Luke 21:25-36 - "Leaning Into The Future (11-29-09)

Today’s lesson addresses the second coming of Christ. We believe that Christ has come; the Christ is here and that Christ will come again. This is a very apocalyptic passage that is one of prophesy and not prediction. Today, people question if we are living in the end times. We believe there is no rapture, where Jesus will come again a second, then seven more years and then he will come again a third time! People may think this apocalyptic passage reveals a secret clue and we must unravel it to find out when! Some may feel anxious about the end times. Revelation references in the Bible are not prediction.
The gospel lesson is a small apocalyptic future. Apo=off. Calyse = cover. Off with the cover. Off with cover and you look into the contents of the pan. Off with the cover and you see the contents of the future. It doesn't at first seem to instill us with any sense of hope at all. In fact, after reading this passage, we can be overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. We hear of these mysterious signs in the sun, moon and stars. There are images of people fainting. Heaven and earth pass away, there is talk of a trap, and our hope for escape, and by the end of the reading, it seems the walls are closing in on us. And yet, in the midst of the chaos, there are some words of hope in the midst of the confusion. When will it happen? We don’t know. Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul all thought they were living in the last days but they were wrong. Only Jesus was right. He said in Matthew that “You do not know the hour or the day!” Stop trying to predict!
When that day comes, Jesus says to us, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . . when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." We are called to stand up, raise our heads and lean into the future.
When my children want to whisper something to me, and I can’t quite hear, what is the body’s response? I tend to lean into where the voice is coming from. So listen in and be prepared to stand up, raise your heads and lean into the future.
We are living in a new season in the life of the church. On this the first Sunday of Advent, you are leaning into the future of Living Waters and I am leaning into the future at Zion Lutheran in Rockford where I will start in the New Year. Martin Luther King, Jr said, “I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds the future.” We have different futures in parish ministry as I prepare to leave Living Waters, but we serve the same heavenly Father.
Yesterday, Robert and Linda Gallet were married here at Living Waters. It was my last wedding service. Bob and Linda are 67 and 72 years old. When they got said “unto death parts us” they know what that means and yet they were leaning into the future with the love and hope of Christ.
This fall, as I’ve been looking out my window here at the church, I couldn’t help but notice the road construction on Frank Road. The process and progress was slow going as they tore off the old surface, redid the sidewalks, put new blacktop down and the painted on the various stripes on the road. What stands out for me is the sign facing Miller Road and the church, “Road Work Ahead: Expect Delays”. I had wanted to take a picture of that sign. It was a reminder of the season of my life and now the season for Living Waters. But then one day, the sign was gone. The road has been prepared and now completed for those to travel to and from this place for worship.
When we gather at this table (stand behind altar) and we eat of this feast, we say that this is the “foretasted of the feast to come”. We sing the words: “This is the feast of victory for our God… for the lamb who was slain has begun to reign!” This is the foretaste of the feast to come. When you come forward, I want you to lean into the words, “given and shed for you”. Trust in these promises as we all lean into and upon the promises of God.
Let us pray: Gracious God, we gather to lean upon your words and your promises. We gather to get just a foretaste of that feast to come. Grant us courage to lean upon you, in Jesus name, Amen.