She gave all that she had

 Read Luke 21

If you read Luke 21 and Matthew 24, you get the short course of the End of the Age—Revelation revealed in miniature.

Advent means arrival, but in the church, it is a time to prepare for the arrival of the King, the Second Coming of Christ. That’s going to be something of a big deal.

At the next service, I will talk a little about signs of the end of the age. Now, let’s think about what preceded the eschatological verses in this chapter.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

We all know this one. We sometimes dub it The Widow’s Mite.

Jesus called the disciples to consider this woman. They probably were not paying much attention to her. She wasn’t making a scene, and she would not bring a load of gold or silver.

She did not make a show of making her offering. She did not parade herself in self-righteousness. She gave what she had.

Jesus noted that she gave more than all the rest. She gave all she had.

We—anchored in our own understanding—ask, “How will she live?”

Jesus saw no need to address that unspoken concern. He knew that his Father in heaven provided for her.

She had no earthly treasure but surely had a huge account in heaven.  Could you imagine giving all that you had in the offering?

That’s some crazy stuff, but it is precisely what we are called to do.

OK, sure. Are we passing the collection plate again? I have to run home and get my car title.

Does the church pick up the payments on my mortgage? How does this work?

It’s a scam, right?

No, we are to give all we have and all we are to the Lord. Paul called it a living sacrifice.

But is that even possible? I know that Paul said it, but he didn’t have a mortgage, two car payments, a houseful of hungry kids to feed, and a water bill to pay.

I’m already making my tithe. Give me a break! How can I give all that I have? Do I just endorse my check over to the church?

For those who don’t know, a check is a piece of paper that promises to pay an amount written on it to the recipient. I know people don’t use checks much these days. Ask an older person about a thing called a counter-check. That will blow your mind in this age of account hacking. 

Enough for ancient banking practices… Who will pay my mortgage? You will, and you will pour yourself into making your house into a godly home.

Who will make my car payment? You will, and you will do your best to drive safely and respectfully. When the light is red, you live by the law not grace.

As we are on the topic, is it legal to make a right on red in Oklahoma?  Only when posted.

The rest of the time it is legal to make a right on red after stop, unless otherwise posted.

That’s my public service announcement for the day brought to you by my daily view of out my office window.

Back to giving it all to God—what about my food bill? How many have a monthly grocery bill that’s more than your car payment? More than your mortgage?

Hopefully, that grocery bill will get better. Right now, when I go to buy my olive oil and peppers, I feel like I am in chapter 6 of Revelation.

Back to giving it all to God. Whatever I eat, I eat to fuel this body that serves the Lord. I’m not a glutton and a slave to food. I eat to re-arm and re-fuel to continue my mission and fulfill my commission.

We can give God all that we have. It funnels through our lives and provisions us to serve the Lord.

Think of the servants in the Parable of the Talents. The money their master entrusted to them was put to work immediately and produced a return, but they didn’t have to get a second job to feed their families.

They put everything they had—knowledge, skills, and abilities—into producing a return for the master. They had no desire to do anything else, and their master provided for them in the course of their duties.

That was true of the first two servants. They understood this living sacrifice thing before it was a thing.

They were not accumulating personal wealth. They were producing a return for their master. Welcome to New Testament living.

How does all of this relate to Advent and the coming of Christ?

We don’t know the day or the hour, but we do know the season. For that part, read to the end of Luke 21.

The best way to prepare for the Lord's return is to live our lives fully for him every day.

We are saved from sin and death, but I believe that in our DNA as new creations is the desire to do the best we can with the lives, resources, thoughts and attitudes, and fruit we produce for the Lord.

We should strive to live as fully as possible, with each breath bringing glory to God.

That’s how we give all that we have. That’s how we prepare for the return of the King.

Amen.

Signs and Readiness

 Read Luke 21

Anyone ever heard  of the 5 Man Electrical Band?

And the sign said,

"Long-haired freaky people

Need not apply."

So I tucked my hair up under my hat

And I went in to ask him why.

He said, "You look like a fine upstandin' young man.

I think you'll do."

So I took off my hat and said, "Imagine that.

Ha, me workin' for you."

Today, business owners hire long-hair freaky people if they will show up and work. Back in the mid-80s, I was in London. The ship had pulled into Portsmouth Harbor for a couple of days, and I took a day trip by train to London.

I saw the sights and stopped in a store to buy some souvenirs. I was about to check out when I saw this guy with the spiked rooster hair look. The hair was green and some other color. He had some bling hanging off of various parts of his face and head. This was before bling was a word in the common vernacular.

We were both approaching the same check-out register. I thought I would just let this guy go first. He was taking the long-hair freaky people thing to a new level, and I was surprised at something else hanging off of him every time I looked.

Yeah, you can go first. He walked towards the register and went behind the counter to ring up my purchase. There was no sign reading, "Long-hair freaky people need not apply."

  They applied and got jobs!

Whoa, sign, sign.

Everywhere a sign.

