Life After The Apocalypse

Brad Sullivan

Proper 28, Year C

November 13, 2016

Emmanuel, Houston

Isaiah 65:17-25

Luke 21:5-19

Life After The Apocalypse

Your worst fears are coming true, but fear not.  That’s basically part of what Jesus was saying in the discourse to his disciples that we heard today.  “Guys, you’re about to be living in Diaspora again.  You are about to be scattered among the nations, living in places that don’t really support your faith.  The Temple that you love so much…it’s gonna be gone in 40 years, and in about 100 years, Israel is going to be gone too.”  Jesus didn’t get that specific with the timeline, but he was telling them about the future destruction of the temple and of the nation of Israel itself. 

“Continuing to live out your faith is not going to be easy, guys,”  Jesus was saying.  “You won’t be able to depend on the beauty or even the existence of the Temple.  You will have no state, no Jewish government to allow you to keep in the ways of your faith.  Also, y’all who are following in my way, before the total destruction of Israel, you’re even going to be persecuted within Israel.  So here then, is how y’all will need to live post apocalypse.” 

“Be steadfast in your faith, more than ever. Trust in God and in the ways of his Gospel, because you will have no temple, nor any government to turn to.  You will have no great community around you making it easy for you to live out your faith.  So be steadfast, live out your faith with intentionality.  Live out your faith with each other, and continue to follow in my ways, even when the culture around you says and does otherwise.”

As disciples of Jesus in the 21st century, we find ourselves in a much less dire but similar situation to what Jesus was preparing his disciples for.  In America, we’re not exactly persecuted for our faith, but we do live in a culture that often says and does things counter to the Gospel.  Truth be told, we often end up taking that culture as our own, and not following in the ways of Jesus ourselves all that well.

Some of Jesus’ teachings are rather difficult and don’t exactly jive with our mainstream culture or even our natural inclinations.  “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it,” Jesus said. (Matthew 16:25)  ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:43-44)  ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;’ (Matthew 5:38-39)

Not easy, right.  If someone were to punch me, I would really want to punch them back.  Instead, I’m supposed to not lose my temper, not give into my anger and my hurt, and instead take a breath and say, “ok, do you need to hit me again, because if you do, here I am, you can.”  I believe that way of Jesus will bring about more peace and love in the world; I think it might actually resolve the situation, but it’s not exactly easy, and it’s not exactly the American way.  “Speak softly but carry a big stick” is a far cry from “turn the other cheek.” 

As Christians, we are somewhat a people in diaspora.  We don’t live in a Christian nation.  We don’t live in a Christian theocracy like the first century nation of Israel.  We don’t have some overarching governmental authority to help guide us and keep us in our faith.  As Wendy Claire Barrie wrote in her book, Faith at Home, the way of Jesus is “counter-cultural, revolutionary, and not quite what mainstream culture would have us believe.”  So, she writes about many ways we can live out our faith at home or at any time, when we’re not surrounded and supported by our church buildings, by the sanctuary that our church community makes for us.

Make the dinner table the altar in your house.  Prepare your meals and then eat together in such a way that the whole meal is a prayer, in which you share your stories of faith, you share where Jesus has been working in your life.  Offer up that meal to God in remembrance of Jesus, like we do here on Sunday morning.

Turn your bedtime into a time of reflection like Jesus took when he went away to a lonely place so often to pray and offer up his life to God, take that time at bedtime to God the day that is past:  the good, the bad.  “How have I turned away from Jesus?  Where have I seen Jesus in my life?”  Offer that time of reflection to God as you end your day, and as you rise in the morning, dedicate the day to come to God.  Look for all those times and places where you may see him.  You will have turned your bedroom into a sanctuary, into a sacred space for God.

Rather than seeking retribution when wronged, seek peace and forgiveness, following after the ways of Jesus. 

“Follow my way anywhere and everywhere,” Jesus said.  That’s another part of what Jesus was teaching his disciples when he told them that the temple would be torn down.  Jesus revealed to his disciples that when the temple was gone, they would need to and also be able to find him and follow in his ways anywhere in the world.  That was an apocalypse for them, apocalypse meaning a revealing, a revelation.  “God’s not just here in the Temple, or just here in Israel,” Jesus was saying.  “God is everywhere and we can live out our faith anywhere.”  So too do we get to find God anywhere in the world, anywhere in our lives.  That’s life after the apocalypse, life after the revealing.  “Your worst fears are coming true,” Jesus was saying, “but fear not, for you can find God anywhere.”

