To Paris, Syria, World: "Do Not Be Alarmed"

To Paris, Syria, World "Do Not Be Alarmed"

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Proper 28, Year B, 2015 - Readings    

In light of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, I sat down last night to write a new sermon.  In case you were wondering, the first sermon I wrote for today touched on the Starbucks Coffee Cup controversy.  In a nutshell, people on the internet went crazy over a video of a California pastor who claimed that Starbucks has waged war on Christmas because this year’s cup didn’t include holiday themes such as Santa Claus and snowflakes like it has in years past. 

As you might imagine, the first sermon basically talked about how Christians have much bigger fish to fry when it comes to our Christian witness.  I talked about how there a many occasions for Christians to be bold in their witness to the love of God in Christ but fighting over a coffee cup wasn’t one of the those occasions.

This past weekend the terrorist group ISIS coordinated and executed attacks all over Paris that killed at least 127 people and left more than 100 critically injured.  The extremist Islamic group has been responsible for a number of other terror attacks in recent years including the on-going persecution of Christians in Syria.  So to say that Christians in America are worried over things like coffee cups is a slap in the face to Christians, non-Christians, and even Muslims who are being murdered because they don’t adhere to a very narrow and distorted definition of Islam. 

I was reflecting on this weekend’s attack with a parishioner on Saturday.  The comment was made that most major conflicts and wars in human history have happened in the name of religion.  Obviously, the current battle is being waged by jihadists who operate off of a narrow view Islam.  The ultimate goal of ISIS that is based on a perverted view of the Koran is to preserve God’s holy Word by going on the offensive to kill anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe. 

The world saw something similar to ISIS in the Nazi regime when Hitler murdered millions of Jews because they didn’t share his very narrow view of Christianity.  Even more, the middle ages saw the Church officially sanction war on non-Christians, mostly Muslims, in order to regain power and prosperity in the land.  We know this time in our history as the Crusades. 

I, of course, could go on, but I think you get the picture.  And one of the ultimate questions that must be asked is “What is religion good for anyway?”  One answer is to say that religion is absolutely good for nothing if it is used to kill innocent people in order to satisfy a narrow minded agenda.  But I am not going to stand here criticize religion because religion isn’t the problem. 

The selfish ambition of human hearts is the problem.  And this is the same problem that Jesus confronted in his own followers.  In today’s lesson, the disciples get their first glimpse of the holy city of Jerusalem, the site of some of the world’s most terrible religious battles that are fought even to this day.  As you know, Jerusalem is considered the home to three of the world’s major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The disciples are struck by awe and wonder as they gaze at this magnificent city.  You might say they are licking their chops as they anticipate their leader, Jesus, take his proper place as the King of this city—even though Jesus has told them multiple times he is not the type of King they imagine.

 What the text doesn’t tell us is that the Jewish zealots are gearing up to wage war against the Roman Army.  You might consider these zealots an extremist group in the eyes of most Israelites.  The zealots believed that God wanted them to take down the Roman Empire by force and so they were mounting a crusade.  And like ISIS does to non-conforming Muslims, these zealots would murder any Jew who wasn’t on board with their plan.

In other words, the disciples were in a real predicament.  If they follow this Jesus guy into Jerusalem, they are very likely to be killed by the Jewish zealots.  On the other hand, if they split and go to war with the zealots, they will probably be killed by the Roman Army.  And as history tells us, the Roman Army did eventually defeat the zealots and the Jewish Temple was destroyed. 

In today’s lesson, Jesus seems to predict the destruction of this Temple.  He even goes as far to say that not stone will be left untouched.  This bold prediction obviously catches the disciples’ attention and so they ask their leader when they will know when this destruction will take place.  Jesus responds to their question in very uncertain terms as Jesus is prone to do.

Jesus says, there will be false prophets that try to lead you astray.  He says, there will be war and rumors of war.  He says, nation will rise against nation, there will be earthquakes and famine.  And then to top it off, he says, “do not be alarmed, the end is still to come, this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”  Well, if the disciples were just a little alarmed before, they are certainly on high alert now!

