Trinity Sunday 2010

Preached at All Saints Chapel Free Catholic Church

on the First Sunday after Pentecost - Trinity Sunday

30 May 2010

by: The Rt. Rev. Mark W. Leavell

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I started today’s homily and study in exactly the same way I have done since the earliest days of my ministry… by invoking the blessing of God, and by cloaking myself in the Name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I do this for one simple reason: That I may keep before myself the very nature of the God I attempt to present through my preaching; and to keep before you the foundational and fundamental truth of our faith… that there is only one God, who wonderfully and mysteriously exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We call this three-in-one existence and nature of God the Tri-unity… better known as the Trinity.

Today is the first Sunday after Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday. It is the day on which we celebrate the very nature of God. We celebrate that God is one. We celebrate that God exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We celebrate that God – our God – is so big and so mysterious that it really is impossible for our small little minds to properly understand or grasp the concept that One God could exist as three distinct personalities.

That concept of the Tri-unity or Trinity stretches our abilities of reason. I have to confess, that even after many years of study, many years of practicing the Christian Faith, and many years of leading others to experience the salvation offered by and in and through this Triune God, I still do not fully understand the nature and concept of God existing as three in one.

But while I may not fully understand it, I have not doubts. Even while I may not be equipped to adequately explain it, I still believe. And whilst I will always struggle with this deep theological concept, as others have for centuries, it does not limit my ability or desire to share this faith with others.

All I can do is accept, by faith – a faith based on the Holy Scriptures – that our God is one God… and he indeed does exist as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The closest thing we could use to perhaps help us understand and visualize this concept of three in one is to look at an egg. An egg is only one egg; but every egg exists as three distinct parts – the shell, yolk and albumen – or the white. No egg is complete without all three parts, all working together; each part of the egg doing its part to bring about the total purpose of that egg.

And so it is with the Trinity. Using the egg as a parallel for the Trinity, we see that the shell is like the Father – who is Creator of all. The yolk is like the Son – the Redeemer of all. And the white or albumen is like the Spirit – the Comforter of us all.

But even the example of an egg to explain the mystery of God’s nature is not completely adequate; and is like putting God in a box. God is too big, too mysterious, to wonderful for us to fully understand.

What is more… what kind of a God would he really be if we really could fully understand him… fully comprehend him… fully explain him and his nature. Would he not be a small and simple God? Could such a small and simple God really be God at all?

If we could fully understand him and explain him… then the critics and skeptics and cynics would be right…. That God is nothing more than a figment of our superstitious imaginations; that God is nothing more than the creation and invention of simple, superstitious, insecure, gullible, uneducated and unenlightened minds. That we simply made it all up as a way to explain what we don’t understand about nature or the universe.

And if we could explain God fully, then they’d have a reasonable argument. But let me ask you… If I were going to invent a God or deity as a way to explain what I don’t understand in nature or the universe… then why would I create some God or deity that I can’t even explain.

Why invent something that I can’t explain or understand to try to help me explain or understand other things that I don’t understand? That doesn’t make sense.

In fact, the pagans, and their gods prove my point. All the pagan gods and deities and religions of the world are all easily understood… easily explained. No mystery, no wonder, no questions, no explanations needed. When the ancients didn’t understand something… they simply invented another god to help them understand it. That’s why there’s the sun god, moon god, fire god, war god, love god, water god, death god… and on and on. When man invents a god… then man can explain and understand his god… because that god is no bigger, and no more mysterious than the imagination of the man who invented him.

However, if the reverse is true: That God invented man… that WE exist by the will and power of God, then man can never fully understand or explain that God.

THAT God would indeed be a mystery… THAT God would indeed be much bigger… and THAT God would indeed be much harder to figure out; because that God … by his very nature… would stretch the abilities, reason, and logic of the created man.

My friends, God indeed did create man; we exist in reality as figments of God’s imagination. If he chose for one second to stop thinking of us, we would simply disappear without a trace. Our God, the Creator, Savior, and Giver of Life that we proclaim each week in the Creed, really is too big, too wonderful, too powerful, and too mysterious for us to try to figure him out, or explain away, or fit neatly into a nice little box or package.

