April 7, 2024
II Peter 3:1-18
Introduction
A man by the name of Harry was a caretaker of a recreation lodge on Spirit Lake about five miles north of Mt. Saint Helens. For two months there had been a series of small earthquakes and steam venting episodes on the volcano located in Washington State. Everything happening was predictions that the great volcano would erupt with a devastating fury.
The Rangers and authorities urged Harry to evacuate, but he wouldn’t hear of it. His neighbors begged him to join them in their exodus. His sister pleaded with him to be sensible and leave. But Harry wouldn’t budge, ignoring every warning and every plea, responding to it all saying, “Nobody knows more about this mountain than Harry and it don’t dare blow up on him.” Yes, that’s the quote—naïve and in the third person.
We can only wonder in those first few seconds after Mt. Saint Helen’s mega-nuclear type explosion occurred on May 18, 1980, with its eruption column reaching 80,000 feet into the air, if Harry regretted his decision. Harry, along with 56 other people like himself, was not only caught in the blast that leveled the beautiful woodlands of the mountain terrain into toothpicks for hundreds of square miles, but it also created a tsunami of mud and ash that buried him, his cabin, and everything else.
Harry had all the signs to escape the wrath of the mountain, but he stubbornly ignored them all—ignoring all the signs for what turned out to be the worst volcanic eruption in United States history.
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I share this story because of course there has been much ado lately about tomorrow’s solar eclipse—an eclipse which has little ole Stow, Munroe Falls, Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge and the surrounding areas, right smack dab in the middle of “the path of totality!”
Now there was an eclipse of this kind in the continental U.S. back in 2017, but before then it hadn’t happened since 1918. And the next observable one in this area won’t happen for another 300 years. All of this means tomorrow’s eclipse is a big deal and states and communities are anticipating a flood of tourists to come into “the path of totality!” to watch the phenomenon and do so in celebratory ways.
And while this rare event rightly inspires celebratory recognition, some are using this event to ask an age-old question… Could all of this be a sign from God? And if it is, what does the sign mean? Is the eclipse the apocalypse and therefore we need to prepare ourselves lest we suffer the same fate as Harry? Or is tomorrow’s eclipse…just an eclipse?
Move 1
For centuries people have been trying to predict when Christ would return to earth and set in motion all the events of his second coming. It has been that one great curiosity so many want to know, and those who tried were all certain they had it figured out.
At the time of Jesus’ death, his followers and those who had joined the early Christian movement, all believed Christ’s return would happen within their lifetime. But then faithful followers started to die, and folks worried that since they were already dead, the eternal life Christ spoke about was now lost to them. They took Jesus’ teaching “he will come like a thief in the night” as he was coming soon. But what Jesus meant, was that when it came to his return, it would come not soon, but suddenly and without warning. So, until then, he implored the people, be faithful and “love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Unfortunately, this hasn’t changed the fact that for centuries, people have still tried to figure out, and then claim to have figured out, when Christ would return. And it always worries me when people choose to enact their faith by making apocalyptical predictions. Because when they do, when they study their bible to figure out when Jesus’ return will be, the Good News becomes only an apocalyptical-doomsday warning to watch out, or else.
But is that what the Good News of Jesus Christ is about? Or is the Good News of Jesus Christ about the incarnation of “God with us”—Emmanuel? Is the Good News of Jesus Christ about finding hope, peace, joy, love, and learning about the promise and opportunity for forgiveness and everlasting life? Is the Good News of Jesus Christ about loving God with all our hearts and minds and spirits and loving our neighbor in like manner? Is the Good News of Jesus Christ about how he willingly died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins?
All the time, all the study spent trying to predict and determine when Jesus will return, when the apocalypse will happen, produces nothing more than the mocking of faith Peter talks about, “…the scoffers will come, scoffing and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming?’” Trying to fulfill that promise ourselves by predicting when it will come, was never a way Jesus told us to share and spread the Good News.
Peter has said to us today, “Yes, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, but while we wait, strive to be found by him at peace, and regard the patience of the Lord as salvation. Beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Effectively sharing and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ comes from those who are patient with God, and from those who are willing to fulfill their ministry until it ends, not by looking for it to end.
