Apocalyptic Jigsaw Puzzles!
Isaiah 65:17-25, Luke 21:5-19
Dear friends!
Let me begin my sermon with a
little anecdote this morning. A little
girl was visiting her farm and her first stop was the barn. As she looked over
the livestock-she exclaimed! Grandpa-What a funny looking cow this is! Where
are its horns? Her patient grandfather explained well honey, some cows are born
without horns, and others shed their horns and for some others we cut off their
horns-so that they will not hurt other cows. There are lots of reasons why some
cows have horns and others don’t have. But the reason this particular cow does
not have a horn is she is not a cow-she is a horse! Friends! Just as this child
was mixed up with the horse and cow identities, we the adults often experience
mistaken identities. We do have some mixed up notions of some New Testament
concepts such as apocalypse, eschatology, parousia
in Greek means the second coming.
Apocalypse is a Greek word which means,
to reveal or to uncover. The book of Daniel, the book of Revelation, the book
of Ezra and one or two chapters in Matthew Mark and Luke have apocalyptic theme
and they echo its tone. One of the apocalyptic predictions was that at the end
of the world there would be a cataclysmic battle between the forces of darkness
and the forces of light. And the forces of darkness will prevail. And there
will be darkness all 0ver the world for three days and at the end of the third
day the heavens will open for the kingdom of God to decent from the sky and come
down to the earth. This will be called the first day of the new creation. This
was a popular concept around 200 years before the CE, and for about 100 years
after the CE. Somehow this concept mainly because of the symbols of the
darkness and light and the three days, got connected with the death and
resurrection of Jesus.. But today many biblical scholars say that the apocalyptic
interpretation of the end of the world has no bearing on the death of Jesus
story. Now, when you put together the messages of Daniel and the Apostle John
who contributed his visions to the book of Revelation from the prison in Patmos
Island of Turkey, there are messages of comfort and consolation amidst scary
thoughts. The book of Daniel in the midst of the Babylonian persecution has this
to say: Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are
his. He changes times and seasons and disposes and sets up kings. He gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understandings. (Daniel 2:20,
21) And for those who faced the Roman persecution John the seer of Patmos says.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come. (Rev 21) I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying the home of God is now among the
mortals. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The apocalyptic message for all times is that out of
the ashes of the wreckage, we build new structures. Like in the words of the
hymn,
“IN OUR
END IS THE BEGINNING, IN OUR TIME INFINITY.IN OUR DOUBT THERE IS BELLEVING, IN
OUR LIFE ETERNITY”.
In
the last several years a few leaders of the vari0us cults from this country
have misled many people because of their narrow understanding of the meaning of
apocalypse. In 1978 Jim Jones was responsible for the death of a thousand
people in British Guiana and in 1993 David Koresh was instrumental in the death
of 80 people in Waco Texas and in 1997 a person named Applewhite was the prime
mover for the death of 39 persons in Heaven’s Gate cult, at San Diego
California. These were leaders who assured their followers a narrow apocalyptic
promise, a promise of an eternal bliss after they killed themselves.
Jesus
in today’s gospel is predicting the impending destruction of the Jerusalem
temple. “Look at the golden menorah, the ornate altar, the silk purple curtain,
the white marble floor-, all these, will be soon be raised to the ground”. They
will soon be made into piles of rubbles”. “When will this happen Master” the
disciples asked? Isn’t this is our normal human cry. When? When will we be
free? When will the winter end? Thank God it has not even begun yet. When will
the wolf and the lamb feed together? When will the lion eat the straw like the ox?
When will we see justice and peace flow like a river in our nation? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind. Let
me give credit to the singer Bob Dylan for this. Jesus told them of that day
and of that hour no one knows however he urged them” don’t give up on hope”. Hold
on to your faith and live a life of justice and mercy. However in CE 70, about 40 years after Jesus’
prediction, this very temple was completely destroyed. Jerusalem and the
Christians in Jerusalem were mercilessly persecuted.
