Immediate Word

Dear Fellow Preacher,

Hope-for the end of injustice, suffering, tears, and death, and for the beginning of perfected life-has always been central in the Christian message. Christian eschatology has taken on a myriad of forms within the faith, to say nothing of its transmutation in philosophy (Hegel and his heirs) and in secular ideologies like Marxism. But what can we do with the apocalyptic strain in Christian eschatology that speaks of cosmic conflict and great "tribulation"? Should it be left to fringe groups, fearmongers, and end-time "prophets"?

In this week's installment of The Immediate Word, James Evans compares the powerful apocalyptic and soteriological imagery of the Matrix film trilogy to Christian motifs, commenting specifically on the Gospel reading assigned in the lectionary. Important links are revealed between the hopes and fear of early Jewish Christians and those of contemporary Westerners. We think you will find here productive ideas for making connections between the text and what's happening today. Team comments, illustrations, worship materials, and a children's sermon round out the issue.

As we approach the end of the church year, it is appropriate to direct our thoughts to the last things and to "keep hope alive."


But the End Is Not Yet
by James L. Evans

Mark 13:1-8

The release this past week of highly touted Matrix: Revolutions marks the end of a most remarkable film effort. The stunning movie trilogy began in 1999 with The Matrix and was followed earlier this year by The Matrix Reloaded. All three movies combine unbelievable special effects, martial arts sequences, and an amalgam of religious and philosophical language to tell a story that has touched something deep in our current cultural experience.


Of course, the story line is not new and the religious imagery is familiar. An oppressed people on the brink of annihilation by an evil force wait desperately for a savior. That savior comes, dies, but somehow comes back to life. The battle against the oppressors continues, but the advantage shifts to the side of the oppressed as they are emboldened by the presence of the "chosen One."


The connection to the dying savior motif, however, is not the only cultural connection, and in fact, may not even be the most important link. Underneath the story of the chosen one whose special powers will save the human race is an apocalyptic vision of a world that cannot be trusted. The whole idea of "the matrix" is that of a computer generated false reality that lulls humans into quiet acquiescence so that their lives can be exploited by the "system."


A few humans have managed to escape from the matrix and are living together in what is called the city of Zion. This community of free men and women has committed itself to the task of pulling back the veil on the false reality of the matrix and freeing those who continue to be trapped in its tyranny. With this subplot The Matrix series joins a long line of apocalyptic visions. And therein lies part of the story's great appeal.


Ours is a culture nurtured on apocalyptic hopes and fears. From the theological pop-fantasy of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series to the very real apocalyptic images of 9/11 and the bombing of Baghdad, we are part of a culture that believes profoundly that the world will end badly.


But is it true? Does the Bible really support the horrible visions many believe will mark the end of history? Is it possible that we have allowed our cultural experience to so shape our theology that we read the course of history through the lens of human failure rather than through the lens of God's ultimate purpose?

Jesus and the Matrix of the First Century (Mark 13:1-8)


Mark 13 is dubbed by scholars the "Little Apocalypse" or "the Synoptic apocalypse." It stands as a bold preface to Jesus' final days in Jerusalem. It cannot be denied that verses 24-36 offer a view of the end of history that is consistent with other apocalyptic views that existed in Jesus' day. Unfortunately, the 23 verses preceding Jesus' vision have been folded into the vision of the coming of the Son of Man. In doing so, a subtle though important distinction between the end and endings is missed.


The setup for this distinction occurs in verses 1-8, which serve as the Gospel reading in the lectionary for November 16. From a narrative standpoint, the material in Mark 13 serves as a transition from Jesus' Jerusalem ministry to the beginning of the passion. Jesus has rejected the Temple as a valid place for God's work to be done. This is highlighted dramatically when the disciples offer reverent and awed comments about the Temple. "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings" (v. 1).


Jesus' response is startling. "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down" (v. 2).


Jesus' words were treasonous. It was illegal to speak against the Temple. The use of this charge during Jesus' trial indicates some version of his views about the future of the Temple was commonly known (Mark 14:58). But in the context of Mark's narrative the image is so startling and so frightening that the disciples are left mute. Not another word is spoken between them until they arrive at the Mount of Olives "opposite the Temple" (v. 3).


Safely hidden in one of their favorite resting places, Peter, James, John, and Andrew approach Jesus "privately" for more information. The expression translated "privately" is a Greek phrase which also carries hints of "secrecy." The disciples wanted to have a very discreet conversation with Jesus about his view of the Temple.


The disciples pose two questions. The first is "Tell us, when will this be?" (v. 4). The question in Mark's narrative almost certainly refers to what Jesus said in regard to the Temple. The disciples also want to know when it will all be over. "What will be the sign that all the things are about to be accomplished?" (v. 4b).


