Sometimes God Turns our World Upside Down

Mark 13:1-8; I Samuel 2:1-10

 

        When our “formulae for life” works, our days may be dull, but they are none-the-less predictable. I find the older I get, predictable works for me. There is only one problem. I don’t live alone on an island. Sometimes my vision of truth and justice might not be the same as a person I greatly respect. Sometimes values I hold dear begin to crumble. Sometimes, life, with all its ups and downs, crashes upon me in ways I least expected. The situation might be financial. It might be a crisis created by the health or welfare of a family member. And then sometimes, my “formulae for life” explodes. My existence is turned upside down and I find no stability in the assurances of the past. I suspect I am not the only one here who has experienced such a dilemma.

        In my 20’s and 30’s my father and I saw eye to eye on two things.  Golf was the most difficult sport ever invented and Harry Chapin our favorite song writer. One of my favorites was,

All my life’s a circle, sunrise and sundown,

Moon rolls through the night time,

till the daybreak comes around.

All my life’s a circle, but I can’t tell you why.

Seasons spinning round again,

The years keep rolling by.

 

That song, that faith in the circle of life, gave me this incredible belief that if I could just hang on long enough to what I knew to be true, a normalcy, a sense of peace, would always return to my soul. But then a frightening revelation destroyed my anchor.    GOD DOES NOT DO CIRCLES!

Once there was a woman whose name was Hannah. She lived during a time when Judges ruled the land of Israel. One verse that continually runs through the Book of Judges declared, “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of God.” Time after time God would appoint a judge to rescue the wayward people. Some of the judges were notable. Others were not. Regardless, when the crisis was averted, the Israelites would return to their old habits and the circle of corruption would return.  Eventually God grew weary.

Hannah was childless. Being a woman was hard enough. Being barren eliminated any social status. There is no circle of life for a woman incapable of reproduction. In desperation Hannah prayed that God would give her a child. She promised to make the child a ward of the Priest if her request was granted. The request was given and Hannah offered an astonishing prayer to an extraordinary God. 

There is no one as Holy as You.

You break the bows of the mighty.

You give strength to the weak.

You give life to the barren.

You lift up the poor and bring down the rich.

You guard the faithful.

You cast the wicked into darkness.

Your adversaries shall be shattered.

You judge the earth with righteousness.

You will anoint for us a king and give him your virtue.

 

 

The child was called Samuel. He became the anointer of Kings. First Saul, then David, received the blessing of the son of Hannah. The day of the judges was over.  Israel entered a new era. Unfortunately the kings turned out to be no better than the judges. Amos, Micah, Elijah, Jeremiah and others, reminded the kings of the prayer of Hannah. One by one the prophets proclaimed, “This is the new way of our God.” But the kings returned to their circle of death and Jerusalem was eventually destroyed by Babylon.

But out of the ashes arose a new song. Out of the ashes came a proclamation that God was going to do a new thing. God would restore Jerusalem. God would rebuild the Temple. God would build a new heaven and new earth. In Isaiah 61 the prophet proclaimed, “God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed and the brokenhearted. God will release the captive and out of ancient ruins will create a kingdom based on justice and righteousness. Strangers will be welcome. The orphan and the widow will be lifted up. Everlasting joy will spring for all the nations to witness.”

The temple was built, the city restored, but those who ruled were no better than the judges and kings who had come before them.  But God does not grow weary. God does not faint. Even though the Temple turned from the ancient commandments, God would not be discouraged.

The story I told may not be familiar to all of you. It was the story of God’s faithfulness to the children of Abraham even when those same children couldn’t remember their grandfather’s name. But you will know the next story I share. Once again a woman was selected to be the vessel of God’s grace. On learning her fate Mary offered a prayer of thanks to God. The words aren’t original. She prays practically the same prayer offered by Hannah.

My soul rejoices in God my savior.

God has looked with favor on my lowliness.

God will scatter the proud.

God will bring down the powerful.

God will lift up the lowly.

God will fill the hungry with good things.

God will remember the promise made to Abraham.

 

Jesus was born. But while God continually pushes us forward, we cling to a circle of death which repeats the mistakes of the Judges, and the Kings, and eventually the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus saw this coming. He pointed to the Temple and said, “It is about to be destroyed but something new will emerge.”

In the year 70 AD, about forty years after the death of Jesus and a couple of years before the writing of Mark’s gospel, The Roman Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. It has never been rebuilt.

But it has been replaced. Slowly but surely a new heaven and earth emerged right under the nose of the most powerful empire known to humankind. Small communities of faith burst through the soil of oppression and bloomed. And who were these brave souls? They were woman without power, slaves without freedom, men without prestige, save for the power, and freedom, and prestige they discovered through the righteousness of God. They broke the circle and found life by looking toward the promise of a new tomorrow.

They became the early church. Against all odds they survived. Yes, the history of the Christian church has been as problematic as the story I shared from the Old Testament. Yet God’s righteousness, God’s mercy, and God’s love continue to point to a new heaven and new earth. 

We understand life within the small circle of our limited experience. We understand power within the restricted scope of what we think to be true. This story of God moving through history defies our logical thoughts. How is it possible to create life out of chaos?  Perhaps we have become so intelligent, so advanced, so proud, that we can no longer see beyond our own existence. Even as we move into the season of Christmas, we surround ourselves with silly songs, dancing elves, and marathon shopping lest we pause to examine the absurdity of God’s imagination.

Zechariah spoke these words to Mary. “Blessed be you. By the tender mercies of God, the dawn will break from on high upon us. Light will be given to those who dwell in darkness and we shall walk in the way of peace.”

Who could have seen the birth of Jesus coming? No one! It had never happened before. And the imagination of God did not stop with that birth. God continues to do new things. God continues to invite us to follow a path of righteousness, of justice, and of peace. O yes it is a bumpy road. O yes it defies conventional wisdom. O yes we will become discouraged. But do not allow the weariness of the day to deter you from bursting into tomorrow. That is where God is found. God never circles the wagons. It is always full speed ahead.

With God, the covenant is always being renewed.

With God, hope is always being realized.

With God. no chaos is beyond transformation.

This is what God has always done.

Why should tomorrow be any different?

                                Amen.