Friends I have been to some beautiful temples,
of Luxor and Karnack in Egypt. I have seen how an emperor’s love and devotion
to his wife created a wonder of the world in India, called TajMahal. I have
been to the Westminster Abbey a gorgeous building in London, built with human
hands and underneath lies the most powerful rulers of the United Kingdom or
perhaps the rulers of the world. I have been to the temple of Jerusalem several
times, to the temples in Greece, to St .Peter’s basilica in Rome. Three years
ago I worshiped with 20 000 people in one of the largest churches in the United
States, called the Lakewood church of Huston, Texas. Why did Jesus predict the destruction
of a temple?
When we turn around a house of prayer into a
den of robbers it ceases to be the dwelling place of God. Jesus often warned
those who built churches and temples for personal glory and personal gains. If
a temple or a church has not provided to people a spiritual power that deals
with anxieties and fear and help them face strife and tensions in life, then it
ceases to be the dwelling place of God. Why are we here in church this morning?
Are we here to be lulled by the churches’ music and tranquilized and sedated by
the churches’ prayers? Are we here because we have developed a routine habit of
following a particular worship ritual?
Now my concluding story and it is to
illustrate how I was caught in the act of playing the game of the apocalyptic
jigsaw puzzle. It was the year 1999 and I was serving a small church in the
southern tier of upstate New York. We were getting ready to celebrate the dawn
of a new century; the women of the church were concerned of the Y2K threat. They
almost filled a room in the churches’ basement with the drinking water bottles
and soup cans and other dried food stuff. They also exchanged among themselves
some hilarious and scary stories as to how this world will come to an end. And
as I listened to some of their fairy tales I became anxious and then I composed
this title the apocalyptic jigsaw puzzle for a sermon which I preached after a
few Sundays in the New Year. However on that New Year’s Eve I had gone through
some apprehension and doubt as to how I could I watch the ball fall in time
square that night and listen to the singing of AULD ACQUANTAINCE BE FORGOT NEVER BROUGHT TO MIND. With all these
disturbing thoughts, as I sat in my chair, the phone rang. It was one of my
close friends from Sydney Australia, who wished me happy New Year. For them the
New Year has already dawned several hours before. I have now entered the year
2000. And now I do not know when will I play this apocalyptic theological game
of jigsaw puzzle again? Amen.
Isaiah 65:17-25, Luke 21:5-19
Dear friends!
Let me begin my sermon with a
little anecdote this morning. A little
girl was visiting her farm and her first stop was the barn. As she looked over
the livestock-she exclaimed! Grandpa-What a funny looking cow this is! Where
are its horns? Her patient grandfather explained well honey, some cows are born
without horns, and others shed their horns and for some others we cut off their
horns-so that they will not hurt other cows. There are lots of reasons why some
cows have horns and others don’t have. But the reason this particular cow does
not have a horn is she is not a cow-she is a horse! Friends! Just as this child
was mixed up with the horse and cow identities, we the adults often experience
mistaken identities. We do have some mixed up notions of some New Testament
concepts such as apocalypse, eschatology, parousia
in Greek means the second coming.
Apocalypse is a Greek word which means,
to reveal or to uncover. The book of Daniel, the book of Revelation, the book
of Ezra and one or two chapters in Matthew Mark and Luke have apocalyptic theme
and they echo its tone. One of the apocalyptic predictions was that at the end
of the world there would be a cataclysmic battle between the forces of darkness
and the forces of light. And the forces of darkness will prevail. And there
will be darkness all 0ver the world for three days and at the end of the third
day the heavens will open for the kingdom of God to decent from the sky and come
down to the earth. This will be called the first day of the new creation. This
was a popular concept around 200 years before the CE, and for about 100 years
after the CE. Somehow this concept mainly because of the symbols of the
darkness and light and the three days, got connected with the death and
resurrection of Jesus.. But today many biblical scholars say that the apocalyptic
interpretation of the end of the world has no bearing on the death of Jesus
story. Now, when you put together the messages of Daniel and the Apostle John
who contributed his visions to the book of Revelation from the prison in Patmos
Island of Turkey, there are messages of comfort and consolation amidst scary
thoughts. The book of Daniel in the midst of the Babylonian persecution has this
to say: Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are
his. He changes times and seasons and disposes and sets up kings. He gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understandings. (Daniel 2:20,
21) And for those who faced the Roman persecution John the seer of Patmos says.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come. (Rev 21) I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying the home of God is now among the
mortals. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The apocalyptic message for all times is that out of
the ashes of the wreckage, we build new structures. Like in the words of the
hymn,
“IN OUR
END IS THE BEGINNING, IN OUR TIME INFINITY.IN OUR DOUBT THERE IS BELLEVING, IN
OUR LIFE ETERNITY”.