The expression "all these things" is the Greek ta panta and connotes the idea of "everything." The word "accomplished" is from the Greek telos and carries the idea of "purposeful end." This is important in terms of the way Jesus answers the two questions.


Judging from the way Jesus responds, we can surmise that in the minds of the disciples there was a close connection between the end of the Temple and the end of the world. In fact, the end of the Temple would be the end of their world, the world as they knew it. The only problem was their failure to understand that the end of a particular world did not necessarily mean the end of creation.


So Jesus begins with a warning. "Beware that no one leads you astray" (v. 5). Jesus tells his disciples that there will be much upheaval in the near future. There will be wars and rumors of wars, nations clashing with nations. There will even be turmoil in the earth-earthquakes and famines. If they are not careful, false prophets who speak in the name of Jesus will use these cataclysmic and earth-shaking events to trick believers into grasping the notion that the end of everything has come.


Jesus describes these events not as an end but as a beginning. He calls these events the beginning of birth pangs. The imagery is striking. The pain inflicted by war and nations grappling for power, and even the convulsions of the very ground that sustains us, is really the struggle of something seeking to come to life.


Jesus tells his disciples, "The end is not yet," and the word translated "end" is the Greek word telos. It is as if Jesus said to them, "These things you will see and experience: the fall of the Temple, raging wars, and nations in conflicts that seem so large that you may be tempted to believe that creation is ending. But these things are not the way of God's purpose. The end God has in mind will not come this way."

Our Own Version of the Matrix


The disciples' view of reality was shaped by Temple, covenant, and Jerusalem. In the course of less than forty years, nearly all of these would disappear. We can only imagine the distress and confusion that reigned in the minds of the people of the first century as their world ended. With the destruction of the Temple, everything looked different. The whole story had to be re-interpreted in the framework of the new reality that emerged.


Our own pilgrimage to our current end time scenarios has also endured some "world-ending" and "world-changing" events. Jürgen Moltmann details this pilgrimage in his The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996, pp. 4ff.): "At the beginning of the industrial era, mostly in the nineteenth century, an expansive and hope-filled eschatology dominated Christian thinking. The rise of science and technology suggested that we humans were about to come of age. We would solve the problems of death and poverty and violence and finally be able to fulfill the prophetic vision of beating our swords into ploughshares."

Unfortunately, history threw us a bit of a curve with the outbreak of the First World War. But so strong was the optimism in what the human community was about to accomplish that this war was seen as just the last spasm of human immaturity. We would fight this "war to end all wars," and that would end it. From there the human race would march forward to its peaceful, purposeful end.


But it was a mean and bitter war. And the technology in which we placed so much hope to save us was used in cruelly inventive ways to kill and maim. Nevertheless, even in the face of these frustrating setbacks, the hope of a humanly achieved heaven on earth persisted.


Then came the Second World War, which ended with an even more devastating use of technology. In the intervening years, a bloody revolution established Soviet Communism in Russia. In time we would learn of almost unbelievable acts of inhumanity as both the communists and Nazis employed technology to accomplish perverse utopian dreams.


With the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, the visions of apocalyptic doom became palpable. We know exactly what the end of the world would look like. In fact, during the first successful test of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagavad Gita, saying, "I am become death, the shatterer of worlds."


The hopeful optimism of the nineteenth century is gone. Not only are humanly constructed utopian visions thoroughly discredited, as they should be, but even God's purpose for creation is read through the matrix of the twentieth century's technological horror. Given popular expression in premillennialism, the theological foundation for Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series, the deep and abiding sense of many is that history will end-and will end badly.

The End or An Ending


This is where Jesus' warnings become important insights for preaching to a culture nurtured on apocalyptic visions.


History has pounded into our awareness that "whatever has a beginning will have an end." That is true for individuals, and it is also true for nations and ideologies as well as for creation. But the end of a personal life or of a particular worldview is not necessarily the end of creation. Or, to use Jesus' words, the end, the purpose which God has in mind for creation, is not dependent on any particular human accomplishment or failure.


In the second installment of the Matrix series, The Matrix Reloaded, Morpheus, a character who is part military general and part holy man, rises to address the citizens of Zion. Huge machines directed by computers are literally knocking at the gates. If they are able to enter the city, Zion will be destroyed and the human race will continue to live under the tyranny of the matrix. Morpheus' task is to calm the fears of his fellow citizens and give them hope.


As Morpheus stands to address the citizens of Zion, he recalls for them the prophecy of the "chosen one," whom he believes is Neo. Morpheus tells the anxious crowd, "When this prophecy is fulfilled, this world will end and a new world will begin."