For many folks, people’s worst fears came true when Donald Trump was elected president.  To be fair, I think a lot of people’s worst fears came true when Barak Obama was elected president…and before that, and before that.  People’s worst fears often come true when we elect a new president (or when darn near anything happens that people don’t like). 

In both cases, with both our president-elect and our current president, I think some of people’s fears were probably well-founded.  Presidents make bad decisions, we see who is coming, and we expect those bad decisions.  I think also that some of those fears are not well founded, but largely emotional reactions that get so worked up that we’re afraid it’s all coming to an end, but I don’t think that particular apocalypse is going to happen because of who’s sitting in office.  The real apocalypse for me, the real revelation has been to see how much hope or despair we place in one person. 

I’ve seen it written and heard it said many times that “We need to bring God back to our country.”  When did he leave?  Perhaps we at least thought he left when anyone started thinking that it is up to our president or anyone in our government to allow us to believe in God, follow in the ways of Jesus, or teach us how to follow in the ways of Jesus.  I don’t want the government teaching us how to follow in Jesus’ ways.  They suck at it.  Sorry, but they do.

Whether we’re talking about the president or congress or any government official, whoever it is, is not Jesus.  That one person, whoever it is, is not in charge of us following in the ways of Jesus.  Regardless of who is president, regardless of if we like that person or not, we are still a people in diaspora.  We are still disciples of Jesus living among a nation, within a culture that does not seek first and foremost to follow in Jesus’ way, and it is not up to any president to teach people to follow in Jesus’ way. 

It is not up to a president or anyone else to teach our children to follow in Jesus’ way.  It is not up to a president or anyone else to show people the light of the Gospel, the love of Jesus, and the peace of his way. 

It is rather, up to us, Jesus’ disciples, to show people the light of the Gospel.  It is up to us, Jesus’ disciples, to show people the love of Jesus.  It is up to us, Jesus’ disciples, to show people to peace of Jesus’ way.  It is also up to us to notice all of the times, and places, and ways that we see Jesus in the world.

That is life after the apocalypse.  God still the creator, ruler, and redeemer of all creation.  God is still anywhere and everywhere in the world, and as disciples of Jesus in this house or in our own houses, or anywhere in the world, we get to see God’s presence and point it out.

Regardless of what anything in the culture or world around us may say, regardless of whether our worst fears have come true or our prayers have been answered, the question we ask ourselves is:  “What do we give our hearts to?”  That’s what belief really is, not just what we think is true, but what do we live and follow?  What do we give our hearts to?

Living in diaspora, it is easy to give our hearts to all kinds of ways that are not the way of Jesus, and we usually do so for really good reasons, like being connected with other people or seeking solace from the storms of life.  At the same time, living in Diaspora, we can find Jesus and find people following in his ways in all sorts of places and situations that on the surface don’t seem particularly Jesusy. 

Jesus is alive and well in all kinds of ways and places, in our religious culture and even in the culture around us.  In giving our hearts to Jesus, we don’t need to rail against and point out all the places, and people, and situations that are “bad and evil” and say, “Jesus isn’t there.”  Jesus might argue that point with us.  Giving our hearts to Jesus and living in disapora, living in a culture that is not particularly Christian, we get to point out all the ways and places that Jesus is there, all of the ways and places where we see Jesus in the culture and the lives of people all around us.  Even in the places where people think, “I shouldn’t tell the priest that I’m going here tonight...it’s Saturday night, I’ll pray on Sunday morning.”  No.  If you’re somewhere on Saturday night, Jesus is there too, and you get to point it out.  You get to notice, and see, and show where all the blessing are in this world.  That’s life after the apocalypse.

Wherever we see grace, we see the way of Jesus.  Wherever we see forgiveness and love, we see the way of Jesus.  Wherever we see people doing their best to make the right choice, we see the way of Jesus.  Even living in disapora, even living in times when our worst fears have come true, fear not, Jesus says.  Fear not, and give your hearts to me.  Do not fight against each other or the culture around you, but follow in my ways, practice your faith even if it is counter-cultural, and then open your eyes to see me everywhere in the world around you.  Amen.