In
the last several years a few leaders of the vari0us cults from this country
have misled many people because of their narrow understanding of the meaning of
apocalypse. In 1978 Jim Jones was responsible for the death of a thousand
people in British Guiana and in 1993 David Koresh was instrumental in the death
of 80 people in Waco Texas and in 1997 a person named Applewhite was the prime
mover for the death of 39 persons in Heaven’s Gate cult, at San Diego
California. These were leaders who assured their followers a narrow apocalyptic
promise, a promise of an eternal bliss after they killed themselves.
Jesus
in today’s gospel is predicting the impending destruction of the Jerusalem
temple. “Look at the golden menorah, the ornate altar, the silk purple curtain,
the white marble floor-, all these, will be soon be raised to the ground”. They
will soon be made into piles of rubbles”. “When will this happen Master” the
disciples asked? Isn’t this is our normal human cry. When? When will we be
free? When will the winter end? Thank God it has not even begun yet. When will
the wolf and the lamb feed together? When will the lion eat the straw like the ox?
When will we see justice and peace flow like a river in our nation? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind. Let
me give credit to the singer Bob Dylan for this. Jesus told them of that day
and of that hour no one knows however he urged them” don’t give up on hope”. Hold
on to your faith and live a life of justice and mercy. However in CE 70, about 40 years after Jesus’
prediction, this very temple was completely destroyed. Jerusalem and the
Christians in Jerusalem were mercilessly persecuted.
Friends I have been to some beautiful temples,
of Luxor and Karnack in Egypt. I have seen how an emperor’s love and devotion
to his wife created a wonder of the world in India, called TajMahal. I have
been to the Westminster Abbey a gorgeous building in London, built with human
hands and underneath lies the most powerful rulers of the United Kingdom or
perhaps the rulers of the world. I have been to the temple of Jerusalem several
times, to the temples in Greece, to St .Peter’s basilica in Rome. Three years
ago I worshiped with 20 000 people in one of the largest churches in the United
States, called the Lakewood church of Huston, Texas. Why did Jesus predict the destruction
of a temple?
When we turn around a house of prayer into a
den of robbers it ceases to be the dwelling place of God. Jesus often warned
those who built churches and temples for personal glory and personal gains. If
a temple or a church has not provided to people a spiritual power that deals
with anxieties and fear and help them face strife and tensions in life, then it
ceases to be the dwelling place of God. Why are we here in church this morning?
Are we here to be lulled by the churches’ music and tranquilized and sedated by
the churches’ prayers? Are we here because we have developed a routine habit of
following a particular worship ritual?
Now my concluding story and it is to
illustrate how I was caught in the act of playing the game of the apocalyptic
jigsaw puzzle. It was the year 1999 and I was serving a small church in the
southern tier of upstate New York. We were getting ready to celebrate the dawn
of a new century; the women of the church were concerned of the Y2K threat. They
almost filled a room in the churches’ basement with the drinking water bottles
and soup cans and other dried food stuff. They also exchanged among themselves
some hilarious and scary stories as to how this world will come to an end. And
as I listened to some of their fairy tales I became anxious and then I composed
this title the apocalyptic jigsaw puzzle for a sermon which I preached after a
few Sundays in the New Year. However on that New Year’s Eve I had gone through
some apprehension and doubt as to how I could I watch the ball fall in time
square that night and listen to the singing of AULD ACQUANTAINCE BE FORGOT NEVER BROUGHT TO MIND. With all these
disturbing thoughts, as I sat in my chair, the phone rang. It was one of my
close friends from Sydney Australia, who wished me happy New Year. For them the
New Year has already dawned several hours before. I have now entered the year
2000. And now I do not know when will I play this apocalyptic theological game
of jigsaw puzzle again? Amen.
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