Does God Have A Plan
Sermon by Rev. Steven McClelland on Mark 13: 24 – 37. Focus on we need focus to see where God is at work in our lives. Focus, patience, love and humility are key ingredients. Be sure to check out Simona Frenkel and the choir following the sermon.
Mark’s text talk about strange things like the sun and moon being darkened, and failing to give off light. It talks about the stars falling from the heavens and the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. It talks about angels being sent to gather God’s elect from the four winds and the ends of the earth.
This type of literature, apocalyptic, revelatory literature, is often interpreted as a coming judgment upon the creation and especially upon us. But this type of literature isn’t just meant to speak about judgment it’s also meant to offer hope to those who are faithful and wondering where the heck God is in all this chaos that surrounds our lives.
It does this the same way that Job or the 23rd Psalm do it, by offering us someone to identify with who knows what it’s like to suffer the way we are suffering and by doing this it offers hope because it is saying to us that the future will be better than the present because God’s ultimately in charge of it. Or as the Bible so beautifully puts it: It came to pass. It didn’t come to stay.
Now there’s a command that comes with this. We are to be patient, and watch for it, because no one knows when it will happen, not even Jesus. Only God knows. And there’s something else Jesus tells us, “learn the lessons of nature – look at the fig tree … 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.”
Now what are we to make of all this? And if we read these text literally we along with Mark’s listeners would have to say it hasn’t happened yet. But that may be do to the fact that we don’t know how to interpret apocalyptic literature today, which is not unusual because the imagery and language confuses us and we end up looking for the wrong things.
2,000 years ago every Jew in Israel was looking for a Messiah who would be like King David or Moses and restore Israel to her land and make her a mighty nation once again, but that’s not what happened. In fact it was delusional to think it ever was mighty and powerful. Israel’s strength just like Jesus’ was found in his weakness?
So maybe it’s that way with the second coming too? Unexpected yet clear to those who are watching for it and expecting it to happen in their lives, but going unnoticed by those who are focused on all these external signs outside of their lives.
You must have a focus. My friend Rob Hubler told me this story of his bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. It’s an event called Ragbrai, which takes place each year in July. The event has been going on for 46 years. This year’s ride covered 428 miles and had a climb of 12,576 feet which would place it among the Rocky mountains in terms of height. I worked in Iowa and the joke was – Ski Iowa. There are no mountains. But lots of rolling hills along it’s Eastern border.
Anyway my friend Rob went on this adventure. He’s 66. A friend asked Rob how can you do that? Don’t you have to be fit? Rob has a bit of a paunch. He laughed and said, “You do have to be somewhat fit. But if break the ride down into segments, a morning, an afternoon and early evening segment you can ride can ride 60 miles a day and if you do that steady and slow you can pick off 428 miles in a week – no problem.
And that’s true about waiting for God’s return into our lives today. You don’t have to be super fit. But it is about being awake and alert and watchful. On the bike Rob said, “You have to keep your eyes open. You have to watch for traffic, because sometimes it doesn’t see you. You have to watch for potholes. You have to watch for critters that dart out onto the road. You have to be alert to thirst and hunger or you can get very sick.”
You also have to follow the road signs, just like Jesus told us how to read the signs of summer’s coming. But if you stay awake and alert you will see amazing things. You will suddenly find yourself doing something you never thought you could. We all have to live alert lives. But not out of fear. There is a difference between fear and alertness.
Fear will drain you and make you sleepy. To stay alert you have to move. You have to risk living life in an open, vulnerable way or you will block your life from so many experiences. You have to follow the signs scattered along you path. Signs like we don’t get forever so don’t postpone living your life till some imagined future date.
If it means anything to say that Jesus is always with us. That he has come, keeps coming and will till the end of time then we must follow his direction. Come, follow, learn, do, teach. Repeat. Repeat what? Check out Micah 6: 8 and Matthew 25: 31 – 46. There two of the four great Biblical Clues. Are we looking for where we can serve Jesus today? How can I love those today whom God will place in my way. Who has God put into your life? What person might need your touch?
Being a Christian is a lot like riding a bike. Once you’ve done it you never forget, but you need to ride to get the experience. Being a Christian isn’t about believing in something vague. It’s about following Jesus’ lead. It’s not about doctrine or theory. It’s all about the journey. It’s like the bike. To get the experience you’ve simply got to get on and ride it.
There is a great sense of accomplishment that comes from the ride. It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey. That it is it’s own reward.
Maybe this is what the second coming of Christ is all about, being able to see how God keeps coming not just a second time, but a third, and a fourth time, forever coming to give us more than we would ever dream of, if we would pay attention to life, to nature, and to each other. Amen
Comments are closed.