“God in the Midst of Suffering” Luke 21.5-28 Pent. 23C Nov. ‘22

 

1.                Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. When God doesn’t give you a life free from suffering, He calls you to look for Him in the midst of suffering. There you find Him doing His work, giving you words to speak and promises to hold onto. The message from God’s Word this 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Luke 21:5-28 and is entitled, “God in the Midst of Suffering,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                Jack was at the art museum the other weekend with his friend Betty. “Isn’t that blue beautiful,” she said. What Jack wanted to say in response was, “What on earth are you talking about?” They were standing in front of Max Beckmann’s, “The Sinking of the Titanic.” The painting covered almost an entire wall. It displayed disaster, close up and personal. In the distance, one could see the ship and the iceberg, but the majority of the painting was of people, clinging to boats in icy water, struggling to survive. For some reason, the blue of the painting was beautiful to Jack’s friend Betty, and she pointed it out. She invited Jack to see beauty even though it was found in the midst of an all-encompassing disaster.

3.                Our Gospel lesson from Luke 21 for today is something like what Betty was trying to show Jack at the art museum. Jesus is offering us a vision of world-encompassing disaster. As you listen, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the violence and the terror which extends as far as your eye can see. There’s nation fighting against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, and pestilences. And then there are the signs from Heaven. Heaven and earth are heaving with destruction, like the waters of Beckmann’s painting, and the experience is overwhelming.

4.                But, if you listen closely, you will hear very small moments when Jesus invites us to trust in God’s faithfulness. Like the blue in the painting, these moments catch us off-guard and give us a glimpse of hope. Even though we are subject to forces of judgment we can’t control, the One who rules over all things holds us securely in His hand.

5.                Jesus is with His disciples in Jerusalem. Tensions have escalated. Jesus has been confronted by the religious leaders, questioned, tested, and plotted against. Now, as the disciples are leaving the Temple, they pause for a moment to reflect on its beauty. Yes, the Temple was beautiful. Massive stones, historical significance, and religious tradition all suggested this beautiful place would endure for ages. Which is why Jesus is so strong in His words and sharp in his vision. Judgment was coming, the likes of which God’s people hadn’t seen and for which they were not prepared. Even though we are subject to forces of judgment we can’t control, the One who rules over all things holds us securely in His hand.

6.                While the disciples are admiring the Temple here in Luke 21, Jesus predicts its destruction. The destruction comes in waves. First, one has the false Messiahs (Luke 21:8), then the governmental persecution (Luke 21:12), then the betrayal by family and martyrdom (Luke 21:16), then the fall of Jerusalem (Luke 21: 20-24), and then the coming of the Son of Man (Luke 21:25-27).

7.                But, no matter how bad it gets, a world still in rebellion against God can’t thwart his plans. Long ago, the story seemed to be moving toward a very bad end. But the world’s victory over Jesus was shattered! Here in Luke 21, Jesus, Israel’s true king, had come to the capital city. All the forces were arrayed against him—chief priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Roman authorities. It seemed as if they had won! Jesus was arrested, condemned, and executed. Dead usually stays dead. But Jesus lives! He lives forever! And his promises and his words live forever because he does!

8.                Your sins—and mine—have the power to take your life toward a very bad end. But your sin’s victory over you has been shattered! You and I are part of the problem of this old, dying, rebellious world. When I’m greedy, I’m pretending that I’m Lord over “my” things. I’m pretending to be God. When I hold back from loving or forgiving, or when I judge another in anger, I’m trying to cast Jesus down from his rightful throne. That sin would bring you and me down to death—eternal death and separation from God’s life and love. But Jesus went down into death for your sin, and Jesus came back out of death and shattered your sin. You don’t have to fear. You belong to him now. You are free.

9.                The world is careening out of control (Luke 21:5–12, 16–17, 20–26). Whether it’s politics and governments, or catastrophes and disasters, terrorism or stock-market corruption, there’s a lot that could frighten us. But in the middle of all of it, God provides his Word. Jesus’ words give us hope and strength and perspective (Luke 21:13–15, 18–19). His present word: I have rescued you! You are mine! His future word: I will rescue you! You are mine! God’s Word assures us that he is moving the world toward the goal of his Day. Luke 21:27 says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

10.             As the waves of destruction roll over the disciples, Jesus offers small glimpses of promise. What I find interesting here is that Jesus doesn’t offer a long description of judgment and then turn toward a word of promise. Instead, Jesus interrupts the word of promise in the midst of moments when people are still reeling from pain.

11.             Such is the life of faith. We don’t immediately move from a world of destruction to a land of promise. No. Instead, we are tested and tried with suffering, so we grow wiser and stronger in faith. We trust in God’s Word and work, even though it comes to us in the midst of trial and tribulation.