We live in a time where there is a longing in the hearts of many people for this world to end and a new world to appear. We see it in the stunning success of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series which chronicles the end of history. We hear it in the bombastic preaching of television evangelists warning us that "the time is near." And we feel it, in our bones, as we watch the daily horror of the evening news. How long can this misery continue?


There are two powerful options regarding the end of the world that currently hold sway in popular theology. The first is the Tim LaHaye vision: the world is doomed and only God can fix it. Fortunately, God will. Revealed in a complicated prophecy found mostly in the book of Revelation, God promises to defeat the forces of evil and create a new earth.


What role do we play in this end time scenario? None. Our only task is to make sure we are on the right side when it all breaks loose. Unfortunately, this type of theological thinking has promoted a deeply personalistic approach to faith which views social justice involvement as either optional or pointless.


The other popular view is revealed in the agenda of the religious right. The new world will only come about when all of the institutions of government are handed over to God. So long as government is allowed to exist without acknowledging God, we will continue to see the destruction of our society.


What role do we play here? Well, it is up to each and every one of us to vote for godly candidates who will make sure that the institutions of government conform to God's laws. When all of them do, the true purpose God has for us will be revealed, and the ills we now face as a society will disappear.


While in this view our role is clear, it is not clear what God does. Historically, in the several theocracies that have appeared from time to time, God's part is done by those humans who end up in charge.



Without giving too much away, Matrix Revolutions employs a creative synthesis of these two ideas. A partnership between human energies and divine intervention brings about the hope of a new world. We have a part to play, but we cannot do it alone. God has a part, but does not do all of it for us. The tricky part, as the movie affirms over and over again, is knowing when to act and when to wait.


I am not suggesting we abandon our Bible studies and deconstruct The Matrix as a way of solving the riddle of the universe. However, the story, as is true for all art, does reveal something about us.


We feel betrayed and exploited by technology. We long for the world to be different, safer, and saner. We struggle to know what we should do, what it is that God wants us to do and will not do for us. And of course we struggle to know what God will do, the part that we must wait and let God do.


Answers to these questions are not found in The Matrix; the questions are only posed there. Our longing for a better world will find satisfaction in the crucible of our own existence as people of faith. In the living of a faithful life, we follow the best light we have, and act on truth we already possess. We can be pretty sure that is something God has left for us to do.


Team Comments

George Murphy responds: Apocalyptic literature has been popular especially in times of persecution and oppression. The second part of the book of Daniel, which is the root of a good deal of apocalyptic writing and speculation, originated among faithful Jews during the Maccabean persecution, and Jews and the early Christians continued its development under the Roman Empire. Such ideas appeal to people whose world seems to be under the domination of evil powers, and it is understandable that they would expect worsening disasters and hope for dramatic supernatural salvation which will destroy the forces of darkness. The book of Revelation was popular reading among some Christians during the Nazi occupation of Europe, and just recently leaders of Christian churches in Zimbabwe have used the image of the beast of Revelation 13 to describe the repressive policies of the government there.

It isn't surprising that people in such situations see the world in stark terms of good versus evil, and that they dream of and pray for the destruction of evil. Apocalyptic literature can remind us that there can finally be no lasting compromise with evil. But there are dangers in this literature and the ways of thinking it embodies. The hope for the defeat of evil can easily include a desire for revenge, and a rejoicing in the expectation of the torments that the oppressors and persecutors will have to undergo. Furthermore, apocalyptic encourages dualistic ways of thinking in which people minimize the importance of the present world and look entirely to images of the future.

Apocalyptic can provide hope and consolation for persecuted believers. But we have to wonder how helpful it is for Christians who aren't persecuted to dwell on apocalyptic themes. While Christians can rightly oppose some governmental policies and cultural trends in the United States today, Christians are not "persecuted" in this country in the way that they were under Nero or Domitian. In fact, they may hold positions of influence or power. In this situation there seems to be little reason to dwell on the imagery and ideas of Daniel, Revelation, and Mark 13. Those are parts of scripture and should be given due attention, but they are hardly the heart of the canon. Excessive attention by American Christians to them can be a sign of an unhealthy theology.

