“What Time is It?”
November 27, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
What time is it? Actually, it seems like this is the time of year when time especially keeps interrupting everything we have going on. Now that the holidays are really upon us, it seems like everything’s just moving faster! Many of us are probably still scrambling to either get our Christmas presents bought or at least wrapped; some of us are still putting up our Christmas decorations; and still others of us are trying to get our family gatherings and parties planned and prepared.
As Paul says in today’s Second Reading, in Romans 13:11, “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Every day brings us closer to that day when Jesus will return, and make everything the way it is supposed to be. In our First Reading, Isaiah says in chapter 2 verse 4 that the day will come when God will bring an end to war and division, and bring peace between nations and peoples. Instead of fighting each other with weapons, people will instead cooperate with each other with tools to help build a better life and world for each other. This will also happen because God alone will be the ruler and judge over all the earth: He will have His reign established over every country, everyone will come to Him for help, guidance, and justice. People will also come seeking His direction, to learn how to walk in the way He desires for everyone. And all this will happen because He will be the only one in charge.
And yet, even though all this will ultimately take place in the future, there is no reason why we can’t be living as though it were happening now. Even though we have many voices claiming to be the authority, to tell us how to live, there is only one we ought to listen to: God. He is greater, and more truthful, than any social, political, or even religious pundit, and what He says is what is best for everyone. This is the kind of world God wants for everyone. This is why, in the present moment, as Paul further encourages us in Romans 13, verse 13, we are to begin avoiding those things which cause fights and division between us, and also things which cause us to live only to satisfy ourselves. These are all things which are distractions, keeping us not only from looking forward to what God will cause to happen in the future, but how we are called to be in the present. Dissension, or quarreling, and jealousy in particular are harmful for us because they keep us from living in unity with each other and pursuing our common purpose. That purpose is to live looking forward to when Jesus will come again, and living as though He were already here. It is not up to us to predict when that day will be: indeed, trying to do so is just another distraction, taking us away from focusing on how God is calling us to live in the present moment.
And that, ultimately, is what we are to focus on: the present time. It is easy for us to focus only on the future, especially the way we’ve been taught, and what modern evangelism tends to emphasize. We hear a lot about having to think about where we go when we die; whether we have decided to believe in Jesus to be guaranteed a place in heaven; and, according to certain interpretations, what sort of signs are going on around us to predict the end times. In other words, only about the future, and only for ourselves. But what we tend to forget is that we are here not only to live, die, and go to heaven, but that while we are here, we are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection, and made for good works here in this life.
While it is true that no good works we do can earn our salvation, we still are called to good works, for the sake of the world. What we do can make a strong impact to change someone’s life, or even change part of the world, however small. As Martin Luther says, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” And even then, the reason we do good works is to represent and act on behalf of Jesus, which comes out of our calling ourselves Christians – followers of Jesus Christ. The reason we are here is because Jesus has called us to follow Him.
So our purpose in the present is Discipleship, which is following Jesus to become like Jesus – especially to become like Him in compassion, empathy, and service to others. The good works we do are not done out of a desire to follow mere rules, or show how good we are; rather, they are done to be of benefit for someone else. The best, and most satisfactory, kind of good works are actually those which are done without any publicity or show, but instead simply, quietly, and subtly. And yet, we have to remember that doing good works and following Jesus are entirely voluntary – God does not force anyone to do good works; nor does Jesus force anyone to follow Him, especially under any kind of threat of punishment in either case. In fact, we always need to remember that God never forces anyone to do anything – and, as I’ve said before, if we start trying to add an “or else” to anything God encourages, then we are teaching falsely. Having said all that, God gives us free will, but there are still things that happen when we choose to follow our own desires rather than God’s. We are entirely free to refrain from doing good works for those who we know, or for the world – but there are consequences for us refraining from taking opportunities to do good to help others. These consequences are usually us being disappointed in not being able to do what we know to be the right thing for another person, out of our desire to help another person feel good. In the same way, we are free from having to feel forced to follow Jesus – but what we find is that if we try to live on our own without Jesus, we often end up confused, directionless, and feeling helpless. Not out of fear, but out of feeling like we need someone to rely on for guidance and direction. All the good works we do are instead done spontaneously, out of love for God, gratitude to Him for what He’s done for us, and a desire to share that love with other people to help them experience the good things we enjoy from God. As someone once said, “Service is love made visible.” Furthermore, if we want to have peace with ourselves, among each other, and in this world, it has to start with us. And it starts, again, as Paul encourages, with us no longer living for what satisfies only us, but putting on the nature of Jesus. And, as the past couple of weeks have shown us, we are more and more living in a world which needs peace. The recent shootings in Colorado Springs, Virginia, and Brazil have shown the extremes people can go to to carry out their hatred and desire for revenge against others. War continues to rage in Ukraine, and other parts of the world. As was shown in the last election, division in society continues to run rampant, over many issues. Rising prices and other financial difficulties continue to cause tensions and anger. Even many of the words which are used, especially on social media, demonstrate a lack of compassion and desire to understand before responding. If there was ever a good time for Jesus to come back to set everything right, it would certainly be now. We need Jesus to come put an end to our violence, suffering, dissension, and hatred; and heal and unite us. But, again, we don’t just have to wait for Jesus to come back for that to happen: by our following Jesus and living as He did, we can help this hurting world. And it begins in somewhere we tend to overlook: our own homes. As those of you who have done First Communion instruction with me probably remember, what are some of the things you’re encouraged to think about for how to show God’s love to other people? How to help your own families. And there’s a reason for that. If our own houses and families are places where everyone is nurtured, cared for, loved unconditionally, valued, and accepted, and where all the members of the family are encouraged to live these values outside of the home, then our neighborhoods, cities, and ultimately our world will be a more peaceful, unified place. Discipleship can begin with the simplest acts of Christlike kindness, generosity, and helpfulness done right in our own homes. As the late Mother Teresa once encouraged, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”
Since we’re also at the time of year when we give gifts to each other, one thing to think about as well is that, since, again, service is love made visible, what kinds of gifts we can be giving to our family members, friends, or neighbors to be the greatest good. Maybe we have a family member or neighbor who is struggling to pay a utility bill or other kind of debt, which we can help pay. There might be someone who needs us to give our time so they can get something done, or have some needed free time. Perhaps someone we know is in need of extra food or clothing, especially for their family members – or our neighbors, as we have already done for CAMP. There might still be someone who needs sources of warmth, especially if we’re expecting another bitterly cold winter. In other words, what sort of practical gifts can we be giving to show God’s compassion to others? So, what time is it? A very important time. Time to give the world what it needs right now. It’s time for us to follow Jesus, to live like Jesus, to serve like Jesus.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment