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| Dr. Andy Cullen November 18, 2007 Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church Luke 21: 5-9 |
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5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’ Signs and Persecutions7 They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ 8And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them. 9 ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ 10Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls. Luke 21:5-19
The 21st chapter of Luke’s Gospel is an “apocalyptic or eschatological discourse,” disclosing or revealing what is yet to occur toward the end of time: false prophets, political turmoil, social upheaval, wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters, earthquakes, famines, genocide.
Jesus speaks to his disciples then and Jesus speaks to us now, and these are words I want us to hear today,…these are words that I want to hear today: “Do not be terrified.” “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” …When the World Spins crazy…do not be terrified…By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Until that day we live out our faith in the midst of difficult times. “The gospel offers, not a way of predicting the end of the world, but the spiritual resources to cope with adversity and hardship.” (Culpepper, NIBC)
Corrie Ten Boom (The Hiding Place) was a Dutch survivor of the Nazi Concentration Camps. Her family had hidden Jews during the German occupation of Holland. For this they had been captured and sent off to various concentration camps. Corrie and her sister Betsie ended up in Ravensbruck. Betsie died on December 16, 1944. Some of her last words to Corrie were, "Corrie, we) must tell them what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here."
When the world spins crazy, God is deeper…… “Do not be terrified.” “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” We look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday. Thanksgiving Day always seems like a little parenthesis, a respite, in the midst of daily routine….(that’s because I don’t have to cook anything.) We will get together with family …with our three grandchildren
I seem to worry about my grandchildren now – more than I worried about my own children. About the world they live in. About the world they will inherit.
Nancy and I took care of our grandchildren last Tuesday night while our daughter and son-in-law went to a class at their church ….. Emily-5, in kindergarten, Sophie – 2 and baby Andrew (Drew), 9 months..
Emily had a very loose bottom tooth that she kept playing with and with Emily’s permission; Nancy gently tested it, but didn’t pull it out. Then Emily tried and lo and behold her tooth came out….I was sitting across the table from her and when Emily looked at the little tooth between her fingers there was this wide-eyed, open-mouth look of wonder and surprise, joy and accomplishment and astonishment. “MY TOOTH CAME OUT!” “It’s bleeding a little, Get some Kleenex, wash your mouth out with cold-water, …you know how it goes. Nancy and I were as excited as Emily. Nancy, the ever-efficient grandmother finds a zip-lock bag, labels it, and puts Emily’s tooth in it – all ready to go under the pillow. BIG Excitement/ Our daughter and son-in-law were surprised too!
Getting those little girls tucked in I thought about the world they would inherit ….When the world spins crazy….. (The next day we found out that the Tooth Fairy left Emily $5.00!!!!)
In Thursday’s New York Times: “In parts of Angola, Congo and the Congo Republic, a surprising number of children are accused of being witches, and then are beaten, abused or abandoned. Child advocates estimate that thousands of children living in the streets of Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, have been accused of witchcraft and cast out by their families, often as a rationale for not having to feed or care for them.
The officials in one northern Angolan town identified 432 street children who had been abandoned or abused after being called witches. A report last year by the government’s National Institute for the Child and the United Nations Children’s Fund described the number of children said to be witches as “massive.” “
“When the World Spins Crazy”
“When the World Spins Crazy” is the title of a prayer written by Walter Brueggemann after September 11, 2001. At the time he was Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.
I have adapted and added to his prayer:
“When the world spins crazy, spins wild and out of control spins toward rage and hate and violence, spins beyond our wisdom and nearly beyond our faith,
When the world spins to chaos as it does now among us… We are glad for sobering roots that provide ballast in the storm. So we thank you for our rootage in communities of faith, Like Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church…
For many fathers and mothers Who have believed and trusted As firm witnesses to us, For their many stories of wonder, awe and healing.
We are glad this (day) in this company For the rootage of the text, For its daring testimony, For its deep commands For its exuberant tales. Because we know that as we probe deep into this text… Clear to its bottom, We will find you, God, hiding there, We will find you, Living Christ, showing yourself there,
Speaking as you do. Challenging Healing, Comforting Encouraging Strengthening
And when we meet you hiddenly, We find the spin not so unnerving, Because from you the world again has a chance For life and sense and wholeness. We pray midst the spinning, not yet unnerved, But waiting and watching and listening, For you are the truth that contains all our spin.”
When it seems as though the world spins out of control, or it feels as though our lives are spinning out of control. What do we do?
“Do not be terrified,” Jesus says. Continue giving witness to the good news of God’s reconciling love for the world. Continue giving witness to the message of forgiveness, grace and mercy offered in Christ. “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
At yesterday’s meeting of Heartland Presbytery, Sandra Stogsdill, our former Interim Director of Children’s Ministries, successfully completed her ordination examination. In her Statement of Faith submitted to the Presbytery, Sandra adapted the following words from the PCUSA Book of Order………..very powerful words: “As the Church, we are called to live in humility and compassion, joyfully using our gifts to build up the body of Christ. We are called to witness to God’s love through a corporate life of courageous and faithful service, hospitality, prophetic proclamation, and worship, showing a special concern for the oppressed and the stranger. We are to do so at the cost of our own existence.”
We are to do so at the cost of our own existence! When the world spins crazy, “Do not be terrified.” “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
God is the One who contains all the spin.
Affirmation of faith: In gratitude to God, empowered by the spirit, WE STRIVE TO SERVE CHRIST IN OUR DAILY TASKS AND TO LIVE HOLY AND JOYFUL LIVES, EVEN AS WE WATCH FOR GOD’S NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH, PRAYING “COME, LORD JESUS.” (From a Brief Statement of faith, PCUSA) |
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