Delivered January 22, 2012
You have probably heard by now that 2012 is supposed to be the end of the world – again! We had a couple of dates for the End in 2011 from a Christian radio preacher, first scheduled for May 21, 2011, and then rescheduled for October 21. But this time it is not a Christian preacher setting a date for the apocalypse. This time it is the New Age types who have set December 21, 2012. Apparently there is something about the 21st of the month! This time the date is based on an ancient Mayan calendar which predicts that the world ends at the winter solstice this year. People who are propagating this scenario combine the Mayan calendar with predictions about aliens from outer space, prophecies by Nostradamus, as well as pseudo-scientific statements about solar flares and a mysterious rogue planet named Nibiru, which is supposed to come near earth and cause all sorts of damage to our planet. They say that a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt down, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, and not even all of them. There was even a movie about this entitled 2012, made back in 2009.
Some people are taking this seriously. Some people in the Netherlands seem to be especially caught up in this drama this time. Survivalist groups have formed. Some people are quitting their jobs and hunkering down for the End. Tapachula, a city in southern Mexico, has actually set up a digital clock counting down the seconds to the end of the world. The clock started on December 21 of this year. I am sure we will hear a lot more about this as the date approaches.
I mention this topic at the beginning of this sermon because our scripture passage refers to the Christian expectation of the end of the age beginning with the return of Christ. The apostle Paul says, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short.” Early Christians were expecting the return of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, culminating in a New Heaven and a new earth, very soon. At the end of the Gospel of John we see that some in the early church thought that the apostle John would not die before Jesus returned. The Gospel denies that this was what Jesus said, but it acknowledged that some were saying this near the end of the first century. In the NT era there was the expectation that the end was near. The apostle Peter uses those words saying, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (I Peter 4:7) Even Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:28; Luke 9:27) It is commonly accepted by biblical scholars that early Christians expected Christ’s return and the beginning of the end of history as we know it within their lifetimes.
It obviously did not happen because here we are 2000 years later. But there is still in Christianity the expectation of Christ’s return. It is part of historic Christian doctrine. Evangelical Christianity, in particular, has kept the anticipation of the return of Christ alive. The scripture passage under consideration today gives voice to this expectation and then gives us some advice about how to live in the light of this future. In short it tells us to keep it simple. In fact Eugene Peterson’s translation of this passage even uses the words: “I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.” It is from this that I get the title for this message: The KISS Principle. It has nothing to do with kissing. It is an acronym (which I have cleaned up a bit) meaning Keep It Simple, Saint. (“Saint” is of course the Biblical word for a Christian.)
I. First. let’s look at two statements Paul makes at the beginning and end of the lesson. It sets the context for the advice he gives to the Corinthian Christians and to us. First, he says, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short….” The time was obviously not short in the sense that the early church thought. But Paul’s words are still true; they are just true in a different sense than he understood them. The time is short. Paul says in Romans, “11 “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” That is true. If Jesus is really going to return one day then it is certainly true that the day is nearer than when we first believed. Beyond that I don’t know the how and when of Christ’s return. There are so many different interpretations of Biblical prophecy, and I don’t know which one is right. To me it doesn’t matter which interpretation is correct. All that matters is that we have an attitude of expectation and that we be prepared.
Regardless of your view concerning the return of Christ, all of us can agree that in a certain sense the time is short. All our lives are short. The psalmist says, “15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.” Our days are short. The longer we live the more conscious we are of how short our days are. In my 60’s I am conscious that my days are shorter than when I was in my thirties. For those of you in your seventies and eighties, you know that your days are short. The life expectancy statistics remind us of that. And no matter what our age, none of us knows how long we have on this earth. 55 million people die each year. For those 55 million the time is short.
The second statement that Paul makes is in verse 31 at the end: “For the form of this world is passing away.” He is talking about the transitory nature of things. Everything changes. We can see that on a global scale. Scientists talk about climate change and global warming. We know from history that there have been massive changes in the climate of the earth in the past. Where we are sitting now used to be buried under a mile of ice in the last ice age. We can talk in economic terms. We can talk in political terms. We saw a lot of change just in 2011 with the Arab spring – revolutions toppling dictators around the Mediterranean. The form of this world is passing away.
We live in a world were everything is changing. The form is passing away. In such a world we naturally seek for something that does not change. We look for permanence, security and stability. The Bible says that in this changing world, there is only one that does not change. That is God and his Kingdom. That is the teaching of the Bible, OT and NT. "I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. 3:6) We change. The world changes. The universe changes. God does not change. As the hymn says, “Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.” Theologians call it the immutability of God.
