November 26, 2000
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Sneak-Peek at Christmas

"Now" and "Not Yet" Faith

How many of you have ever picked up a new book and flipped to the end, to the last chapter, to the last few pages to find out how the book was going to end? And then, moved back to the beginning to read through knowing where you were going to end up? Or, if you haven't used that unconventional way of reading, how many of you who have been busy and have ended up watching a rebroadcast of a football game or a baseball game? You've already heard the final score, you know who's going to win but still you watch so that you can see the things that happen along the way. When you know the end of the ball game in advance, you have a whole different response to the interceptions, the fumbles, the long runs, the completed passes because you know that whatever happens between the beginning of the game and the end, the team that is going to win has already been determined. You already have it in your head. It's a much different experience than wondering how it's all going to turn out, what the final word is going to be, the final winner at the end of the game. One of the interesting things that has come with all of this election decision and indecision is that the general public has been very patient through-out the whole process. All of us feel some irritation from time to time and maybe our feelings swing from one side to another depending on some of the responses are that are broadcast in press conferences. In general, everyone is willing to say we're going to let the process play out and when we're done, we're going to have a president. As Americans and believers in democracy we have confidence that the whole process is going to work out and that when we come down to inauguration day we will have somebody to swear into office.

Having confidence in the end, knowing what the end is going to be, can make a big difference in most anything at all. In seminary, when I was studying theology, I was introduced to the term "now and not yet." We are living in in-between times. We're not as the Jewish people are looking forward to God coming into our lives because we believe that in Jesus of Nazareth, God has already come into our lives. God has been revealed to us in a very definitive way. God has been revealed to us in a way that we can understand in the fullness of who our Creator is. Even believing that, we recognize that the world isn't perfect yet. There is bigotry. There is hatred. People judge one another deciding who is going to be saved, who is going to be damned. There are still people dying of disease and hunger and accidents and war. While we believe that God has come into our lives, we know that the last word hasn't been spoken yet. As Christians we also know the drama of Holy Week, Jesus' arrest and trial and crucifixion. We know the depths of despair when his disciples and followers thought that everything they had believed in had come to an end. Then the affirmation, the celebration of resurrection on Easter. It is knowing the end of the story. Knowing that whatever bad happens to us in life, whatever pain and suffering that there is, God's love will be the final word. Life will always be victorious over death. That doesn't mean we're not going to die. We all will die. That doesn't mean that if we believe in Jesus, we're never going to suffer, never going to experience pain or loss, because we will experience all of those things. What has been revealed to us in Jesus' death and resurrection is that the death and the pain and the suffering and the loss are never the last word. Love can always overcome. The relationships will never be broken because what has been lived and loved cannot be lost. So we live our lives in the in-between times in the "now and not yet." When we celebrate Christmas and the promise of a brand new baby, we also have to remember that all of that hope ended with arrest and crucifixion. It ended with pain and sorrow until God had the last word. What does that mean for us in our lives? We find it very easy to get excited about Christmas. We love gatherings with friends and family, sharing presents, extending generosity to strangers. We know what it is to hope for the future, hope for an end to war, an end to hatred. We have much more trouble getting excited about the idea that God is with us through all of the dark and difficult times in our life. In faith, we can affirm that we hopeful that God will provide a better world for us. The way we live out our daily lives is by trying to do all within our power to ensure that we will not have to experience the times of pain and suffering. We try to protect ourselves by gathering all that we can around us. We buy a wonderful home to prove that we are successful. We stash money in the bank, purchase life insurance, follow a healthy diet, and exercising regularly. We try to keep ourselves young, and protect ourselves from the pressures of the world around us. We try to insulate ourselves from any idea that somehow we have not lived our lives the way we should have. We live our lives struggling, carrying with us the hope and expectations of something that can happen in the future. But we are never quite willing to believe that it really has already come true. If we can remember we know what the ending is, then, instead of worrying about ourselves, we can reach out in love two others. Instead of worrying about whether we have qualified for God's love, we can live believing that God's love is for everybody. Instead of trying to secure our health or our future, we can live and enjoy the moment, the day, the relationship, the experience. We leave so much energy twisted up, trying to scramble through this day or this week or the next month, because we keep thinking maybe it's going to be better somewhere else. But if we really take to heart what we say we believe, then it is already better right now. God loves you just as you are. God loves each and every person. There is nothing in this world that God is not connected to, nothing in this world that God does not care about. There is no place that you can go that you are outside of God's love. In the church year, in the symbols of our faith, we say that God is all and all. God is the beginning and the end. God is the Alpha and the Omega. The days that we live in are the days between God's revelation in Jesus Christ and the time, wherever it is in the future, where God's love will be complete. As believers in Jesus Christ, as Christians, we're called on to live our lives in that knowledge of completeness. We are called to love and care for all people, for all living things, for the whole planet that we live upon. We are at the end of the church year, next week we begin advent, the beginning of the new church year. It's a perfect time for us to recognize the ends and the beginnings; the beginnings and the end. I pray that God's Spirit will be with us so that we might live faithfully. Thanks be to God. Amen.