Building the Church, Bringing the Kingdom

Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another, all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him, privately, “Tell us, when will this be and what will be the sign that all of these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he,’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

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Hooray for a Gospel text about the impermanence and seeming unimportance of temples, stones, synagogues, and buildings on Commitment Sunday for the Building and Outreach Fund. All of this, will indeed, be thrown down and turned to dust someday.

But I hope you agree with Jesus, of course.

As focused and as fierce as we’ve been about building this place and paying off our mortgage and all that has gone into that, over the course of our congregation’s short life together, we’ve always tried to be faithful about the truth that the Church is not a building; that our identity and purpose isn’t always, ever, or only about having an address, or about merely what happens inside these walls. We were very much “the Church” before we called any of this home and we are very much “the Church” when we’re not gathered here. We are very much “the Church” even when – especially when – we’re doing our thing, living our lives out there in the world, for the sake of the world.

And horray for a text that taps in to so much of the fear, angst and anxiety that so many are feeling about life in the world these days – wars and rumors of wars; nation rising up against nation; earthquakes, famine, natural disasters and more that make you think maybe the beginning of the end might actually be right around the corner.

Because of all that, our call is to bring the Kingdom – to see and to celebrate what God has already begun, in Jesus – and work to make God’s will and God’s way come to life among us and through us and for the sake of the world … here on earth as it is in heaven; to make the Kingdom of this world look and be more like God’s Kingdom, on the other side of heaven.

Which is why our Building and Outreach Fund matters, as we wonder about and make commitments to support it this morning and in the days to come. Yes, some portion of it all is about the bricks, the mortar, the “stones” that will, one day, all be thrown down and turned to dust, as Jesus promises. But the rest of it is about bringing the kingdom, doing the work, sharing the life and grace and mercy of God wherever and however we are able.

Last week, one of my favorite preachers invited us to do a few things in response to the state of things following our country’s recent election, regardless of how we may be feeling about all of that. Pastor Cogan suggested that, if things didn’t go our way, we should share our fear, our anxiety, and our sadness about that with those who did get what they wanted. And he suggested that, if we are the latter – if things went as we hoped they would – we should listen to the concerns and needs of our struggling neighbors who are feeling scared, unseen, and worried about the days to come.

In other words, some of what I heard from Pastor Cogan last week was an invitation to listen to each other and get to work.

And I’ve done that. I’ve received texts and e-mails. I’ve had sit-downs over lunch, spontaneous conversations in the library, seen tears in my office, felt the anger expressed – in passing – in the hallway and at the drug store, because there just aren’t enough of the right words sometimes.

Now, I haven’t and I won’t have all the answers for all of that at every turn. But I will risk playing both sides against the middle – or something like that, this morning – in order to find a middle-ground of grace and hope no matter where we find ourselves with regard to all of it.

See, as I wondered about today – searching for some hope in light of all of our collective mixed emotions (happy/sad, relieved/anxious, victorious/lost, hopeful/despairing) – I came away grateful for this place, for our ministry, and for the work we do that responds with action in real time to the things that can and should concern all of us these days. In an otherwise divided, fractured country, the mission and ministry of this place calls us to some common ground and some holy work.

For instance, if it was “the economy, stupid” that informed your vote last Tuesday … if the price of groceries and gas was enough to make you vote a certain way, I’m so glad we have a food pantry that is meeting that need for so many of our neighbors. (Don’t forget, our Mission Sunday this month is to provide Thanksgiving dinners for people in our community. $50 bucks will help provide a meal with all the fixins for someone who might not otherwise be able to celebrate.) That is the Lord’s work, regardless of your politics.

Or if abortion care, abortion access, and the health of women and babies was an issue that inspired your vote – one way or the other – whether you got what you wanted, or not – I hope you noticed that we gave $5,000 to the Milk Bank with our Outreach Grants this year. This is money, and they are an organization, that supports the health and wellness of women and infants, in crisis, in powerful ways – no matter the politics that lead to their distress or need – and that will hopefully help to mitigate more of that distress or need, come what may.

If you’re concerned about the status of immigration in our country, please know that we gave $10,000 to Exodus Refugee Immigration this past year, thanks to our Outreach grants, too. (And some of us helped at their headquarters on “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday, in September.) Exodus protects the human rights and dignity of refugees fleeing persecution and war, and helps them get settled safely in central Indiana. This is faithful, Biblically-mandated, Christ-centered work. And our generosity helps make it happen.