In case you missed it, Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed!”  How can Jesus say, “Do not be alarmed” when the entire world is falling apart?  What if Jesus were to stand in the streets of Paris and say, “Do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.”?

What if Jesus were to stand in halls of Columbine High School in the aftermath of that terrible school shooting?  What if Jesus were to stand on the beach where Syrian Christians faced execution?  What if Jesus were to stand on the beach in Normandy?  What if Jesus were to stand in Ward 9 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and say likewise?  “Do not be alarmed’ this must take place, but the end is still to come.”

Friends, as a preacher of God’s Word, I am convicted to say that Jesus does stand in all of places to offer a word of hope.  Jesus stands in the many hells of this world and says to his beloved, “Do not be alarmed.”  I want to be clear and say that Jesus is not offering these words as some nice platitude to make us feel better.  Jesus says this with authority because Jesus has literally been to hell and back.

Jesus was put to death not only by the enemy army but also by his own people.  Jesus not only experienced excruciating pain on the cross but also the worst pain anyone can ever know and that is complete isolation from the world.  Jesus knows intimately well the evil and destruction of this world.  Jesus knows very well the terror that the selfish-ambition of the human heart can wage on this world.  Jesus, the one true Temple that this world has ever seen, was put to death on the cross because of selfish-ambition disguised as “religion.” 

But Jesus also seems to know something that we as humans have a hard time trusting.  Jesus also knows that no amount of evil or suffering or death can separate us from the unending love of God.  And Jesus literally shows us the truth about God’s abiding love when he rises from the grave.  Jesus’ shows us the ultimate power of God’s love when he emerges from the tomb on the third day. 

As I have said before, Christianity is not some religion that makes all of our problems go away.  If Christianity was somehow the magic bulletin to solve global war and cancer and violence and disease and famine then we should have abandoned this faith long ago. 

Instead, the gift of Christianity is the gift of perseverance, the gift of endurance, the gift to know that even when hell does its worst, we can find the hope to believe Jesus when he says, “Do not be alarmed.”  Even the middle of the worst of humanity, Jesus stands to remind us that the suffering of the present time doesn’t compare to the beauty of God’s love.

                So what does all this mean for Christians today here in Alabama in light of a world that seems to be falling apart, and in light of this weekend’s terrorist attacks?  I believe it means we are called love even more and not just our neighbors but also our enemies.  As St. Vincent De Paul once said, “The uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them love.”  After all, this is exactly what Jesus did for his beloved when he gave up his life on the cross for the life of the world.

                I hope you don’t hear me calling you to some abstract love.  I am talking about acting out the faith that God has already given you in Christ.  I am talking about loving others not so you might get something in return but loving because you know that showing love is the only thing that can change the human heart.  First and foremost, sharing the love of God is what will change your heart.

                I am talking volunteering at the food pantry not just because Jesus tells us to feed the hungry but so you can encounter the living Christ in those whom our world considers the least of these.  I am talking about volunteering at one of the Keep it Clean, Selma days not just so our streets will look a little cleaner but so that your heart and the heart of our city is transformed by goodness and mercy.

                I am talking about responding to insult and injury with an ear of understanding and compassion.  I am talking about loving others in your daily lives to the point where people start to notice and wonder if you are crazy.  After all, even Jesus’ followers thought he was crazy precisely because he loved the unlovable.

                And when people finally ask, “Why are you going to all this trouble to show love to someone who obviously isn’t deserving?”, you can say, “because this is the love that I have been shown through God in Christ who endlessly pursues me with his goodness and mercy.” 

                Friends, Jesus stands in our midst today and says, “Do not be alarmed.”  May you have the grace to go out into the world boldly and remind people everywhere that God’s love is stronger than even the worsts kinds of hell our world can come up with.  Amen.     

Article in Selma Times Journal