12.             Jesus is speaking mere days before His death. The suffering Jesus will experience is for your eternal salvation. He will fight against death and die in the battle precisely so He can rise from the dead and reveal that he has overcome death for you. There is nothing in this life, which can tear you out of His strong, protective hand.

13.             For this reason, Jesus offers His disciples glimpses of remarkable protection even in the midst of this vision of destruction. When Jesus speaks of their persecution, He promises to fill their mouths with wisdom so they might bear testimony to God’s powerful grace (Luke 21:14-15). When Jesus speaks of their betrayal and martyrdom, He promises “not a hair of your head will perish” but “by your endurance you will gain your lives” (Luke 21:18-19). When Jesus depicts the heavens torn open and the Temple torn down, He encourages the disciples to “straighten up and raise your head, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

14.             No matter how terrible the force of destruction, God’s work is never defeated. When God doesn’t give you a life free from suffering, He calls you to look for Him in the midst of suffering. There you find Him doing His work, giving you words to speak and promises to hold onto.

15.             In our daily lives, we are immersed in a difficult news cycle. Wars and rumors of wars, fires and drought, mass shootings and riots, and it sounds like the end is coming. What Jesus does in this Gospel reading is turn our attention to what we know for certain. This may not be the end. The end may yet be far off. But what we know for certain is the One who holds us in His hand is near. Every time you read or hear about a war or a disaster, let it remind you that this tired, troubled world is moving toward the goal, the plan, that God has for it when Christ returns in glory. The coming Day is Jesus Christ’s Day! He is in charge, and he will set things right.

16.             Looking trouble in the eye, we need not fear—because of our Lord, Jesus Christ! In Luke 21:18, “[Jesus says], But not a hair of your head will perish.” Jesus said, “Stand, and lift up your head.” What a gracious word! We deserve the opposite: “Fall on your face, and bow your head in shame!” But he makes us stand, forgiven and accepted and loved. Jesus lifts up our head to face the future, and even the last great Day, with confidence. Remember and believe: God is getting ready to redeem his Christian people!

17.             Jesus brings us a glimpse of our salvation. What promise of God have you been holding on to lately? Was there a time of suffering in your life God brought you through? Rather than talk about the end of the world, share with one another the promises and power of God which preserve us in time of trial. Though these are only small glimpses of His rule, they invite us to raise our heads in hope. As Jesus says in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

“How Can You Be So Sure?” 2 Tim. 4.6–8, 16–18 Pent 20C, Oct. ‘22

 

1.                        Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen.  How can you be so sure? That’s the question that comes to mind for me when I read the words of our Epistle today. How can you be so sure? Our message today for this 20^th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                        In our Epistle, we have essentially the final recorded words of the apostle Paul. Paul was in prison when he wrote these words to Timothy, and he very much believed that his earthly life was quickly drawing to a close. He had no way of knowing whether he would actually die in the immediate future, of course, but he firmly believed that his time had come. Paul writes in 2 Tim. 4:6, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering,” he said, “and the time of my departure has come.”

3.                        Amazingly, despite all the uncertainty about his situation and all the uncertainty that would seem to come along with death itself, Paul is full of certainty as he writes to Timothy. With absolute certainty, Paul says in 2 Tim. 4:18, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.”  He has no doubts about that,. And that’s not all. A little earlier in our reading today, Paul, with the same kind of certainty, says that he is sure that Jesus, the righteous judge, will award him the crown of righteousness in the resurrection on the Last Day. Again, Paul seems to have no doubts. Like I said, it leaves me wondering how Paul can be so sure.

4.                        In a world where so much is uncertain, where it sometimes feels as if we can never be sure about anything, this kind of certainty is what we all want, isn’t it? We especially want to have this kind of certainty as we face the prospect of our own death someday. So today, as we consider these final recorded words from the apostle Paul, let’s take a look back at Paul’s life and try to answer this question: How could Paul be so sure that Jesus would deliver him from every evil and award him the crown of righteousness on the Last Day?

5.                        Here’s our first possible answer: Paul’s certainty was based on his conversion experience. If we’re going to look back at Paul’s life and ministry to try to find the source of his certainty, the best place to start is probably the beginning. Paul’s conversion in Acts 9:1–19 was rather remarkable and undoubtedly left a mark on his life and ministry. This was where Paul was on the road to Damascus and Jesus appeared to him in glory while he was on his way and he was temporarily blinded by this experience. Maybe this is what made him so sure.

