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"FAITH IN CHANGING TIMES" Readings: 1
Samuel 1:4-20 & 2:1-10, Hebrews 10:11-18, Mark 13:1-8 Preached at Baldwin Presbyterian
Church, November 15th 2009 We are
living today in an era of unprecedented change. When I consider the world
that my grandparents grew up in, compared to the world that children are
growing up in today, it’s not just different world it’s more like a different
planet! How can we find faith in changing times? Our
Bible reading this morning pictures the disciples walking out of the temple
in Jerusalem and taking the time to look back at it’s magnificent walls and
structure. One of them is talking to Jesus. It’s almost like the disciple is
a tourist walking through Manhattan. “Wow! Will you look at this place! Is
this awesome or what? Look at the size of the stones. Look at the thickness
of the walls. Look how tall the buildings are!” Jesus
gives that disciple an answer he hadn’t expected. After all this wasn’t just
any old building in the city, it was the Holy Temple of God he was gazing at!
"You
see these great buildings?” says Jesus, “Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will
be thrown down." The
other disciples by now have their ears buzzing. But they are afraid to ask
Jesus straight away what He means. Instead they wait till they are out of the
city and up on the Mount of Olives before a group of them come and ask Him to
explain. They want to know ‘how’ and ‘what’ and most of all ‘when’ such
unimaginable things could happen. Jesus
will not be drawn into a discussion of dates and times or methods. Instead He
offers them a strategy for holding onto faith in the midst of a world where
things could go crazy at the drop of a hat. One of
my favorite bands of old ‘The Eagles’ have a song that contains the refrain,
“In a New York minute, everything can change”. Living near New York City,
people are all too aware that even the tallest buildings in the world can be
reduced to rubble. How in the midst of this rapidly changing, often
frightening, often confusing world can ordinary people like ourselves hold on
to faith? Here’s
the Mark 13 strategy. · Don’t be led astray. · Don’t be alarmed. · Do be alert! Let’s
think about each of those. 1. Don’t be led astray. Verses 5-6 "Beware that no
one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they
will lead many astray.”
Faith is
not just about trusting in the right things; it is also about rejecting the
wrong things. It’s about discerning the real thing from the false thing. If
we follow the wrong thing, then we go the wrong way. If we follow the right
thing it sends us in the right direction. “Beware” cautions Jesus that “no one leads you
astray. Many will come in
my name and say “I am he’ Notice
Jesus says “in my Name”? The name Jesus means “Savior”. He is telling His
disciples that many would come and offer to be their Savior in His place. He
is making it plain to them that in a changing world there would no be
shortage of voices calling for attention, inviting investment, asking us to
side with them, promising to give us the real picture of what is going on. It is
not so hard to identify such voices around us. Despite the twentieth century
being one in which mankind created such wonderful things as weapons of mass
destruction, there are those who insist here in the twenty first century that
only the scientific viewpoint will eventually reveal all truth. Some
encourage us to abandon our childish beliefs in an almighty invisible friend
and trust that the rational application of inquiring minds will make all
things well. There
are other voices that suggest we need to abandon over 2000 years of tried and
tested Christian belief and practice and discover more informed spiritual
sources. There are many religious and non-religious ideas that offer us the
secrets of the universe. Within
Christianity itself you don’t have to dig far to find those who parade their
beliefs as the only absolute truth. The red flag should fly when we see how
often they are associated with nationalistic ideologies, partisan politics,
or ethnic identity. That and the usual claim that God is on there side alone!
I could
go on… but it’s enough to offer again Jesus words: “Beware that no
one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' Many have come and many will come
and suggest to us that we do not take seriously the teaching of Jesus Christ,
but pay attention instead to them. Don’t be led astray. 1. Don’t be alarmed. Mark
13:7 “When
you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come.” Has
there ever been an age in human history that has not had “wars and rumors
of wars”? That’s the
way it is. As Jesus says “Such things must happen”. Why? Reformed theology would suggest that it must
happen because humankind is a fallen, sinful, self-seeking, power hungry race
of creatures that never find their true relationship to each other until they
are once more at One with God. That the
chaos and violence that is pandemic throughout all creation is the result of
separation from God. In Jesus Christ God offers an opportunity to go against
the tide but until Christ’s Kingdom comes in all its glory then the chaos
will continue. Mark 13: 8 “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.” Our world
continues to be a place of chaos and uncertainty. That should not surprise
us. That’s the way Jesus said things would be. So when we pick up a newspaper
or hear on the news of the latest tragedy that has rocked our world, maybe we
should listen for the voice of Jesus telling us “Don’t be alarmed!” With the
benefit of hindsight we can see how the words Jesus spoke to His held
incredible insight. In AD70 the army of Roman General Titus laid siege to
city. The temple and much else were
destroyed. They were terrible days, particularly for those who never fled to
the hills and remained in Jerusalem. Elsewhere the Roman Empire was under
attack around its borders. There were wars and rumor of wars. A great
earthquake would devastate Laodecia and the volcano Vesuvius would erupt
burying Pompeii in molten lava. In the days of Claudius a great famine did
take hold in Rome. Jesus told
the disciples that events like these would continue to scar the ages. They
were not to put their faith in human achievement and ingenuity, no matter how
impressive. But more than that, they were not to be alarmed! God was in
control. Despite
the seeming chaos and uncertainty and craziness God was in control and
remained with them in the midst of these events. He would give them words to
speak and the strength of His Holy Spirit to get through. As we put our faith
in God we can make that promise our own. No matter what may come our way, God
promises to travel with us, even, as Psalm 23 tells us, through the valley of
the shadow of death. We are not
to be led astray. We are not to be alarmed. And thirdly (a positive, not a
negative, this time) Jesus tells us: 1. Do be alert In Mark 13 verse 5 Jesus
puts it so simply. “Watch out!” Be aware, be alert, be prepared for these things. Do not let them
catch you out or catch you off your guard. If you have a worldview that only
allows for the good things in life, then when the bad things come along your
faith is going to be shaken to the core.
Tragedy,
misfortune, disaster, disease, war and rumors of wars, persecution, famine
and unrest, a constant cycle between belief and unbelief, a never ending
parade of folks who offer a new view on things that they suggest will save us
all, be they theists or atheists, theologians or philosophers, doctors or
psychiatrists, sociologists or media superstars… “Watch out”, Jesus seems to
say… It’s all out there and unless you are aware of the things that can cause
you to fall, they might just drag you down! For
myself it’s a chapter that tells me that if I am going to put my faith in
something then I had better put it in Jesus Christ. As He told His
disciples…the greatest constructions of humankind eventually crumble into the
dust. Nothing in life is certain other than somewhere along the way trouble
will catch up with us. In a New York
minute everything can change. An endless parade of folk seek for me to
abandon my faith in Jesus Christ and trust in their views to be my truth, my
reason for being and my salvation. So I
pray ‘Lord
let me not be led astray, let me not be alarmed. Help me to be awake to all
those things that would pull me away from Your love.’ There is, I believe, in the
Christian gospel, hope for a hopeless world, good news for a society that is
full of bad news and deep joy that awaits the transformation of sleeping
souls. Our
world is constantly changing. But the love of God is solid as a rock. If we
anchor our lives in the eternal reality of God’s love than we can discover
that faith remains a glorious possibility in changing times. May God make it
so for each of us here today. Amen. Adrian J. Pratt
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