Hope in the midst of broken shalom

Columbia’s demise

Over the last few weeks, the ABC has shown a documentary called ‘The Spaceship that fell to Earth’. It looked at the events of 2003 when the spaceship Columbia had a space mission, but unfortunately, on re-entry, the spaceship burnt up killing all 7 astronauts.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, they were in one of those space shuttles that are attached to a massive rocket. The rocket is required to get the shuttle up into space, but after spending a few months in space, they are able to bring the shuttle back to earth and land safely.

Well, for everyone who was watching, the take off seemed to have gone well. And the astronauts did whatever it is that astronauts do when they’re up in space.

But, some people in mission control re-watched the replay of the take-off just to make sure everything went well. It was at this point that someone spotted something that caused them alarm. While the rocket was taking off, something small fell off the rocket and hit the wing of the space shuttle.

It was something that was easy to ignore. They quickly established that what had fallen off the rocket was actually just a bit of foam. Foam can’t do much damage, particularly when it hits this specially re-enforced wing that is designed to withstand the huge forces and heat of the re-entry.

But yet some were worried. Some people knew the consequences of what would happen if the wing had sustained any damage. A small group of people tried to sound the alarm. But people weren’t interested.

Let’s not let a few doomsdayers get in the way of the triumph of mankind.

The appropriate checks were not even carried out.

The day of landing finally came. The crew of astronauts were not even warned of the potential that the absolutely essential heat-proofing on the wing might have been damaged.

They came down, probably a little nervous, after all, this kind of landing is still a big deal, but unaware of a very specific threat.

It did not end well. The required barrier on the wing had been damaged. As the shuttle entered the earth’s atmosphere, it could not cope. The entire shuttle broke up and all astronauts died.

The danger we’re in

Now here’s the thing. Sometimes it feels like we are in this spaceship. One doomed to crash and burn.

What makes this analogy interesting, is that throughout society, I reckon I could get fairly wide-spread agreement that this analogy works, but depending on who you talk with, you’ll get a different interpretation on what it is that has been the cataclysmic damage that has doomed us.

For some, this is an environmental issue. The industrial revolution has put too much carbon in the atmosphere, and as a result the earth is going to have catastrophic consequences.

For others, it’s the conflict in the world. It’s humanities hard-heartedness and inability to get along. We’re destined to blow each other up because we’ve lost the ability to compromise and negotiate.

For others, it’s all that woke-ideology. We’re living in a world where people can’t say anything for fear they might be cancelled. Where an elite few become the arbiters of what is right or not and we all have to tow the line of whatever is politically correct.

Perhaps it’s not the environment that’s the concern, it’s the environmentalists who want to stop all forms of progress.

You might be able to add your own danger here… something that you see as epitomising the downward slope of society.

It can feel, however, that the majority of society are like those astronauts, unaware of the danger ahead.

A few people calling out - look where we are heading! But most people really saying, don’t stop, we’re onto a good thing here.

Part of the problem, is that the solution depends on which one of those things are actually the real problem, and we can’t seem to fix it.

There is, however, an interesting aspect of the Columbia story. You see, even if the people trying to have their concerns heard were listened to, it’s quite possible they wouldn’t have been able to fix the problem.

So what do we do. Do we stand on our little hobby-horse (whichever one that may be), and try to make change happen? Or do we just throw our hands up and say, well, perhaps we just enjoy what we have while the world crashes around us?

Well, the point of this message is not so much to answer that question, but if I can just add a comment here - it is good to stand up for what you think is right, but do so with humility and respect of the opinion of others. We can be very quick to dismiss the view of people on the opposite side of whatever issue we’re arguing for, but sometimes wisdom comes from very surprising places.

But there is a bigger point I want to make today. Society does have big problems and we’re right to be worried about where things are headed.

The problem presents itself on lots of fronts, and to be honest, I think there are elements of truth to most of the concerns people raise.

Shalom is broken

But it boils down to the fact that shalom has been broken.

For those unfamiliar with the use of the word Shalom, it is the Hebrew word that is usually translated as peace. But it’s more than that. It’s the state of being that God created this world. A place where all things were as they should be.

