Proper 28, Year C
November 14, 2004
Christ Church, Covington

“Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” (Lk. 21:7).

“People are complex”, said Father Jones, a priest mentor of mine and psychotherapist. “But some people are better at concealing themselves. Everybody has issues. We just don’t always see the signs.”

With that, lunch was over. I left Father Jones’ club and made my way home on the subway. Getting off at my stop I met a fellow student with news to tell. A friend of mine had attempted suicide that very morning. It was Easter Week. What had Father Jones said? People are complex. We all have issues. We just don’t always see the signs.

Jesus in our Gospel is talking about signs, the signs of the end time and the coming of the Messiah. Signs of chaos and disruption on a global scale. But still, signs that need interpreting. Signs, I guess, that are easy to miss. What’s going on around us, and within us, is not always easy to puzzle out. But we need to pay attention, because God is at work in it.

Now that’s the main point of this sermon: that God is at work in the events of our lives. God is doing something there, in those lives, and it’s important that we pay attention because it is not always clear what’s up. We don’t always see the signs, even within ourselves. What is God doing there? This is the big question, not just for preachers but for spiritual directors and for each of us as we try to listen for the word that God is speaking to us. What is God up to in our lives, in the world around us and within us? What’s afoot?

Insight is the thing we’ll need if we are going to be able to read the signs and understand the work that God is doing with us. Insight: penetration with the understanding. Father Jones, in my story, had insight; and Jesus in our Gospel has insight. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best…” (Phil. 1:9). Insight is that additional sense that Christians need to cultivate if they are going to be able to understand what God is doing in their lives.

So how will we cultivate insight? First, we must open our Bibles. If you’re saying “What Bible?” then this is a bad sign. Knowledge of Scripture is knowledge of Christ, and the Scriptures will always be our most fundamental spiritual director. We prayed in our Collect today that we might “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them”. Reflection on Scripture will lead us to reflect on God’s way with us. We cannot understand the significance of what’s happening in our lives if we don’t know how God has operated in the past. Reflection on the Scripture lets us listen to the voice of Christ.

Second, to have insight we need to listen to others. This is another way of listening to Jesus’ voice. Preachers are prone to speak without listening, an occupational hazard you might say, but we aren’t the only ones. What’s God trying to tell us through other people? Obedience begins with listening to each other (that’s the origin of the word), and to be obedient to what God is doing in our lives we need to learn from the insight of others.

Third, we need to cultivate peace and patience within ourselves. Insight into what God is doing in our lives is not attained overnight, and so in some cases just enduring what is happening is not just the only thing we can do, but in fact is the essential ingredient that will lead to insight. The hardest part will be finding within ourselves the peace that we will need to practice discernment, in the midst of the multitude of things that happen to us. But we’ll need that peace if we would have insight.

God’s at work in your life; you need eyes to see it and the insight to discern its meaning and to respond. What’s up with you? Are you noticing the signs? Open the Scripture, listen carefully to others, and cultivate the peace and patience that will help you understand.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.

Return to Recent Sermons

Home | About Christ Church | Schedule of Services | Newcomers | Sermons | Clergy & Staff | Vestry | Contact Us