In particular, the whole idea of "the pre-tribulation rapture of the church," popularized anew by the Left Behind books, calls for serious theological challenge. The idea that true believers will be snatched out of the world to avoid its final disasters and sufferings was unknown to Christians for nearly 1800 years for good reason: There is nothing about it in scripture. More than that, it provides a way of ducking out on the way of the cross. Mark 13, placed as it is as an introduction to the passion of Christ, points to the fact that the Christian community will share in the suffering that will usher in God's final future

What the Bible gives us in relation to the future and God's ultimate goal for creation is vivid imagery that tries to point us toward the hope of new creation. But if that future is in some sense genuinely new, it will not be captured either in pictures or literal descriptions. All our attempts to portray the future are apt to be disappointingly flat. Without wanting to give too much away, I felt that the third Matrix film (which I just saw yesterday) fell prey to that same danger: Is that all there is? We shouldn't be too surprised about this with the real future that God intends. St. Paul speaks of that as "what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

And while we are given powerful images that convey the hope of resurrection and eternal life, Christians should be reminded that the ultimate reason for faith in God is not what they can get out of it. C. S. Lewis spoke to this toward the end of his life:

I believed in God before I believed in Heaven. And even now, even if-let's make an impossible supposition-His voice, unmistakably His, said to me, "They have misled you. I can do nothing of that sort for you. My long struggle with the blind forces is nearly over. I die, children. The story is ending," would that be a moment for changing sides? Would not you and I take the Viking way: "The Giants and the Trolls win. Let us die on the right side, with Father Odin."
(Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer [London: Collins, 1966], p. 120)

Apocalyptic literature like Mark 13 encourages belief that the end of the world will happen soon, and the fact that it hasn't taken place in 2000 years has given rise to the problem of "the delay of the parousia." That's reasonable-if the world is only a few thousand years old. But if we look at things on a cosmic scale, and realize that the universe is more like fourteen billion years old, perhaps 2000 years is no delay at all!

Carlos Wilton responds: Jim, you have defined our dilemma in preaching first-century apocalyptic texts in the twenty-first century to people for whom that literary form seems so alien as to be unintelligible. I especially appreciate the precision of your thumbnail sketch of modern history, "Our Own Version of the Matrix."

As we read Mark 13, it seems out of character for Jesus to be making such a prophecy of doom. Much of the rest of his ministry, as Mark reports it, has been devoted to acts of love and mercy: to teaching and healing and caring for the people of this earth. Now it's as though this gentle Savior-author of "turn the other cheek" and "love your neighbor as yourself"-has peeled off his mask, to reveal the scowling grimace of a prophet of doom. "Which is the real Jesus?" we're led to ask, the bringer of peace and love, or the herald of death and destruction?

In one sense, in making this kind of prediction, Jesus is a man of his times. For the past couple hundred years before Jesus' birth, Judaism has been developing an apocalyptic tradition of its own. That tradition is centered around the idea of a "day of the Lord" that is to come, a day of darkness and tribulation. On that day, God will scatter all of Israel's enemies and blast them with earthquake, wind, and fire-while carefully preserving the lives of the faithful.

Something rather like this did happen about 70 years after Jesus' birth-about the time the Gospels were being edited into their final form. The Roman general Titus brutally put down a Jewish revolt, and in doing so destroyed the Temple and much of the city of Jerusalem. Those dire events, while not literally identical to Jesus' prophecy, would have been seen by the early church as fulfilling it, at least in part. Maybe A.D. 70 didn't bring destruction of the planet, but it did bring the destruction of the world as the Jewish people knew it. Apocalyptic texts of the Bible always speak most loudly and clearly to those on this earth who have little to lose, because their lives are already a shambles.

Those of us whose lives aren't a shambles-who don't live from day to day fearing death from hunger, or sickness, or war-would do well to treat these apocalyptic texts with caution. We ought to know they're in the scriptures, and that they delineate the far frontier of God's plan for this world. But if we make them the center of our preaching and teaching, we do so at great spiritual risk.

The risk-if we are, say, white middle-class Americans-is that we'll be tempted to use them in un-Christian ways. That's the chief complaint I have with the Left Behind books (and the movies based on them), which are so popular these days. There's something ethically ambiguous about gleefully awaiting a day called "the rapture," in which certain of God's children will be saved, but certain other of God's children will be "left behind" to suffer, some of them innocently.

Apocalyptic is strong medicine, that's best brought out and used in times of intense suffering. Use it as prescribed, and it can do great good. Yet anyone who abuses it will quickly discover it's very much like an addictive drug. It skews perceptions, and leads its abusers to hurt those they love.

Another analogy I've heard that makes some sense to me is that apocalyptic has a very narrow and specialized function within Christian preaching and teaching: it's like the buzzer on an alarm clock. Apocalyptic is loud and obnoxious for a reason: it's meant to wake us up. Once we wake up, though, what's the first thing we do? We turn off the buzzer. If much of our preaching begins and ends with apocalyptic, we'll be like a person who lies in bed all day listening to the howling of the buzzer.

