Prop 27A + Resurrection hope + 11.9.14

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M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Joshua 24:1–3a, 14–25; Ps. 78:1–7; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; St. Mat. 25:1–13)

In every generation, we must decide again to be faithful.

It was one of the most shocking moments of my journey, learning about the Jewish population in Europe. We were standing there in a museum of the Jews in Prague in the Czech Republic and our professor said this: “This museum, this is what Judaism is turning into. If we don’t convince the next generation to be people of faith, it will all die out.”
I was flabbergasted—the idea of a whole faith tradition dying? Inconceivable, surely. But today’s passage from Joshua reminds us that every generation makes its own choice. Will we light the lamp of faith once more? The faith is always one generation away from extinction.[1] It is the same in Judaism as it is in Christianity, we must each one, each generation, make a choice to follow God.
Each generation has to find its own way of saying, as Joshua does, “but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Now some folks refer to this verse I just mentioned as a “plaque verse,”[2] and it is true. This phrase can be found on many nice house blessing plaques all around the world, in various languages. But that is part of the problem. We tend to take this verse out of context. We forget that Joshua purposely hearkens back to Terah, that is to say, before Abraham and before the people of Israel followed Yahweh as their one true God. You, see, before Abraham, and even into this ancient period, there were many Israelites who hedged their bets by following other gods. In so doing, Joshua reminds people that they have elected to follow God over other gods before, and they will need to do so again. But that is the point here, we are meant to choose the one true God and follow him in all of our ways.[3]

But when we take this verse about us and our household serving God and just make it a nice plaque on our walls, it can tend to just stay there. We forget the context, the part about Joshua saying, “You can’t follow God,” this part wherein he basically challenges the Israelites to really make a decision. They end up doing so three times! If this is a plaque verse only, we act as if faith is a default rather than an active choice.

There is an increasing group of “Nones” in today’s society—a growing group of people who claim to be agnostic or atheist rather than claiming any of the world’s religious traditions as their own. Don’t get me wrong. I have good friends who are agnostic and/or atheist, and I recognize that for many that is a legitimate spiritual position to take. But my fear is that some may declare themselves “nones” because we have presented religion as a plaque on the wall or something outdated. And yet when these same people hit crises in their lives, the realize humans alone aren’t reliable. God alone provides strength and love that endures.

So part of what we are called to do is to dust off our faith! We are called to remind others that we have a resurrection hope. That we, whether we sometimes are more prepared or less prepared, are all waiting for the bridegroom.
In 1st Thessalonians, the earliest piece of writing in the New Testament, dating to about 50 CE, we are reminded that the early Christians really did feel like they were playing a waiting game for Christ. They had been under the impression that they were remaining faithful in the hope that Jesus would return in their life time. But Jesus didn’t return yet, and sadly, as we have now experienced many times over, many beautiful followers of the way did die. So St. Paul writes to them because they are despairing. What has happened? They wonder. Have we been abandoned? And St. Paul tells the Thessalonians that indeed they have not been abandoned, nor have the dead, but when Jesus comes again he will meet first with the dead and then go and connect with the living. As an aside, many people wrongly read this passage as the Biblical basis for the theology of the Rapture, what the Left Behind series is based on. This is the concept that Jesus will come for just a few “good ones” and then will leave the “bad ones” of us behind for the tribulation. One commentator I read pointed out that this is terrible theology because if you read it carefully, what this passage is really saying is that NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND. Not the dead, nor the living. All of us who have put our trust in God will be saved.[4]

So do you? Do you put your trust in God? Do you in your generation choose to serve our God above all other claims on your life?

As for this house, we will serve the Lord.
Because we have a hope in God who never forsakes us, who never leaves us behind.  And we act on it today, and every day. One particular way you can take action to put your faith in God today is to turn in your pledge or promise to God, sharing with God and the church what you will be able to give to the ministry of this church, its outreach, and the diocese, over the next year. By putting your trust in God by committing some of your income to God, as well as your time and your talent, with which this congregation is more than generous, you show God in just one more way that you put God first. In a few moments you will have an opportunity to come up to the altar and to place your pledge sheet for this year on the altar, dedicating this gift of yourself and the fruits of your labor to the Lord.

And in this, we remember that this act of placing God first is worth nothing if it isn’t evident in every other aspect of our lives.

How do we share hope with others? How do we declare to God and to the world that we will be faithful? Perhaps we can each find a person who is distanced from religion because they think it is the stuff of plaques and share a bit about how faith in God and Christian community has made a difference in our lives? Our goal doesn’t need to be strong-arming them to believe the way we do, but we can invite a lonely world into a community and a way of life that will make life seem much more worthwhile when they are faced with crisis or loss.
We do all this not just to keep the faith alive for another generation, but to remember that there is more to this life than what we see, that we are heirs to a resurrection hope!

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[1] Rolf Jacobsen, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner, “Working Preacher Sermon Brainwave Podcast for Proper 27,” (released November 2, 2014), www.workingpreacher.org.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Amy L. B. Peeler, “Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,” for Proper 27A, November 9, 2014, www.workingpreacher.org.