But that didn’t last long. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit.

Actually, in some ways, it fits the analogy of the space shuttle Columbia quite well. Something which on the surface seems so innocuous, almost like a trivial little occurrence, turns out to be something with deadly consequences.

Shalom was broken from that moment, but yet it can feel like there is an intensification of that broken shalom. Almost like the shuttle is re-entering the atmosphere and we’re under extreme heat and pressure. Things are breaking up, and there is little we can do about it.

It is so easy to think, there is no hope.

We alternate between absolute dismay at the state of everything around us… to essentially what amounts to ignorant bliss.

But how should we respond as believers? Because ignorant bliss does not feel right. But dismay just leaves us feeling empty.

Disciples response

Well, today I want to bring us to the part in the biblical account where we are really close to the end of Jesus earthly ministry.

Jesus has spent a number of years now with his disciples and they’ve seen the best and the worst of the world.

They’ve seen evil forces manifest themselves in scary ways. But they’ve also seen Jesus bring about a peace like nothing they’ve seen before.

But as we near the time I’m looking at this morning, they’ve felt the utter dismay when Jesus tells them that he is going to be arrested and put to death.

But as we come to Luke 21, it starts with the disciples being more positive, this despite the fact that we are now only days from Jesus arrest and crucifixion.

You see, the disciples look at the temple and they are in awe of how amazing it is. It’s like, in the midst of such beauty and grandeur, they can be in their ignorant bliss. They can forget all about their troubles because when you’re in the midst of something so amazing, you only think about what you see.

But Jesus is about to shift their thinking. He’s going to give them a reality check. Shalom is broken.

These beautiful stones in the temple… a time is coming, and very soon, when they will all be thrown down.

When is that going to take place?

Well, we have the benefit of hindsight. We know that in the year 70 AD, the Romans come and completely ransack the temple. What Jesus said actually came true within a generation of when he said it.

Well, that kind of changed things for the disciples. The brokenness of shalom is coming home to them very clearly.

How do they respond?

Well, they get to ask Jesus about it. So they ask when it will happen and what will be the sign that it is about to take place.

They want to be ready.

The Horror to come

If they were after some comfort, they didn’t really get it. Jesus starts describing more broken shalom.

People deceptively coming as Messiah. Wars and uprisings. Earthquakes, famines and pestilence. Persecution. Betrayal.

It’s enough to get you down. Particularly if you look at verse 17 which says “everyone will hate you because of me”.

But Jesus adds “…not a hair of your head will perish”

Stand firm

He further adds in verse 19: “Stand firm, and you will win life”.

It’s an interesting phrase… “win life”… actually, it’s one of those phrases that is a little difficult to translate. Some translations actually say “you will gain your lives”.

What’s clear, is that this broken shalom should not get you down.

Jesus is saying you can stand, and not only are you just going to survive, you can actually gain.

Second coming

Now, as you go through Luke 21, we seem to get this gradual shift from thinking about the destruction of the temple, which is what started this whole conversation, to thinking about the time when Jesus is going to return.

By verse 25, it seems Jesus has started thinking more about that final end time, because he starts talking about the signs that we can expect before the Son of God will come in a cloud of power.

There is going be cosmic events - signs in the sun, moon and stars. While people will speculate what those signs will be, the text itself doesn’t tell us what those signs are. It really just says, hey, it’s going to be big and you won’t miss it.

But let’s pay attention to verse 28: Luke 21:28 “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.””

This is another one of those passages where translations will differ. In some translations, this verse 28 says to look up.

The Greek word translated as “stand up” (NIV) or “look up” (KJV), is the word anakupto. “Ana” means to “come up”, and “kupto” means from a stooped position. So anakupto literally means to come up from a stooped position.

You can imagine, when everything seems to be crashing and burning around you, that the natural inclination is to almost curl up in some sort of fetal position. If not that, then at least bracing yourself for impact.

But that’s not what Jesus is saying. He’s saying stand up. This is not the end of you. You’ve got this. You will succeed.

