“Stay Focused”
November 19, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
The countdown begins! Countdown to what, you may ask? Well, several things, actually! Just yesterday evening, Tish and I were at a store, and the whole time, the radio station was blasting Christmas music. While it was certainly good Christmas music, it was still a reminder that, ever since Halloween ended, we’re counting down even faster than before to celebrating Christmas. For us, it’s definitely something to look forward to, not only because of all the extra candy and presents, but because we will be celebrating and remembering when Jesus came the first time, born as one of us in Bethlehem, to carry out God’s plan for our salvation. After being born, He went and invited all people to believe in God and become part of His Kingdom; then He died on the cross and rose again to make that possible, and demonstrate His love and a desire for a relationship with everyone. After He rose again, He ascended into heaven, and, from there, is counting down the days until He will return.
In today’s Second Reading from First Thessalonians, Paul reminds us of what we, as Christians, are also really counting down towards: Jesus coming back again. This is not a myth or even a metaphor: Jesus really and truly is going to come back in full, bodily, visible form. He will also establish His Kingdom fully over the earth, and will cause everything to become what He originally planned it to be. Many Bible scholars think Paul believed Jesus was actually going to come back in his own lifetime. In every age and generation, at least a few notable people have believe, and greatly hoped, Jesus was going to come back in their lifetime. Martin Luther even believed, and hoped, Jesus was going to come back in his lifetime. As we talked about last week, we want Jesus to come back soon, and we hope and pray that we He will come back in our own lifetime. Even if Jesus doesn’t come back while we are alive, we are still to remain focused on what our true ultimate destiny will be: eternal life with Him. Which means we are, in fact, to make that our top priority, and set aside anything else in life which would keep us from looking forward to the wonderful, joyous, glorious life Jesus has planned for us. Even in this life, we are to recognize that Jesus has a greater plan for us than just simply to live: instead of being distracted by the temptations of this life, especially anything which would tempt us away from following Jesus, we are to remain focused on following Jesus, going where He leads, doing what He commands. He has also given us special gifts to use to be able to carry out His commands, our talents, which we hear about in today’s Gospel reading.
Also today, and particularly in our Gospel reading, the temptation would be to somehow turn it into a threat: that if we don’t use the gifts and talents God has given us, we will be condemned. I’ve said before, and I will continue to say it, there has been far too much of an emphasis on guilt-tripping and shaming in Christianity, and it’s time for a new perspective, because our faith is not supposed to be based on feeling guilty. Instead, what is more important is the fact that the master gave his servants talents to use, and gave them freely. God always provides us with what we need to be His family, His Church.
As I mentioned during the announcements, and as a special shout-out, Janet and Karen did fantastic job of arranging the beautiful harvest display on the altar. However, I’ve also been asked to mention in particular that the corn stalk came from an unusual place: our own church front lawn. Many of you probably noticed it growing right in front of the steps over the last few months. Probably what happened was a squirrel decided to bury a corn kernel right in the corner of the lawn, and, in the process, caused the stalk to grow. But what it shows is that God always unfailingly provides us with what we need, not only for our own benefit, but, more importantly, to be able to share with others, just as this corn stalk has been shared with all of us today. And, there are many ways, even outside our church doors and activities, that we can use what we have been given to reach out to our community. I even have a personal example.
As many of you know, last month I began a new-to-me adventure: substitute teaching at Valley View Primary and Intermediate. As you can imagine, there are a number of challenges I’m having to learn, especially having to practice managing students. Those of you who have taught or are currently teaching, or working with students in some other way, know exactly what I’m talking about. Fortunately, actually teaching the material’s the relatively easy part. And the reason is because every teacher is supposed to leave a detailed lesson plan, and, fortunately, every teacher I’ve subbed for so far has. And on the lesson plan is a play-by-play set of instructions for what materials to pass out and cover; methods for teaching the subjects for the day; how long each section of the class should take; which students are going to need special attention; what the students should be doing when they’re done with their work in class; even when and how to start having the students pack up and get ready to head out the door. On more than a few occasions, I’ve had to reassure the students in whatever class I’m in that day that yes, I’m aware of what we’re supposed to be doing, so don’t worry: the teacher has left me a detailed plan of what we’re going to be covering, and when we’re going to be doing them. And I have one thing I’m going to be doing that day: Sticking to the plan. Basically, I tell everyone, that’s my plan: stick to the plan. That, from what I’ve been able to tell so far, always reassures the students, because they know things are going to be how they usually are. Also, I mentioned the biggest challenge as being able to manage the classroom: with a detailed plan, it’s easy to deal with any problems that come up quickly, and stay focused on the work needing to be done right at that moment. And the nice thing about sticking to the plan is, you can never go wrong if you just go with what’s on the plan. The same thing for us: Jesus Himself has already given us a “lesson plan” to follow. What’s the plan? Jesus has laid it out clearly. First of all, He has a clear plan of salvation: whoever believes in Him and accepts Him as the one true Lord, God, and Savior, and whoever trusts in Him alone for forgiveness of sins and salvation, instead of their own holiness or good works, will be saved. Secondly, in response to that plan of salvation, Jesus has given us a plan to follow as we live out our faith in Him: love for God, our neighbors, and ourselves.
So, again, it’s time for us to stick to that plan and stay focused on it. We unfortunately had to deviate from the plan during the pandemic, and we became nervous about reaching out because of concerns about crowds. We were hesitant to go beyond what we were comfortable with, because we were already in an unfamiliar situation. We were hesitant about using our creativity to come up with new ways to worship or reach out, because, again, we were struggling with a new situation as it was. We even became nervous about using our talents and what we had been provided with, mainly because of anxieties about finances. There is no doubt we had a major crisis, and even the plan we were operating by had to be set aside. But now, it’s time for us to get back to that plan again, and keep following it. We will certainly continue to face struggles and crises, but as long as we keep on following God’s outline, we will be able to deal with them more easily and roll right on through them. As we just talked about, God is providing us with everything we need to be able to stick to the plan. Just as teachers provide subs with all the worksheets, workbooks, YouTube videos, whiteboard icons, and instructions to be able to help stick to the lesson plan, God has also provided us with all the materials we need to be able to carry out His plan. He has given us the Bible, to provide comfort, assurance, and words of His love to everyone who needs to hear them – which, especially nowadays, is everybody. He has given us the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, as means both to strengthen our own faith and energy for our mission, as well as, again, to provide comfort to all people with the promise of His presence. As we see displayed before us up front, He has given us food and personal items to share with our neighbors who need them, especially during this holiday season. He has also given us our own particular gifts and talents to be able to share His good news of His love and compassion for all people: some of us are gifted in speaking and teaching; others of us in service; and still others of us in working with particular age groups. We can also continue to be exploring new and creative ways of worshipping, reaching out, evangelizing, and serving. Until He comes again, we are to keep focused on doing what Jesus has planned for us. As often as we get together for worship, even as we sing, praise, and hear God’s Word, we are being prepared to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior, and show His love in many different ways to all people. So it is time for us to be using our gifts and talents boldly and openly again, not out of fear that we will be punished if we don’t, but out of thankfulness and enthusiasm for the wonderful privilege God has given us of carrying out His wishes. So, let’s do more than just hang in there and hang on: let’s get back on track, get back out, and go with God’s plan.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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