NRSV HEBREWS 9:24-28
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
I am sure that you, like me, are breathing a big sigh of relief now that we are on the other side of the midterm elections. We don’t have to put up with any more political ads, or aggravating phone calls in the middle of the night. I’m not under any illusions; as I said last week, there is still a lot of tension in our nation and in our lives these days. Judging from the postings I saw on Facebook last week, the bitter feelings of both sides haven’t gone away.
But there was one thing I also saw on Facebook postings last week more often than political ads: Poppies. Lots and lots of poppies. For a while I thought I was in the land of Oz, with those poisonous poppies separating Dorothy and her friends from the Emerald City, placed there by the Wicked Witch of the West.
Unfortunately these poppies were not fictional and they were not placed there by a nefarious character of the imagination. Friends in other places, in other lands, like Scotland and New Zealand, had pictures of churches in those countries placing poppies all over their sanctuaries and all over their grounds.
The reason they did that is today: Veteran’s Day as we call it in this country. A day to remember those who have served in the Armed Forces and to give thanks for their service. Especially to remember those who have fallen in defense of our freedoms.
But for those in other countries today is known by another name: Remembrance Day. Or Armistice Day. It is the day, 100 years ago – to this day in fact – that an armistice was signed, ending World War I. That was the reason we rang the church bell before worship. We were joining other churches in Farmville and other churches all over the world in remembering the end of that bloody conflict.
The reason for the poppies, of course, is because of the great poem written about the vast graveyards in the Low Countries where much of the conflict took place. The poem was written by John McRae, who turned out to be one of those casualties in January 1918. Before his tragic death he wrote:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders field.
In the poem McRae goes on to exhort his friends to pick up the torch from the fallen’s failing hands and “Take up our quarrel with the foe…” Which shows you a little about the intensity of that tragic war. For almost a century Europe was without a war. While we were fighting Mexico, ourselves and Spain, the only conflicts in Europe were by Germany as that nation tried to pull itself together. When that continent did erupt in war, it was massive and on a scale never before seen. It caused a breakdown in all facets of life; people who had grown up with an idealistic view that everyone could live together in peace and tranquility had their illusions shattered. It caused no small amount of traumatic stress to people whether or not they were on the front lines. And the deeper tragedy was that even when it was over, it was not really over; simmering grudges from that war resulted in yet another massive conflagration, costing even more lives and affecting even more people.
We don’t feel it as much in this country, because we were in it for a relatively short time, from April 1917 until November 1918. In markers on town squares in our country there are usually just a few names marking those who fell in that conflict, whereas there are long lists of those who died in World War II. But from travels to Europe and even to New Zealand I noticed that the reverse was true there – the lines of those lost in World War II were long, but the number of men who died in World War I was so lengthy that in some cases it just took my breath away; to think of all of those lives lost, and all of those families touched by such deep grief.
I mention all of this in a worship service because if this day doesn’t do anything else it needs to remind us of the insanity and ghastliness of war. Or any event which results in a vast loss of life. It has taken on more importance with yet another mass killing, this time at a night club in California which catered to the many college students in that area. Thirteen lives lost, and still it seems we are not any closer to finding a way to prevent these kinds of shootings.
Whether it be world wars or mental issues or just a twisted desire to take out one’s frustrations by killing large numbers of people, the loss of life strikes all of us. It affects us because our Lord is also called the Prince of Peace, and we know – or should know – that part of our calling as Christians is to diligently search for ways of dealing with conflict that do not include hurting, harming or destroying the other.
That kind of thought also applies to us as we conclude this bitter election. We are still a people who do not know how to relate to one another, to talk with one another, to truly listen to each other. One of the reasons why we have the Theology on Tap – besides to get the church out from this building and into the community where Jesus is – is to provide a safe place for people to talk. To share differences, to express how we feel about a variety of topics. There can be a different kind of conflict there, for sure. But as long as we are at the table, as long as we are talking, the potential for restoring wholeness in our relationships is possible. We might even get to truly enjoy the person we most disagree with.
The book/letter/sermon of Hebrews is a dense read. It is wonderful book, with so many great parts. We may know best the long list of faithful people after the classic definition of faith as “…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” that starts off the 11th chapter. For the most part this book talks about the connections between Hebrew cultic life and how it is lived out in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately over the years it has served, as other parts of the New Testament have served for some scrupulous people as a weapon against our Jewish friends to show off how much better our Christian faith is than theirs. The Nazis took advantage of such talk to pursue their persecution and murder of six million Jews during the holocaust. This line of thinking has made the Gospel of Jesus Christ look hollow and foolish. It was the cultic life of Israel that informed our Lord’s understanding of who he was as Messiah.
In this part of the book the writer of Hebrews is talking about the difference between the work of a High Priest in carrying out the sacrifices of the people every year, and the work of Jesus Christ in his sacrifice on the cross. Whereas the High Priest has to go back year after year and make the sacrifice for the people, Jesus made his sacrifice and entered heaven on our behalf. He did it once and for all, therefore it doesn’t need to be copied or repeated year after year.
But as it is, the writer of Hebrews tells us, “he has appeared once for all at the end of the age…” For the people of these days it was expected that the world would come to an end at any time. Jesus had said he would come again to end all of history, and they were waiting for that to happen. That is why Paul writes the way he does, and why the Gospel writers write the way they do. They are giving instructions for people who are expecting Jesus to come back at any time and take them home.
But as the years went by, and Jesus hadn’t come back yet, another understanding appeared. It was – and is – that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection ushered in a new age. Things are not the same old way; everything has become new, as we say and hear every week during the prayer of confession. Jesus comes to bring a new day into our lives, and I think he didn’t just do it way back when. He still does it. He brings it when people let go of their grudges with one another and seek to listen to each other. He brings it when nations resolve to get along and seek the welfare of each other. He brings it when those who have power and money humble themselves and listen to those in need, and are informed of what the true need is, so they can work together to lift up everyone.
But it is that last part the gets me. It says that Christ came the first time to take away sins, but when he comes again there will be another agenda. To exercise the wrath of God? To mete out punishment to those who are disobedient, who really are those people we think God should ‘get’? To clean house and toss out the worthless?
No, all it says is that Christ will come again, “not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
And who would that be? Is there a number? Could it be you, your family and your friends? Could it be that person you can’t stand? Could it be President Trump or Senator McConnell, or Speaker of the House Pelosi or Senator Kaine? Could it be people of Christian nations or those of Islamic states?
Who knows? It’s God’s business, not ours. All we know is that when Christ comes again, it will be in love, it will be in joy, it will be in celebration. Not judgment. But in mercy.
When our daughter Mindy was small, even younger than her kids are now, I had to work on something but I met up with her and Sue at a grocery store. As I walked in, this precious not even two year old broke out into a big smile and came running toward me. It was such a beautiful and precious moment that I have it ingrained in my memory.
As I thought of that precious moment I wondered if what we are aiming toward is something like that. All of us, running like a wonderfully innocent child, into the arms of a loving God, in a joyous embrace that must be there for all.
But I also wondered if maybe the flip couldn’t also be the case – of God being the child, running in joyous love toward us, giving us a love and a delight that we cannot even imagine. God’s love is like that – it is childlike, it is precious, it is joyous beyond our imagining. A love we only get to experience when we let go our hates and fears, and let the incredible joy of that love seep into the deepest parts of our souls.
Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save it. God’s love comes not to exercise wrath but to show grace. May we run toward that love and let its embrace change us. Amen.