The Season's Not Over - Kingdom of Christ Sunday
Author: Pastor Carolyn Hetrick
November 24, 2024
For the first time since I came to Grace, when I shared what
I’m about to say, one person was very happy and another said they were going to
boycott church. Don’t worry, it’s a football thing. The year was 1968, and
after defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the famed Ice Bowl to reach Super Bowl
II, the Green Bay Packers seemed in danger of
a letdown against the formidable Oakland Raiders. In his pregame speech to his
team, the late great coach Vince Lombardi acknowledged the indescribable
hugeness of the moment but underscored that acknowledgement with a very simple
path to victory-Forget the size of the stage, the ferocity of the opponent. Just
focus on the fundamentals. Imagine the coach getting everyone to come in
close for the pep talk- remember why we’re here, what this team’s about. The
season’s not over.
That’s how I want us to approach the words of John in
Revelation. He’s writing to seven churches in what we know today as the country
of Turkey. Seven different places, different contexts, different sets of people
and challenges. Each time he speaks to one of them, he ends with the same
thing- “let those who have ears listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
churches.” In other words, unlike other passages that are intended for everyone
regardless of their beliefs, this time John is speaking to the insiders then and now. us Church, this is that locker room
pep talk. And if it is hard to imagine how a couple thousand years ago matters
now, listen. The churches then were surrounded by lots of influences that drew
people away, there were competing ideas and influences, there was a strong
sense of worship of political leaders and athletes as gods and a real
concern among some that their faith was under threat of persecution, even if it
was not. Different people were putting their spin on things- and what was
right? Government tried to co-opt religious communities for their own ends,
confusing people. There were lots of reasons to need a pep talk. But first, we get these verses at the very
beginning that we can gloss right over, but let’s not.
“Grace to you.” It’s not the usual greeting then or now. “Grace”” can mean a lot of things, and we often focus upon forgiveness or mercy, but in
this case, it means “blessing.” When’s the last time someone began a
conversation with you by saying, “Blessings to you”? Here is the first thing I want us to ponder. What if Grace Lutheran Church, saw its identity as the “Blessings to you” church? Can you imagine how our interactions would be shaped by blessing each
other before we said
another word? How might even
that simple shift ground us in challenging times if our
interactions began with “blessings to you”? We do this in one sense each week
in worship when a pastor says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Blessing, love, one-ness in the Spirit.
Then John says “Peace to you,” using those
first words Christ shared with his followers after his death and his
resurrection. Words he
spoke into a room where their fears and
hurts were keeping them from being
at peace with themselves and each other. Jesus
said, “my peace I give to
you.” Peace beyond our
understanding. Peace that is not achieved by weapons
of empire and war or domination but by the love of
the one who loves us.
This kingdom is not of this world. It is not just a
new way of doing power and government with a Bible placed alongside it for
optics. Jesus Christ is above it all. And because Christ is the Prince of
Peace, threats and domination have no place in his kingdom, nor does the
nursing of grudges. This love is tricky business.
When we share the peace here, it begins
with a pastor saying, “The peace of Christ be with you
always” just before we share in the meal Jesus gave us together. It’s
about half an hour after we heard we are forgiven and freed, but sometimes it
doesn’t take long for our minds and hearts to fill right back up with what we walked in carrying. When we are not at peace we cannot see Jesus, and
we cannot hear love, just like those first disciples
who only recognized him in the breaking of the bread. To receive
“peace to you” if we stop and take it in is powerful medicine. We’ll
hear a reminder of the peace of Christ among us again today.
Grace and peace are the fundamentals that ground the pep talk. Focus upon them to reach
the victory the cross of
a humble servant forges for us. Then we can praise
the one who loves us and
freed us from our sins and makes us, can you believe it, us?! Makes us a kingdom serving
God. Lots of things can trap us and trip us up, but no matter what else we give ourselves
to, the
only one we should dedicate our lives to serving is the one who
builds a kingdom through grace
and peace and love.
The way we live in this kingdom, and not another, is by listening
to Jesus’ words to shape our words. And although the kingdom
is in the world, it starts here with remembering that of all the things we
can wield, our words can serve Christ’s kingdom or be the weapon that serves another. To
stay in the game if you will, we need regular pep talks so when we feel overwhelmed
or unsure, or weary, we can stay focused on the
goals of Christ’s kingdom. Our goal is to love not to judge. We
don’t have to fight each other for love to win.
Just focus on the fundamentals. John
and Holy Spirit are leading us and the owner of the team is Christ. Our job is
to play. To reach the goal of the fullness of the kingdom of love, not just
wait for it to arrive but be trapped by despair or resignation. SO now, here’s
the pep talk from John. A little tough love and a little encouragement. Please
do NOT focus on what someone else is doing, listen for how the Spirit is
speaking to you:
I know some of you are living in a place that tempts you to deny your faith, and some have given in to those words. Turn back. Listen to
the Spirit.
I know your works
and your endurance. You have no tolerance for evil, but you have abandoned love. Listen.
You have a great reputation, but you are living in the past. You have chosen to do nothing now. Wake up and strengthen what remains. Listen.
I know others are
saying untrue things about you that are slander. Don’t give in to
fear. Be faithful. Listen.
I know you think you need nothing. You do not see any need. Let’s
be honest. Let me show you. Listen.
I know your service and love and faith and endurance, but
some of you also tolerate the words of others that you know are wrong. Beware,
hold fast to my words. Listen.
I know you feel you have little power in this world but
endure. Hold fast. I have set before you an open door that no one can shut. Believe
it.
So there is it is- the pep talk. The God who loves us and
frees us and makes us a kingdom is on our side. The saints are cheering us on.
The season’s not done. So Church, let’s stay in the game. AMEN.
Copyright Rev. Carolyn K. Hetrick, 2024 All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission.
Sermon Text: Revelation 1: 4-8
4 John to the seven churches that are
in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who
is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and
from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the
ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his
blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of
him.
So it is to be. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”
says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
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