A call for faith and endurance, 2.2.14

Mark 13:21-27, 32-33

21And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ —do not believe it. 22False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23But be alert; I have already told you everything.

24“But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.


26Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven… 32“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.
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As you’ve probably noticed, Revelation is a strange book. It’s visually stunning; it’s also highly symbolic. One of the books I’ve been reading warns that it’s not meant to be read literally as a textbook for how the world will end. And while some figures in Revelation refer to historical people or places, we shouldn’t limit the book to those meanings. Sometimes one symbol stands for several differet things. And sometimes the main point isn’t exactly what happens, but the overall feel and atmosphere.


Last week Carl talked about the Revelation Christmas story. Satan in the form of a dragon tries to snatch Jesus from his mother as soon as he’s born. The woman is Mary, but she’s also the church and the force of new birth too. The dragon is Satan and the serpent from the Garden of Eden and the force of evil in the world.


Last week we also read about the defeat of Satan in heaven and how Satan was then cast down to earth where he would unleash persecution and terror against God’s people. In today’s passage we’ll find out more about that. As we read along jot down anything that confuses you. I’ll get to some of it as we read, but then I’d love to hear your questions and stumbling blocks before we get into what the passage says to us today.


Revelation 12:18-13:18
(12:18) Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore. (13:1) And I saw a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority.3One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed.


Let’s take a quick pause for a little explanation. We met the dragon, Satan, last week. Today his ally appears. The beast that comes out of the sea looks bizarre with ten horns and seven heads. The main thing John’s readers would have thought of when they heard the beast described was the Roman Empire.


Later on in the book (Chapter 17 to be exact) an angel reveals to John the mystery of the beast by saying the seven heads are seven mountains on which the beast sits. Rome was known as a city sitting on seven hills. The different animal features John notices reflect the beasts Daniel saw in his visions from 400 years earlier. In Daniel’s vision, the different animals symbolized different empires, so this fits the same trend.


Chapter 17 says the seven heads are not only seven mountains, but also 7 kings. One of those heads had a deadly wound that had been healed. The Emperor Nero, who ruled about 30 years before Revelation was written, was the first Emperor to persecute Christians. He killed himself, but there was a widespread belief that he had or would return from the grave. The beast’s wounded head is a reference to Nero.


Scholars say when John uses symbolic language about the rulers of his time the point isn’t to communicate who they are, John’s audience already knows who the rulers are. His point instead is to show what they are in the spiritual and cosmic sense. The Roman rulers are not just political overlords. John argues they rule by Satan’s power and authority. That why John sees the beast (Rome) receive its throne from the dragon (Satan). The blasphemous names John talks about on the beast’s heads probably refer to the Emperor’s claims to be divine. And now, back to the story.


In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.


It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered. 9Let anyone who has an ear listen: 10If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go; if you kill with the sword, with the sword you must be killed. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.


11Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; 14and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.


16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.
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We’ve got a dragon and two strange beasts in our story for today. We talked about the dragon as Satan and the first beast as Rome. One writer points out that from where John lived in Asia, Roman power would come from the sea since Rome was across the Mediterranean from Asia Minor, so the first beast rises up from the sea. The second beast comes from the land because it is local power.


We talked a few weeks about how the Roman Empire used religious language and ritual to support its power in the provinces. Asia was an especially important area for emperor worship. The second beast, also know as the false prophet, would be the local rulers, both religious and political, who supported the religious worship of the Emperor.


When we read this passage we don’t need to imagine an actual image with the power to speak and kill. Instead, think about the power of images to shape thought, and enforce common belief. Likewise, we don’t need to imagine an actual time when people will be forced to tattoo a number on themselves to buy or sell. Instead, we can think about how hard it would be for Christians to participate in the economy since many economic and social events happened along with pagan worship.


Is there anything you want to know about the passage? Any part of it that makes you say, “I don’t get it,” or, “what is John trying to say?”


The point of the passage is to show the world as a battleground. Both God and the devil claim authority over every people and nation and language. Both God and empire claim to offer peace, but only one claim is true. You can belong to God or belong to Satan and the Empire.


This passage shows how powerful, and therefore how tempting the Empire is. He says the whole world worshiped the beast for its power. There’s a sense that the global superpower has to be obeyed. In a hard world, people are drawn to power.


The beast and its false prophet demand worship. John knows the temptation to take part in emperor worship is already strong. He imagines a time when the temptation will become force. He sees persecution coming so he warns the churches. He doesn’t sugar coat the reality: the beast will try to kill those who stand against it. The empire will make war on the church, to kill its enemies.