If you are concerned about the quality of public education and the equity with which it is offered in our state or in our nation – and some of my favorite teachers have told me that we should be – I hope you’re encouraged to know we also gave $10,000 to Brightlane Learning’s “School on Wheels” this year. They offer tutoring, academic support, and advocacy to kids and families – grades K through 12 – who are struggling with homelessness and housing insecurity, while trying to get a quality education.

If you feel like the status and place of women in our culture has taken a hit again in recent days, I hope you’re encouraged by our $10,000 grant to Talitha Koum’s recovery house for women. That money and that ministry over in Greenfield helps women, specifically, recover from addiction and trauma, and get back on their feet to become healthy and whole again, for their own good, and for the good of our world.

So, again, if our call is to bring the Kingdom of God to bear in and upon the kingdoms of this world, we are doing that in real time, for real people, in real, practical, tangible ways, that really matter.

And there are beautiful, faithful, inspiring, intangible ways to facilitate and accomplish that through our life together, too.

Witnessing the love between two people – in marriage, as we did this morning already at our first service – is a glimpse and a gift of that, for sure. It speaks to commitment and love and hope in ways that can’t be measured, but practiced, nonetheless. Making our confession, receiving our forgiveness; sharing the sacraments in bread, wine, and water and all the good news they portend; passing the peace; loving our neighbor; forgiving our enemy. None of these things can be quantified like so much grant money, but they can be witnessed, felt, received; and they are our life blood, purpose, and inspiration for all the rest.

All of this is to say, I see a lot of platitudes and clichés about how we’re supposed to get along – as friends, as family members, as neighbors, and as people in the Church in the days ahead – in spite of the differences that threaten to divide us. That is so much easier said, than done – which is something else I hear and feel when I listen to my neighbor, and to many of you.

But it’s been said that the local church is the hope of the world – and I believe it. It is a tall order. It is a daunting task. It can feel like an impossible, exhausting expectation, for sure. But it is nonetheless why we do what we do – if not to redeem the lot of it, then to point to the hope of the only one who can, who does, and who will, one day – Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Parables and Presidential Elections

Matthew 25:1-13

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.

Later, the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

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What a strange parable for the strange time we’ve been living through this past week – and for whatever lies ahead for us in the days to come. Yes, I’m talking about our country’s presidential election that has caused most – if not all of us – some measure of stress, anxiety, frustration, and even fear, it’s fair to say, in too many cases.

It might seem like a stretch – and I’ll be curious to see what other preachers do with it this weekend – but I couldn’t help but think about those bridesmaids in Jesus’ story because of it all. There were 10 of them, remember. And five of them were foolish. Five of them were wise. Half of them got into the party. Half of them got shut out. Half of them won and half of them lost, you might say. (Sound familiar?)

And, of course, there was all of that waiting – for the bridegroom, as far as the parable goes. While so many of us were waiting – on pins and needles it seemed – for the announcement… for SOME announcement… for ANY announcement, about who the president would be, come January. And the announcement came, yesterday afternoon – whether we love it, or hate it, or believe it, or buy it; whether we were ready for it, or not.

Now, I’m not going to get into who might be foolish and who might be wise in all of this. The hard but holy truth about that for those of us at Cross of Grace – and all around this country, really – is that we find ourselves lined up all along the political spectrum. And the other truth is – no matter who you were waiting on or hoping would be announced as the winner, this week – neither of them measures up to the bridegroom who is the Messiah, in Jesus’ parable.

And the other truth is, too much of the time, for too many people, parables like this one are used to determine what it means to be – and who is – not just wise or foolish; but right or wrong; in or out; winners or losers, welcome or locked out – when it comes to the Kingdom of God. We love to make winners and losers out of each other, don’t we?

There’s something about human nature that makes us want to choose sides. And, that’s one way to look at this parable – for sure. I imagine there are plenty of pastors today preaching about being wise and not foolish – about being prepared rather than not – all in an effort to be on the right side of God’s banquet hall door before it closes. 

But, we are a people who claim – and who have been claimed by – God’s grace for the sake of the world. So let’s not be so short-sighted or small or scared by this today, or by some of the things that are going on the world around us.

