"He is Coming!"

Luke 21:25-36

I have an uncle who is a recovering alcoholic. He has been dry for almost thirty years now, but I remember when he first began to deal with his alcoholism. We never thought he'd make it - he never had seemed very strong - my aunt used to take care of everything for him, from handling money to making home repairs. She also drank, probably too much - although she wasn't what most would call a "problem drinker." My uncle seemed such a needy person, a weak person, no one thought he would have the strength to resist when there were so many easy opportunities around him to fall off the wagon. But he hung in there. We were proud of him, of the change in his attitude and life. He became a really nice guy.

Then my aunt developed cancer. By the time it was diagnosed, it was all through her body. As the disease progressed, my uncle was pressed more and more into the job of caretaker. No one thought he would make it - such stress as he was under would be unbearable for most folk. But he persisted. "One day at a time," as he said.

When she died, all the things she used to do for him now fell upon his shoulders. It was a difficult transition for him, while she was sick, to learn about bills and such. Now he also had to deal with funeral arrangements, and home repairs that had been put off while she was sick, and a host of other problems - including his own bout with throat cancer. We wondered how he managed to go on. But in his quiet, unassuming way, he continued - "one day at a time." And over time, in the midst of so many problems, so many temptations, so much grief, he developed a quality of faith that enabled him to deal with these problems and even, in the face of so much hardship, to become a joyful person.

At one point during the process, I preached a Christmas sermon that struck him deeply. It was based on a story about a little girl, living with her grandma, who was one of my shut-ins. Her mom was trying to teach her the Lord's Prayer, and the little girl tried to repeat what she thought her mother had said, and so she began, "Our Father, who art in heaven - how did you know my name?" The point was that we do have a Father who knows our name, who knows us intimately, and that the very point of the Christmas story is that he comes to us in intimate ways - enfleshed in a small child, or in the support of a friend, or the smile of a loved one - and no matter what we have done, or where we have been - he knows - he knows us intimately - and loves us - he loves us in these ways, through these means, through these seemingly ordinary acts of love and caring.

That is what my uncle held on to during that time of terrible stress and pain - that in the midst of it all, there was a God who nevertheless knew his name, who remembered him, who knew all that he faced and all that he was going through, and who continued to love and care for him through the ministries of others, who gave him the strength to go on, "one day at a time."

In our lesson today, Jesus talks about "signs of the times." They don't look too enticing. “The world is falling apart,” he says. The cosmos reflects the brokenness and confusion of humankind. The weak faint for fear. We, ourselves, are tempted to give up, to give in to the despair we find in the world around us. But, Jesus says, this is not a time for loss of hope, it is not a time for despair. It is precisely when these signs appear, that we can know that God's kingdom is imminent. God will not forsake his people. Because of his love for us, when things seem at their worst, when we are confused and tempted to give up, we can be assured that God is most present, reaching out to us, intervening to bring in his kingdom and save us. Such times are opportunities for faith, and hope - not causes for despair.

We have always plenty of reminders around us that we are very much "in the world." What affects the rest of the world also affects us. We are not immune to variations in the stock market, war, death or disease. God made us physical creatures, living in and affected by the world in which we live. Yet, at the same time, as Christians, that world does not define us. That is what makes us unique in the creation. We live in the world, yet we are, in a very real sense, not "of" it. We are cognizant of a relationship that we have with the eternal; God's plan for us extends beyond the confines of this world. If this world were all we had, then we should be fearful and despairing when calamity comes. We might give ourselves over to “licentiousness and drunkenness,” regarding ourselves as only animals – merely another species guided only by fate. But we know the One who knows our name, who loves us deeply and holds us in his hand. We know the One who has greater plans for us - plans that are for life in this world, but which also extend beyond the limitations of this world. So our response to this world, our response to calamity, is not despair, but continued faithfulness. Our response is not hopelessness, but a deepened belief that all things are in his loving hands. Our response is not to give up, but to trust that he is imminent, that he is that much nearer to us - that he will catch us if we fall, that he will not let us go.

There are a number of ways of "bringing this home" for us today. We have folks among us dealing with cancer or other life-threatening diseases. We have folks who deal with diabetes, mental health problems, or other calamities that threaten to suck the joy out of their life. We have people in crisis, or some just growing older, or trying to raise kids in a world that seems headed to hell in a hand-basket. We have people struggling with questions of integrity – of trying to be their best self, the self they feel God created them to be, but are unsure of what that might be. There are many ways to bring this text home for us today. So I'd just like to pick two, small ones, compared to so many large ones, but two that I have been facing lately.