So… what’s the practical application of all this? Simply put, it’s all a matter of faith – Faith in God as God; Faith in God as Three-in-One; Faith in God as Creator, Savior, and Giver of Life. And our goal should not be to attempt the impossible by explaining God, but rather, to attempt the possible by experiencing God each and every day and sharing this God with others.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…” We may not be able to see God, but he sees us and we can know him by faith. We may not be able to explain God, but he can explain us and we can experience him by faith. We may struggle with our belief in God, but God believes in us. And we may not be able to understand God, but he understands us – what more could anyone want!

You see my friends, we often get things backwards. In our feeble attempts to reach UP to God, we miss the point that since the Creation of the world, this God has been reaching DOWN to us. He knows us, loves us, believes in us, and understands us… he understands our nature, understands our needs, understands our struggles. After all, he invented us… remember? So our goal should not be to attempt to fully understand or explaining God, but rather, to attempt to fully experience his love, joy, and peace; and to live the life he gave us more fully and more abundantly. That is why Jesus came DOWN to us… that we might have LIFE and have it more abundantly!

And we can experience this God – this Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who keeps reaching down to us by placing our trust and faith and complete confidence in HIM. That is what it means to have faith…

And when we stop trying to fully explain this wonderful, mysterious, awesome God, and start trying to experience this wonderful, mysterious, and awesome God… then our entire life will be impacted in ways we’d never dreamed of. When we open the eyes of our faith, and let God be God in our life, that’s when we really start living.

And when we open our hearts in faith to God’s love, and in return try to love him with back our whole heart, we then are blessed with that strength we need to live in this world; we then are blessed with that power we need to overcome ourselves; and we then are blessed with that joy and peace we need, and that God intended for us to have, when he reached down and created us; when he reached down and became ONE of us – in and through his Incarnate Son – Jesus Christ.

So many Christians struggle in their faith because they want to “feel” something, when all they really have to do is to accept a simple yet profound fact – that God is real and he believes in us. So many Christians keep struggling to reach up to God, when all we need to do is recognize one simple yet profound fact - that God is reaching down to us.

So many Christians keep struggling to reach the sky and are always asking “why” when all they really need to do is simply, quietly, and logically embrace completely this wonderful, mysterious, loving God; and really take to heart what we confess with our mouths each week in the Creed… that we DO believe in One God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… and that we are going to live each and every day empowered by this Triune God who created us, saves us, and gives us life – abundant life, joyful life, peaceful life, eternal life, and life full of His glory.

This morning, as we say the Creed together, let the truths contained in those words renew your faith and help you to once more realize the joy and wonder that comes from believing in a God who believes in us, and loving a God who loves us.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

America at War (1775 to Present) - Memorial Day

Remarks to be presented at the Civil War Grave, Dinwiddie, Virginia
on Sunday, 30 May 2010 - Memorial Day Weekend.
By: The Rt. Rev. Mark W. Leavell, Th.D.

We gather here at this simple grave marker on this Memorial Day Weekend, to pay tribute to those who have fallen in the Nation’s many and diverse wars and conflicts. With this wreath we honor their memory, and with this flag we honor their service and sacrifice.

This simple stone marker from America’s most bloody war, is representative of all Americans of every race and color, who have died in armed conflict. And to the end that we do not forget them - or their sacrifice - I share with you the number of Americans killed in each of our wars since our Founding as a Nation.

The War of Independence

(1775-1783)

25,000

The Quasi-War

(1798-1800)

20

The Barbary Wars

(1801-1815)

35

The War of 1812

(1812-1815)

20,000

The 1st Seminole War

(1817-1818)

30

The 2nd Seminole War

(1835-1842)

1,500

The Mexican-American War

(1846-1848)

13,283

The 3rd Seminole War

(1855-1858)

26

The Civil War / War Between the States

(1861-1865)

623,026

The Indian Wars

(1865-1898)

919

The Spanish-American War

(1898)

2,446

The Philippine War

(1898-1902)

4,196

The Boxer Rebellion – China

(1900-1901)

37

The Mexican Revolution

(1914-1919)

35

The Haiti Occupation

(1915-1934)

