July 5, 2015: Who Knows?

July 5, 2015: Who Knows? (introductory comments regarding the smoke covering SK from the northern forest fires while we re talking about eschatology ( the study of the end ), remember that some people are experiencing a very literal end of the world as they know it.) There are few things that Christian preachers have been more loudly and enthusiastically wrong about over the years than the end of the world. Where were you on May 21, 2011? You may remember the predictions of Jesus return on that day by Harold Camping of California. Or the correction to Oct 21, 2011 when the May deadline passed without incident. Or you might be familiar with the writings of Hal Lindsey, Chuck Smith, and Tim LaHaye, with their predictions closely tied to the 1948 establishment of the nation of Israel, world politics in the 60 s, 70 s, and 80 s. I guess there s still time for Armageddon in their generation s lifetime (Lindsey and LaHaye are in their late 80s and Smith died at 83), and the Left Behind books and movies they ve inspired keep selling but the world stage looks a lot different than they thought it would, with no Apocalypse as yet. Those modern prognosticators are in relatively good company, with unfulfilled End-of-Days predictions from Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Anglicans, even theology greats like John Wesley, Anabaptist Thomas Muntzer, and Martin Luther himself wrote that the Day of Judgment is just around the corner. Back in 1546. Not to point fingers even the Mennonites make the Wikipedia list of failed Christian end-times predictions, with Russian Mennonite Claas Epp, Jr noted for leading 60 families out of their Russian colony into central Asia to await Christ s return on March 8, 1889. And then Epp also pulled the date-switching move, to 1891. Oops. So, in that proud tradition, here I stand. I ll try to keep the direct predictions to a minimum. Actually, it s tough to be too hard on these guys Ever since the Early Church, Christians have operated under the promise that Jesus is coming back to set everything right, and he s coming back soon. Interpretations of that promise have

varied greatly over the centuries, and we ll get to some of that history later in the summer. But many of the first century New Testament writers seem convinced that Jesus return was bound to happen in their lifetimes. And that urgency has persisted for two thousand years. Christianity is a future-focused religion. We have high hopes for the End of the Story, as individuals and for all of everything. When it comes to the future, there is a whole lot that we don t know. We can t know, that s the nature of the future, the nature of faith. In the Middle East, you ll hear Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike saying Insha'Allah (in-sha-la) if God wills it. It s an expression of humility, of acknowledging that the future is in God s hands not in ours. My Pennsylvania heritage has a similar phrase Lord willin and the creek don t rise. As this series progresses, we ll definitely do some talking about the things we don t know. But we re going to start with what we do know. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The two-dollar theological term for this is Immutability: God does not change. Not that God is static, stiff like a statue, not that God can t move or speak differently at times after all, God is Spirit, breathing and moving and living. But God s nature, God s essence, God s will and purpose, God s character does not change. The story is told of an elderly man who was placed in a care home. In his career he had been a music teacher, but in the care home he d lost pretty much all musical ability and opportunity. But still, he had a ritual that he d go through every morning. He d carry a tuning fork with him, and when the care aides greeted him, he would strike the tuning fork on the arm of his wheelchair and let it ring. That is middle C. It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The piano in the lounge is out of tune, the tenor that comes on Thursdays sings flat, but that, that is middle C.

T.S. Eliot called it the still point of the turning world. That is God. Our experiences of God are different, and there certainly have been different expressions of those experiences over the centuries, but it is we that are moving. God is the constant. Now there are a dozen different theological rabbit trails that we could chase on that point, but what it means for this sermon, is that at the end of this world, in whatever comes next, God will be the same God as always, doing the same things that God always does. And because God is already known to us, because God has already revealed God s self to humanity throughout human history, God s character is the one knowable constant in a changing future. In the words of the old gospel song, There are things about tomorrow that I don t seem to understand. But I know who holds the future, and I know who holds my hand. At the center of all the unknowns of the future, there is one constant, unchanging God. What we believe about the future needs to be grounded in what we know of God. That may sound like a really obvious point, but it s missing in some of ways we think about the future. Over the past 20 years, the Left Behind series of books have sold over 65 million copies. The plot is basic pre-millennial dispensationalism (we ll get to that, too). In the first book, all of the true Christians in the world are raptured in an instant, 2 billion people just disappear. The world is left in chaos system failures, economic collapse, pure mayhem. The novels follow the stories of several individuals who recognize what has happened, that Jesus has returned and they ve been left behind. As you might expect, that is cause for some of them to rethink things, and they choose to become Christians and hope that God will give them a second chance. Over the course of 16 books, these second-chance believers band together into the Tribulation Force, trying to convince others to follow Jesus, trying to work out biblical prophecies, and of course fighting against the New World Order