Blockin' out the scen'ry.

Breakin' my mind.

Do this. Don't do that.

Can't you read the sign?

One of my favorite signs was displayed at a taco joint in 29 Palms, California. It read:

Tacos

3 for $1

Limit 8

I usually make my Math for Marines jokes with that one. But then, on a street far away from any Marine Corps Base was the sign that read:

2 Hour Parking

6-7 pm

Whoa, sign, sign.

Everywhere a sign.

Blockin' out the scen'ry.

Breakin' my mind.

Do this. Don't do that.

Can't you read the sign?

The song "Signs" was actually a protest song, not against the War in Vietnam but against the ubiquitous onslaught and apparent authority of signage.

We look at chapter 21 in Luke’s gospel. The disciples remarked on how magnificent the temple was. It was an impressive structure and adorned with gifts dedicated to God. The disciples were impressed by the structure and thought their Master might be as well.

Jesus didn’t play the adore the temple game. He said that this thing would be rubble one day, and not one stone would stand upon another. That’s some serious stuff. This is the same temple where Jesus taught the scholars when he was 12 and where he fashioned a whip and turned over tables later in his life because his Father’s house had been turned into a den of thieves.

 

The disciples ask, “When” and “How will we know the time is near?”

What will be the signs of the end of the age?

Jesus told his closest followers to be on the lookout and not to be deceived. Many would come in his name and be imposters. Don’t play their games.

Some things must happen first. There will be wars and rumors of war. It will be nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom. We read this as there will be some isolated wars and some between and among alliances.

In addition, there will be some really big earthquakes, famine, and even pestilence. Some of you are thinking seals will be opened, and horsemen will be dispatched.  

You may very well be the target of persecution. You should expect it. If you are persecuted because of Jesus, Jesus will count that as fruit to your credit.

If you are persecuted because you are doing stupid stuff, then stop doing the stupid stuff. That’s a horse of a different color. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot, and admire your marksmanship.

One of the unsung benefits of being a pastor is I get to work with people who shoot themselves in the foot, admire their marksmanship, and when you think it couldn’t get any crazier, they reload.

But when you are persecuted because you follow Jesus, that’s counted to your credit. You are welcomed into the company of the prophets.

There will be times when God rescues Jerusalem from invaders and times—such as near the end of the age—when desolation is near. Yes, there will be some run-for-the-hill times.

These will be some very bleak times. The world won’t understand them and will surely construct stories without what it understands without God. What is coming to this world is not the stuff you put on the travel brochure.

OBTW—welcome to the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is about preparing for the coming of the King. We prepare to celebrate his birth into this world as a baby born in some meager surroundings, and we prepare for him to come to claim us.

We return to the lectionary briefly for this season of Advent. We note that Jesus will come as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and it will be the biggest event in history. You can’t miss it. You won’t miss it.

You can't miss it but will you be ready for it?

My prayer is that you are ready for it. Advent is a time to prepare for the coming of the King, and he is coming for us. When? Soon.

We have had wars and rumors of war, but they had those in the first century too.

We have had hurricanes and earthquakes and some terrible weather events, but they also had those in the first century.

Famine and pestilence have occurred in various places over the centuries. They are not unique to our time.

We have seen many of these signs in our time and have read about them in history.

So, does soon mean by the end of the year or end of the decade?  Could it be longer. How will we know?

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

There will be:

·       Cosmic Disturbance.

·       Nations will be at a loss as to what to do about anything and everything

·       People will pass out from terror.  They will be afraid.

What should we do?

·       Hold your head up!

·       Know that redemption is coming.

·       Know that Jesus is coming on a cloud and he is coming as King this time.

·       Know that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is coming for you. Your room is ready.

While the world trembles, we anticipate what we have waited for all of our lives. We cry out for Jesus to come and rescue us from this world. He will.

The world will be caught up in the drama, terror, and fear of not knowing what is to come.

Not us. We know what is coming and are getting ready to celebrate who is coming.

Yes, we may have to endure much, but we know who is coming for us, and that’s a big deal.

So, let’s consider what is ahead in the manner prescribed by Paul. The stuff that we will go through now is nothing in comparison to what God has in store for us.

So, when we know the time has come, and it will be evident in the heavens themselves, hold your head up. Know that your Lord is coming to redeem you out of this world.

The work to accomplish that has been accomplished. It is finished.

All that’s left now is for Jesus to claim us and take us home.

Hold your heads up!

Amen.

Distress and Confusion--Welcome to the Season of Advent

Read Luke 21:25-36

Nothing says Christmas more than cosmic disturbance.  People are trying to sell everyone on some fat man in a sled pulled by reindeer and I throw in this stuff about great distress.

People are trying to make sure their Christmas tree doesn’t fall over, and I am reading a warning about the heavenly bodies being shaken.  You had better nail that sucker to the floor.

