November 17, Luke
LUKE 21:5-19
My guess is that most of us sitting here this morning would agree that although we may not like it, the world is changing. Our very lives and the church as we know it is also changing. Some of the things, from what we call the “good ole days,” have changed for the good. Children who live up Shaffer’s Valley now ride the school bus to school each day, for the days like the one’s my mother grew up in, when they had to walk to Landisburg to school in the snow, are long gone. Of course, some of the changes have not been all that great. When I was young, a few years ago of course, Christmas items didn’t appear in the store until around Thanksgiving and Santa’s arrived on the Square in Carlisle after Thanksgiving Day. Today we are bombarded with Christmas beginning around the 4th of July, and Santa has been at the Mall for a couple of weeks already. By the time Christmas arrives, we are so overwhelmed with it, we can hardly enjoy it.
For many of us change doesn’t come easy. We like to bask in the warmth of our own personal habits and comforts. There are also the days that bring big changes in our lives, some for the good and some not. A new baby is a time for celebration but brings big changes to the parent’s lives, and the loss of a loved one bring another type of change.
In today’s Gospel lesson we find Jesus and His disciples visiting in Jerusalem. During Jesus time, Jerusalem was considered the center of the world. The temple was a place that those from across the land made a pilgrimage to at least once in their lives. The temple was an architectural wonder that King Herod had built. Not only was it encrusted with many jewels and gem stones, but it was said that it was a jewel in Herod’s architectural crown as he was known as the King who was a builder of great buildings. There is no wonder that the disciples became distracted, gawking at the beauty and grandeur of the temple instead of paying attention to what Jesus was saying. Jesus, however, interrupts their awe with these words, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” An ice-cold bucket of water thrown in their faces so to speak announcing an unbelievable change that was to come in the future. Jesus’ prophecy of destruction would become terribly true just a short generation later when the temple would be destroyed by the Roman army.
For those of you have been in one of the Bible Studies on the book of Revelation, you know that although there are many destructive prophies yet to come, the good news is that Jesus can and will prevail. God is here now and always in charge even though it may not appear so at times.
Jesus also assured the disciples that although these changes are coming, they will not happen all at once, but over a period of time. He says, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
When we hear these words, we immediately think of people who are false prophets, and rightfully so. Yet, we often fail to think of the false prophets that can also be one of our own personal jewel encrusted temples. We all have some type of temple in our life. They can be things like money, a certain person, even our dreams for the future. They all have one thing in common, although we think they provide us security in our lives, they keep us from putting God first. One thing is for sure, the man- made temples in our lives will ultimately tumble into ruin. The only consistent and stable thing in life is God. Often it takes the destruction of our own personal temples for us to realize that we can’t totally rely on ourselves.
Change has a way of pushing us into the future whether we want it to or not. We all react to change in different ways. A few embrace change in their lives and even enjoy it, while others resist change and feel angry and resentful when they have to change their habits and lives. I remember the first time I went to Wal Mart and they had put in lanes for you to check out your own purchases. Of course, I did not use and them and railed to my husband about Wal Mart being so greedy for money they wanted me to do the work that they should be paying someone to do. I resisted using them for a least a year and then, one day I tried checking myself out as the lines were extremely long, and low and behold found that it really wasn’t all that bad. In fact, it was pretty easy and I discovered that I could get out of the store much quicker by checking myself out.
Change frightens many of us and give us underlying anxiety about the future. Many today are worried about the changes that are taking place in the main-line Churches. No longer do new people flock to our doors, and the hair of the present members of our churches is rapidly turning gray. It is clear the Church must change or die a slow death. Yet, Jesus tells us to “stand firm and we will win life.” He encourages us not to be afraid, to not be led astray or discouraged by what we see happening around us. We are to be faithful and persevere knowing that God is in charge. The Holy Spirit will lead us, and God’s church will prevail. It may look different in the future, but it will still be God’s church the way that God wants it to be.
So, as we leave here this morning, let us not be afraid of the changes to come. Let us approach life, especially our life here in this church with an open mind, remembering that it is “Our Hands, but God’s Work.” Let us embrace life and the changes that are yet to come; for we are God’s Beloved Children and He will never fail us. In fact, God loves us so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross so that we might have eternal life, and it does not get any better than that!
Amen