Proper 28 - Year C

Welcome Statement

Good morning church. I want to pose a question to you this morning. What is Hope? Seems like a silly question, we talk about it all the time. We hope we can get a new raise, we hope that our children grow up to be healthy, resilient, and successful adults, we hope that we can get enough sleep. We use this a lot in our everyday vernacular, yet it seems like there’s always a “but” hidden in what we say we hope for. When we say we hope for something, we a lot of times add, “But I realize X may not happen” or “but, Y is preventing us from getting there”. Before we get too far lets hear what the

From Oxford Languages:

Definition: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

From Merriam Webster: Definition to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true

An archaic meaning is simply: “Trust”. Which when we read the word hope in say the KJV, we start to realize what hope is then. It’s a trust in God, that he will do exactly what he says. Hope is a driving force of expectation for the coming of the new Kingdom. It’s something that is interweaved into the entire Bible, these past few weeks, we’ve been reading through the prophets, and seeing how they do call out and rebuke those who have disobeyed God, but they always cast and end in a vision of hope.

Old Testament Reading - Isaiah 65:17-25

Isaiah 65:17–25 NRSV

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

words

Early Echos of NT Eschatology

These words from Isaiah seem really familiar. It feels as if it is almost identical or as a prelude to what we read in Revelation:

Revelation 21:1–4 NRSV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

These words while different, are pointing to the exact same future all Christians are guaranteed by the blood of Jesus. There is a promise of a new Kingdom. Note how it is described as the first heaven and earth passing away, as if they really died. This language is important. We talk a lot about the death of the ego or self, and the death of the flesh, but we still are ourselves, simply transformed. The same is true here, We don’t completely lose sight of what once existed, all of it has become redeemed, all failures and losses, become somehow an instrument for God’s Kingdom. The accuser is vanquished, and all of God’s Children are justified In him.

The Loop

If one were to ask what the beginning and destination of the journey in Bible was, in a single sentence. I would say it is a journey from Eden, to Eden. What I mean is, it’s like a loop in time, we started obedient, we fell, and then Christ came and brought us back. That victory is a guaranteed cycle. So this scripture, regardless of what suffering people went through, gave them Hope, because we can be sure it is faithful and true. It is a description of What God’s Kingdom is like, it has no tears, it has no anguish, it simply has love and joy.

IF you want to think of what this journey might look like, if you cut a piece of paper, turn/twist it, and then tape it back to itself, you can trace with a single line, the entire surface of it. With this circle, I can only start from the inside or the outside and stay on that. The Kingdom of God is like this, because it’s hard to tell at which point we are transforming sometimes, and it’s hard to know how close or far we are oriented towards the Kingdom. This mobius strip, represents the journey from Eden to Eden. The intersection of heaven and earth.

Unlike the circle, where we are cyclically stuck in our despair, Jesus made the kingdom turn everything upside down, we find ourselves upside down, but we don’t fall!

This hope we have doesn’t deny our present reality, we are still in the world, and we still deal with anguish and anxiety, but there is always a promise of a better tomorrow.

New Testament Reading - Luke 21:5-19

Luke 21:5–19 NRSV

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Decadence is Not Hope

When times are good, when we are surrounded by good and nice physical belongings, we easily forget where it comes from. We easily forget, this decadence itself, is not the source of our real joy our real hope. It’s something that Paul would say, eventually passes away. But the word doesn’t.

John 1:1 NRSV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus does not Embellish the Truth

Why does Jesus here seem so harsh? It is because he wants us to be spiritually prepared for whatever personal tribulations, or whatever age we find ourselves in. Even though the Great Tribulation did not occur during Jesus time, and probably is still some sort of future event, The apostles found comfort that they would be justified by Jesus through their endurance, not by themselves, but enduring via the spirit. Jesus is clear, by our endurance we will gain our souls. Not a head of our hair will perish, the resurrection will be a real reality.

Intersection - Return to Eden

So what Jesus is arguing here, and prophesying, is that his church will be persecuted, it is clear we cannot gleam here a specific time, and it is not meant to even be fearful, it is that Hope in Christ is not ignorant of the truth or realities of the world, it transcends them.

Closing Statement

So we must realize, we are not able to see at what point of the unveiling of the Kingdom we are in, but we know it is both here and now through the Church, and it also is part of the not yet of our future. We don’t know the time or place, but Christ promises us a new tomorrow God’s tomorrow. He is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. As we close to Prayer, think about thatrrfffff6t7t

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, adfs asdfa

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!