November 29, 2009
In the End, Jesus
by John Christianson
Luke 21:25-36
- 25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Up here in front I have two objects – a hoop and a pole. In a couple of ways they are the opposite of each other.
- The hoop has no beginning and no end. It also doesn’t have any direction. It just goes around and around and around. If I had more agility I could stand inside it and whirl it around on my hips. If I had more stamina I could do it until Monday. Oh, that hoop would move so fast, but it would never get anywhere. That’s the nature of a hoop.
- The pole, on the other hand, has both a beginning and an end and it has a direction between the two.
A hundred years ago, scientists believed it was like a hoop – no beginning, no end, and no direction. It was an eternal steady state. One chapter in the Bible gives us a picture of this eternal steady state as viewed from the earth.
Just listen to the first chapter of the Old Testament book, Ecclesiastes.
What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?
- 4A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. 6The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow. 8All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. 9What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has already been, in the ages before us. 11The people of long ago are not remembered, nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them.
I think scientists a century ago would have liked this one chapter in the Bible.
I think it’s what they believed. No beginning, no end, no direction, no purpose, no need for God.
Then came the theory of the Big Bang – that billions of years ago the whole universe began in an incredible explosion. Some scientists fought the idea. They hated it. To them it sounded too much like Creation. But for decades evidence has been building up, until today almost all scientists believe that the earth DID have a beginning.
We don’t try to merge our faith with any scientific theories. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But we agree that the world and the universe DID have a beginning.
- The creed begins, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
- The Bible begins, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
So that’s one end of the pole. What’s the other end? If there’s a beginning, is there also an end?
There was a time when you could have gotten an argument about the idea of an end, but no more. Everybody seems to assume there will be an end.
Have you seen the card with the wild flames on the front and the words: “In 7.6 billion years the sun will swallow the earth.” You open the card, and inside it says, “Now doesn’t that make your problems seem insignificant?”
I don’t remember anybody ever caring a wit about Mayan Calendars before, but you know how today they have taken the end of the Mayan Calendar, combined it with Nostradamus who can be interpreted to say anything, and they’ve come up with a date for the end: December 21, 2012. I wonder how many people will count on that and skip buying Christmas presents that year.
I know that Jesus promised to return, and I firmly believe that he will, but the chances of it being on that day are next to nil. If many people are really expecting it, don’t forget how Jesus said, You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” [Luke 12.40]
History is like this pole. At one end: “In the beginning, God.” On the other end: “In the end, Jesus.” “In the beginning God created.” In the end Jesus will return and judge and rule. But we just don’t know how far apart those two ends are; how far the end is from the beginning.
- I remember a deeply troubled woman who wandered into my study many years ago. She was at her wits end because she was convinced that the Italian navy had taken her father’s body and she had to get it back. She named a U.S. senator. If she only could contact him he would help her because they were raised together in Alabama when that state was under the negro navy. The poor tormented soul was obviously suffering from paranoid schizophrenia without medicine to help her cope.
I remembered my seminary professor of Pastoral Counseling. He warned us that in a situation like that you get the person professional help, but in the meantime, you try to bring comfort without either trying to argue the counselee out of the delusion or without playing along with the delusion.
So I said. “Sometimes we face problems that seem too big for us, don’t we. That’s when we need to remember that we aren’t in control. And we have to trust God to work things out.” I was pretty proud of myself. I liked it.
She said, “I know, but that’s in the end when Jesus returns. In the meantime, what are we poor folks to do?”
We may be completely sane, but we’re very much like that woman. Our real problems can be very much like her imagined ones.
Or else we are like one of the two dogs that Helmut Thielecke told about.
- The German theologian was on a ship, crossing the ocean from Germany to New York. On board was one of the most pitiful, confused frightened animals he had ever seen. Its owner had arranged for the dog to travel alone. Tail between its legs it stood and searched without success for a familiar face. Everything was strange – the people, the sounds, the smells, the motion of the deck under its paws. The dog was miserable.
On the trip back he was on a different ship. There was a dog on this voyage as well, but all the difference in the world. It was happy, friendly and at peace. The sounds, smells and rolling deck were the same, but this was the captain’s dog. It seemed to sense that its master was at the helm and it would be safe.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the end Jesus will return and judge and rule.
In the beginning, God. In the end Jesus.
Amen!
(Comments to John at john.christianson@comcast.net)