Sermon Easter 6A 2011-05-29
John 14:15-21, 1 Peter 3:13-22
It has been over a week since the event happened… or at least was supposed to happen. The supposed rapture that Pastor Camping had been predicting has been a fizzle. And the reaction and buzz around the whole thing has been interesting. I suppose that it was hard for the media to ignore someone who declares the end of the world and then takes out ads in major publications. But it is fascinating that so much attention was given to this particular subset of Christian theology.
Those who were at our Advent mid-week worship session back in December will remember that we spent some time discussing the whole notion of rapture. For those of you who weren’t there, a brief recap. The rapture is a recent development in Christian history, appearing within the past 200 years or so. The heart of the rapture is that before Jesus returns in glory in front of the whole world, he will come in secret to snatch away the true believers. Then the world is plunged into a time of suffering and tribulation, until everything is finally judged and the fallen world is destroyed. There are some variations within the rapture camp, but that is good enough for now.
And of course there have been plenty of people throughout history that have tried to determine when exactly the events will happen. These future-tellers comb the bible looking for bits and scraps of evidence that will point to events going on now that will help them determine their formula and timetables. Pastor Camping had the rapture set for about a week ago, and the end of the world to come in August. The rapture folks are using the bible as a mine of secret evidence. If there is a struggle between the bible and science, using the bible in this way shows that the scientific worldview wins. Our society is so enamored with science and the marvels it produces, we want to turn everything into a scientific endeavor for we crave the certainty that science brings. We find less and less value of expressing truth in ways other than science. Poetry, music, and story cease being viewed as purveyors of truth, because of their lack of objectivity. We look almost exclusively to science because it is hard to argue with the reality described by repeated observations and mathematical models. So the rapture theologians follow in step with the scientific worldview instead of seeing the bible as the story of God’s love for the world.
In addition to seeing the bible as a secret code that simply needs decoded properly, the rapture folks misread a couple passages, most notably Matthew 24, where Jesus talks about “Just as in the days of Noah” and two will be in the fields, one will be taken and one will be left, two will be grinding grain, one will be taken and one will be left. This passage is a major cornerstone in rapture theology and where the whole notion of being “left behind” comes from. According to the rapture, those who are left behind are in trouble. Those who are taken are the chosen. Except that’s not what Jesus said. His intro there is “as in the days of Noah.” As our reading from 1 Peter points out today, those who were left behind were Noah and his family, 8 in total, they were left behind. The wicked were taken away. Noah, the righteous man, was left behind so that humanity could receive a new start.
So there are issues with the rapture folks first off, however once the media lifted this up, the reaction from many within the church was equally problematic. The first problem was the open mocking and derision that Pastor Camping received. 1 Peter reads “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” Where was that?
But then there was something even more troubling. There was a certain strain of proclamation that Jesus certainly wasn’t coming on that day… or perhaps ever. Blogs and twitter ran amok with various opinions that stated things along the lines that Jesus is the life for us right now. Of course the temptation for Christians throughout the ages is to be so focused on the eternal life somewhere far away in heaven that this life gets ignored. We lose sight of the reality that God cares deeply for this world and so these messages point us to the work for us to do here and now. But we must always walk in the midst of the tension that the way Jesus is revealed to us now, mediated through the Word and sacraments, is less than the fullness that we are promised. Yes, Jesus stands alongside the poor and helpless, among the suffering, and that should compel us to act for them. But our actions should always be seen as signs that point to the great day when Christ comes again to usher in his kingdom when all of those ways that sin is made known are wiped away. Hunger will be no more. Poverty will be no more. Suffering will be no more. Death will be no more.
Our actions here and now are not just to make the world a better place to live. They might do that. They might instead complicate matters, such as when mission teams and relief organizations go to various parts of the world to labor and work for those living in poverty, which is great, except that it thwarts that local economy. Why would anyone pay for local laborers to work if all of these charitable folk are going to come do it for free?
Our actions should always be about pointing to Jesus and the Kingdom he brings. Our love for Jesus impels us toward keeping his commandments, “Love one another” “Love God.” We live a life formed by the intersection of loving God and loving neighbor which means we will likely always live in the tension of living here and now but also not yet. We strive to make that crazy love of God known to others, and we do it by feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and various other ways. Our actions help the world see and know Christ in its midst. Our actions do indeed reveal and make Christ known, but Christ’s presence now is something seen only through the help of the Spirit, the Advocate that Jesus sends so that we will not be orphaned.
We live in this stance of faith until that day when our faith is brought to its fulfillment. When Christ is revealed in his fullness. And as we face more and more of life, we should long for this day, when the power of sin, death and the devil is ended and Christ is all in all.
Then we will know with all certainty, that Jesus is in the Father, that we are in Jesus and Jesus in us. No secret knowledge. No obscure formulas. Just Jesus. And the Father. And us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.