II. Because the time is short and because the form of this world is passing away, how then shall we live? The answer is that we need to live simply: Keep It Simple, Saints. The apostle lists five areas where we need to keep it simple.
1. First, Keep it Simple with Marriage and Family. Verse 29 “But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none….” In this verse Paul is about marriage in particular, but in a broader sense the principle applies to all family obligations. Marriage and family relations can become very complex and tense. That is why there are so many divorces and in-law problems and families are estranged. It is because so many people expect so much from family, and the pressure becomes more than the family can bear. That is why Paul tells us to keep it simple. Lighten up. Put it in perspective. You know the old saying about the two rules of life: (1) Don’t sweat the small stuff; (2) It’s all small stuff. The best thing you can do for your marriage and family is lighten up. Don’t take it all so seriously. Put it in spiritual perspective.
Jesus told us to put family relations in peersepctve to our relationship to God. He said, “7 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” In our family-oriented society, it is somewhat difficult to hear this. In our world, family is very important. In a changing world it is the one constant in my life. I have had a bunch of churches; I have pastored five churches and been a part of a few others. But I have only one family. I would put any of them above anyone and anything. But the apostle Paul is saying that our lives and families need to be grounded upon something even more permanent than ourselves. Our families need to be grounded in that which does not change. Our lives and our families need to be grounded in that solid ground of Christ.
2. In verse 30 he talks about emotions. He says that “those who weep [should live] as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice….” Lighten up when it comes to your feelings. Keep it emotionally simple, saints. Paul is not advocating emotional detachment – putting up an emotional wall or keeping your distance. He is saying not to let our emotions control us with their dramatic swings of sorrows and joys. Life is tough. We get hurt. There is no way around it. If you care about people, you will be hurt by people. That is true of marriage, family, friends, and even churches. Life can be an emotional rollercoaster ride.
Because of this we need to keep it simple. There is a passage in the gospels where the people were starting to believe in Jesus. The gospel says, “But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Humans are fickle. God is not. Scripture advocates that we give our heart first of all to God. In speaking about the Macedonian Christians the apostle Paul says, “They gave themselves to the Lord first and then to us, since this was God's will.” That is a sound principle. Give your heart first and completely to God - as both Moses and Jesus instructed - Love the Lord with all your heart, and mind and soul and strength. Then you can love others well - including your family and friends and neighbors. Then your heart is in the right place, as they say. Then you can love people out of the love that we find in God. We will not love others less because we love God first; we will actually love others more. So Paul is not advocating emotional detachment or an emotional distance from people to protect us from being hurt. He is advocating that we always be conscious of the greater love that possesses our souls.
3. Next Paul talks about finances and possessions. He says, “those who buy [should live] as though they did not possess.” Once again: Keep it simple, saint, when it comes to possessions. Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” This is very important in our financially unstable yet very materialistic society. In our prosperous American culture, we tend to place much value on money and things. Paul is advising us to hold onto all possessions lightly.
Some people get really attached to their possessions. I see it especially with houses and land, and also vehicles. I don’t see what the big deal is about having a scratch on your car or if someone steps over the boundary line of your property. The same with all possessions. None of it is really ours. We can’t take it with us. Even while we live it is not really ours. We cannot really possess anything. Paul is instructing us to live this knowledge. Jesus says, “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
4. Paul finishes the passage with the words “and those who use this world [should live] as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.” Just because this world is transitory and passing away and can’t be owned, does not mean that we can misuse it. The world may be temporary, but it is not disposable nor expendable. It is still God’s creation. People may come and go, treat us well or treat us badly, but they are still God’s creation made in the image of God. This is why Jesus taught us to love even our enemies, and why Paul taught us to treat all people respectfully.
In short, Paul is advising us to live life a bit more lightly and simply. Not to take it quite as seriously as we might. Not to lose ourselves in the drama of life. He is telling us to put things in spiritual perspective. To put things in the perspective that our time on earth is short and everything is transitory and passing away. Put things in divine perspective. God and the things of this world are eternal. Our relationship to God should be the most important of all relationships and the foundation of all other relationships. One day this world will be gone and we will be gone from it. Live in the light of that reality. One day there will be a new world for us – a heavenly world when we die, and one day a new heavens and new earth that will last forever. Live this earthly life in the light of that spiritual world. Keep it simple, saints.
No comments:
Post a Comment