Carter Shelley responds: Jim, because apocalyptic literature doesn't appear very often among lectionary offerings, your application of Mark 13's apocalyptic vision to a current cultural phenomenon is an excellent model of the immediateness of God's word to our time. Probably more people have discussed and attended The Matrix Revolutions than will make it to worship this Sunday. Thanks to globalization and 24-hour CNN, twenty-first-century people do experience fear and dread akin to that of first-century Jewish Christians. Thus, we are daily assaulted by the black hole of human misery that cries out for divine intervention and a level of guidance our technology and human ingenuity cannot provide.

As someone who'd rather write a paper on apocalyptic biblical literature than preach a sermon on it, I recommend the clergy's equivalent of scholarly and sensible "Cliff Notes": Preaching Apocalyptic Text by Larry Paul Jones and Jerry L. Sumney (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1999). This book offers an excellent examination of the key biblical apocalyptic texts and supplements those insights with sample sermons and a superb introductory section that challenges mainline clergy types not to cede the pulpit to those preachers and evangelists who readily find in biblical apocalyptic texts explicit messages for 2003 Christians. Among the latter are cited a 1971 communication from not-yet President Ronald Reagan in which he finds the visions of the prophet Ezekiel to be explicit warnings against nuclear weapons. The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey, also provides an example of contemporary Christians who find numerous biblical passages that refer directly to historical events and objects known only in the twentieth century. Such use of ancient Scripture for modern circumstance is not uncommon; therefore, Jones and Sumney urge preachers to

challenge ourselves to consider with what authority apocalyptic texts speak
reflect directly on how God relates to humanity
consider who or what lays the biggest claim to our lives-something the contemporary readers of apocalyptic visions already had been forced to assess
utilize the opportunity these texts pose for homiletical dialogue about the relationship between Scripture and preaching and how we use the Bible and why (pp. 2-4).

"Apocalyptic literature tends to occur when people of faith find themselves in the minority in a culture in which they have little power, recognition, or validation. [These texts] offer a word of hope to the faithful when their God is not currently recognized or validated by others" (p. 6). Common ground for biblical apocalyptic literature and The Matrix series can be found in the vision both hold that God (or a savior) will intervene to correct a world out of whack with its original created intent. Computers weren't meant to run over and rule humanity any more than the Jerusalem Temple was built to codify or confine God.

Jim, I appreciate how you explore the nuances of Mark 13:1-8 and the way its apocalyptic vision addresses the concerns of first-century Christians, especially Jewish Christians who still worshiped alongside other Jews at the Temple in Jerusalem. You also helpfully outline the connections movie-goers and the Warchowskis find between the apocalyptic threat of The Matrix and Mark's words for early Christians facing persecution. Those forking over $7.00+ to see each film in The Matrix trilogy are younger, international in scope, and less likely to be faithful church-goers than their parents and grandparents are. Many youth and young adults already experience much of their reality either in front of a computer screen or a television screen. They may never have read George Orwell's 1984 or seen Stanley Kubrick's 2001, but they are highly attuned to the potential threats computers and technology poise. While I don't know the demographics attached to those reading Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' Left Behind series, my hunch is their readers are likely to come from the realm of American neo-conservative Christians more than any other group.

In using Mark 13:1- 8 as the primary text for this week's The Immediate Word, I think it will be enormously helpful to share it within the context of both Jesus' passion and resurrection and with a reading of the Hebrews text, which echoes sentiments first expressed in the book of Jeremiah, that the world instigated by Christ's passion and exaltation is one in which there is no building as sturdy or as sure as the human heart upon which God's law of love will be written.

The disciples are used to thinking in concrete, literal terms. No fault there; so are we. It's that very concreteness that sometimes makes living in the twenty-first century so hard. We see the painful, sad reality of a world in trouble. Wars rage in many places as peoples continue to misunderstand, resent, hate, terrorize, and kill one another. Earthly resources remain woefully inadequate in many parts of the world, while in the United States we seek legislation to get the exact calorie and nutritional information affixed to Big Macs and Monster Fries. Life seems to have great promise and meaning for some, while it seems devoid of any hope or future for others. The saying, "the more things change, the more things stay the same," seems to apply as aptly in 2003 as it did in 70 C.E., when Jerusalem and the Temple fell to the Romans after Rome raged war against the rebels of Judea.

You state, "The whole idea of 'the matrix' is that of a computer-generated false reality that lulls humans into quiet acquiescence so that their lives can be exploited by the 'system.' " Karl Marx once made the same charge against religion. What irony! Christianity was seen as a great threat to the Roman Empire "system," while in the nineteenth century that same Christianity was viewed by Marx as a sop to the downtrodden poor to keep them in their place within a class and economic system. What was viewed as a revolution in one era becomes the status quo in another.