We’ve been facing a budget crisis lately. We’ve been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. The bills are still getting paid, and we’re doing better than last year, but we’re still in the red. I’ve been thinking a lot about that – as the pastor, that’s part of my job, to make sure this congregation maintains its financial integrity. We’ve been trying to do everything we can to keep costs under control. As we are making up next year’s budget, there are, at present, no cost-of-living increases included for the staff, for the second year in a row. That concerns me, because that means that the people who make things happen around here, that minister to us, are losing money – pretty soon they won’t be able to pay their bills - and we may end up losing some very good people. I’m also aware that my salary is the largest single item in the budget. I’ve wondered if, perhaps, my responsibility to this congregation involves letting you find someone who is a bit cheaper, who you can better afford. That’s a bit of a frightening prospect. But there are several possible scenarios before us. The worst includes a budget we cannot meet, not enough pledges to meet our expenses, and the congregation having to lay off staff – perhaps even find a new pastor. That is a very real possibility, because the possibility for failure is always present in ministry. And, living in a world where such things do happen, we have to take that possibility into account, and be wise in our planning. Of course, the very opposite could also happen - our overall giving has been up this year, and that might continue, and we might be alright. Which scenario you choose to believe is up to you.

But, as I was thinking about these things, another thought came to mind. It is not the possibility for failure or success that should ultimately define us, as a congregation. As disciples of Jesus, we are aware that God is present here. He knows our name. He is walking with us today. So whether we make our budget or not is not the most important question we have to answer. If we believe that this road we are taking leads us in the direction God wants us to go, then the decision of faith is to continue down this road in step-by-step and day-by-day faithfulness. If we believe that he is leading us in a different direction, then we need to prayerfully discern that direction and redefine our mission. Either way, we will be fine, because we will be doing the work to which he has called us. His work does not depend upon this building, or upon me, or upon meeting a budget. As Luther said, “His kingdom will come of its own…” Our job is to be doing the work of the kingdom, faithfully completing his will in the world. While the signs around us are frightening, we need to trust that God will remain with us, in good times and in difficult times. If we believe that what we are doing is what he would have us do, then we should set our sites not on whether we can, but how we shall accomplish our mission. If we believe we are doing what he would have us do, then our appropriate response is not hand-wringing desperation, but planning for the harvest he is preparing for us. That is the direction toward which our energies should be focused.

One more small example, this time from a young woman in our community that called us for help this week. She is a young single mother, with a “special needs” child, and another child on the way. She’s made some mistakes in her young life. She had a job working for a dry cleaner, until they found out that she was pregnant, and they decided that she shouldn’t be working around chemicals. They let her go. Suddenly her world came crashing down on her. She is without a job. Her car died. Her son has to go to the hospital on a regular basis. She had just taken out a loan before she lost her job, and can’t pay it back. She was out of oil, out of diapers, out of food, and all her bills are overdue. She was frantic when she called. I started talking to her about options. We started talking about possible resources. I put her in touch with the Salvation Army, and with a social worker who is a member of our congregation. As we began to work on her problems, breaking them down into manageable parts, she began to feel some ray of hope. She started to think a bit more creatively. She saw that she was not alone, and that she has some real resources to help her deal with her problems. She’s got a long was to go, but she has hope. Hope is the most important resource we have in times of crisis. It is hope that turns a time of crisis into a time of opportunity. It is hope that releases our creative potential. It is hope that helps us to see other possible solutions, other possible resources, to find alternative paths to our goals. It is hope that keeps us from feeling that we are alone, from feeling that we are orphans in this world, that makes us aware that we have a heavenly Father who loves us. It is hope that enables us to say, “one day at a time, I will depend on him.”

In the face of an uncertain future, hope is a precious commodity. The message from the Gospel today is that our hope is not pie-in-the-sky; faith in God it is not seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Hope is not a denial of reality. The signs of the times all point toward Jesus. Our hope in him and in his care is a real hope with a real foundation. The God who knows us, who has placed us on this road, also stands at the end of it - his kingdom is coming and his will shall be done. He will never leave us nor forsake us. So also let us also continue to be faithful, let us be hope-full, let us trust in the One who holds us and loves us, even to the end.