Last week I began a series of messages titled The Journey to Advent. To explain a bit more about what this
series is intended to do, it is this – as I mentioned last week, my idea is
based on the Lessons and Carols service that we observe on Christmas Eve. That service traces the length and
breadth of Biblical history to show why the Incarnation was needed. In this series, I hope to do the same,
to demonstrate why advent and the manger was needed. It lays the foundation for Advent, so to speak.
Last week we began our series with
the story of Jacob wrestling through the night with God. This week we will continue a bit along
the same theme of wrestling, but today we will center on our culture’s
wrestling with the chaos that seems to be so much a part of our lives; the
chaos of violence, hatred, and uncertainty. Sunday’s horrific shooting at the First Baptist Church of
Sutherland Springs, Texas once again brings into sharp focus the terrible
disease of chaos and violence that is now so epidemic in our culture. What
in the world is going on? we often ask each other, and ourselves.
This morning’s message is Why Chaos Never Wins.
I have two Scripture texts for this message, but originally had just
one, which was a single verse from the book of Judges. I thought the starkness of that verse
really set the tone for one of the reasons why Advent was so needed, as it
summed up a very chaotic period not only in the history of God’s people, but
seems to speak for quite a bit of human history. As the last verse of that book, it is a rather dreary and
depressing summation of the state of things. Upon reflection, however, it just seemed so depressingly
negative to talk only about the difficult state of the world at that time and
today. I am not a negative
person. I believe in hope and
optimism, so I can’t offer only bad news and negativity without the balance of
hope. After all, isn’t hope what
we need? Who needs more bad news
and negativity? The second, and longer
Scripture text, then, is from the book of Revelation, a beautiful passage, one
of my favorites and one that I often use at funerals. I love the passage, and use it at funerals because it offers
a great message of hope. It is a
powerful reminder of the thread of God’s work that weaves its way throughout
history, making its way to the manger and the Incarnation and on through to the
fulfillment of God’s bringing a new heaven and new earth, as spoken of in the
book of Revelation.
So, this morning, I want to survey the past and
current state of our world, which is a rather depressing historical state of
affairs. The verse from the book
of Judges reminds us that chaos is nothing new, as it records a time when the
social fabric was frayed and unraveling, and the overwhelming amount of chaos
is plainly seen. Now we see a
great deal of chaos happening in parts of our world – through much of the
Middle East, parts of Africa, portions of Latin and South America, and in segments
of our own society as well. But we
will not wallow only in that portion of the message, as I will then offer a message
of hope and good news as well.
Follow along, please, as I read the first of our Scripture texts for the
morning.
Judges 21:25 –
In those days
Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Very often, that verse from Judges is one that is used as a basis
for an oh woe is us kind of
message. I think you know how
those kinds of sermons go – the world is
in terrible shape. When we were
younger things were right, people lived right, and now we have thrown it all to
the wind and we’re quickly going down the drain. Basically, they are sermons that could be written by just
putting together a bunch of sad, depressing Facebook posts. Those types of messages overlook a few
facts. First of all, as we all
should know – if we do not already know – that the good old days were not always that great. We have selective memories when it comes to the past, and we
too often idealize the past. Every
point in history has had its share of struggles and difficulties, and much of
history has had incredibly difficult struggles. That is not to minimize the troubles our world currently
faces, certainly, but it is important to remember that we are so much better
off than most people throughout the course of human history. What is troubling, however, is that the
consequences of our present chaos are greater than at any other point in
history. We are capable of
destroying our world, and not just through a cataclysmic event brought about
through weaponry, but through a much slower, but just as inevitable process,
such as environmental degradation.
I want to trace the roots of our chaos to three things, and then
speak to why that chaos will not win.
1.
Disillusionment.
I am not an alarmist, but I do believe there
are alarm bells all around us, and one of the alarm bells is the amount of
disillusionment that seems to overwhelm our society at the present time. I am a member of the Baby Boomer
generation, and one of the characteristics of our generation has been that of
hope and optimism, especially in the 60s.