146

World War 1

(1917-1918)

116,708

The Russia Expeditionary War in Siberia

(1918-1920)

615

The Chinese Occupation

(1918-1937)

5

The Occupation of Nicaragua

(1927-1933)

68

World War 2

(1941-1945)

407,316

The Korean War

(1950-1953)

36,914

The Cuban Invasion

(1961)

4

The Vietnam War

(1964-1973)

58,169

The Invasion of Dominican Republic

(1964-1966)

13

The Civil War of El Salvador

(1980-1992)

20

The Beirut Occupation

(1982-1984)

266

The Persian Gulf Support Operations

(1987-1988)

39

The Invasion of Grenada

(1983)

19

The Invasion of Panama

(1989)

40

The Persian Gulf War

(1991)

269

The Occupation of Somalia

(1992-1993)

43

The Bosnian Wars

(1995)

12

The Kosovo Wars

(1999)

20

The War on Terror - Afghanistan

(2002-2010)

1,084 ... and counting

The War on Terror - Iraq

(2003-2010)

4,400 ... and counting.

Since our Founding as a Nation

1,316,732 Americans have been killed

in 35 different wars, occupations, invasions,

and other types of armed conflicts.

The United States of America fought its first war starting in 1775. That war was fought for liberty and independence, and to establish peace and domestic tranquility. However, since our founding as a Nation of liberty and peace, we have in reality been a nation of war. Since our founding 235 years ago, there have only been 90 years of so-called “peace” for this county. That means that for 145 years of our 235 year history, we have been at a state of war or armed conflict with someone, somewhere in the world.

If one divides the number of Americans killed in wars and conflicts, by the age of our country - that equals 5,603 Americans dead for each year that we have existed as a nation.

The longest period of this so-called “peace” in our nation’s history only lasted for 17 years – from 1818 to 1835 between the First and Second Seminole Wars.

On average, the United States is at war every 7 years. Since 1901, that average drops to 5 years. This means that nearly every president since George Washington has talked of peace, but has led the Nation to war for one reason or another.

Today, we continue to talk of peace, and we condemn war with our words; but are even now engaged in two wars, and may be looking to start another one war with Iran, and may be drawn into yet another war with Korea and the Chinese – again.

The promise of America is good and always has been; yet there remains a serious flaw in the character of any nation who spends more than 60% of its national time and energy, and collective natural resources engaged in war. Despite the many political and international challenges the world faces, I believe we can find a way to get along with other nations and not serve as the world’s policeman. I believe we can make better use our time and resources in building a better world – a more stable and peaceful world, whilst maintaining an adequate defense for ourselves and of ourselves. I believe if we removed the glory and glamour and ease of governments using war as a diplomatic tool, we could indeed see a world with less conflict. There has to be a better way to resolve conflicts than destroying whole nations and civilizations, and killing each other. Yes, today, we honor our dead whilst we grieve for the families – both past and present.

The widow for whom no husband shall return.

The children for whom no father will return.

The parents for whom no son or daughter will return.

The families that will never exist –

because so many young people who dreamed of a family...

... died.

The untold wisdom, intellect, and potential of each and every generation in our Nation’s History...

...all Lost because of war.

1,316,732 – the number of dead Americans we honor today. If we truly seek to honor them, then let us resolve within ourselves to protect our children and their grandchildren from ever experiencing the fear, destruction, deprivation, and death that comes with war. Let us resolve to be the children God has intended us to be. Because Jesus said -

“Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called the children of God ….”

(Matthew 5:9)

Let us pray… Almighty God, on this Memorial Day weekend, kindle, we pray, in every heart a true love of peace; and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that in tranquility your Kingdom and Dominion may increase until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Amen.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step i take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.

