Sermon Archive

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

It feels like we haven't yet digested our turkey, and now we are already lighting the advent candle and expecting Christmas. And truth be told, Christmas lights were put up at Columbus Circle by Halloween. So here we are again, at that time of year. I don't know about you, but I am the kind of person that needs to make meaning out of all the Christmas madness that is about to happen. And I think that it is important that we make meaning together, as a family. So let me be the first to say among the Rutgers family, Merry Christmas!

My biological family is also here today from Ohio. I want to welcome my family and anyone else that is visiting with us this morning. I asked my mother, who also has had a life-time career with the Presbyterian Church, what she thought I should say for today's first advent sermon. She replied, "Just keep it short, we have afternoon theater tickets!" So, I guess the Christmas rush has begun, and I'll try to keep to my end of the bargains!

Our Gospel lesson takes us into Mark's account of the final speech of Jesus just before he is arrested and tried by the courts of the religious and political leadership of his nation. He speaks to his disciples who are impatiently waiting for a Messianic king to be inaugurated. This new king would surely clean-up the mess of oppression and injustice that the Roman Empire had caused.

Even the nation's religious leadership was caught-up in the unjust systems of the empire. They had developed what I call, "A System of Sin," that kept people highly indebted to the temple. The temple was the systemic center of all aspects of Judean life. And rumors of war and protest against the temple leadership and the Romans were bubbling up from all neighborhoods of Judea. In this growing tension, false prophets were being reported by the media that the end was near. And they called each other, "Sinner!," while trying to justify their own self-righteousness. People created political scapegoats as the reason for the turmoil that they were in.

So, in the thirteenth chapter of Mark's gospel, Jesus prophesizes that the Holy Temple, in all of it's grander and power, would one day be destroyed. And he reminds his disciples that they too will be victims of the religious and political prejudice since they follow this Jesus, who would soon become a scapegoat himself and be crucified on a tree. So listen now for the Word of God in this final speech of Jesus:

"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming on clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake-for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrows, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." NRSV

The Word of the Lord...Thanks Be to God.

Roman soldiers march in formation. Line after line after line of Caesar's legions, march from the North from Syria and from the South, from Egypt. They are adorned by wearing golden armor breast plates with the famous red plumes on their heads. You can hear the precision of their footsteps approaching. They carry sharpened metal swords and golden shields that have decoration inscribed that tells the story of the divine power and might and victory of Rome, proclaiming to the world that Caesar is god and that he is to be worshiped. They march towards Jerusalem. From the west, naval ships sail on the Mediterranean Sea prepared to strike at any nation that dares to defy Lord Caesar. The ships launch massive fire balls at night to burn and destroy the port city of the enemy. Their surprise attack is perfectly designed to instill the most effective fear on innocent victims.

A child looks up at the dark night and sees the heavens raining fire as their homes burn and loved ones die. The air becomes so thick with smoke that the light of the stars and the moon can not be seen. Panic, chaos, fear and destruction. The life of the nation is in turmoil. The centerpiece of Judean life is destroyed. God's holy Jerusalem temple is smashed by the Romans just as it had been by the Babylonians five hundred years before. It is crucified. The temple, the center of all religious, economic, political and cultural vitality of Judea is gone and no longer what it used to be. War and economic depression have been victorious because of human greed that even the religious leadership of the day had endorsed. It appears that the cosmic fight between good and evil is being decided. Where is God and how did OUR God let us get in this situation?

Is this the apocalyptic scenario that Jesus is referring to in this passage from Mark's Gospel? Is this our future? Is Jesus predicting the end of our known world? YES, but not in the popular way that many people and preachers think and proclaim. And it is certainly not the vision we hope to hear the first Sunday of Advent when our nation remains at war and in economic depression.

So what is it then that Jesus says to beware of and keep awake and alert?

First, we need to remember that Mark's Gospel was originally written as a single narrative to be performed in one setting. It tells the story of Jesus who comes to Jerusalem and turns the temple establishment up side down. He challenges the popular way of thinking in his day where honor is directed towards wealthy political and business benefactors and the culturally pious. Systems of sin had been developed by orthodox religion that called some unrighteous and others righteous. It was a way to keep proper order in church and society and to ensure the rule of the privileged. Caesar himself, while in Rome, appointed the chief priest of the Jerusalem Temple to make certain that proper worship was carried out. Even a statue of Caesar was added to the temple which was utter blaspheme. Caesar was also the one who appointed King Herod to govern over Judea. Much like today, the advancement of society was centered on the globalization of the empire and its capital, and their use of religion validated it. But for the faithful people of the God of Judea, the one God we worship today, this IS blaspheme.

So this little Jesus, among an oppressed little nation of the empire, proclaims a large, cosmic gospel about the true way of the true God. In Mark's narrative play, God is the central character and Jesus is the leading star. And he calls the audience to focus on this Jesus and God's way rather than the imposed, unjust way of society.

Can you imagine how Mark's gospel would have been heard by those first followers of Christ? Mark writes this account about the time that the Jerusalem temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 of the common era, but the words of Jesus that the gospel accounts in this passage we just heard were spoken some forty years before the temple fell. So hearing the first performance of Mark's gospel redirected the popular and understandable focus of a destroyed nation from chaos and despair to the truth and hope in the life of this Jesus, the Christ.