Because I started wondering something else this week and yesterday afternoon about Jesus’ parable of the bridesmaids. In light of what we’re up to and all we’re up against in our country these days, I wondered, would Jesus really close the door to the party on half of us, just because some of us might be more foolish than the others? Am I going to be locked out of the kingdom because I’m not always as ready, or as right, as the guy next to me? Are we going to miss our shot at the invite list because there have been times when we’ve fallen asleep at the wheel of our faith; made bad choices; lost or gotten lost every once in a while along the way?

And do any of us want to give that impression to anyone else in our lives or in this world? Because if any of that is true, we can bet there are going to be plenty of empty seats at God’s proverbial wedding banquet. Maybe nothing but empty seats based on the criteria of some people I know.

So, I don’t think any of that is what Jesus’ story holds for us today.

And remember the nuts and bolts of Jesus’ story… As far as the bridesmaids go (and we are represented by the bridesmaids in this one) some are prepared with lamps and plenty of oil. Others aren’t expecting to wait all that long, so they didn’t pack as many supplies. But the groom is late and they all fall asleep while they wait. And when they hear he’s on the way, they wake up and start preparing for the party. The five foolish ones, who didn’t bring extra oil, are out of luck and out of light and the five wise ones who came prepared don’t have enough to share. So the foolish bridesmaids are sent off looking to buy oil and in the meantime, the groom starts the party without them. When the slackers finally show up, it’s too late. The doors are shut and they miss the party.

But, instead of a “who’s in” and “who’s out” sort of morality tale, what if Jesus wants us to imagine why the ‘wise’ bridesmaids refused to share with their friends and neighbors when they had the chance?

Or, what if Jesus wants us to wonder about the variety of privileges and circumstances that allowed some of them (some of us) to be more prepared, more informed, more rich with oil than others?

What if, Jesus is reminding us that we’ve all had opportunity to be wise and foolish, to be awake and to fall asleep, to be ready and to be unprepared on any given day? And we have been.

What if Jesus wants us to wonder if those “wise” bridesmaids even worried about the others, once the party started? Did the ones who got in – the winners – have any concern for the ones who didn’t make it, I mean? Or did they just electric-slide their way into eternity, glad to know they weren’t left out in the cold?

So, I’d like us to get something from this parable other than more reason for self-righteous judgment or unfounded fear this time around. There’s too much of that in our world these days. I’d like us to get something out of this story besides a laundry list of what makes some of us better than or more ready than our neighbor to get into heaven. I’d like us to get something more out of this parable than the fire and brimstone and division that are so much easier to preach about and to practice, frankly, than the grace and the forgiveness and the salvation God promises, ultimately, in Jesus.

The problem with the fire and brimstone, winner and loser stuff – whether it comes from a pastor, a preacher or a political pundit – is the attention it pays to the end result, instead of what’s going on right here and right now among us, in our daily lives, on this side of God’s heaven.

See, I like to remember – and we just had a full-on discussion of this in our Bethel Bible Series class on Thursday night – that as often as not, when Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven – which is what that wedding banquet represents, remember – he was talking about life on this side of the grave, not always or only about life on the other side of it all.

So what if, as bridesmaids waiting for Jesus, we looked for new, better ways to stay awake and keep alert – right here and right now, wherever we find ourselves. And what if the lamps we light – what if the light we shine for the sake of the world – doesn’t really have anything at all to do with oil? What if the light we shine comes from whatever grace, mercy, and peace we can extend? From whatever humility, forgiveness, and hope we can share? From whatever generosity, love, and kindness we have to offer?

And what if we were wise enough to share those blessings with each other more openly these days? What if we could muster a holy, sincere sort of curiosity, about all those who are feeling lost… or, like they lost… or, that they’ve been locked out of the party for whatever reason? Because they voted differently than us... because they’ve been told their whole lives the banquet isn’t for them… because the system is so stacked against them that they can never seem to get their fair share of oil… (This is about more than “RED” and “BLUE,” “LEFT” and “RIGHT,” after all.)

What if we worked harder to make sure all would come to experience something of God’s kingdom of justice and joy – here and now – knowing and believing and living differently because we’re each going to end up at the same heavenly banquet, in the end, thanks be to God.

Amen