SERMON preached November 19, 2006, St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Propers: Daniel 12:1-4a [5-13]; Ps. 16:5-11; Hebrews 10:31-39; Mark 13:14-23
The Rev. Lucas Grubbs
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. And today, believe it or not, that’s the good news. +++
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Does the opening line from the reading from the letter to the Hebrews sound like a threat to you? Does it sound like a warning? Or does it perhaps sound like one of the most amazing promises of good news that we can hear? At this point, it probably doesn’t. Something about falling into the hands of a living God just sounds terrifying, and indeed, that’s why we are told that it is a fearful thing.
Sometimes scriptures read in church on a Sunday morning are just begging to get us out of our comfort zone. You know just as well as I do, that it’s always nice when there is at least a hint of mercy given to the preacher and to the congregation by the Bible. A witty insight to get the sermon started, a cute turn of phrase or something to break the ice, get a laugh or two and move the sermon right along. Today’s scriptures are tough; a good test for an interview candidate I guess. The only thing along those witty lines I can think of happened on Friday as I was going through interview after interview. I was having lunch with the office staff of St. Mary’s at the home of the Fitzgerald’s, and as we were sitting down to the table, the wine glasses filled and all of us ready to eat, an enormous gasp overcame us all as Fr. Ted heroically knocked over his full glass of red wine all over the table. It made me think of today’s Psalm, verse 4, “their libations of blood I will not offer”…but their libations of wine, well, that’s another story, sure, why not. As the interviewing candidate, I was able to take a nice, deep breath of relief. Trust me, in situations like those; it’s much better for the Rector to spill the wine than the candidate at the interview. But lo and behold, after all the hustle and bustle of saving the carpet from stain, Fr. Ted strikes again, boom! There goes another glass of red! Ah, big sigh of relief again and again I thought of the Psalm, verse 4: “Lord, you are my portion and my cup.” Good thing for all of us that the Lord is our portion and our cup, and not delicate cups of red wine. I have to say, as you all know well, Fr. Ted took it with grace and good humor and at least I think the Fitzgerald’s did as well. It’s good to be around people who can take things in stride, and I want to thank all of the people of St. Mary’s whom I’ve met and who have been so kind and hospitable to me and to my wife Meredith. There are too many to mention now. But thank you.
But back to this morning’s texts which I can’t take in stride. This time, the joke is on me this morning. On the face of it, there is very, very little to offer here in terms of heartwarming good news. There are no children coming to Jesus…actually, there’s a big warning to women who are nursing or pregnant. Yeah, that’s a rough one. Nope, not today…no amazing and life changing stories of healing and transformation, of self-actualization and self-help therapy. Actually, again its quite the contrary…frankly, there’s a lot of talk about suffering, abuse and persecution in both the letter to the Hebrews and in Marks Gospel. So, where is the good news? Where is the lesson to take home for the week besides watching your wine glass at a luncheon? This isn’t pretty or easy Christian advice for quiet living here. This time of year, towards the Feast of Christ the King, we deal with these apocalyptic texts as we prepare to start the church cycle over again in Advent. These are serious words. And like my old first priest and mentor taught me, we must treat these serious words of scripture, seriously.
There is no denying it so we might as well not even try; this is some pretty terrifying and unsettling news. It’s not the kind of scriptural reality that most Episcopalians generally go for, rather, the talk of the “abomination of desolation” and the end times sounds like something we are more apt to hear on that late night Christian AM radio…let’s face it, we like a kind God, a loving God, a God who gives of Godself in a pure and glorious offering like that found on the cross or at a holy table and holy meal with friends. Grace and forgiveness of sins. Mercy, love, patience and peace. For most of us, that’s how we see God.
And although on the face of it that’s not what we seem to be hearing about God today, that is exactly what we should be hearing. In today’s readings, we are forced to make a comparison, and ultimately a choice: Falling into the hands of a living God may sound frightening at first. But ask yourselves: What is worse? The hands of a living God, or the hands of a false God, a false prophet or a false Messiah. The hands of a living God, who has the whole world in His hands as the famous children’s song goes, or falling into the hands of a callous, sinful, reckless and ignorant society. Which one is worse? I’d take the hands of a living God any day.
The letter to the Hebrews recalls for us the days of the earliest church, when Jews who had converted to Christianity were suffering major persecutions, the robbing and plundering of their possessions, beatings, torture—something we hear a lot about these days—and public and humiliating death. When Mark talks of the desolating sacrilege, he’s referring to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the obliteration of the most holy of places and a plague of suffering and persecution and strife. When faced with this as an option, the hands of a living God sound pretty nice. The song, “He’s got the Whole World In His Hands” may sound a little simplistic to our ears, but here’s one thing we can be sure of: In God’s hands there is no torture, there is no pain, there is no loneliness or abandonment or suffering or humiliation. The hands and feet and head and side and heart of Christ have already caught that persecution in its most vile form on our behalf so that we can see and believe the goodness of God’s mercy. A mercy and love which is so complete that God Godsself is willing to undergo the same cruel persecutions and suffering that we or others may have to undergo, the same persecutions we are warned about today, in order to show us that by no means are we alone in this world, and by no means are we cast out by God.
At times like this, it’s tempting to want to think that held in God’s hands, we are immune from suffering or strife or even persecution. In a grander, more metaphysical or other worldly sense, we really are immune from pain and suffering, safe in the hands of God. ?But what then to make of the day to day? Have you heard the stories of the Christians in Iraq who have been killed and driven out in droves just because of their faith? Or what about each of us who from time to time may be just a bit timid about talking about our faith as Christians in the face of a society that relegates belief to the sidelines as a more personal issue, especially in a state like Oregon where so little of the population is involved in a faith community? When we neglect to share this love of Christ out of fear or embarrassment; that is also a little form of persecution.
And of course, what about the day-to-day sufferings in our live that are very real? Fights and conflicts with our family, friends or colleagues. Illness or death in the family, or falling on hard times financially? Yes, there is still, and there always will be suffering as long as we human beings walk this earth. So the hands of a living God start to sound even better. It wouldn’t be fearful to fall into the hands of a living God if that’s all we ever had to do. For again, as the Psalmist says today of God: “You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” Pleasures for evermore. Sounds good to me.
But while we are here, while we walk this earth, the hands of a living God might still be a little scary. Still, less scary than a lot of what this world can throw at us. But what makes it a fearful thing now…what makes it so scary is that once we realize that we are held in the hands of a living God…and I think most of us would consider that to be the case or we wouldn’t be here at all…once we realize we are in God’s hand’s there is absolutely no excuse and no turning back. And yes, that can be scary.
The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that those in the hand of the living God will live by faith. The righteous will live by faith. God takes no pleasure in those who shrink back. And you and I, we are in the hands of a living God. We simply cannot shrink back. Again, as Hebrews tells us, “we are not among those who shrink back, but are among those who have faith and so are saved.”
As long as we are alive, as long as we walk this world and call ourselves Christians, we must not, we cannot shrink back from our faith, from our neighbors, from our enemies and from those who need us. Yes, that can be a scary thing. The responsibilities and great trust that come with our Baptism and our life with Christ are indeed serious, and they demand our full and undivided attention. If that’s what is fearful about being in the hands of a living God, then I’ll admit, I’m a little scared. And you should be too. But nothing brothers and sisters in Christ, nothing can separate us from the love and reality of God with us. And although it might be a fearful thing from time to time, we are still and always in God’s hands, and that’s a pretty good place to be.