Rend the Heavens

There is apparently a genuine yearning to be grasped by the truth of those enigmatic passages, even as we are repelled by the horror of the separation from God and each other that they indicate.

We can look around and know so much that is not the way it should be:

--sickness and disease like Ebola

--wars and rumor of wars

--environmental problems

--families strained to the breaking point

--everybody preying on each others basic greediness.

This is a litany of all that is happening which is at odds with true community in Christ Jesus.

It cannot be undone by halfway measures: the human thing will be for us to stumble right on from one misery to the next.

Only God can straighten out this mess.

O Savior, rend the heavens wide;

Come down, come down with mighty stride.

“Upset all of the present arrangements, Lord,” should be our apocalyptic prayer, if we dare to pray it.

As Mary sings in the Magnificat, the song that we hear on Advent IV: the mighty he has taken from their seats and exalted them of low degree.

But we are not so very anxious to pray that petition, or to wish for those things to happen.

Could it be that we have become so accustomed to the way things are that we are no longer willing to hope that they become something different?

Or, since compared with the vast majority of the world's population we are toward the top of the economic pile and thus are we unwilling to say or to pray anything that might upset our place in the current scheme of things?

Or, since terrorism is the latest version of the threat of chaos, do we mentally circle the wagons and defensively refuse to consider any other possibilities?

Is it too frightening for us to pray today O Savior rend the heavens wide?

While acknowledging the fears, let's not let them drown out the voice of the apocalyptic lessons for this day, lessons which point to the Lord Jesus even and especially in the midst of difficult situations.

Let's proclaim it clearly:

The coming of Christ among us has cosmic implications; everything will simply get turned upside down.

--the lives of the disciples were never the same once Jesus grabbed them; they were no longer just fishermen or whatever, they were fishermen with a message to share.

--The persons he healed in body and spirit could never think of life in the same way again.

For example, let's consider the case of a healed blind beggar who was now out of a job!

The healing that Jesus granted him not only changed his sight; it changed his life.

Now he had to give up his old methods of begging, and yes,he had to come up with another way to make a living.

At the same time he had the opportunity to recognize that life is a gift and his healed life is even more of a gift; it is never a possession of his own.

Life for a healed person cannot be something that he owns, but instead life is a set of relationships given by and centered on the Lord Jesus.

In addition to the apocalyptic passages we read earlier, there is also the book of Revelation which closes the New Testament.

When John the Seer writes Behold I see a new heaven and a new earth, what we tend to ask is How?

How can all these things be?

We should instead be asking Who?, Who is it who does these things?

Who is this who will shake the mountains?
Who is this who stirs the powers of the heavens?

Who is this who gathers his people together?

Who is this who names us “church.?”

Who is this who can give hope to the hopeless?

Who is this who promises to strengthen us to the end?

Who is this who intends to mold and shape us into something which we have not and cannot be by ourselves?

O Savior, rend the heavens wide....

How could we be satisfied with the way things have been inside ourselves, among us in this community, and throughout the world?

The only satisfaction, comfort, and confidence can be knowing that Christ is in charge, not us.

The powers of darkness try to keep us from knowing and saying that.

They try to wear us down with fear and uncertainty.

They want us to accept, adjust, and accommodate.

--”Don't have such unrealistic dreams.”
--”It has always been this way.”

--”Just go along and get along.”

NO, our lessons today all urge us to refuse that easy way, and instead to look ahead and look for something new, re-created.

The strange word-pictures which the writers use are intended to get across the point that the present world is not fixed and final.

There is a new world coming!

God, having begun creation, shall finish his work,

work which includes wooing and enticing us into loving him above all else.

Is that wishful unreality?

Or is it the true realism, born of faith,

with a conviction that God will be persistent until his intentions are complete?

If our prayer is both acceptable and appropriate,

if O Savior, rend the heavens and come down is what we should indeed be praying,

what should we be doing while we wait for God to complete his answer to the prayer?

That is the question for all of us, not just on the First Sunday in Advent, but every day.

Dr. Tom Long tells of a Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA which is located across the street from the state capitol.

There are many homeless wandering around the area.

One of the pastors began to work with them outside and over a period of time, gained their respect and trust.

It came time for Ash Wednesday, and the pastor explained what it was, and invited the homeless people to step inside to the chapel for the special service when everyone would be marked with the cross of ashes.

With that cross we acknowledge the mess we make of things, and also that our only hope is in the one who takes our place on that cross, dies for us, is raised for our encouragement, and grants us hope for how things will finally turn out with us.

But the homeless folks were not the only people there for that service. One of the other members was a state legislator who invited some of his colleagues to come to the noonday service, and about 40 of them did.

Quite unexpectedly the service became a little sample of the completed kingdom of heaven, where race, finances, or social position have nothing to do with Jesus' community.

How can we adapt that kind of experience for our community?

We have lots to talk about and work on with the prodding of God's Holy Spirit!

One of the things which we should not do is to turn the word-picture of the apocalyptic writings in scripture into predictions of dates and times.

That has always been a foolish and pointless exercise, whenever it is tried.

Keep awake! Is the only needed admonition.

We are to continue the prayer O Savior rend the heavens wide and see how the praying of that prayer begins to change us.

It will gradually sink into our hearts and minds, and issue forth in what we say and do, as we recognize and acknowledge--

--that I am not the center of the universe,

--that God has the ultimate power, not any dictator or politician,

--that God will act and is acting in his good time,

--that sooner or later, it will all become clear to us.

It will make our worship more joyful,

our study more pointed,

our service more generous,

our lives more grace-filled,

and our song more heart-felt.

What will we do this Advent season on behalf of the coming Lord Jesus because we make bold to join in singing and praying O Savior, rend the heavens wide? 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.