Ripping Heaven November 30, 2008

Isaiah 64
Mark 13:24-37
At Advent we gather to be FAITHFUL, to WATCH, to Prepare for the Coming of Christ.
What sound do you imagine to see and hear for: “Heaven Ripping” as Christ enters in?
Would God entering our reality come in Silence, or Earthquakes,Thunder and Lightning, the Rush of a Mighty Wind, would the opening of the Firmament in the Heavens that separates Waters from waters be like Breaking Glass, or as Isaiah and Mark each elude to ripping would God Ripping Heaven to Come Down be like Paper being torn open?

This morning, just before dawn, I heard it. There was this sound of wind and rhythmic beating, then getting louder as it came closer the tumult of honking. I thought at first it was the sound of the returning Truckers Convoy with air breaks and horns, but then realized the sound was from the south and we all know there are no longer trucks on 41 and 41A. No, this was the sound of the Geese after resting for the night on their migration from Canada to points South. A sound like Heaven Ripping, that reminds us we are part of a larger Created Order, God does not come just for the faithful few but for all Creation.

A week ago as we read the Parable of the Last Judgment, Jesus is recorded as having separated sheep from goats, not Catholics from Protestants, not Christians from Muslims, not Church members from Those who only come on Christmas Eve, not even those who believe from those who do not. While the separation is between those who have acted with mercy and kindness, from those who have not, Christ enters in for all.

This week, we went to sit at table with family, to take a few days of vacation and rest, and there to realize just how blessed we are. Advent begins in that spirit of THANKSGIVING, not for what we have, or what we accomplished, but for what God has shown us. Thankful to God for all those who are part of our lives, who in their need have challenged us to step forward to act in faith, to pray for one another, who have blessed us by helping us serve and witness life differently.

While I thought I would have been glad to have been out of town, to miss the goings on this week, truly I am sorry to have missed THE PARABLE that what was reported took place, for it seems to have been HEAVEN RIPPING as Christ entered in.
Those who live and work on the main streets of our community have been fearful of the hundreds of trucks that drive through every night and day. The smell of garbage, the waste, the noise, the rattling and weight of these big rigs coming through intersections which led to the Governor banning all non-essential trucking to the Expressways. Caught up in this were farmers and local haulers, who also use the roads, and seemingly were being denied access. It was prophesied to be a day of irreconcilable confrontation and conflict, when in the midst of economic hardship, on Black Friday when stores try to turn things around from a balance sheet in the Red to Black, at the start of Holiday shopping, as tourists come to town for the Dickens Characters, the truckers would convoy all the way from the City of Auburn to where the road divides for Marcellus, Syracuse and Cortland. There were the sounds of traffic on the road. There were the honking of horns like geese, but rather than scaring people away, hundreds more came to witness, to show support of both sides, and to act with tolerance, seeking another way through our conflict. Not fighting, not harsh words, not anger, not rioting in the streets as happens after a basketball game or pennant series, but tolerance and support and great numbers turning out to try to find another way through conflict, that is the sound of Heaven Ripping open.

It is at a time like this that the Prophet Priest Isaiah called the people to CONFESSION. Different people have had differing emphases in worship, some emphasize RECEIVING, others OFFERING, others LISTENING to the Word, still others INTERPRETTING the Word, and others still SPEAKING in Tongues. But our origin as PRESBYTERIANS is as a people in CONFESSION. Our culture does not appear to value Confession. We learn to take responsibility, and to blame. Part of the Broken nature of our time is that our culture, our values, our principles are all based on Our WORD being our bond, our word being sacred to us. We have witnessed one person after another, swear to tell the truth, nothing but the truth, while being caught up in lies, half-truths and innuendo. Confession is not going into a closet, penitently whispering “Forgive Me Father For I have Sinned”, as Presbyterians we try to be more open and transparent, we can have one on one counseling, but we also emphasize our shared responsibility as part of one another's lives. Confession is a verb of naming what we represent to one another, who we are in relation to one another, in relationship to God, what we are thankful for, what we repent of and what we most need. Isaiah's confession is that throughout history there has been no other God! That we are a people who have sinned and suffered for it. And Isaiah asks the question of ADVENT: “O LORD, HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP SILENT, WHILE WE SUFFER?”

The Evangelist of Mark records this differently. According to the Evangelist, Jesus Never named himself as God, or as the Son of God. In fact in the whole of Mark, the only time Jesus is ever referred to as the Son of God is at the CRUCIFIXION, because for the evangelist everything needs to be understood through Jesus Suffering For Us and remaining true to the Covenant with God. The name Jesus uses instead of Son of God, is to identify himself as THE SON OF MAN. An Apocalyptic Title which names that one could suffer for the sake of all, that just as the President could represent the Nation, as a King could be one with their nation, so also the Son of Man could be one who suffers for all, the Savior of the Nations.

The question we must ask ourselves is who we believe we are?
Do we imagine ourselves to be God in our own universe? Are we Protestors roaring through the lives of others? Are we Citizens who want everyone to go away and allow us to live without others? Do we want to be Christians?
Recognize that Christ identified himself as one who suffers for others, who did whatever was necessary to bring dissonant voices together in harmony. We do not need to be Messiahs, God already sent one of those for us all, for all the world. BUT according to the Gospel of John, Jesus final command was to Peter (that is to the Church) to Feed and Care for Christ's lambs. According to Matthew and Luke, the Great Commission, to Go into all the world spreading the Good News. According to Mark, the Commission Jesus left, his final words before he was Anointed and Betrayed and Tried and Killed for the world, was WATCH! For you do not know when the Master of this house will come, in the evening, in the morning, or when, lest God come and find you asleep in faith. WATCH!