The kids want to sing Frosty the Snowman, but Tom is talking about a time that is so bad that people just faint from anxiety.  We are not talking about someone fainting from the sight of blood, or an attacker, or spiders and snakes.  We are talking about the day-to-day circumstances of the world being so stressful that fainting becomes a common sight.

We look around at the world today and think, that time has got to be near.

Some believe that we will all be caught up—raptured if you must—and miss the whole tribulation bit.

Some believe that we will be here for part of this thing called the Great Tribulation.  Yes, some think that we will be witnesses on this earth for the whole thing.

There is a lot of discussion to be had there.  It makes for good conversation and Bible Study and contemplation.  There are three things that I can say about these last days.

1.     Only the Father in heaven knows the day and the hour.

2.     We who belong to Christ will not know God’s wrath. 

3.     We should actually be looking forward to this time because we are told that our redemption is drawing near.  This is the Grand Finale for this age.

We may know the season but not the moment.  Jesus told us to consider the example of the fig tree.  When its leaves bud and sprout, then you know that it’s almost summer.  So too, should we have an idea of when the kingdom of this world will fully give way to the Kingdom of God.

We are not oblivious to the state of the world, but we must understand that our purpose is not governed by it. 

We are charged by God to be good stewards of this planet.  We are supposed to take what he gave us and make it better, bring it under our control, and do good things with it.  We want to be good stewards.

We want a better world for our grandkids than we have known.  We work hard to leave a better world for those who come after us.

But, and this is a big but, the whole world is not onboard with this.  Greed and selfishness and a covetous spirit prevail in much of this world.  The world is growing farther and farther from God.

Love is not the universal language of our planet.  The love of many has grown cold.

We could throw in the towel.  We could become bitter.  We could become cynical.  We could faint. 

We could be people of desperation, but we are counseled to be people of anticipation. 

Advent is a season to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  He came as Messiah.  He became an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  He rose from the grave.  He is at the right hand of the Father.

We celebrate holidays that we call Christmas and Easter because of these things.  We celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Christ entering the world in the flesh.  It is good to celebrate what we know about our Lord.

But we who have professed Jesus as Lord not only celebrate what has come to pass but that which is to come.  Jesus is coming.

Jesus is coming!

Other than shout Hallelujah, Amen, and Praise the Lord, what should we do?

Jesus counseled to be careful.  Don’t use the worldly remedies to escape the distress and confusion.

What worldly remedies?  Drunkenness for one and I am sure than includes all manner of substances when used for the purposes of escape.  You don’t have to go exclusively to the liquor store.  The pharmacy or corner drug dealer provide the same effect with their wares.

Carousing for another.  This usually involves some level of drunkenness but adds the element of seeking some mischief for entertainment and satisfaction.

And there is also anxiety.  How can this be an escape?  People retreat so far within themselves that they are not really living anymore. 

Our counsel is to be careful as to how we respond to the distress and confusion of the world.

We are to be alert and to pray.

We should know what is happening around us.  We are not consumed by it but we are aware.

We continue in prayer as always but as the time grows near, we should ask God for his protection in the worst of times.  The world is going to be a very bad place to live, but for as long as we remain, we ask God to protect us in the middle of distress and confusion.

In the middle of distress and confusion, we seek the Lord’s protection on this planet during the worst time it has seen since Noah and the flood.

There is one more thing.  We put everything that we have into being faithful to God.

Faithful in our thoughts.

Faithful in our actions.

Faithful in our tithes and offerings.

Faithful in our witness and testimony.

Faithful in being God’s light and love in this world, all the way until we are here no more.

We are saved by the blood of Christ Jesus but we will stand before him knowing that we have done the things that he has called us to do through our last day on earth.

That may come as with most, by death.

Or it may come because Jesus has come once again.  Either way, we will stand before our Master knowing that we have responded to God’s great love by being love in this world and fulfilling our commission to take the gospel to the world.

But what if I have not been faithful to put the words of my Master into practice?

Then, this is your wakeup call.  The blood of Christ Jesus has saved you from sin and death, but don’t you want to see the One who gave everything for you smiling when you stand before him?

Don’t you want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant?”

Don’t you want to be the choicest of fruit as you present your life before him?

Don’t you want to rejoice in his presence not because you escaped the torment of hell, but because you gave your entire life to him?  You were truly a living sacrifice.

Don’t you want to have a little smile on your face knowing that you were faithful to the end, however long that might be?  Knowing that your faithfulness has put a smile on your Master’s face as well.

During Advent, we prepare to celebrate the birth of our King.  During Advent we prepare ourselves to receive him once again.

As the world approaches a time of distress and confusion, we are people of sound minds, pure hearts, and love for one another.  We are people not distressed by the signs of the times.  In fact we know that these times must come.

We look forward to what will interrupt the worst of times—the return of our King, our Savior, our Great Priest, our Master, and our Lord.

Jesus is Lord and he’s coming back for you!

The world is distressed and suffering in confusion.  We are ready.  People get ready, Jesus is coming, soon we’ll be going home.

Amen!