John thinks most people in the empire will worship. Whether from the desire for power or wealth or the fear of persecution, most people will go along. Those who will not are those who truly belong to Christ. He calls them those who are written in the slaughtered lamb’s book of life. We can either be in the lamb’s book of life or the beast’s list of approved buyers and sellers. John reveals the truth he sees: worse persecution is coming; the saints will need endurance and faith to stand firm.


John’s prediction was accurate. Rome went from occasional harassment to a fully organized and devastating persecution of the church in the third century. As he hoped, many Christians did stand their ground and bear witness to God’s loving rule even in the face of death.


Then, something surprising happened. In 313 Christianity was legalized by Rome, then favored; in 395 it became the official religion of the Empire. From then on, Christianity and empire went together in the West. The first major ruler in Europe after the fall of Rome was crowned by the Pope and called the Roman Emperor.


Empires, conquering nations, have a strong sense of their importance. Often, they imagine themselves bringing peace to the world by spreading their values and civilization. That’s part of why they are so powerful: they think they are doing the right thing, so forcing others to fall in line is ultimately doing them a favor. Peace will come when everyone accepts the empire’s way of doing things.


The Greek Empire of Alexander the Great felt like it was blessing the areas it conquered with philosophical thinking, education and enlightened culture. Rome saw itself as continuing the virtues of Greek civilization. Later empires saw themselves as spreading the blessing of Christianity and civilization as they increased their reach.


The Bible has a consistent message about empire: every empire eventually falls. History tells the same story: no human power lasts forever. Whether it’s the Roman peace or the “thousand year Reich” of Hitler’s Germany or the British Empire on which the sun was said to never set because it was so big, every empire falls.


No matter whether the empire is pagan or Christian, empire is empire. The more people and groups and nations pursue power, the more likely they are to ultimately stand against God. We can be a part of several groups at the same time: nation, church, family, football team, etc. But when anything pushes for ultimate allegiance, when it demands the sacrifice of integrity or justice or faith, it stands against God. In the end, only God’s power and rule are ultimate, and in our lives there can be only one Lord.


In our time many things demand our attention, and that’s OK. Work hard, but don’t compromise your principles for a promotion. I don’t mean quit your job if they make you to work Sunday; I mean quit your job if they force you to treat people like objects. Be dedicated to your family, but don’t sacrifice the lives of other children to push your child ahead. Serve your country, but remember it is not always right, and God’s kingdom is where we ultimately belong.


There will be times it feels like you can’t hold all your commitments together. There will be times when the world tries to take first place in your life and make your forget your faith. That’s one of the reasons we come together. That’s why we come to Christ’s table, to remember that true love and power are made perfect in sacrifice. We remember where we truly belong, and we are given strength for the journey. We live in challenging times, but the gospel still calls us forward. No matter how the beasts and dragons roar, we are written in the Lamb’s book of life; we are invited to the Lord’s table. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.


Thanks be to God.

Sin and separation, 3.11

Genesis 3:1-24

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. ⁸They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

⁹But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” ¹¹He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹²The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” ¹⁷And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

²⁰The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. ²¹And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. ²²Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

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We talked about this story on Wednesday during supper and scripture. There are so many layers to the passage, and it was a great discussion. Today our purpose with this passage is pretty specific, so there are a lot of topics and questions we’re not going to address.

God put the man and woman in a beautiful garden with everything they needed. They had all kinds of plants to eat; trees for shade and flowers to perfume and beautify their world. They lived peacefully with the other animals in the garden; there was plenty to go around and nothing to fight about.

The garden was beautiful and peaceful; it was God’s garden, and God liked to stroll through it in the evening. Take a moment and imagine what it would be like to walk in the garden with God. Picture that closeness and comfort.

There was God, there were people and there was unity. The man and woman were one with God; words like law, religion, discipleship, and sin wouldn’t have made any sense because God was simply there, the center of the universe. Then everything changed; it changed so much we can even truly imagine our way back to that garden now.

For whatever reason, the serpent wanted to separate humans from God. So with half-truths and subtlety the snake slid a wedge between the woman and God. In place of the trust between that first couple and God the serpent slipped not only doubt, but suspicion: “God only told you not to eat from the tree because God is jealous and wants to keep the best knowledge for himself.” In place of contentment with a perfect world, the serpent stirred up a desire for power and knowledge that wasn’t meant for us.

As soon as the man and woman ate the forbidden fruit everything changed. Instead of comfort in their skin; they felt self-consciousness and shame about their bodies. Instead of joy in God’s presence, when God came walking through the garden the people hid from him. Where before there had been obedience out of love and trust, there was guilt and fear because they knew they had done wrong.