The Language of Love

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday 2010
All Saints Chapel Free Catholic Church, Dinwiddie, Virginia


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

« Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son Fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point, mais qu'il ait la vie éternelle... » (French)

„Denn so hat Gott die Welt geliebt, daß er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, damit jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht verloren gehe, sondern ewiges Leben habe.“ (German)

“Dio infatti ha tanto amato il mondo da dare il suo Figlio unigenito, perché chiunque crede in lui non muoia, ma abbia la vita eterna.” (Italian)

“Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam...” (Latin)

“Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado á su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.” (Spanish)

Despite my limited ability in French, German, and Italian, I have just shared with you in several different languages, the most famous verse in all of the Bible…John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This verse is the very heart and soul of the Gospel Message; and no matter how you say it, it still comes out that God loves us. It is appropriate that today, we hear that message of God’s Love in different languages, because today we observe Pentecost Sunday.

On this day, nearly 2000 years ago, God fulfilled his promise to the world, by sending us his Holy Spirit. Ten days after Jesus ascended back into Heaven, those early disciples gathered together in prayer just as Jesus had instructed them so that they might wait to receive the power he promised, in order to proclaim the message of God’s unconditional and total love for the whole world.

It is on this day – Pentecost Sunday – that the Church…that beautiful, mystical, universal, and catholic body of Christ was born. And finally it was on this day that the Salvation of God through Christ was made available, not only to the Jews to whom and through whom Jesus came, but to every single man, woman, boy, and girl in the world. Because, as we have heard – God loved the WORLD so much, that he sent his Son; so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

In his great love for the Human Race, the great God of the Universe sent Jesus his only Son to take our human form, to live and die as one of us, in order that through Him, the whole world would be saved. As we say sometimes in the Eucharistic Prayers – “He stretched out his arms of love on the hard wood of the cross, so that everyone might be received into his loving embrace.”

It’s a radical concept that we have discussed during these past several weeks of Easter – that Jesus Christ came to earth, was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, died on a cruel Roman Cross, was buried and rose again from the dead, and ascended back into heaven to make available to us the eternal salvation that we ourselves could not have achieved.

Because of our disobedience and rebellion against God, God would have been justified in wiping out the entire human race. Why? Because time and time again, through Moses and the prophets…through the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law, God tried to turn the rebellious hearts of humanity towards him. But we as humans rejected all that, choosing instead to live and go our own way…to do our own thing…and we still do.

But instead of just wiping us out, as he once had done before – in the Great Flood – God continued to show his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, God sent his Son Jesus to die for us…and to pay the price of our reconciliation. And all we have to do to know joy, and peace, and to have the hope of eternal life is to embrace the Savior Christ, and determine to live for him the best way we can. That is the message of the Gospel of Christ…that he came, died, and rose again all because God loved us.

And no matter how one says it, or what language one uses, the message is still the same…”For God so loved the world…” That, my friends, is the Language of Love.

And it was on Pentecost Sunday, the ancient festival of the Jews, that God poured out his Holy Spirit, and gave the disciples the power and ability to proclaim that message of God’s love to the entire known world. On that day, as they prayed, the Holy Spirit came with great power, and touched and filled each one of those in that room; and as He did so, they began spontaneously to proclaim aloud the Good News of God’s love for everyone to hear. As they spoke, something miraculous happened. These uneducated, unlearned and unsophisticated men, without any prior training or knowledge, began to speak in other languages.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples proclaimed the mighty deeds of God’s Love in the many different languages spoken in their day; languages which those who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost would hear and would understand. As we have seen from the First Lesson today, they spoke Ethiopian, and Egyptian, and Persian, and Latin, and Greek, and a host of other languages for the benefit of those who had come to Jerusalem from all around the Roman Empire.

As they spoke, people began to listen. Some just laughed thinking that these men were drunk. They scoffed as they heard the message of God’s Love. And today, many people still laugh and scoff at the message of God’s love. Despite hearing it in ancient or modern English, they fail to respond, choosing instead to go their own way.

But others who were there heard the wonderful things that God had done; and as the disciples spoke…and were moved. Ethiopians heard – God loves you. Persians heard – God loves you. Romans heard – God loves you. Greeks heard – God loves you. And yes – the Jews heard – God loves you. And later on that day, when Peter stood up and explained what was happening… 3000 people responded to the Language of Love. They embraced the message of this Savior Christ and were Baptized into the Body of Christ.

It was a day unlike any other day in the history of mankind…because salvation had finally come to the world; and the Holy Spirit moved and worked in his mystical way in the hearts and lives of thousands.

