a tree. Our hands are gifts from God so that we may bring gifts to God…by reaching out, write notes, play the piano, dial the telephone, hold another hand in prayer, cook and bake, rake leaves, turn the pages of your Bible, offer communion to others, feed the hungry and write your checks each week and your commitment for 2010 – all the work of our hands bring healing to the nations and grow the tree of life. We have done so much together…but there is so much more to do Amen.

-Rev. Selena A. Wright