As soon as God started asking questions, guilt became accusation: the man blamed his wife while the woman blamed the serpent. Authority, painful childbirth, hard work for our food and exile from the garden quickly follow, and the next chapter finds the first couple’s children wracked with jealousy to the point of murder. In place of a garden, our world became a mess.

My favorite modern theologian is Paul Tillich. Tillich has shaped the way I think about some central parts of the faith, so I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t give credit where credit is due. His goal was to strip away the baggage from faith-words so we can recover their true meaning and embrace them in a new way.

Tillich talks about the word “sin” and how it has been weakened to mean nothing but breaking rules, often even man-made rules. In the Bible sin is a power that separates us from God. It is not just actions that go against God’s will; it’s first the universal human situation of being separated from God. Tillich often uses the word estrangement in place of sin: there’s a painful gulf between God and people like the gulf between separated spouses or parents divided from their children.

Individual acts of selfishness, dishonesty, lawbreaking, abuse etc. are results of our estrangement from God. The power of sin shows itself in individual sins. This passage from Genesis is the classic story of our estrangement from God, from our neighbors and from our world. It is our situation; everyone’s situation. We are divided from God and from everyone around us. Even in our closest relationships we find miscommunication, heartache and distrust.

bearing fruit

Romans 8:1-11

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ²Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹Let anyone with ears listen!”

¹⁸“Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²²As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

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            Ok, who are the characters in this story Jesus tells?

            Who do you think each of those characters is in this room?

            Today Scott, Taylor and I are sowing the word and we are all the soil. We don’t normally think of soil as active, but in this story the soil is very important. Jesus talks about four different kinds of soil. He talks about the path where the seed can’t sink in but instead gets eaten by the birds. There’s some rocky soil where the seed grows quickly, but doesn’t have enough soil to grow strong. Then there’s soil where there are thorns that choke out the grain. Finally, there’s good soil where the grain grows plentifully and multiplies.

            There are lots of things that can interfere with the growth of God’s word. One of the obstacles Jesus specifically mentions is understanding. The Bible can be hard to understand and as someone entrusted with sowing the word, one of my most important jobs is helping you understand it. Without understanding the seed can’t sink in and grow.

A farmer doesn’t just plant seeds; he or she also takes care of them and nurtures them. Preparation, care and tending the soil and the new growth are just as important as sowing the word. But it’s not just my job; the elders of the church are responsible to help develop educational opportunities so we can grow in understanding. And each of us is responsible for actively engaging in our spiritual life, for understanding and applying the word to our life. The soil isn’t just a passive part of the story; Jesus calls us to work on being better soil.

The first question the passage has for us is what kind of soil we are and how we can be better. How can we become good soil to receive, nurture and grow God’s word in us? What gets in the way of that growth now and how can we remove those obstacles to growth?

             Let’s take a few minutes to discuss these questions in groups. We aren’t just one type of soil. We are partly good soil, and partly choked by thorns. We’re partly so short on understanding we can’t grow and partly enthusiastic but too shallow to endure. If one of these kinds of soil really resonates with you I invite you to move to that group. Like I said, we are all responsible for engaging with the word, so whichever group you think is going to help you most is the place you should be. If you stay where you are, that’s fine too, since we each have each kind of soil in us.

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            Our role in becoming better soil and my role with other teachers and worship leaders here in sowing the word is only the first part of the story. You are not just soil to receive the word; when you receive the word it grows in you and the grain that grows is an important part of the story too.

who are we?

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
1When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us."
4When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Luke 4:1-13
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 4Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"
5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"
9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' 11and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" 12Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
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A lot of people say they are spiritual but not religious or that they believe in God but can’t get into organized religion. For many people it makes sense that there is a greater power out there looking after us in some way, but human rituals and institutions feel far away from the relationship we crave.

The thing is ritual gives us structure; it helps us remember what is important. Big ideas like God are hard for us. God is the source of everything around us and yet it’s easy to forget that our relationship with God is the foundation of everything else. Without regular practices and a community of faith we quickly drift into talking God for granted or forgetting about him entirely.

There are times when the experience of God’s presence breaks into our lives with power. Sometimes a gorgeous sunset or a sleeping baby stops us in our tracks and fills us with awe at the glory of God’s creation. Or a piece of art will remind us of the depth of Christ’s suffering for us and we will be cut to the heart. But most days sail along full of work and bills and demands and we lose sight of the ultimate in the thick trees of the everyday.