Move 2
In 2017, Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of world-renowned evangelist, Dr. Billy Graham, thought that year’s eclipse was going to be an eschatological event, stating such in a blog titled, Is God’s Judgment Coming on America? Lotz wrote, “People are preparing to mark this significant event with viewing parties at exclusive sites. The celebratory nature regarding the eclipse brings to my mind the Babylonian King Belshazzar who threw a drunken feast the night the Medes and Persians crept under the city gate. While Belshazzar and his friends partied, they were oblivious to the impending danger. The next day Belshazzar wound up dead, and the Babylonian empire was destroyed.”
Lotz added, “While no one can know for sure if judgment is coming on America, it does seem God is signaling us about an opportunity.” Admittedly, I’m inclined to agree with her—God is signaling us about an opportunity. However, I don’t think we agree on just what the opportunity is God is signaling us about.
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Christianity makes the brazen claim that Jesus of Nazareth is the end of history. On the one hand, in Jesus, history as we know it has come to an end. But, on the other, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the realized hope of all human existence. Because of his life, death, and resurrection, we have hope for abundant life and life eternal. The kingdom of God has come near; and it is in our very midst. This doesn’t mean; however, the Gospel has ushered in a new era of social progress as extreme liberal Christians would have it. Nor does it mean, as extreme conservatives insist, that only the doctrinally pure will have their pie in the sky after a militant Messiah returns to earth in a literal blaze of glory. Rather, in Jesus, history has been redeemed, humanity reclaimed as part of God’s ongoing activity in the world, while the forces of violence, despair, and death are undone.
The “end times” apocalyptical predictors talk about, unbeknownst to them, began two millennia ago, starting when a young virgin gave birth to Emanuel, “God with us.” And they have continued to this very day—we are still in them. And just as the birth of Christ marks the beginning of end times, the crucified and risen Christ reminds us that the future, God’s good future, is a guarantee. It is guaranteed through a revolution of forgiving, reconciling love that implores us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was sent by God, because God so loved the world that God would send God’s only son so that those who believe in him would not perish, but would have eternal life. He did not come to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. Doomsday apocalyptic predictors always seem to forget about John 3:16-17.
Conclusion
I don’t think tomorrow’s eclipse will be the apocalypse. But I also don’t think tomorrow’s eclipse will be just an eclipse. I think tomorrow’s eclipse is God signaling us an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to experience a unique, beautiful, and wonderous part of God’s incredible creation. It’s an opportunity to be in community with our neighbors and share in this rare and special event together. It’s an opportunity to be reminded that though we are small, and the universe is enormously vast, we are still God’s beloved.
We do not know when these end times will end. We don’t know when the apocalypse will happen. All we know is that today is a day God has given us, and opportunities abound. We know that tomorrow is a special day, and opportunities abound.
So let us ask ourselves… How will be respond to the opportunities God puts before us? Will we respond by trying to figure out when the opportunities will run out. Will we respond by ignoring the signals God is giving to us to pay attention and take action? Or will we respond by believing and living and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ?
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There’s a wonderful quote by Martin Luther I was reminded of this week. Luther said, “If I knew the world was going to end tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today.” Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, April 7, 2024
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.”
These words of the Psalmist remind us Holy God, how it is by your hand all creation came into being. How it is by your power the vastness of the universe is so great, yet you are fully present to us your holy and beloved children. The immensity of it all is overwhelming…and yet you make it that we are a significant piece of your creation.
Magnificent Creator, in the midst of the excitement of the total solar eclipse—a great natural wonder soon taking place—help us to see that while the moon eclipses the sun’s light, and casts a great shadow upon us—that it is all by your hand, and there is beauty and wonder to behold, a sight that can remind us not only do the seas and the wind obey your command, but also do the celestial bodies of the universe.
Help us too, to see tomorrow, and in everyday, the opportunities before us to show and share the Good News of your Son, our Savior, Jesus. Help us not to miss these opportunities because we know so many of our neighbors live as if a shadow is cast over their lives every day, and there is little to no hope for it to be dispelled. But we know, and can help others know, that the light of the world is able to turn back the shadows that engulf our lives, and fill us with hope, peace, joy, and love.
And as we get ready for the grandeur of your eclipse tomorrow, we ask for you to be with, and bless, all those who will be working to keep our communities and our guests safe, healthy, and well. In addition to our excitement and glee, bless us all with patience and kindness, ease any worries we have by keeping us mindful that we all gather to take in, and experience the wonder of your power and majesty.
We ask that you would listen now, to the prayers of our hearts, as we share them in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”