That hope and optimism became imperiled, first with the assassinations
of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; was further weakened in
our social struggles over the Vietnam War, Watergate, a stagnating economy, and
other problems; which lead to the great sense of hope and optimism dissolving,
and bringing many people to turn inward to their own lives. In the following years, we have passed
the growing pessimism on to new generations, and they have seen it deepen. In the 80s, that disillusionment grew
deeper when we witnessed scandal after scandal among televangelists, and then
the disillusionment increased even more as we learned of the abuse scandal in
the Catholic Church. Then, as we
progressed into the 90s, our politics became ever more divisive, bringing us to
the point where the divisions are now so deep that there is a growing inertia
related to our ability to solve our larger problems. I think we can say that all of our institutions have created
a crisis of confidence within us.
It becomes tempting, then, to want to escape. And what better way to escape than to go sit in a movie
theater and forget the world for two hours. But that reminds us of the overwhelming amount of harassment
that has come to light. All of
this has led to what I sometimes call the
Great Turning Inward, as many people have now turned further into their own
lives in reaction to their disillusionment. That disillusionment can then turn to –
2.
Hopelessness.
When disillusionment reaches a certain point
hopelessness then sets in. I fear
that we have many, many people who are now at this point. Many people have become so
disillusioned that they believe the world will never get better, that things
will never change, and they give up hope.
I have witnessed many people over the years who sink so deeply into
disillusionment that they make their way into hopelessness.
When people arrive at the point of
hopelessness, chaos increases, because too many people give up on seeking to
make a difference in the lives of others. The disillusionment and hopelessness then leads to what we
now see in increasing amounts, and that is –
3. Rage
We
often talk about the amount of anger that is swirling around our culture, and
there is a lot of anger. It is not
anger, however, that concerns me as much as the amount of rage that is
present. Anger and rage are
different. Anger can be good and
even healthy at times. We
sometimes speak of righteous anger and righteous indignation. Those are the kinds of anger that
propel us into action, seeking to change the ills of society. It is this kind of anger that we see
all throughout the Scriptures. In
the Old Testament we read of the prophets, who, at times, expressed great anger
at the injustices they witnessed.
The classic example, to me, is that of the prophet Nathan confronting
David. David, as we all know, had
become involved with Bathsheba, and in order to be able to marry her he
arranged to have her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. There was, in this tragic story, much
for Nathan to be angry about.
(1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he
came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the
other poor.
2 The
rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
3 but
the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised
it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from
his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now
a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of
his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.
Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for
the one who had come to him.”
5 David
burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord
lives, the man who did this must die!
6 He
must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no
pity.”
7 Then
Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of
Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the
hand of Saul.
8 I
gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave
you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have
given you even more.
9 Why
did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You
struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.
You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
10 Now,
therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me
and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
11 “This
is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity
on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who
is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.
12 You
did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all
Israel.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have
sinned against the Lord.” II
Samuel 12:1-13a)
In
the New Testament, the classic example of righteous anger is Jesus cleansing
the Temple (12 Jesus
entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves. 13 “It
is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but
you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:12-13).
In Ephesians 4:26 Paul reminds us in
your anger do not sin.
Paul understood that there is a place for anger, but it should be
tempered in a way that does not make situations worse. There are many things in this world
that ought to make us angry, such as injustice, violence, abuse, and the
silence that allowed it to go unchecked.
I
understand that I have painted a grim picture this morning, but as I said at
the beginning, that is not where I want to leave us, so follow along as I read
our second Scripture text for today –
Revelation 21:1-7 –
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new
earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was
no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for
her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell
with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God.
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their
eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I
am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the
spring of the water of life.
7 Those who are victorious will inherit
all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
1. Thought.
I
very deliberately included the words thought
and prayers this morning. I have followed with interest, and some
bewilderment, as the phrase – thoughts
and prayers – has become somewhat of a flashpoint in recent months, as some
people push back against the idea of thoughts and prayers in favor of
action. Now, here is what I think
– I don’t think that to offer thoughts
and prayers carries with it the automatic implication that nothing else is
offered. To offer our thoughts and
prayers does not mean nothing else is being done or will be done. That idea is indicative of the way in
which we now turn everything into an either/or proposition. Why would anyone think that offering thoughts and prayers automatically means
nothing else is going to be done? When
someone replies to an offer of thoughts
and prayers by saying something to the effect of thoughts and prayers aren’t enough; we need action, seems rather
misguided and silly to me. I
understand that some of those who are responsible for making policy in our
country use that phrase as a way of abdicating their responsibility, but for
most people, offering thoughts and
prayers is an instinctual reaction to demonstrate care and concern and to
also demonstrate a sense of unity.
