A survey done by the Barna Research group in Oxnard, California, seems to shed light on the “deaf ear to biblical mandates” currently afflicting many who claim to line up with those who believe the Book. Barna found that the Bible is being reduced to the status of an icon with little value in millions of American homes. Because maybe God’s renovation project is already underway. Maybe, when the writer of Revelation said it would happen “soon,” he meant “now.” If that’s true, all baptized disciples are called to roll up their sleeves and join Jesus in cleaning house. Even as new messes pile up, we can whistle as we work because we know how the story ends. Additionally, the film's director Peter Howitt played a cameo in the film, as the man Bough threatens to play the DVD at Sauvage's coronation. Lawyer Clarence Darrow, made famous by his defense of John Scopes in the so-called “Monkey Trial” in 1925 once quipped, “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” I imagine we all can identify with that quote on many a day. Pay close attention to the people in your life who produce feelings of disgust or whose obituary we would read with pleasure — they are most likely Christ coming to us — because those are the feelings Jesus engendered in society when he walked the earth. Jesus wasn’t popular. He wasn’t the captain of the football team. He wasn’t voted most likely to succeed. He wasn’t socially acceptable. He wasn’t politically powerful. He was a nobody — a low-life — considered the scum of the earth by people who mattered in the world. Now, Jesus lays all of that out. Does that mean that the end is near? I don’t know. And it’s perfectly all right that I don’t know. Jesus says, “No one knows.” Therefore, let me kindly suggest to you that you pay no attention whatever to anyone who dares to come along and say that they know precisely the time when Jesus will return and the earth will come to an end. Pay no attention whatever. No attention. “No one knows,” Jesus says. Jesus says, “Not even the angels in Heaven know.” Jesus says, “Only God knows.” So, we do not know when the end will come. But does that mean that Jesus will not return? No. No. No. Absolutely. Jesus will return. Of that, there can be no doubt. He said it Himself. He said it, and He meant it. He said, “Surely I am coming soon. Count on it.” Now, given all of that, maybe you can begin to understand why there is always such passion and intensity to my preaching. You see, this is a matter of the greatest urgency.

Anyone who knows me knows that my least favorite church Father in the whole world is Augustine. It was Augustine who gave the Christian tradition the shame it teaches about the body and human sexuality and I fully believe Christianity would be better off without most of his theology. But, on the idea of Christ’s second coming I wholeheartedly agree with Augustine. He believed that the founding of the church was Christ’s second coming. So, instead of waiting for Christ to come in the clouds or a Rapture to take us up to heaven, we should be busy being Christ in the world — that way we become Christ’s second coming in the world. But, wait, you might say, “What about Revelation? That’s certainly biblical, being in the Bible and all.” Well, yes, Revelation is in the Bible, but despite LaHaye, Darby and all the other end time prophets, the book of Revelation is not a book of prophecies, but instead is a book written for a certain audience in a certain time – namely Christians living under imperial Roman rule around 96 CE. Paul Alan Laughlin writes in his book Remedial Christianity: What Every Believer Should Know About the Faith, but Probably Doesn’t that the beast is “the Roman Empire that was threatening to devour the young and vulnerable Church. The seven heads of the dragon in Revelation 12 refer to the famous seven hills of the capital city, and the ten crowned horns in Revelation 13 to the ten emperors that had ruled her since the death of Jesus. As for 666: the name of Nero Caesar, when converted to Hebrew letters (which were also Hebrew numerals) adds up to that very number; and he had been one of the most vicious of all Roman emperors in his persecution of Christians.” (p. 223) Johnny English: And curly. Frizzy, actually. An eye patch, broken nose, very few teeth. Two I would say at the most, and a scar on his cheek... in the shape... of a banana. Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de CristoAs the next, the higher, the better expression of our faith, Jesus calls us to a more personal, more immediate, and more intimate expression of sacrifice. Both John and Jesus preached the same message, which I’ll roughly paraphrase: “Instead of giving God dead animals on an annual basis, honor God by sharing the goodness of what you have – your time, your talents, and your treasures – share those with people who don’t have those things.” When we share with others, we are worshiping; we are thanking God for what we have AND for the opportunity to bless others. Yesterday, after a day of paper reading and writing, we walked on the beach. It was windy and dark and utterly beautiful. I stood in the same spot I had just a year ago. I remember last year feeling a desire to simply walk into the waves, to be consumed by the vastness of the ocean–not in a end my life sort of way, but also, not in a calgon-take-me-away sort of way either. The ocean seemed the only place able to contain all that I was holding. As long as we shun, torture or kill any other human being on the face of this earth, we will never recognize Christ’s return. As long as we discount another human being, look down on another human being or devalue the life of another human being, we will never recognize Christ’s return. As long as we close our hearts to any living creature, we will not recognize Christ’s return.