And today, he continues to do that same work. The Scriptures teach in John 16, that the work of the Holy Spirit has 3 parts…

1 – To show the world their sin
2 – To show they way to righteousness
3 – And finally, to show the judgment that awaits us if we fail to respond.

Through the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, through the sharing of this message of God’s love, the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and minds men and women, boys and girls. He shows them the errors of their ways and the desperation of continuing therein. He uses the words of the Scriptures to convince us that we are all sinners – each and every one of us. Then, once we recognize our sinful and rebellious nature, the Holy Spirit shows us that God still loves us; that we can be forgiven for all we have done, and that we can know joy, and peace, and love, and hope – hope for this world, and the blessed hope of everlasting life in Heaven with this same God who loves us so much.

After we open our hearts to his grace and love, this same Holy Spirit then comes to us and fills us with the same power and presence of God those early Disciples experienced. In and through our Baptism – and the other Sacraments, we experience the Grace of God’s Love, the Power of God’s Love, and the Joy of God’s love. The Holy Spirit fills our souls, and we are empowered to do the work of sharing the Language of Love with others.

So no matter how you say it, no matter what language you use, the message of the Language of Love is always the same… God loves us, Christ died for us, and all we have to do is this…

« Crois au Seigneur Jésus, et tu seras sauvé. » (French)

„Glaube an den Herrn Jesus, und du wirst errettet werden.“ (German)

“Credi nel Signore Gesù e sarai salvato tu.” (Italian)

“Crede in Domino Iesu et salvus eris tu” (Latin)

“Cree en el Señor Jesucristo, y serás salvo tú.” (Spanish)

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” (English)

That is the message of the Gospel; It is the point and power of Pentecost; it is the Language of Love – God’s love for entire human race; and we today – 2000 years later – who have embraced this love, and opened our hearts to the Savior, have been entrusted with that message… we have been entrusted with the Language of Love.

And the really neat thing about this Language of Love is you don’t need to speak a foreign language, in order to share it. The Holy Spirit showers each and every one of us with gifts and talents so that we can share the Love of God with those in our little corner of the world.

We can share the Language of Love in a thousand different ways…

- By working together to stamp out hatred and racism and injustice in the world.

- By stretching out a hand of tolerance and acceptance of others, no matter who or what they are.

- By feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and sharing the little we may have with those who have even less.

- By demonstrating a level of patience and compassionate – and yes, even forgiveness to others around us.

- By sharing our hope in Christ, with those who are have lost all hope.

- By engaging in a random and even anonymous acts of kindness that improve and bless the lives of others.

- By recognizing that each and every person we see – is a unique and special person, created by God in His very own image; and that God loves them too.

- And finally, by getting involved in your Church and in your Community to really make a difference in the world. This is the place where we learn of God’s love, experience God’s love, and are empowered to share God’s love with the world around us.

Yes… the Language of Love takes on many forms; not just in words, but in deeds… deeds and actions done in the Name of Christ and for His glory.

Imagine a world filled with Christians who have learned not only to speak the Language of Love, but who exercise their Holy Spirit given gifts and talents. Imagine a world where Christians not only believed all this, but actually lived it and demonstrated it each and every day. Imagine the impact we could make in the world – even our own little corner – if we would learn and share the Language of Love – God’s Love – in the same way that those early followers of Jesus did.

This week, during this First Week of Pentecost, allow that same Holy Spirit who filled those Disciples with power, to empower your mind, your heart, your tongue, and even your hands so that you may then go out there and demonstrate the Language of Love to a community that desperately needs it. This week, determine that you are going to explore and discover your own spiritual gifts – which the Holy Spirit has indeed given you; and then begin exercising those gifts to make a difference. And finally, let us prayerfully seek the Power and Passion of Pentecost to fill our Church - and all the Churches of the world, so that we too may share the Language of Love to this community and the world; and in the process see our Churches grow and grow. Who knows… maybe we too will see 3000 people respond to the Language of Love, just as they did on that first Pentecost Sunday.

