Sermon by the rev'd. Pamela Snare

Sermon
December 3, 2006
The Rev’d Pamela Snare

“People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world…when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near…when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:26a, 28, 31)

I have learned many things from Katrina. These are things that I thought I knew, and indeed knew in my head; but now I know them existentially, in my very bones, in my heart of hearts, in the deepest center of who I am.

One of these “lessons from Katrina” was very present to me as I prepared to preach on today’s readings, because Katrina shed a new light of experience and understanding on the word “apocalyptic.” “Apocalyptic” is used to describe that type of literature in the scriptures which speaks of revelations or visions given to a prophet, such as Daniel, or a seer, such as the author of the book Revelation. These visions often describe cosmic earth-shattering events; events that change the world as we know it: wars, famines, plagues, pestilences, earthquakes, fires, floods, raging waters. The prophet Zechariah and the evangelist Luke describe such events in our readings today. Indeed, these two readings are apocalyptic. Apocalyptic events are events which reveal to us that our lives and our world can change in the twinkling of an eye. They are events that make us sit up and take notice that we are at the mercy of powers beyond our control; that our lives and our possessions can be taken from us at any moment; that there is no lasting or final security in our jobs, our possessions, our money, our health, our environment.

Katrina taught me what an apocalyptic event is, so that when I read passages such as the one today from Luke’s gospel, I understand that God, through the author, is trying to convey to us a basic truth about life on this earth. Namely, that it is tenuous, fragile, temporary, and that we are not, and cannot be, in control of it. Any event which suddenly changes our life and our world as we know it – natural or man-made disasters, illness, death, even an Episcopal election in the diocese of Tennessee, is, in a sense, to a greater or lesser degree, apocalyptic. Because they remind us of the insecurity of earthly existence. They remind us that nothing on this earth stays the same forever and ever, amen. They remind us of our poverty. They remind us of our mortality. They remind us that our only security is in God alone.

St. Luke outlines two responses that we can have to these events which change our lives and the world as we know it. The first is fear and foreboding. I would hazard the view that this is the most common human response because we do not like to be reminded that we are not in control. We do not like things to change suddenly. We like things to remain as they are when we are comfortable. We like things to be the way we want them to be. We like things to be familiar. Then, there are no surprises. Then, we are not challenged to change or to grow. Then, we can relax, settle in, take our ease. We don’t have to pay attention; we can do things by rote, unthinkingly, yes, even our prayers, our liturgy. The problem is, this kind of living leads us to sonambulism, to sleep-walking through life, to illusion, and finally, to the death of our souls, our hearts, our minds.

There is another way, another response, but it is difficult. “The gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mt.7:14). Luke outlines this second way, also. “When these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near…when you see these things taking place, you know that the Kingdom of God is near.”

If I may paraphrase Saint Luke, “When some earth-shattering or life changing event takes place, do not be afraid, and pay attention, for God is beckoning you to trust only in him; to rely solely upon his goodness and his love, to seek his will above all else for your self and for the world. He is reminding you that it is your poverty and not your strength that binds you to him. You have no strength except what he gives you; you have no life except what he gives you; but he will give you the strength you need, and the life he gives will be better and more abundant than the life you would plan for yourself. Open your hands and open your heart to this opportunity, and do not be afraid. The Lord will not abandon you; do not, you, abandon him.”

In truth, my friends, this is probably a pretty good place to end this sermon. However, besides my lesson from Katrina which came to me this week, the Lord gave me another “revelation” on Tuesday at evening prayer, as I was praying Psalm 125. It is an image with which I want to leave you:

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but stands fast forever.

The hills stand about Jerusalem;
so does the Lord stand round about his people,
from this time forth forever more. (Psalm 125:1-2)

This is the take-home for today: the Lord is standing about us, even as I speak. He is always and forever standing about you, standing about me, standing about Christ Church. This is the word the Lord gave to me this week, and I am passing it on to you: The Lord is standing round about us, he is with us, beside us. We have no reason to be afraid.

The Reverend Pamela P. Snare

Return to Recent Sermons