Additional Resources

For those who haven't yet seen the third Matrix film, Entertainment Weekly magazine provides a helpful review of the main four characters' status to date:

Neo (Keanu Reeves): He's helplessly stuck between the Matrix and the Machine World, and the only one who can spring him is the unforgiving Frenchman Merovingian. Since his would-be Gallic savior still harbors a grudge from the last film, Trinity & Co. must persuade The Merovingian that liberating Neo is in everyone's best interest.

Niobe: Relegating her erstwhile lover Morpheus to the role of sidekick, Captain Niobe (Jada Picket Smith) shows serious muscle (holy pecs!) in steering her ship clear of Sentinels. But can she zip back to Zion before the Machines level it? And will her support of Neo's journey to Machine City mean extinction for the humans?

The Oracle: The Merovingian has punished her for aiding Neo by terminating her "shell": She's forced to alter her appearance (new actress Mary Alice replaces Gloria Foster, who died before filming Revolutions). She still bakes cookies and doles out self-help riddles, but we also discover her past link to Agent Smith.

Agent Smith: The veil program (Hugo Weaving) is replicating himself by the millions. At the end of Reloaded he infiltrated the body of Bane (Neo's shipmate), and now he menaces the vessel's crew. Meanwhile, his wild growth rate threatens to infect and control those supreme rulers of the world, the Machines.

(Raymond Fiore, in Entertainment Weekly 736, November 7, 2003, p. 27)

The book Resident Aliens, by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon (Nashville: Abingdon, 1989), poses the notion that Christians in the United States today face a situation not so dissimilar to that of first-century Christians. As our nation becomes more and more secular in its culture and values, Christians become the people who are different and alien to the norms of society. Consequently, we need to view our mission and ministry much as the early Christians understood their own, as people whom God has blessed with good news to share with others.


Related Illustrations

There's an old Jewish story of a wise rabbi, who once asked his followers how they could tell when the night had ended and the day had begun. "Could it be," asked one of the students, "when you can see an animal in the distance and can tell whether it's a sheep or a dog?"

"No," answered the rabbi.

"Is it," asked another, "when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it's a fig tree or a peach tree?"

"No, that answer too is wrong."

"Then when is it?" asked the students.

"It is when you can look on the face of any man or woman and see that it is your sister or brother. Because if you cannot see this, it is still night."

* * *

Kathleen Norris says of "eschatology" (literally, "the doctrine of the last things"):

I have come to regard the word as life-affirming in ways far more subtle than any dictionary definition could convey. What I mean is this: an acquaintance of mine, a brilliant young scholar, was stricken with cancer, and over the course of several years came close to dying three times. But after extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, came a welcome remission. Her prognosis was uncertain at best, but she was again able to teach, and write. "I'd never want to go back," she told her department head, an older woman, "because now I know what each morning means, and I am so grateful just to be alive." When the other woman said to her, "We've been through so much together in the last few years," the younger woman nodded, and smiled. "Yes," she said, emphatically. "Yes! And hasn't it been a blessing!"

"That," says Norris, "is eschatology."

-Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace (New York: Riverhead, 1998), pp. 12-13

* * *

Charles Schulz on apocalyptic:

"The way I see it," Linus says (speaking to Charlie Brown, book in hand) " 'The cow jumped over the moon,' indicates a rise in farm prices. The part about the dish running away with the spoon must refer to the consumer ... Do you agree with me, Charlie Brown?"

"I can't say," replies the ever-glum Charlie Brown. "I don't pretend to be a student of prophetic literature."

Charles Schulz has another strip, which has Linus and Lucy talking. It's been raining that day, and Lucy looks worried. She's been studying the story of Noah in Sunday school. She fears God may flood the world again.

Linus points out, reassuringly, "No, God set a rainbow in the sky to remind us that this will never happen again."

"Whew!" Lucy replies. "That sure takes a load off my mind."

To which Linus replies, "Sound theology will do that."

* * *

Did you hear about the Rev. David Austin? He was a Presbyterian pastor in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After studying the books of Daniel and Revelation, he became convinced that current events were pointing to the imminent return of Christ. When Christ did not come in the year Mr. Austin predicted, his congregation asked the presbytery to dissolve the pastoral relationship.

The year David Austin expected the imminent coming of Christ was 1796.

-Based on information presented by James Smiley, in A Brief History of the Presbyterians (Geneva Press, 1996), p. 66

* * *

A local priest and pastor stood by the side of the road. Doing their good deed for the day, they were holding up a sign that said, "The End Is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" They planned to hold up the sign to each passing car.