May God grant us the power and passion of Pentecost, so that we too may be participants in changing and impacting our world for Jesus!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Ascension Day 2010 - Waiting on the Lord

Written by the Rt. Rev. Mark W. Leavell, Th.D., and

Preached at All Saints Chapel, Dinwiddie, Virginia

16 May 2010

In the Name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is the last Sunday of Easter for this year. It is also observed as Ascension Sunday, the day we celebrate the return of Jesus back into heaven after his Resurrection.

The message of Easter is that Jesus is alive. He is risen! The grave could not hold him. Death had no power over him. He rose again from the dead, and gave us the promise of everlasting life.

If the message of Easter is that Jesus is alive, then the message of the Ascension is that Jesus will return. Earth could not hold him. Gravity could not keep him from returning to his Father. And now, he sits enthroned in glory and majesty at the right hand of his Father. He is being worshipped as the King of kings and Lord of lords. This same King and Lord, will return from heaven some day, not as a baby in a manger; not as a humble, suffering servant; but rather, as the king and judge of all mankind.

When Jesus does return…

- He will not come back in poverty, but in power.

- Not in meekness, but in majesty.

- And not to suffer, but to separate…

o Separate the sheep from the goats; s

o Separate the believers from the non-believers,

o separate the true contenders for the faith from the pretenders of faith…

o and he will judge the living and the dead from all human history – some to eternal life and others to eternal separation from God.

When Jesus does return, whether it is today, or a thousand years from now, we who believe will also experience the power of his resurrection, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead; for the dead will hear that last great trumpet, and they shall be raised to life immortal. Our bodies – and the bodies of all our loved ones who trusted him for salvation – will burst out of those graves, out of those cremation urns, out of the seas, and out of anyplace folks’ mortal remain may rest… and we will be changed into the same kind of glorious body like Jesus has; and we will live and reign with Jesus Christ for ever and ever! This is the Blessed Hope of all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

So the logical question is “When will Jesus return?” Well… No one knows… except the Father. In the first lesson from Acts this morning, the Disciples asked Jesus when the end would come, when the Kingdom of God would arrive. Jesus told them it was not for them to know, but that the Father was in control of when that would happen.

No one knows when Jesus will return. The early disciples and early Christians lived each day as if Jesus would return on that day. They expected it. They woke every morning with the expectation that Jesus might come back today…and it affected everything they did. The Ascension of Christ and the promise of his return made a huge impact on the disciples and the early believers.

After all, they hadn’t really expected his resurrection, as we have seen during these past few weeks. They doubted, and some didn’t believe until right up to the end. But when Jesus had finally convinced them that he really was alive… those same disciples were changed. Once they believed that Jesus really was alive, it was easier to believe that he would come back. So they lived every day expecting just that – the return of Jesus. It motivated them to do what Jesus had commanded them to do. Do we have that same expectation? Are we as motivated in our hope and assurance?

Do we live each day with the hope and expectation that today – maybe today – Jesus might come back? If we did, it would change our entire perception of every day life and would immediately realign our priorities for living life every day.

As Jesus was about to return to Heaven, he had given his disciples that great Commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. He was handing over to these simple men, the continuation and actual completion of the work that he himself came to do. But Jesus also knew they would need some divine help if they were to actually do this work. So as Jesus was leaving, he told his disciples to go back to Jerusalem and WAIT; wait for the power they would receive through the Holy Spirit. So for the next 10 days, after Jesus went back to heaven, the disciples waited and prayed. Then on Pentecost – which is next Sunday – the Holy Spirit came with great power and great wonder, and filled those Disciples with heavenly power. With the power of this Holy Spirit – the SAME Holy Spirit that fills us today, those simple, uneducated men went out into the world and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and Christianity spread like wildfire, even in a world where it was illegal to be a Christian.

We could learn something from that. In our world today, we hear Christians whining and crying about the Government restricting this or that; we see Christians pouting and protesting because there is no government endorsed National Day of Prayer, or no prayer in schools, or no ten commandments in the courts. We have become so complacent and so dependent upon the Government that we even rely on the Government to protect and promote and proclaim our faith. But my friends, the early church did not enjoy government sanction and protection; Rome did not promote a National day of prayer in the Empire; and the early Christians certainly did not enjoy any special status except to be marked as traitors, seditionists, rebels, and enemies of the empire. Because they believed and worked – even at the cost of their lives, they built the Church and thousands were saved; but because today we whine and whimper – because it may cost us two hours on a Sunday morning, the Church is dying and thousands are lost.

