Sermon - Luke 21:5-19

Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

I graduated from seminary on May 21, 2011. During our last weeks of school leading to graduation day, my entire class was experiencing the typical anxieties and emotions that accompany the end of one’s senior year. We were facing final exams, we were completing final projects and papers, some of my colleagues were waiting for assignments to synods, some were already interviewing for future calls, and we were anticipating the many ways in which life would be different after May 21 when seminary would finally come to an end. And, throughout those last weeks of school, we continually saw these big billboards throughout the Columbus area, one of which was located near the seminary. On each of these billboards, one would find some version of the following message: The world is going to end on May 21, 2011. This message was being publicized throughout the area by a fundamentalist “false prophet” who, apparently having reflected upon the state of the world, including multiple wars, natural disasters and political chaos, found plenty of fodder for his apocalyptic prediction. Anyway, this false prophet was sure Jesus was going to be returning on May 21, 2011 and the world was going to end. He wanted everyone to be ready. So, this became the running joke throughout the entire seminary community – the world was going to end on graduation day!

Now, quite honestly, there are people in every generation who, when they look the state of the world, think they are reading certain signs and then proclaim the end of time is coming if not upon us. Yet, it is not clear that various forms of natural disaster and political chaos are in any way apocalyptic because only God knows the end of time. We do not! So, in today’s apocalyptic gospel reading, Jesus’ directions to the disciples concerning what they ought to do in times of chaos and destruction were quite challenging then and they are equally challenging for us today.

Biblical apocalyptic writings were not given to predict the end of time. They were given to help people stay faithful and live with a sense of courage, hope and comfort when times are extremely difficult. And, our gospel reading today suggests Jesus is preparing his disciples for a future that will likely become more difficult. The gospel of Luke was written decades after Jesus’ death. By that time, the Temple had already been destroyed. But the Word and witness of Jesus remained in the midst of chaotic and dangerous times. Luke reminds early Christians of the need to be ready, to remain faithful and to endure in the face of uncertainty, great risk and societal violence. As Luke’s Jesus speaks to them about the future and events to come, he describes three things saying, “Imposters will come and try to trick the faithful; war and conflict will rage on; and natural disasters will be prevalent.” Assuring the disciples that the end times are in the future and these things will not all happen at once, he then gives them this odd and perplexing advice which basically means, “This will give you an opportunity to testify, and your testimony must not be rehearsed or canned. Rely on the incontestable wisdom that will be given you in the moment. And the reward for your testimony and your endurance of these catastrophic events will be the gaining of your very souls.”

Now, I must say these words are daunting as Jesus seems to be communicating a message that says suffering becomes an opportunity for testimony. After all, when we testify to what God has done in our lives, we are usually giving praise to God for times that are good, thanking God when people are healed, thanking God for the things we consider blessings. And, in the Bible, we find people giving testimony describing how God has led them from slavery to freedom, how God has made a way when there was no way in sight, or how God has acted to save people in distress. Quite honestly, as we think about times of challenge, we do not often find ourselves giving testimony to God in the face of betrayal, great suffering, great hatred or even something as horrid as the execution of loved ones. Really, what kind of testimony does one give in such times?

Author, Shawn Copeland, writes, “Suffering always means pain, disruption, separation, and incompleteness. It can render us powerless and mute, push us to the borders of hopelessness and despair.” (Wading through Many Sorrows: Toward a Theology of Suffering in Womanist Perspective, p. 109)

Yes, suffering can push us to the boundaries of hopelessness and despair. Jesus knows this. You see, suffering does change people – some become defeated while others somehow muster the courage to face fear. And, suffering provides an opportunity for those who have been changed to really tell of their hope in the depth of the struggle they have endured. Such hope bears witness to the God who is deeply present in the depth of the struggle and suffering.

One example of such reliance on hope and God’s presence in the midst of great suffering and adversity is the testimony of Thomas Dorsey. Dorsey was the composer of the well-loved hymn, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” and his remarkable testimony was born out of loss, grief and chaos. Born in Georgia in 1899, Dorsey was the son of a Baptist minister and he became a prolific African American songwriter and gospel and blues musician. As an adult, he moved to Chicago where he found work as a piano player in the churches, theaters and clubs. He struggled to support his family by somehow balancing his work between playing in clubs and churches. But, he ultimately devoted his work exclusively to the church.

In August of 1932, Dorsey left his pregnant wife in Chicago and traveled to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting in St. Louis. After the first night of the revival, Dorsey received a telegram that simply said, “Your wife just died.” Dorsey raced home and learned that his wife had given birth to their son before dying in childbirth. The next day his son died as well. Dorsey buried his wife and son in the same casket and withdrew in sorrow and agony from his family and friends. He refused to compose or play any music for quite some time.

While still in the depth of despair, Dorsey said that one day as he sat in front of a piano, a feeling of peace washed through him. The following words just came to Dorsey as he sat there:

Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand;

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night,

Lead me on to the light;

Take my hand, precious Lord,

Lead me home.

In the depth of his suffering, Dorsey’s words were honest testimony about his experience, yet words that communicated a trust and hope in the One who walks with us, even through the most difficult and chaotic times of life. These words came to him as gift and they became a testimony and gift to the world.

As we face various forms of natural disaster, political chaos, a deeply troubled world, and personal challenge, we can remember and trust that, no, this does not necessarily mean the world is coming to an end anytime soon. What we can trust is this: Jesus tells us God is always with us and gives us the strength to endure and remain faithful. We can remember that the words we speak in times of trial and challenge will come to us as gift. Christ possesses a wisdom our troubled world and his troubling opponents cannot calculate or even begin to comprehend. Christ will speak the Word of the kingdom through Christ’s church, of which we are a part. And, that Word is the creative and redeeming Word that created all things in the beginning and continues to create in its speaking as we allow God to work through us, the Body of Christ in this place.