I can promise you that I always welcome the thoughts and prayers of
others. Please, offer all of the
thoughts and prayers you want for me; I will happily receive them!
To
counter chaos, we begin with the way in which we think, as Paul writes in
Romans 12:2 that we should not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. To renew our minds means we will not
allow our thinking patterns to be shaped by disillusionment and hopelessness. We will think about the care of others,
we will think about them in their time of need and in their time of trial. We will think about those who are
hurting, those who are lonely, and those who are oppressed. We will think, and we will pray.
2. Prayer.
Obviously,
prayer is not a magic formula. I
have, at times, seen people post messages that God is good because they have a
new car. Well, good for them for
being able to drive a shiny, new car, but God is not good because someone has a
new car, and prayer will not magically deliver a new car to your driveway. God is good because, simply put, God is
good. It is God’s nature to be
good, and God is good regardless of our circumstances or the condition of the
world.
I
am absolutely sure that the people in First Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs, Texas were praying as hard as they could when that gunman entered into
that church, but sadly, not all of them survived? Does that mean prayer does not work or that God is not
good? Absolutely not! Free will means that there are times
when innocent people will be victimized by the free will decisions of some
people, but in spite of such tragedy prayer does matter, it does work, and God
is good.
There
is, I think, a lot of mystery about prayer, but I am convinced that one thing
prayer should do is that it should open us up to the will of God, which should
then lead us to –
3. Action.
A
friend of mine recently said that he is often asked about hope? How in such a bad time as this can a person have hope? That is a very good question, and
one that many people do ask themselves these days. He went on to say that he now thinks there is a better
question, and that is what is
right? Prayer must lead us to action, to doing
what is right. Whatever we affirm
about God and his goodness in our prayers is what we should emulate in our own
lives. If we pray for God to bring
peace and justice, we ought to be working for peace and justice. If we pray that God would reach people,
we ought to be reaching out to those people. It’s why our congregation – and other congregations – do
what we do. It’s why we go to the
Diersen Center, the Serenity Center, and God’s Kitchen; it’s why we have Arriba
Ninos; it’s why we have Sunday School; it’s why we have worship, and all the
other things that we put our time and resources into.
The
book of James reminds us that faith requires action, as James writes 14 What good is it, my brothers and
sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save
them? 15 Suppose
a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in
peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it? 17 In
the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I
have deeds.” Show me your faith
without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and
shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence
that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered
righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions
were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that
says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and
he was called God’s friend. 24 You
see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith
alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the
prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the
spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:14-26).
The writer of Judges wrote at a time of chaos; John wrote of his
vision in Revelation at a time of chaos.
There is always chaos taking place. Always. But
chaos does not – and cannot – win.
Chaos never wins. It’s not
that there is peace, and order, and faith, and hope, and love in the midst of
chaos; there is chaos in the midst of goodness, and beauty, and order, and
holiness. Chaos does, and will
continue, to win some battles and skirmishes, but it will not triumph! I don’t say that as a pipe dream or in
false hope, but in the promise of God.
Tanya has an
interesting way of approaching her reading, especially when she reads
fiction. I have witnessed her,
many times in bookstore, opening a book and reading the last page. When I read fiction, I am completely
different, as I will cover the words on the last page and only uncover them as
needed to read each sentence. I
don’t want to read the end until I arrive at the very last word. Tanya, however, does not want to read a
book that does not end well. In
one sense, her approach is what we can do, especially when it comes to
understanding the chaos does not win.
I can confidently proclaim that chaos will not win because I have read
the end of the book. The passage
from Revelation that serves as one of our texts today reminds us that God is
not only the author of the universe but the finisher as well. Chaos will not determine how and when
the world ends; God will. God
declares himself the beginning and the
end, the Alpha and the Omega. Alpha and Omega are the first and last
letters of the Greek alphabet – the beginning and the end.
Do
you believe that? Do you believe
that? I do. Chaos will not win – faith, hope, and
love are the ultimate victors!
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