"Leave us alone, you religious nuts!" yelled the first driver who sped by. From around the curve, they heard a big splash. "Do you think," said one clergy to the other, "we should just put up a sign that says, 'Bridge out,' instead?"

-Ralph Milton

***

There is an old rabbinic story of Rabbi Joshua walking along the street one day when he suddenly met Elijah. Stunned, but seizing the moment, he buttonholed Elijah with the obvious question: "When is the Messiah coming?" Elijah responded quickly: "Why are you asking me? The Messiah this day is at the gate of the city. Go ask him."

So Rabbi Joshua did as Elijah had told him. And sure enough there at the gates of the city was the Messiah healing the sick, bandaging the wounded, loving the children.

"Master, when are you coming? We have been waiting so long." The Messiah replied: "Today, my son, I am coming."

Rabbi Joshua ran into town and proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!" But at the end of the day, the Messiah had not appeared. Everyone ridiculed Rabbi Joshua, and Rabbi Joshua never made that mistake again.

One day, many years later, the rabbi stumbled upon the prophet Elijah once again. "You misled me, Elijah!" the rabbi cried out. "You said the Messiah was here. But he never came."

Elijah said, "You are a rabbi. Surely you ought to know that the Messiah comes only when we hearken to the voice of God."

-The Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 98a, cited in Homiletics

Worship Resources
by George Reed

OPENING

Music

Hymns

"All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded." Words: Joachim Neander, 1680, trans. Fred Pratt Green, 1986; music: Herbert Howells, 1930, 1977. Trans. (c) 1989 Hope Publishing Co.; music (c) 1968 Novellow and Co., Ltd. As found in UMH 132; Hymnal '82 665; TNCH 408; CH 88.
"Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." Words: Elisha A. Hoffman, 1887; music: Anthony J. Showalter, 1887. Public domain. As found in UMH 133; AAHH 371; TNNBH 262; CH: 560.
"He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought." Words: Joseph H. Gilmore, 1862; music: William B. Bradbury, 1864. Public domain. As found in UMH 128; AAHH 142; TNNBH 235; CH 545.

Songs

"Our God Reigns." Words and music: Leonard E. Smith, Jr. (c) 1974, 1978 L. E. Smith, Jr. As found in CCB 33.
"Shine, Jesus, Shine." Words and music: Graham Kendrick. (c) 1987 Make Way Music. As found in CCB 81.
"We Are His Hands." Words: Mark Gersmehl; music: Mark Gersmehl, arr. J. Michael Bryan, (c) 1984, 1996 Bug and Bear Music. As found in CCB 85.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader:
My heart exults in God;
People:
My strength is exalted in my God.
Leader:
There is no Holy One like God.
People:
There is no Rock like our God.
Leader:
God raises up the poor from the dust;
People:
God lifts the needy from the ash heap.
Leader:
The pillars of the earth are God's.
People:
God will guard the feet of the faithful.

COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER

O God who has begun the good work of creation: Grant us faith in you to bring the creation to the end you have envisioned for it and always to place our hope in your unfailing love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

or

God of all creative powers, we bow before you. We ask that you open our hearts to your great purpose for creation. Help us to know what is our part to play and where we need to let you act. Fill us with the hope that is grounded in your eternal being. Amen.

Response Music

Hymns

"My Hope Is Built." Words: Edward Mote, 1834; music: William B. Bradbury, 1863. Public domain. As found in UMH 368; TPH 379; AAHH 385; TNNBH 274; TNCH 403; CH 537.
"Blessed Assurance." Words: Fanny J. Crosby, 1873; music: Phoebe P. Knapp, 1873. Public domain. As found in UMH 369; TPH 341; AAHH 508; TNNBH 249; TNCH 473; CH 543.
"I Know Whom I Have Believed." Words: Daniel W. Whittle, 1883; music: James McGranahan, 1883. Public domain. As found in UMH 714.
"Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken." Words: John Newton, 1779; music: Croatian folk song, arr. Franz Joseph Haydn, 1797. Public domain. As found in UMH 731; Hymnal '82 522, 523; TPH 446; TNNBH 426; TNCH 307; CH 709.
"Hymn of Promise." Words and music: Natalie Sleeth, 1986. (c) 1986 Hope Publishing Co. As found in UMH 707.