So I say we need to follow the example of the disciples, follow the example of the multitude of saints and martyrs, who instead of looking to the emperor for protection, looked to the King of glory; who instead of depending on the authorities in Rome to protect their faith, they depended the authority in the Scriptures; and who instead of seeking special days and proclamations from the king, went out seeking souls to save, and proclaimed the message of the King. Imagine a world were Christians today stopped pouting and started praying… stopped whining and started working… stopped pretending and started contending… and stopped depending on the power of the Government to save their faith and Churches, and started depending on the power of the Gospel to proclaim their faith and FILL their churches.

The early Church knew this, lived this – even when faced with certain death for knowing and living it – and they changed the world because they had received the power of the Holy Spirit and cherished the promise of Christ’s return… a promise that made as he was taken up into heaven.

But Jesus also gave the disciples some specific instructions before he was taken up. He told them first, to go back to Jerusalem and second, to wait… wait for the power that would come to them and enable them to do all these things in a world filled with hostility and obstacles. Go back and wait.

Sounds kind of strange at first, to be told to do something, but first, before you being, go back and wait. But waiting is an important ingredient in how God works in our lives and in the world.

We don’t like to wait. Waiting can be tough. Waiting can be exhausting. Waiting can be aggravating. Waiting can be maddening. Anyone who has ever served in the military will be familiar with the expression, “Hurry Up and Wait!” Hurry up and wait is the soldier’s standard response to almost everything that happens in the Army. From mail call to chow call… from preparing for a parachute jump to just reporting in for guard duty, it seems, as I recall, that we would rush to get ready, be pushed to be on time, be yelled at to get the lead out, only to end up in some line somewhere, and having to wait. Sometimes that wait would be long… and sometimes that wait would even be longer! In the 11 years I spent in the Army, I don’t remember a single occurrence where we rushed to get ready for some activity, and that activity or mission start immediately. There was always a period of waiting.

The same is true in regular, every day life. We do a lot of rushing around, only to find ourselves waiting. We rush to the supermarket before it closes, only to stand in line. We rush out of the house in the mornings to go to work, only to sit and wait in traffic. We rush to the emergency room, only to sit there for hours on end, waiting to see a doctor. We rush to a certain retail super-mega-store, because prices are “falling again”, and then we end up having to wait in line at the registers…. 22 registers to be exact, which are staffed by only 3 of the slowest people on planet earth. By the time we get to actually check-out, it seems we’ve waited so long that the expiration date on our milk has already come and gone.

At every stage of life, we are faced with the sometimes annoying prospect of having to wait. And sometimes, it’s really hard to wait. We’ve all heard and said, “I can’t wait for…” whatever it is we are waiting for.

Children can’t wait until Christmas, or for school to end. Teenagers can’t wait until they get their driver’s license or their first car or for graduation. Young adults can’t wait until they finish college or get married. Couples often can’t wait until their children are born, and then can’t wait until they grow up and move out. Older folks can’t wait for retirement, or the day they can finally draw Social Security. And then, in the end, many folks can’t wait until they get to heaven and are reunited with all their loved ones who have gone on before.

All through life, we are faced with the prospect of waiting. And often times, we get impatient when we have to wait. That impatience can lead us to make snap and hasty decisions, in an effort to rush things along a bit. It can lead to frustration, and stress and high anxiety and even mistakes. But waiting is an inherent part of being alive; and how we wait, and what we do while we wait, is often just as important as realizing the thing we are waiting for.

Jesus told the disciples to wait. He didn’t want them to go off half-cocked, but to wait for the power they would need to do the work he wanted them to do. That’s an important lesson for us to remember and to practice in our lives. We have to be careful in our hurried, rushed, impatient lives, not to go off half-cocked, and attempt to do what God wants us to do, in our own strength and power.

