Still In Control

Still In Control The Rev. Joseph Winston November 29, 2009

Sermon Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Loosing control is a frightening experience. Commonly, people say that time appears to move in slow motion. Frame by frame, step by step, agonizing instant to the next, the awful film plays out right before your eyes. With razor sharp clarity, you can see what will happen next. You no longer are in charge. Even though it appears to you that time is standing still, in actuality, you do not even have time to think. Hours of mind numbing training now pay off. Your mind immediately jumps to the proper procedure, your throat barks out orders that might be your last, and your educated hands fly to their proper places. Their combined mission is simple. Continue to run the show as long as possible. As the inevitable approaches you, instinct finally kicks in. Your heart races, palms sweat, and you speak one last 1

Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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prayer. Then you can do more. We live in this world. Accidents happen all the time. An airplane collides with birds and it ends up with its passengers and crew in the icy cold Hudson River. Cars spin out on wet roads and careen into guardrails. The ambulance races with its sirens blaring toward the emergency room carrying its precious cargo of a human life. These everyday experiences that we all share of loosing control might make it completely impossible for you to believe that God is in charge of the world. But that is exactly what must happen. To understand today’s Gospel lesson, to appreciate the message behind the four weeks of Advent, and to recognize the gift of Christ’s birth, you need to trust that God is behind every action here on earth. This is hard to do. Normally, people do not see God as the force behind history.2 Turn to almost any history book for proof. There you will see long and detailed discussions on the climate’s impact on people, involved analysis of the native people and their interactions with the newly arrived settlers, tables of natural resources found in the area, and even a complete list of the disasters that befell them. God will be missing from these pages. Another complication you face is how we look at the past. In our society, we see history as the days of yore that starts way back there and continues to yesterday. These former times can be grouped into chapters that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. One comes after another in the books we write. Our civ2

Jacob Jervell; James D. G. Dunn, editor, The Theology of the Acts of the Apostles, (The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), New Testament Theology, p. 135.

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ilization does not see an end of all this collecting and collating. We believe that tomorrow’s history is nothing more than a page in a chapter that someone else will write.3 The final obstacle set before you and the belief that God has a set plan for the world, is the way the Church reads the Bible during worship. Rather than doing what most people might by reading a book from its beginning to its end, we instead begin our Advent journey near the end of the Gospel according to St. Luke and then during the year we jump through the book. By doing this, you actually miss the introduction where the author tells you, Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (NRSV Luke 1:1-4) By skipping right past these four critical verses and starting your reading from Luke just before the Good Friday account, you practically loose the author’s intentions. He proposes to show you the history of salvation.4 He wants to prove to you God’s plan for the world. He has seen everything with his own eyes and he 3

Jervell, The Theology of the Acts, p. 135. Luke’s specific interest is presenting theology in history and this approach is unique in ancient literature. Ibid., p. 116. 4

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desires to give you first hand evidence of how God works. You would not know this unless you took the time to listen to the introduction. Today’s Gospel lesson builds on these facts found in the opening verses. It tells you that God is in control. That is the reason for the signs. They tell you want to expect. For example, a yellow traffic sign in the shape of a triangle means to be careful. You need to yield your right of way to someone else. Consider the dark clouds on the horizon. They alert you to the possibility of rain. Even smoke has a purpose. It warns you of fire. You know how to interpret these signs. You have been told what they mean. Jesus describes the signs that mark the coming of the Son of Man. In the heavens, the normal, everyday activities of the sun, moon, and the stars will change (Luke 21:25a). At the same time, the entire world will be confused about what is happening (Luke 21:25b).5 People will faint because they look death in the face (Luke 21:26).6 Only then will the Jesus come to the earth (Luke 21:27).7 Because you do not know when the end will finally come, Jesus gives you practical advice, “Watch and pray (Luke 21:36).” Keep your eyes open. See what is happening. Understand that everything is still proceeding to God’s plan. Pray. 5

Luke Timothy Johnson; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 327. 6 Ibid. 7 The text here is an allusion to Daniel 7:13, As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.

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Pray for your enemies (Luke 6:28). Pray the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2-5). Pray all the time (Luke 2:37). You know that God is in control. The Church has sung the great O Antiphons during Advent for close to one thousand and six hundred years. The name you probably recognize for this great hymn of Church is, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. These lyrics teach you the seven titles of Christ: Wisdom (Isaiah 11:2-3; 28:29), Lord (Isaiah 11:4-5; 33:22), Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1; 11:10), Key of David (Isaiah 22:22; 9:7; 42:7), Morning Star (Isaiah 9:2), King of the nations (Isaiah 9:6; 2:4), and Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The hymn also tells you something very important about what Jesus does. The Latin Titles read backwards spell out, Ero Cras, “Tomorrow, I Come.” This is the Lord’s plan. He comes for you. Sometimes, you do not remember that God is in charge. When this happens, you often become discouraged. You loose your focus on what matters. You do not know where to turn for advice. Your hope that you counted on is gone. This is but one symptom of thinking that history has no purpose. It often seems to me like this happens here. We drift around like a ship without a rudder. Forces move us to and fro but are we really accomplishing God’s work? If the answer is simply maintaining what was already here, then we are doing a fair job. However, that is not our mission. God has already given us His plan. Love God and your neighbor. Plain and simple, this is not happening. It often seems all that I see is everyone for themselves. This is another feature of the disease affecting us that we believe God is not in control. We fail to do what is required of us. We do not help others. Problems pass right by this door 5

and nothing happens at all. Our time is quickly running out. Sooner or later, God will grow tired of our behavior and this assembly of believers will cease to exist. Looking death squarely in the face is sobering. This actually frightens the rest of the world and they flee from even the smallest glance of its pallor. You have nothing to fear. You face your own death at every worship service. We begin at the baptismal font where your life ended. On that fateful day, the Word and the water drowned every broken part of your life. Down went your stains. Down went all your failed plans. Down went all the history that you so desperately want to forget. In their place, God gave you a new life. Jesus covered every one of your stains. You are clean. Jesus replaced all your failures. You can start over. Jesus even changed all of history. You are His. We recall at the baptismal font your death and resurrection for one reason only. It proclaims what Jesus has already done for you. He came for you.8 He paid the price for you. He conquered death for you. The news that the Son of Man will come in a cloud with great power and glory does not scare you (Luke 21:27). Even the judgment of the world does not frighten you. You already know the future. You have seen it. You are His. He claimed you at baptism. There is nothing to fear. Even years after loosing control, people can tell you exactly how they felt and their reactions at the time. It appears this traumatic experience is permanently 8

In Luke’s writings, every aspect of Jesus’s life and work, which includes His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again all are parts of the redemptive acts of Jesus. Jervell, The Theology of the Acts, p. 122.

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etched deep in their brain. Perhaps there is a good reason for this. The brain desperately wants to believe that it has mastery over every situation, so it keeps these details around just in case it might need it in the future. All of this accumulated skill will not save you. You know that. As you look around in dinner table during the holidays, you realize that age takes its toll on the body. Memories fade and reflexes slow done. The day will finally come when your body stops working and there is nothing that you can do to save yourself from loosing control. You need not worry about what will happen to you. God is in control of history. The babe in Bethlehem has a plan that involves you. He is coming to save you. “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”9

References Jervell, Jacob; Dunn, James D. G., editor, The Theology of the Acts of the Apostles, (The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), New Testament Theology. Johnson, Luke Timothy; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991).

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Philippians 4:7.

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