Songs

"Saranam, Saranam (Refuge)." Words: Traditional Pakistani, trans. D. T. Niles; music: traditional Punjabi melody, arr. Shanti Rasanayagam. Trans. and arr. (c) Christian Conference of Asia. As found in CCB 73.
"The Steadfast Love of the Lord." Words: Edith McNeill; music: Edith McNeill, arr. J. Michael Bryan. (c) 1974 Celebration. As found in CCB 28.
"Seek Ye First." Words and music: Karen Lafferty. (c) 1972 Maranatha! Music. As found in CCB 76.


PRAYER OF CONFESSION / PARDON

Leader:
We have looked for simple answers. We have tried to find the answers to all of life's problems in our own intellect and technology. We have tried to palm off all responsibility for the future on God. Let us confess our sinful simplistic thought and invite God to empower us with eternal hope that nurtures action in accord with the Divine.

People:

We want the easy way out, God. We want things to be simple and neat. We want to know that we can fix the world on our own and that we can do it now. When that doesn't work we are ready to chuck it all and give the mess over to you. Since we can't fix it in thirty minutes or less, it must be beyond us, and we give all responsibility to you. We fail to remember the biblical witness where time and time again it was not human alone nor you alone that made things better. It has always been you working in and through us that has produced the goal. Forgive us our simplistic approach to life. By the power of your Spirit, help us to see the great movements you are bringing about and our part in bringing it to fruition. Help us to find our hope in you as you work in and through your creation. Amen.

Leader:
Hear the good news. God loves us and desires to bring us hope, joy, peace, and life eternal. Receive the gift of God, hope. Live it out in all you do, for you are God's people.


GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.

We worship and adore you, O God, for you desired to make creation and to place us within it as your image. You formed us out of the dust of the earth and filled us with your own breath. You spoke and creation came into being, but before you spoke, you envisioned what creation could become.

(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)

We confess, O God, that we have tried to make creation into something that suits our purposes rather than to seek your purpose for it. We have tried to make ourselves into what we think we should become instead of finding within the wonders that you created us to be. We have tried to live without you by doing it ourselves and by foisting all the responsibility onto you. Forgive us and awake us by the power of your Spirit to the hope you have for creation and the wonders of being co-creators with you.

We thank you for all the ways you have brought your vision of creation to fullness. We thank you for beauty and order and surprise. We thank you for the creative powers you have bestowed upon us. We thank you for our hope that is always found most completely in you.

(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)

We lift up to you those who have experienced creation in ways where it has not completely conformed to your vision. Where there is sickness and death; where there is poverty and want; where there is despair and hatred, send your Spirit and send us to bring wholeness and healing.

(Other petitions may be offered.)

All these things we ask in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray, saying: "Our Father ...."

Hymnal and Songbook Abbreviations

UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, Expanded 3rd Edition


A Children's Sermon
by Wesley T. Runk

"Watching for the Real Thing"

Mark 13:1-8

Text: "Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray." (v. 6)

Object: pictures of impersonators (e.g., Elvis)

Good morning, boys and girls. Has anyone ever told you that you look like your mother or your father? (let them answer) Do you have any friends that look alike? (let them answer) Sometimes people like to wear the same clothes or have their hair fixed the same way. They want to be like each other. This is fun and we all do it.


Sometimes people really want to fool you and make you think they are someone they are not. I have some pictures here of people who want you to think they are someone else. (show them the pictures of Elvis impersonators) Who is this? (let them answer) Elvis! These people dress like him and try to sing like him, but they are not the real Elvis. Sometimes this is also for fun, but sometimes people do this because they really want to trick you and do you harm. These are the kind of people you have to be careful around.


Once, while in Jerusalem, Jesus told the disciples that there would be people who would come in his name and try to lead them in a different direction. They would say they were with Jesus, but they would not teach love and forgiveness. They would not teach the same things, but they would say that they were there in place of Jesus. This would cause a lot of trouble.


And what Jesus said was true. Many people have tried to get people to follow them in the name of Jesus. They were not honest. They used the name of Jesus to make money, gain power, and cause trouble. People who use the name of Jesus to help themselves are bad people and they cannot be trusted. And they don't do it for fun like people do when they say they are Elvis. The people who teach hate in the name of Jesus are dangerous people.


So Jesus warned his disciples always to be careful. Make sure that when someone uses Jesus' name they are teaching love, helping others, always willing to forgive, loving their enemies, and sharing the gifts that God gave them.


So the next time you see someone pretending to be someone that they are not, ask if this is for fun or for some other reason. If it is just for fun, then enjoy them and have a good time. But if they are pretending to be someone else or use the name of Jesus and are not filled with the love of God, then be afraid of them and ask them to leave you alone.


Jesus is the real thing. He is always with us.


The Immediate Word, November 16, 2003, issue.

Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.

All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.