Hope

The point in all of this is that there is hope.

Not hope that the world will somehow right itself of all its wrongs. To be honest, I think a scrambled egg has more chance of becoming unscrambled, then the world getting back to shalom on its own efforts.

But there is hope because of God’s kingdom. A kingdom that is in existence now, but will be fully known when Jesus returns.

You can stand firm, because you are part of a kingdom that cannot be damaged. Things of this world will take damage, but not God’s kingdom.

And here’s the thing. If we think back to the analogy of the space shuttle, we can think the options are, they can be blissfully ignorant of the doom that is about to come upon themselves, or they can be worked up into a panic knowing things are not going to end well.

The third option is to recognise that if you are part of God’s kingdom, nothing in this world can harm you. Yes, your body in this earthly kingdom may burn up, but your heavenly kingdom existence will never end.

Now let me just add, this does not mean that we treat our earthly existence with contempt. At this point in time, we’re living as dual citizens… citizens of heaven and of earth.

Our earthly existence has been gifted to us by God, and so we treasure it.

But here’s one thing we should realise - you see, we’re pointing today towards the second coming of Jesus - the time when all wrongs will be made right, but we also have hope now, because you are part of that kingdom right now. Yes, it is as a dual citizen, and so we still suffer the consequences of the broken shalom, but God’s blessing start right now.

New Heaven and New Earth

But let’s just pause a moment to think about what it will be like when Jesus does return.

Perhaps the best picture we get of this is in Revelation 21-22. While there is a lot of symbolism in these chapters, we do get a picture of when every tear will be wiped from our eyes, because there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away.

The picture is actually a picture of restored shalom. It won’t just be an absence of hostility, it will be all things working together in harmony. It will be the way God intended it to be.

So what’s it going to be like? Well, it’s perhaps one of those questions we love to ponder, and I’m sure everyone has their own picture of what eternity will look like.

Perhaps one thing for sure, is that we won’t be walking in the clouds wearing white and playing the harp. That is never an image given to us in the bible.

It’s actually not important exactly what it will be like, other than the fact that there will be shalom.

Be on watch

But let me come back to Luke 21.

You see, after Jesus gave the disciples the hope they need, verses 34 end with some advice on how we conduct ourselves in the mean time.

It starts with a warning about getting caught in the traps of this age.

There are many things in this world that take our focus off Jesus and where things are heading for us.

Our hearts can easily get weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life. When we’re weighed down, we lose sight.

So how can we be careful? Verse 36: “be always on the watch”.

What are we on the watch for? Can I suggest that it is keeping a focus on Jesus. Meditate on him. Read about him. Think about him. Try to act like him.

And pray. Pray for yourself in this difficult age. Pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen.

And pray for others as well.

And you know what? While it might all seem crushing and all too hard - the fact is, God can and will give us what we need to stand.

We wanting to be standing on that day we stand before Jesus.

We may be in a space shuttle with a damaged wing, unable to withstand the heat and pressure of re-entry, but we can stand. Not because we can fix the problems of the world, but because Jesus has a kingdom greater than this world.

There is hope, not in any political party, not in the might of any army… but in God’s plan for this world. A plan that demonstrated it’s power by raising Jesus from the dead.

Conclusion

Now, the earthly matters I spoke about earlier are still important. Things like the environment, and the errant ideologies of this age. Talk about them. Think about how we can address them in an appropriate way.

But know this. Your discussions and efforts in these regards, while they may have some good effect, it is not where our hope lay. Our hope lays in the knowledge that Jesus has established a new kingdom. A kingdom that we can be a part of, and a kingdom that will be fully known when Jesus returns.

But before I finish, let me ask you this:

Can you say with certainty that you are part of God’s kingdom?

What I’m really asking is whether you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, because if you have, then you are part of the kingdom.

The hope that I’ve been talking about today, is the hope for those who have accepted Jesus.

Perhaps this morning, you are sitting here not quite sure whether you are part of this kingdom or not. If you have any hesitancy, can I urge you to speak with me after the service. Because this is a hope that I want you all to be able to share in.

Let me pray now...