The prophesy that Jesus proclaims in his final speech is more about his coming crucifixion than the coming of a supposed Armageddon. He wants us to center ourselves on the meaning of the cross; this cross that we see at the center of our worship this morning. And I believe that is the focus that our lectionary challenges us to ponder this advent, as we prepare for the coming birth of Christ.

We heard Jesus say that after the suffering, the earth will be darkened, and heaven and earth will shake. If you remember the Good Friday story that is exactly what happened. The earth shook, the temple curtain tore, and the sky was darkened. But then the Son of humanity will come on clouds and bring forth God's glory and power. Jesus is telling his disciples about his resurrection which launches the eternal reign of God now! And he calls his disciples into the holy action of hope and preparation for the final outcome of peace and justice on earth as it is in heaven. Friends, the apocalypse that some want us to fear is not merely going to happen, it IS happening.

Yes, wars will come, depressions happen, and even temples fall; injustice is real, but Caesar's rule isn't the last word. It is God's Word that is everlasting. And God's rule has already begun, even if it is not yet complete. God knows that many of us know that first hand. We are called to be alert and look for the signs of God's Way, and join in. If I didn't believe that with every passion in my body, I wouldn't waste my time with four years of seminary education, nor join the fight for the right of all people to inquire about ordination in this denomination. For it appears that in the midst of our nation's, and our denomination's, current chaos, we see the signs of hope for the coming of the Lord. But Jesus reminds us to focus on God's hope and the community of God's way, not on the specific time of the coming of the savior. For we don't know what the future will enfold, and history continues to reminds us of that reality.

But the son of humanity will come, and on clouds. And if you look to the front of our sanctuary, above the choir, maybe we can see the glimpse of hope in those clouds right here and now and as a family focused on Christ's inclusive love; A model of the way of God. Isn't that the beautiful vision of Christ to hope for at Rutgers Presbyterian Church?

The apostle Paul also speaks to us today. He says that the testimony of Christ has already been strengthened among us, and we are called into the fellowship of Christ. We heard that from his letter to the assembly in Corinth, through the words of our call to worship this morning.

We know that not everyone hears the fullness of Paul's call. Many on the religious right proclaim a focus on the apocalyptic second coming of Jesus and tell that there is no need to be involved in the struggles of the world. It is all about the second world to come. You probably have heard about the popular evangelical Left Behind Series that proclaims what I believe is a false gospel. Yes, I believe in the theology of the second coming, but Mark's gospel teaches that it is already happening in the life and ministry of Christ and is further carried out by Christ's disciples like you and me.

Now, the religious left likes to proclaim a second coming through government action that will rectify the injustice we experience. That too is dangerous. It creates saviors out of political leaders. Theologian Karl Barth reminds us, after the destruction of the Holocaust of WWII, of the dangers for evil to take control when we focus on the wisdom of humanity rather than the Word of God. Yes, I believe that political advocacy is central to the ministry of the Church. But it isn't government that will bring the hope of the coming of the Lord. It is in the advocacy and involvement of the community of all Christ's disciples. And Mark's gospel says that the elect are now being called into action as participants in God's rule, here on earth AND in the world to come. I believe that is the central focus of today's gospel lesson—the hope in you and me that inspires a community of love, justice and peace.

The focus is neither the election of Barak Obama, nor the timing of the second coming of the Lord. Certainly, we have hope for our country and our world for a new direction after the November election. But we must not ordain our historic, new president a savior. For we know what happens to messiahs. Most importantly, the scenarios of both the political left and right take away the need and call for community action and responsibility.

Our faith proclaims only one God and savior. The theological importance of proclaiming the one true God and savior is to call all people to participate in God's work equally for a just community—that includes both presidents and his constituents, and clergy and all of the faithful alike. Everyone has responsibility for the future of the church and society, and all are called to the hard work of ministry—through our daily lives, through our jobs, through our advocacy and through this place.

Jesus calls us to be awake and alert for what is happening now around us, rather than falling asleep in the garden as our lord is arrested. We are to look for the signs of hope in the midst of chaos and turmoil. We don't know when the son of humanity will come, but we are hopeful now. And Jesus says it is like when a boss leaves her workplace and she leaves her workers in charge. Will us workers sit back and let someone else decide our future, or expect someone else to take care of the business. Or will we work hard together, following Christ, and seek a promotion for everyone. We all live in the tension of the surprise return of our boss. What kind of business will she find when she returns?

Any thanksgiving cook understands the tension of preparing for that meal; those last minutes of chaos before everyone is about to arrive and expect to sit down and eat. You rush around carving the turkey before it gets cold, timing the potatoes and gravy just right, and hoping that the small children running around chasing each other, or the family dog, don't knock the whole table completely upside down and ruin the whole meal. I have seen that happen—with a smile on my face!

Well, the Honored Christmas Dinner Guest is about to ring our doorbell. Rather than stress ourselves alone in preparation, or expect some other cook to do all the work, how about we all pitch in together and prepare a beautiful table where everyone is welcomed and has enough to eat.

The Word of the Lord...Thanks Be to God.