Jesus and The Coming Age

God put this power to work in Christ

when he raised him from the dead and

seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.

(from Ephesians 1:15-23)

Fellowship Time after worship is one of my Sunday pleasures as I talk with various people about where they are on their life journey.

Sometimes it's about a new direction in life, or a developing medical condition, occasionally kids and school, or community news. 

When a political discussion starts, I usually leave.

My reasoning is straightforward.

Kings, Queens, Dictators, Governments, have limited ability to solve whatever issue facing society is being discussed.

The authority of the world's rulers simply can't control the powers of a coming pandemic, not to mention climate change, racism, even inflation.

These situations may totally shatter peoples' lives no matter how hard or well-intended are the world's leaders efforts.   

Even more depressing is the fact that some world's leaders seem in cahoots with these powers, even profiting from them. 

God's response to these demonic, destructive powers is a coming age when the Son of Man arrives in glory, and all the angels with him, then seating him at the right on the throne of glory.

With Jesus Christ sitting at God's right hand with the final authority, all of these authorities, powers and dominions, are simply temporary rulers. 

It seems to me that Ephesians insists faith in Jesus and love toward Christians and all God's people defeats the raw power of government and the cruel mathematics of pandemics.

As Christians, Paul insists, we are a people of hope called to do local acts of faith which are based in Jesus seat at God's right hand.

Perhaps, the next time a political discussion starts, I'll ask, "where do you see Jesus?" or "What would you say in a prayer about your concern?"

Think about it: What would you say in a prayer for loved ones about the hope to which Jesus has called us? 

The Day of the Lord's Salvation

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, 

and put on the breastplate of faith and love, 

and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

(From 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

Krisopher Coffman, welcoming the birth of his first son, now realizes how fitting the imagery of labor is.

Though he knew that his wife would eventually go into labor, the last days of her pregnancy were full of waiting and watching. 

At any moment, they knew their lives would change forever, but could not predict it or escape it. 

In Jesus' day, time had two properties: One it was eternal, like death; Two it was cyclical, like New Year's Eve.

In 1 Thessalonians Paul is teaching the concept of time heading toward one destiny: The Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord has a catch however: it's hour is unknown coming with a "Great Tribulation".

To make it through the "Great Tribulation" means to be, "sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." 

Paul's letters are not just for discussion, they are sent to address real communities in difficult moments of faith assuring them they are not destined for destruction.

The image on the latest issue of “Time” magazine is a 12-year-old boy sitting on some rubble overlooking the surrounding Gaza devastation.

It's a Great Tribulation for a parent with a child caught in addiction or alcoholism on a hard road awaiting healing and recovery.

When a crisis makes us ask "Where is God?" it's time to put on the breastplate of faith with its assurance we are not destined for destruction.

The Day of the Lord is the hope of salvation on the other side of the "Great Tribulations" we face globally, socially, or personally.

Did you know: 1st Thessalonians is the oldest book in the New Testament written before any of Paul's other letters and before the Gospels?

Think about it: What do you think the day of the Lord will be like?

Keeping Oil in Your Lamps

"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."

(from Matthew 25:1-13)

In my youth, I owned an MGB-GT sports car.

I drove all sorts of places and had all types of adventures.

An MGB-GT has a dual carburetor design which required me to carry a small can of motor oil. 

If either carburetor ran out of oil, the car stopped, I would have to get out the oil can, open the hood, pump oil into the carburetor, and be on my way. 

This is the sense of the parable of the bridesmaids: keep oil in you lamp as well as some stored away so you don't run out while waiting for the groom.

This is what the wise bridesmaids did, prepared for the long, unknown wait since they neither knew the day or the hour.

The foolish bridesmaids, who also didn't know the day or the hour, weren't prepared for the long haul and began running out of oil.

The message of the parable is be prepared with oil and be ready for an unknown, long wait for the groom.

Waiting for the groom is clearly worth his arrival, because, as Isaiah said, faithlessness will fade away, but righteousness and praise will be restored.

More than that, when the groom arrives, the feast will begin, suffering and pain will be removed, and God's reign of justice and mercy begins.

As disciples living in an impatient society, 2000 years from the Resurrection, how do we keep oil in our lamps and wait patiently for the Groom?

Perhaps Wesley's means of Grace provides one answer: by works of piety and works of mercy.

Works of Piety like studying the scriptures, prayer, regularly attending worship keeps oil in our lamps.

Works of Mercy like visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, seeking justice, ending oppression and addressing the needs of the poor keeps us awake.

What do you think keeping awake means in everyday life today, and when and where do you do it?

The Protesting Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds,

he went up the mountain;

and after he sat down,

his disciples came to him.

Then he began to speak, and taught them.

(from Matthew 5:1-12 )

It was customary for some Elementary school teachers to post a list of classroom rules at the beginning of the school year.

These rules set a code to live by so learning could take place and acceptable behavior defined.

When Moses met God on Mt. Saini, God gave him a set of rules, the Ten Commandments, to take to the people as a code of conduct.

The Commandments are a set of instructions on how to worship God and ethical behaviors

basic to Judaism and Christianity.

The first four concern relating to God and the remaining six are how God's people are to relate to each other.

When Jesus taught the disciples what is now known as the beatitudes, they were, first of all declarations of God’s grace.

When he sat down with the disciples, the beatitudes he spoke were not a list of "Thou Shall" nots, but a description of a series of contrasts between reality and Jesus' coming kingdom.

For example: when Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek”, in our world the meek don’t get the land, they get left holding the worthless beads. 

In the coming kingdom, God's eye is on them and they will inherit the earth.

This, says Jesus, is the way things are in the coming Kingdom.

Those meek do not have to do anything to attain the blessing of inheriting the earth, they have already been blessed. 

As we grow in God’s kingdom, we hope to become more like those named as blessed.

Think about it: How are the Beatitudes an act of protest against the current order of any time and place?