God with Us

The Old Testament prophets talked about how persons were falling apart in their relationships with one another; lying cheating, stealing, and all the rest.

And the prophets also talked about how their nation was disintegrating because of trust in foreign alliances and force of arms, and the virtual enslavement of people in order to pay for grandiose schemes.

Sounds quite contemporary, doesn't it?

People, and nations, haven't changed.

Oh, the technology is different, but the problems and the ways in which we are falling apart are still the same.

We're falling apart all the time, and sometimes faster than others.

It happens when the doctor speaks with that serious tone, “You must have an operation, now.”

It happens when one hears, “I want a divorce.”

It happens when a hope-less person straps on a bomb and walks into a crowd to detonate it.

It happens when a Christian is set up by a mob and killed for his faith; and this happens in a number of places around the world these days.

When things like these are happening, we cannot just put on the brave smile and pretend that thinks are OK.

They're not!

This is the time to turn to the book of Revelation, written as consolation for people in great distress.

We may not catch all of the messages in the book, but we can resonate with the key ones.

In this vision, the new Jerusalem is coming down out of heaven from God.

It is a continuing action, continually approaching us.

Whether we welcome it or attempt to run from it, still, it approaches us wherever we need to hear of it.

Its purpose is to point out the presence of God with his people, no matter in what ways they have been falling apart.

The Lord God is not satisfied to accept the shambles we have made of our lives, but intends to transform them.

If one is content and satisfied with himself, then one hears this as bad news – God is after me to change me.

But if one is in distress of body or spirit, if one is surrounded by foes of the faith, enemies of the body, or demons contending with our spirit,

then, the approach of God is Good News.

--every tear to be wiped away,

--mourning, crying, pain no more,

--death conquered,

--the old ways overcome.

“See, I am making all things new,” says the heavenly voice in this vision.

“When, O Lord?” we wonder.

The scene in the Gospel lesson today is a prefiguring of the answer to the question.

“Lazarus, come out!” Jesus commands the man dead four days.

And he does come out from the tomb, restored to his earlier life, but as a sign, an anticipation, pointing toward the resurrection to come.

“When, O Lord?”

“Now!” is the answer, “yes, now!”

“Come out, Lazarus, your life turned completely around, as a sign of how it will be fully re-made at resurrection time.

And then there is the time on the cross, when the thief says:

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

and Jesus replies, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Not just someday, after all of this mess is over, but today, right now, this very minute you are with me in my kingdom!

The heavenly Jerusalem, the very presence of God, descending, breaking in, arriving, right now!

And this is the reason for joy, right now.

One woman announced, “My cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my relationship with God is concerned. My sickness has been terrible, but since I have been sick, my prayer life has become real, and I feel closer to God than ever before.”

I don't know if that woman's cancer was in remission or if she was in the final stages in hospice, but it doesn't change what she said.

God is come close to her; the kingdom is approaching today for her.

This is the occasion in the church year when we pointedly remember all the saints, the ones in heaven and the ones walking around right now, and especially the saints newly-made in the past year.

“Today you will be with me in paradise,” is Jesus' surprising word to each of the newly-baptized, and it is repeated to the ones graduating to heaven.

Today, at the beginning.

Today, in the midst of living.

Today, when life is renewed in heaven.

Today, the Lord God is come to us.

The thief heard about “Today” in the last moments of his life, in the agony of crucifixion.

But he could have heard it had he been walking along some dusty road up in Galilee and met Jesus there.

Jesus could have challenged him there, and the thief could have heard exactly the same announcement and invitation: “Today, Paradise.”

Wherever Jesus is,

wherever Jesus invites,

wherever Jesus is heard and received,

Today, Paradise.

The pains have come to an end for some, and they continue for the rest of us breathing these days...

but the promise is the same:

Today, Paradise; today, God with us.

If you are one who puts the ribbon marker in for the Hymn of the Day, perhaps you are waiting for the pastor to make an announcement about a wrong hymn number.

Not this time.

At Christmastime we are so busy singing carols that hymn #42 often gets overlooked, but the hymn carries the profound message of this day.

Jesus, who is God from the very beginning of everything that is and everything that is yet to be,

is also God for us right now,

here in the middle of things.

What a wonder!

What joy is ours, in spite of all of the other things that we have experienced.

What a difference it all makes!

In the light of Christ 2,000 years ago, the church offered charity and hope to the homeless and impoverished.

Because of “God with us”, Christians welcomed strangers and newcomers.

Because of “Paradise, today”, Christians formed connections with orphans and widows, making a new social network.

In the face of epidemics and disasters, war and turmoil, Christians offered care and comfort in the name of Christ Jesus.

And all of this has continued throughout the centuries since then.

What a difference it has made, this news that God is with us.

It is easy to fall into despair when one is assaulted in so many ways.

How wonderful it is to hold onto the confidence that God is with us, no matter what.

Here is a prayer that was found in the clothing of a dead child at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany at the end of WWII;

O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will.

But, do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us;

Instead, remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering-- our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble.

When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.

and to this prayer written in terrible circumstances we would add only a few words: ...for the sake of Jesus Christ.

God is with us; Paradise, today.

And so with the church of all the ages, we sing:

Christ, to thee, with God the Father,

And O Holy Ghost, to thee,

Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving

And unwearied praises be;

evermore and evermore. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.