October 28, 2001
I Chronicles 29:10-13
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Luke 17:11-21
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"The Kingdom is Here"
"GRATITUDE SUNDAY"
and "RECEPTION OF NEW MEMBERS"
Once again, right on schedule, books and emphasis about the end of time are on the nation's sales
charts. Whenever a crisis occurs, doomsday prophets go to apocalyptic literature in the Bible and come to conclusions which
would startle the writers. The book that is getting the largest reading, at this moment is a book called, “Left Behind“
written by Tim LaHaye and another author whose name I have conveniently forgotten. It follows in the tradition of other best
sellers, such as "The Late Great Planet Earth" or any of a host of books which use apocalyptic literature as their
basis.
Discussions about the coming of the Kingdom are as old as any of the established religions. The ancient
Jews waited longingly for the coming of Messiah and for the restoration of the glory of King David’s time. Paul was so
convinced we were in the last days, that he cautioned it was not even worth getting married - and so it has been in every age of
humanity.
I grew up in such a denomination. It is known as an eschatological group - that is, a group whose major
emphasis is on the Second Coming of Christ and the end of time. Early leaders of the group felt that Christ would return on
March the 15th of 1845, they donned their ascension robes and waited on roof tops and in trees for the coming.
When Christ did not return, in physical form, one reporter stated, “It is reliably reported that the only person to meet his
Lord that day was one soul who fell out of a tree and drowned". Another wag said "This group is so heavenly-minded
they are no earthly good."
The Bible has many apocalyptic passages of literature. Some of the more glaring examples would be the
books of Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation; there is also a portion in Matt. 24. These tell of signs in the heavens that will
occur prior to the end of time. The Book of Revelation is a compilation of apocalyptic scenes all assembled to make a point
and, hopefully, cause a decision to be made.
Apocalyptic literature is part and parcel of the Middle Eastern culture. Most literature, secular or
religious that was and is written in that part of the world is laced with apocalyptic images. It is found in the literature
of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Egypt. Their historical counterparts were Mede and Persia, along with Syria, Egypt, and, of course,
Israel and Palestine.
Zoroastrianism, The Shepherd of Hermes, Islam, and other Middle Eastern religious writings, including Jewish
and Christian writings all contain apocalyptic imagery; yet, it is the logical western mind that has difficulty with this
literature. We tend to literalize words and thus distort the intent of imagery writing. Taking apocalyptic imagery
literally would never occur to a Middle Easterner.
To read and accept apocalyptic literature as a literal prediction or happening, is to violate the intent of such literature. It is, bluntly stated, very bad Biblical interpretation, and I, for one, really dislike the use of such scare tactics to get people to consider embracing our faith. We have a responsibility to share our faith but we also have a responsibility to be good Biblical scholars.
I can understand that some are shocked by the happenings of September 11, because assaults on our nation, by
outside bodies, have been so rare. But, wars and tragedies and conquests and killings have been an everyday occurrence for
centuries in the Middle East.
In our scripture of the morning, Jesus is confronted with such a situation. Let me try and paint the
background to this story in modern terms.
For the past two years, Jesus has been ministering up north in the Eagle River and Three Lakes area - that’s
about how far Galilee is from Jerusalem. A decision has been made to come south to the great city of Milwaukee and on the
way Jesus has to travel through the foreign territory of Madison.
As he nears Madison, ten individuals who are suffering from AIDS meet him. They cry out, "Have
mercy upon us". When Jesus saw them he said, "Go show yourselves to your Doctors", and it came to pass that
as they were going they were healed. The scripture says, "Go show yourself to the priests", which refers to an
admonition in the book of Leviticus to a role played by the priests who could attest that one had been cured of leprosy and was
therefore welcomed back into society. Doctors, in our day, are the professionals who declare one has been cured of a disease
and is therefore ready to be a participant in society.
One of the ten, when he saw what had happened turned and went back to Jesus and thanked him and glorified
God; that man was an Iraqi.
Jesus said, “Weren’t there ten of you? Where are the other nine? You mean they can’t be
found? And the only one who returned to give thanks was this Iraqi who wasn’t even born in Madison?
"Stand up” said Jesus, to him. “Go on your way, your faith has made you whole.”
It was after the one came back to thank Jesus that the religious leaders - the Pharisees - asked Jesus when
the Kingdom of God was coming. Jesus answered them, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be seen; nor will you
be able to say, here it is, or there it is, because the Kingdom of God is within you!”
Well, now, what do we make of that? Here are some more tough words from Jesus. I want to try and
make three points from this encounter of Luke’s writing.
The first point is that one of the major sins of the world is the sin of ingratitude. In this story,
only one of ten was grateful for what was done. The truth of the passage is that the number of people who are grateful, and
who operate their lives out of gratitude, is small in number.
I had a friend named Cliff in Toronto. Cliff was retired and in his retirement went and sat with dying
AIDS patients in a downtown hospice. Cliff talked with them, read to them and told them how much his faith in God meant to
him and how grateful he was to be able to visit them and speak with them. That’s living a life of gratitude. I’m
sure that many of you could give examples of people you have known, or know, who would fit into that category.
That is what I was trying to say during the stewardship sermons: