Do not be terrified
The Rev. Canon Frank Logue preached this sermon
at Christ Church Savannah on November 17, 2019
Do not be terrified
Luke 21:5-19
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.”
Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem with his disciples when he warns them of what will follow in the many years after his death and resurrection.
When asked to name signs of the end, Jesus said that we should not be led astray by the many bad things that can and will happen. Jesus, in fact, promised wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famine, plague, dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. Yet, Jesus’ main message to us in today’s Gospel reading is not a message of war, famine, and death. What Jesus tells us most clearly is “Do not be terrified, for these things must take place, but the end will not follow immediately.”
Never were truer words spoken, “The end will not come immediately.” Jesus told his disciples these things while walking in the Temple in Jerusalem. That great Temple dedicated to the one true God was destroyed in the year 70 AD at the end of the Jewish War. This occurred a few decades after Jesus’ resurrection and not many years before Luke wrote his Gospel. The center of Jewish worship was destroyed and to this day has yet to be rebuilt after nearly 2000 years, but this was not the end. The Roman Empire was conquered first by Christianity and later by the Huns and the Vandals, but this was not the end. And so on through history, with wars and insurrections, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom and the end has not followed immediately. But through every day of these last 2,000 years, Jesus’ words have held true, “Do not be terrified, for these things must take place first.”
Jesus assures his followers that an end is coming to all the chaos and problems of this age, but in the meantime, he will be present in all that happens. Jesus will redeem the chaos as none of it is beyond the power of God’s love as shown through the cross.
Jesus warns his disciples that they will face persecution and death, but paradoxically, not a hair on their heads will perish. How is that possible? How can one be both put to death and not have a hair on their head perish? This is because Jesus promised eternal life that will more than likely come through death rather than his return in glory. He promised to be with his followers in whatever they may face.
Some years ago, my wife, Victoria, and I attended a 6 p.m. Celtic Eucharist in which darkness and storm led a dramatic touch to our worship. Though it was in the summer, a storm blackened the sky as we drove to church. We made it inside before the rain started. The church was dark and the many candles on the altar and in the windows burned brightly.
As the service progressed, the storm arrived and rain pelted the metal roof of the old church. Dim light shone through the stained glass windows as storm and worship continued together. The meditation, the hymns, the prayers spoken and unspoken—the whole of the liturgy pushed gently against the darkness and rain. At one point, thunder boomed and the power went out. Candles already lit, the liturgy continued without pause.
As we approached the breaking of the bread, the bulletin noted “Worshippers are invited to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer.” To my left, I reached for Victoria’s hand as I have done for more than three decades. At the altar and in the emergency room, and in a great variety of situations, we have held one another’s hands. Then I reached back. I could not see the woman who took my hand. We had exchanged the peace minutes earlier. Now her small, cold hand, readily took mine as I reached back. She held hands in a line with two other women who arrived together, chatting before the service.
Jesus’ words recited in prayer, the woman behind me squeezed my hand and then let it go. It was the smallest of touches, but her squeeze felt meaningful, important. It did not matter that I did not know her or that we will likely be together again. The touch we shared as the storm beat against the church was the Body of Christ made real in a moment. Then the bread was broken and we received the gifts of God, for us the people of God. The lights came back on before the dismissal and as we exited the church, the storm had just passed.
Quite coincidentally, the next day we watched the movie Toy Story 3. In the animated film there is a scene where the toys we have come to love in the previous two films face what appears to be certain destruction. They are traveling down a conveyor belt toward a furnace. Despite bold attempts at saving themselves, no further options remain. In moments they will be incinerated.
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Facing this moment of certain annihilation with no hope of rescue no words are exchanged, however, a look a “what now” passes across the faces of the toys. Then one reaches to hold another’s hand. One by one they reach out to hold another’s hand.
The plastic, cloth and metal toys are given the breath of life through their all so human problems and they face them. In that moment of holding one another’s hands in the face of uncertainty, relief comes in. Not that rescue seems more likely, but the toys know that whatever they face, they will face it together. Hope is restored. No matter what comes next, each of them is not alone.
When the toys reached out to hold hands, showing their love for one another in a time of great uncertainty, I remembered powerfully the feeling of the small, cold hand of the woman behind me in my right hand, and the familiar hand of my wife in my left. I knew then what the creators of Toy Story 3 showed so clearly in animating the facial expressions of the toys, when the moment of “now what” comes, the hope is in not having to face the unknown alone. This sense of togetherness changes nothing in the problem before us and yet in bearing one another’s burdens everything is changed.
Jesus warned that faith is not a get out of problems free card. What the Son of God promised instead was, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s abiding presence with us in the midst of troubles. The Holy Trinity also gave us each other. In teaching that we are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves, Jesus tied any connection to God to connection with other people. Jesus gave us each other’s hands to hold when we don’t what is coming next.
We need one another for in life we will face tragedies. From my rather finite perspective, I hear of tragedies great and small and I wish they hadn’t happened. I feel like if I had the power to do something about them, I would prevent tragedy. Yet, God has the power to stop suffering and doesn’t. The problem is that to stop suffering, God has to stop the whole human project. As long as we have free will to do what we want, we humans will continue to cause each other pain.
We count on God being present on both sides of the suffering. God is with those who die. And in the midst of the tragedy, God is there as well. Whether we lived or died, God is present to us.
Jesus’ resurrection was the beginning of the end of life as we know it on earth—the end of tears, the end of pain and suffering, the end of dying. No Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t the end of these things in itself, but the resurrection was beginning of the end for all these things. Jesus was and is the first born of the dead and his own resurrection shows that human flesh can be reborn to eternal life.
Jesus had already been clear that none of this changed the fact that there would continue to be trouble in the world until the end of the age, but no matter what we face, we do not face it alone.
As Jesus return in glory is not a get out of problems free card, then how does this doctrine help us. The answer from today’s Gospel is that life will get tough, even for Jesus’ followers, but in all of those terrifying circumstances, we need not be afraid. Our lives, our world, our present, our future are all in God’s hands and we should grab hold of that comfort rather than the fear of the unknown. And for that we don’t have to wait for a Glorious Appearing, as God has already begun to make all things new.
Today, we will baptize seven-month old Frances Maddox Haile into new life in Jesus Christ. She arrives at this altar, fully known and loved. She is connected to this part of the Body of Christ as her father, Rob, was baptized in this same font. Frances is also granddaughter to Gigi and Bill Haile who are deeply tied to Christ Church. Most importantly, Frances is fully known and fully loved by the host, who is Jesus, as are we all.
As she is marked as Christ’s own forever, we don’t know the future for this dear girl. But we know she will never face it alone for Jesus will not leave her comfortless and she has been given a family and a community of faith to hold her hand when darkness gathers.
Later in this liturgy, just before the bread is broken, we will say the Lord’s Prayer together. When that time comes, please reach out to the hands of those beside you and know that whatever worry or anxiety you brought today or whatever you face in the week ahead, you are not alone. God is with you and will see you through the whatever darkness may gather. Do not be terrified.
Amen.