government of the Antichrist. It s entertaining stuff sometimes, but quite disturbing at other times. One of the repeated themes as the books progress is the disposability of human life after the rapture. One particular scene I remember, a couple of the Christians are leading an army attack out in the desert, and they re just mowing down the enemy troops with their super-technology heat weapons. And they kind of look at each other, you know, I feel bad killing all of these people, but this is nothing compared to the agony that awaits them when Jesus comes back for good, and anyway they ve already had their chance. Now that sounds horrible when you say it out loud. But that s the attitude throughout the books towards human suffering and death they had their chance, they ve made their choice, and now it s over. We feel bad that they have to suffer, but that s the way it has to be God is Just. That s a pretty common Christian perspective on the end of things: we have our chance in this world, and after that, God s patience runs out and the demand for vengeance takes over. That s a pretty basic tension in Christian theology: God s Patience/Mercy vs. God s Justice/Punishment. And one of the ways that many use to resolve that tension is to put limits on God s patience, that God withholds justice in this life, so that the wicked don t always get what they deserve and often even prosper, but in the world to come, watch out God s patience timer sounds and the smiting begins. Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord, I will repay. (Romans 12:19) That does seem to be one way to balance the equation. But the immutability of God s Character gives me pause. This way of resolving the patience/vengeance tension seems to require a significant break in God s character

between worlds: in this life, God is patient and persistent in pursuit of redemption of all people. But after you die, boom, no more Mr-Nice-God you ve had your chance. Does God change personalities like that? Does Justice demand a limit to God s Mercy, a point where Mercy must end? Many Christian theologians would say yes. And I realize that there s a certain logic to that. But I don t think it s our only option. What if what we ve seen from God already is all of who God is? What if God s character has already been fully revealed? What if, in the words of Psalm 103: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. What if the enduring heart of God really is patience and mercy, and it s the anger and accusation that is temporary? What if there s a better way of balancing the equation, that it s our understanding of Justice and Punishment that needs to change instead of insisting that God will someday conform to our ideas of Justice? In other words, what if the great miracle and mystery is not that God will someday set the world right by giving God s enemies what they deserve, Left Behind-style, but that God will continue to give all of us what we don t deserve and yet still somehow set the world right?

That s the vision that I see as compatible with God s immutable Character. And how do we know God s character? He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers all things have been created through him and for him. in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. (Col 1:15-20) In Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Or as Jesus said in John 14, if you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. From now on, we do know what God looks like, and at the end of all we know, God will be there looking like Jesus, doing what Jesus does, because that is who God is. So as we talk about the future, Jesus is the lens through which we see and understand. I know, not at all surprising, because as Anabaptists we try to keep Jesus at the center, so Jesus is the lens through which we see everything. Not surprising, but incredibly meaningful. The God in whose hands we are held, now and always, is Jesus. Fully and completely. And immutably. Some theology does the same thing to Jesus as it does with God, with a personality shift at the end of things. Mark Driscoll, former pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, is one of the most popular preachers in North America. In a 2007 interview, Driscoll had this to say about his view of Jesus: In Revelation, Jesus is a pride fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more

cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible Like all things Driscoll, this is a little extreme, a little bit for shock value. But he captures a fairly common sentiment, that at the end of things, Jesus comes back with a vengeance. Good news for many, but serious bad news for his enemies. And yeah, we read the passage from Revelation 19 that Driscoll is referring to. Jesus is the rider on the white horse, in righteousness he judges and makes war. His clothes are dipped in blood, he s leading the armies of heaven, he s got a sword, he ll rule with an iron scepter, and he ll tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Yippee ki yay!) But hold on, is that really what Jesus looks like? Driscoll makes a couple of very telling mistakes, as do the artists who drew these pictures. For one, in the Revelation text, the sword isn t in Jesus hand, it s coming out of his mouth. It s a poetic image, and what a difference Jesus isn t coming up swinging, he s coming up talking. It s his words, his teachings that bring the nations to their knees. And two, the blood it s not Jesus commitment to make someone [else] bleed, it s Jesus robe that is already bloody, dipped in his own blood from the cross. The

cross where he refused to call down the armies of heaven, where he looked at the enemies nailing him to the tree and offered forgiveness. If we read Revelation 19 and see an image of domineering force and violence, I wonder if we ve really understood what Jesus is all about? As with the tension between Mercy and Justice, we have a choice to make. Will we allow our definitions of war and righteousness and ruling and the wrath of God to color how we see Jesus? Or will we allow what we know of Jesus to color our definitions? Because Jesus is all about challenging our understandings, so that ruling becomes about serving, justice is about love, and the wrath of God has been transformed by the cross. Driscoll might having a hard time worshipping that kind of guy, but it is those very qualities that Paul writes of in Philippians 2 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death

even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It is through the laying down of power, not the wielding of it, that Jesus is exalted. Does God exist in two halves, a Son that rejects the use of force and a Father that ultimately rules with it? Or is the image of Jesus, God on the cross, God who personally goes to the grave in order to bring new life, is that also the God of the end of the world and beyond? I think we need to trust in our known experience of Jesus the Crucified. The God who lays down power, who defeats violence by embracing it, who brings redemption by suffering with and for us, this is the God in whose hands we are held. Today, Tomorrow, and Always. Amen.