Listen to how John advocates for social justice – share your clothes and food with those in need; don’t cheat people; don’t use your positions of power to bully people. John used dramatic words and images as he pleaded with people to repent of their selfish ways and reshape their lives to reflect God’s love for humanity. After all, what good is faith if it doesn’t help people experience real healing and wholeness? The big problem, however, is the “ME” syndrome. Several times in the Barna report, references were made to what people themselves judge to be relevant. Inevitably, this translates into more for self in the here and now. In short, people are simply looking in the wrong direction. They would like to fashion a God that is more horizontally conceived. All of this business of “looking up and bowing down” places a great strain on people obsessed with their self-esteem. Now, as a veteran of television news, I can certainly understand why the reporter was not raptured. They’re usually pretty slimy, soulless creatures. But that one scene proves Rapture theology erroneous because I know of no camera men who would qualify for the Rapture either. Instead, writer and theologian Marcus Borg puts Revelation in its proper perspective reminding us of the central theme of the book: “the conflict between the lordship of Christ and the lordship of empire, a conflict that continues to this day. Its central message is that the lords of this world do not have the final answer: therefore, take heart, have courage, be faithful.” ( The Meaning of Jesus, p. 195)On the other hand, scripture repeatedly forecasts a day when God will come to earth and “clean house,” end injustice, cast out evil and make things right. That good news is the theme of Revelation. I don’t know if God will be “pissed” when it happens but I suspect it won’t help to “look busy.” In fact, I think we’re are supposed to “get busy” right now. This book had the authors’ desired effect on Sherrie. She was, indeed, terrified that Jesus would soon be returning — worrying that her vehicle might still be attended when the Rapture finally happened. I rolled my eyes and said, “Sherrie, all that Rapture theology was invented in the 1800s. It’s not biblical.” Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ~ Washington Irving There’s a good old Baptist song Mike (Hughes, our music director) and I remembered called “Jesus is Coming Soon.” Here’s a bit of that song:

Keep in mind, at this point, the Jews had over 1,000 years of rich traditions that gave them great clarity about how to connect with God: follow the rules and offer sacrifices for whatever mistakes you make. In one of today’s Lectionary readings ( Hebrews 10:5-10), Paul quotes Psalm 40:6-8 which says, “6 Sacrifices and offerings are not what You want, but You’ve opened my ears, and now I understand. Burnt offerings and sin offerings are not what please You. 7 So I said, “See, I have come to do Your will, as it is inscribed of me in the scroll. 8 I am pleased to live how You want, my God. Your law is etched into my heart and my soul.”

See also

English and his assistant Angus Bough follow a tunnel dug beneath the jewel's display case and confront German thieves Dieter Klein and Klaus Vendetta, who escape in a hearse. English loses them by pursuing a different hearse, subsequently gatecrashing a funeral. Kindhearted but clumsy MI7 agent Johnny English dreams of becoming Agent One, MI7's top agent. After the real Agent One and then all of MI7's remaining agents are killed through English's unwitting incompetence at his funeral, he is left as the sole surviving agent capable of finishing Agent One's mission. Micah 5:2-5a “This difficult passage recalls the judges who ruled God’s people in Canaan as it looks forward to the Redeemer from the insignificant town of Bethlehem.” Deeper and more true to what I think Jesus spoke of, is eschaton. Eschaton is about God, through Christ, who was and is and is to come, moving into our lives. Far less defined, eschaton leaves us to ask about how the coming of God affects us in this very moment, about how we are experiencing, as the old hymn and folk song Morning has Broken goes, “God’s re-creation of the new day.” Rather than seeing eschatology as a far off moment in the future, through the lens of eschaton, we see God intersecting with us in all moments of time, past, present and yet to come. I love this notion, because it imagines time as not linear, but circular. It imagines that we are all wholly connected through (in my Christian speak) the communion of saints–those who have come and those who have yet to arrive–all of us dancing together in the mystery of time and God and space. Hebrews 10:5-10v5 So when Jesus came into the world, He said, “Sacrifices and offerings were not what You wanted, but instead a body that You prepared for Me.”