Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 24:
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
When I attended the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship meeting in Greensboro, NC I had the opportunity to play a small role in the worship service the great preacher and teacher of preachers Dr. Tom Long gave the sermon. Because Dr. Long was our adult retreat leader in Santa Fe a couple years back I knew him and took the opportunity before the service to visit with him about preacher and church.
"These are interesting times to be a preacher," I said then I quoted the ancient Chinese curse, "May you have interesting times to live in."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
I quoted Jesus' words from today's lesson. "'Because of lawlessness the love of many will grow cold,' those are the times were living and trying to preach in," I said.
Dr. Long responded with a nod and then said, "Yes, if the church hadn't spent the last century investing so much in buildings and retirement plans then these could be really exciting times."
I'v reflected on those words a great deal over these last two weeks. I pastor a church with a really beautiful and big building which the church has dedicated the last 15 years to really working hard to pay off. And I personally like the idea of a retirement plan so that I will have some measure of security in my old age.
But Tom was saying something about this time we have here in history. He was saying the same thing Jesus to his disciples about their time and what his words were written down in order to say to many other times not dissimilar. We live in a moment very interesting -- a moment of crucible. Lawlessness and evil seems on the rise, historic relationships between allies are shifting, and most in our country and the world wonder about leadership. For fear of the lawlessness and evil the hearts of many have already grown cold; the faithful struggle to endure, to hold on. This is the moment, the moment for faithful witness, the time when truth and love are most needed and yet most desperately in jeopardy because the truth about Jesus' Way of love is hard to speak and too much for some to bear. This is the time where faithful witness is most necessary and even most effective, and we don't want to miss it prioritizing bricks and mortar and security in some other time to come.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no radical and I'm not going to advocate for selling the building, nor am I going to discontinue my enrollment in our retirement benefits program. But I am thinking -- where are my priorities? Where are my church's priorities? Where is my witness -- in such a moment as this.
The world has given us interesting times to live in; and the LORD has given it to us to make the most of them.
May we find the courage.
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