6.                        Many Christians seek to find certainty this way. They focus on conversion experiences and the transformation of their lives which has taken place after having been brought to faith. While Paul’s conversion was remarkable, it could not provide absolute certainty. If this one positive experience was the source of Paul’s certainty, then the many other negative experiences in his life could have easily robbed him of this certainty. For example, in 2 Cor 1:8–10 we have recorded for us the suffering Paul and his companions experienced in Asia. Although Paul’s life had been radically transformed, the transformation was neither complete nor perfect. Paul still struggled with sin. He writes in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” And, in 1 Timothy 1:15 he says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

7.                        Now let’s look at our second possible answer: Paul’s certainty was based on his apostolic success. After his conversion, Paul was commissioned by Jesus to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He travelled far and wide, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, and he was incredibly successful as he did so. Maybe this is what made him so sure. Many people (Christians and non-Christians) try to find certainty in life this way. People look at their accomplishments in life, the good works they have done, and try to reassure themselves this way. While Paul had been successful, this also could not provide any real certainty.

8.                        Paul hadn’t always been successful. Consider Acts 17:22–33, where Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens. After he preached there about God creating the world and sending Jesus to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and to rise from the dead, he had only a handful of converts to Christianity. Whether this was the result of a failure on Paul’s part or the result of the hard hearts of the Athenians isn’t necessarily clear, but Paul clearly wasn’t completely successful in everything he did. Even if we ignore the times when he was less than successful, how could Paul ever know if he had been successful enough if this was his source of certainty?

9.                        That leads us to our third possible answer: Paul’s certainty was based on the Lord’s past care and provision for him. Turning to our text today, we see another potential cause for Paul’s certainty. Looking back at his life and some of the difficult times he had experienced, Paul could see how the Lord Jesus had stood by him time and again and safely delivered him (even quite recently as 2 Timothy 4:17 says). Maybe this is why Paul was so sure. Many people do find reassurance in life this way, especially in difficult times. They remember times in the past when God had stood by them and faithfully cared for and provided for them. But could memories like these really make Paul sure that he would receive the crown of righteousness on the Last Day? These memories certainly could have been part of Paul’s reason for being so sure and would have definitely been a comfort in a time like this. But Paul’s certainty here seems to stretch well beyond assurances about God’s providential care.

10.                    Here is our fourth possible answer: Paul’s certainty was based on his faith. Another possibility that our text gives us is that Paul’s faith was the source of his certainty. After all, in our reading today, Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). It sure sounds as if Paul’s own faith is the source of his certainty, but what exactly does Paul mean here? Many people try to find certainty by trusting in their own faith. These people often say things like “Don’t worry, my faith is strong,” and put their trust in their own ability to believe. But, the problem with this kind of certainty is that it is never complete. What if our faith wavers? What if we doubt? How do we know if we have believed enough? Paul’s own faith—his own ability to believe and keep the faith—was not his source of certainty, but we’re getting closer to the right answer now.

11.                    Possible answer number 5: Paul’s certainty was based on Christ crucified. To understand how Paul could be so sure and to understand the role of his faith in this certainty, we go back to something at the beginning of his Second Letter to Timothy: “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Tim. 1:12). The source of Paul’s certainty wasn’t his own faith, but it was the one in whom he believed. Jesus, the one in whom Paul believed, the object of Paul’s faith, was his source of certainty. Or, as Paul put it in Galatians, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14).

12.                    Paul’s certainty, his assurance, wasn’t in anything inside himself. It was in Christ and in Christ alone. Because he knew and believed Christ had been crucified for him and for the world, Paul was sure that Jesus would deliver him from evil and award him that crown of righteousness. In fact, Christ crucified gave meaning and importance to all the other possible answers we had considered before this point. Paul’s conversion experience had meaning and could provide certainty because Paul had been baptized into Christ crucified.

13.                    Paul’s apostolic work mattered because it had been done in the name of Christ crucified, and nothing done in the Lord (whether a success or a failure by worldly standards) is done in vain. Paul had the certainty that in Christ crucified all his sins and failures were forgiven. Paul’s memories of how the Lord had stood by him in times of suffering mattered because they were further expressions of the gracious care God gives now that he is reconciled to us by Christ’s death on the cross (Rom 8:32). Paul’s faith mattered because it was faith which clung to Christ and the free gift of righteousness which flows from his cross.

14.                    So how could Paul be so sure? Because he knew Jesus Christ and him crucified. And that’s Good News for you and me, too, because Jesus Christ was not only crucified for Paul. He was crucified also for the world. He was crucified for every human being who has ever lived. He was crucified for you. And that means that Jesus Christ and Him crucified is your certainty in life and in death!

15.                    In life and in death, we all face uncertainty, just like Paul. But in life and in death, this one fact remains sure: Jesus Christ was crucified for your sins, was raised for your justification, and in him, you have eternal life. Knowing this, you, too, can be sure that he will deliver you from every evil deed, bring you safely into his heavenly kingdom, and award you the crown of life in the resurrection on the Last Day. You can be sure of it. In Jesus’ name! Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.