Too often, we try to rush God along… we pray once or twice about something, and then expect an instant answer… like instant messaging or email. We ask God to show us his will, and fill us with is wisdom and grace, and then we get impatient because we have to wait.

But there’s a reason that God often makes us wait for the answers… and most often it’s because we are not really ready to receive that answer or to experience what God has in store for us, or to do what he wants us to do. And sometimes, we are made to wait, because what we’ve prayed for is not what’s best for us – and God knows that. Our heavenly Father knows what’s best for us, and he knows what we’re ready to do and to receive…. And he knows when it’s best to receive it. So he makes us wait… and when the answer does come, we’re ready for it.

This is true even in our little Church. For almost 5 years, we waited and prayed for a building… a permanent home. Several times, we came close – there was that Jehovah Witness Hall for sale that we tried to get… but it fell through. Then there was the Ace Hardware store that we waited for and waited for and waited for… it it fell through. We would get all excited, make all kinds of plans for raising money, talk about ways to pay for it, and were convinced that WE could do it. We even prayed and asked God to show us his will. And you know what… God answered those prayers… he made us wait.

And looking back, it was exactly what we needed, because at the time, we really weren’t ready – and God had other, more wonderful things in store for us – if we would just wait…

God gave us the answer he wanted us to have… wait! And look what that prayerful, patient waiting did for us… here we are in this magnificent, historic old Church, where the Gospel has been proclaimed for almost 170 years – and God has brought us here to this place at this time so that we may continue that proclamation.

I know that waiting for the Lord can be tough. It’s like waiting at the DMV… frustrating. And the scriptures are full of folks who tried waiting on the Lord and ended up taking matters into their own hands… and made a mess of things. But waiting on the Lord is important if we are to know the full power, and receive the full benefit of his grace for our lives. The Scriptures teach us this…

In Isaiah 40, we read these words…

²⁸Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, Creator of the earth. He never gets weary or tired; his wisdom cannot be measured. ²⁹The LORD gives strength to those who are weary. ³⁰Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall. ³¹But those who wait [trust] on the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.

That phrase “Wait on the Lord” in this passage could also be translated “Trust” or “Hope in the Lord.” If we truly trust the Lord, if we have placed our hopes in him, then we should be more willing to wait on him, and to wait… and to believe that ultimately we will know his wisdom and will.

The Disciples were told to wait… and if they did, they would receive the power necessary to be the witnesses that Christ wanted them to be…. And have the strength to accomplish all that Christ had commanded them to do. Christ wants us to wait too… to wait on him. To Trust him.

For all of us here at All Saints, even though we find ourselves blessed by this new location and wonderful facility, we still must wait on the Lord for a lot of things; and we will indeed realize them – when we’re ready and when God is ready for us to have them.

But as we wait, we need to stay busy, doing what we know already to do. During this summer, we have a wonderful opportunity to step back and reflect a bit, to prayerfully and carefully define and sharpen who and what we are and what we want to be as a Church, and what we want to do in the future, especially when Fall comes.

We are entering a time of waiting… but while we wait, we will stay busy planning and praying and waiting for God to lead us and empower us in our efforts to reach this new neighborhood with the message of God’s love, joy, and peace. This, I believe will empower us and reinvigorate this ministry, and bring a breath of revival to this area. Folks around here will sit up and take notice – because we waited patiently on the Lord.

So this summer, as we scale back a little bit in a few of our programs, and look to reinvent things… we will have a wonderful opportunity to spend time with our families, to pray, to meet, and to discuss our programs and direction; and to grow – spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

This summer will be a time of waiting, a time of refreshing, a time of renewal… because when fall comes, we’ll be busy again. So use this time wisely, and wait on the Lord with me. It really is a luxury, that many Churches never seem to grab onto – the opportunity to pause and pray and wait on the Lord to show us what he wants us next to do.

And while we wait… we don’t want to worry, don’t want to get anxious, don’t want to get impatient, and don’t want to go off half-cocked. We’ll just keep your eyes on Jesus, and when we’re ready, just like those Disciples, we will receive the power and wisdom and grace we need – both in our personal lives as well as in our life together as a Church – to do all that Jesus wants us to do. Amen.