The Diocese of East Tennessee
Sermons

Sermon: "The Christian Silver Lining"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

Sometimes the forces of nature can overwhelm us, making us quite aware of our insignificance. At such times, as the Gospel says, "People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken"(Lk 21:26)…or, at least, it may seem so. Indeed, the might of natural forces can render us quite helpless.

I remember a walk on the beach that I took as a twelve-year-old boy. My friend and I agreed to walk the two or three miles between our two beach cottages one hot summer afternoon. We began our excursion with little care and with great anticipation of a successful journey. But, little did we know what awaited us.

We were not far into our walk before very dark clouds began to appear on the horizon. And, as is often the case at the beach, they moved toward us with great speed. We had gone too far to turn back, and yet, we still had a long way to travel.

Lightening began to flash and to get closer and closer. In fact, at one point I remember that my friend moved to the other side of me, claiming that lightening had struck only feet away. I laughed at his lack of scientific knowledge, but laughter was not really the order of the day. I was scared, too.

The beach stretched on and on. The sky grew darker and darker. Soon we were surrounded by pitch-blackness in the middle of the afternoon. And the conversation between those twelve-year-olds took a very serious turn. We began discussing death and all those things we had wanted to do in life.

Then, suddenly, the cottage came into view. We ran as fast as we could. And, believe it or not, only as the door slammed shut behind us did the heavens open and the terrific rainstorm begin.

That was an experience that I will not forget about the power of nature … and about the sense of fear and foreboding when the powers of heaven are shaken.

I certainly did not think of it at the time, but there is a little saying that "Every dark cloud has a silver lining." For us that day, the silver lining was that the cottage was no further away and that the storm was not quicker in arriving.

St. Paul expresses a thought about silver linings in his Letter to the Romans: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God"(Rom 8:28).

That sentence expresses the Christian silver lining in the midst of life's dark clouds. There is a certain optimism and hope that accompany a true and lively faith. Behind the optimism and hope stands the conviction that a good and loving God is in control … in control of our lives and, ultimately, in control of this earth and of all creation.

It is with this attitude of optimism that we confront passages like the Gospel reading today. In this reading, we hear indications of the end of time, of Christ's Second Coming - and we have heard this theme several times recently.

Indeed, the same theme will permeate all of Advent as well. At this time of year, we await the celebration of Christ's first arrival into the world, on Christmas. However, we know that event is history. We actually will be celebrating an anniversary at Christmas. Thus, in our day during Advent, what we anticipate actually is Christ's return, his Second Coming. That is Advent's primary theme.

Jesus speaks of his return near the end of St. Luke's Gospel. In fact, in the chapter following our Gospel reading today come the account of the Last Supper and the betrayal by Judas. Thus, we may observe that these words in today's reading were spoken quite near the end of Jesus' life. And they are grim words indeed.

Jesus says, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

This return of Jesus will be a cosmic event. The whole world will be affected. And the mark of that event - or series of events - is that once-dependable things suddenly will become unpredictable. Those parts of creation that we take for granted will become untrustworthy.

People in this community - like those in all other communities - have experienced some earth shattering events in our lives. Earth-shattering events in other communities I have served are these, for example. Spouses have suddenly left marriages. Secure jobs have been cancelled. Ways of life have been violently altered, leaving destruction in the wake of the storm. At such times, those bedrocks of life on which we stood so firmly quake. And unfamiliar questions become preeminent - questions of life's meaning, personal self-worth, and the sense of existence. Then it is that a person's world may seem to tremble and to shake.

Perhaps when we encounter such basic questions, we experience something like the end of the world. Surely the world as we know it ends at such times. There is "distress and confusion, fear and foreboding," in the words of the Gospel. The earth shakes; our world is turned upside down.

In the midst of such an event, it is difficult to find a silver lining. Clouds - big, dark ones - obscure everything else. Yet, probably only in retrospect, we often can see that silver lining, that good which was being worked out in all the bad. Sometimes we have the grace later to realize how truly significant the good was for us. And that good came about precisely because of the bad and, indeed, out of the bad.

Now, I am not denying the negative things that we experience and that we come to know, all too well. Tragedy, hardship, and pain are quite real. But I will affirm that, in all things, God works for good on our behalf. I believe that with all my heart. And at a very deep level, that belief gives me the freedom to enjoy this good life, which is not always so good.

New life in nature often requires the experience of dying. True hope arises from the ashes of shattered dreams. Resurrection follows only when death precedes. In these terms, the images of the Gospel reading make sense.

Jesus does not deny the nature of the events of the end of time … the calamity of them. Nor does he deny or belittle people's reactions to those events … distress and perplexity and fear.

However, Jesus implies that those events of terror and calamity have a necessary effect. They serve to call into question our own plans for our lives and for this world. They make the dependable unpredictable. And then, - precisely then - we are forced to turn outside ourselves and our well-laid plans to seek a firmer foundation. Jesus says, "Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" … and, "they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

In conclusion, then, the end of the world - like the little ends of our world - will indeed have signs that call our existence and all meaning into question. Those signs will be - as events sometimes now are - frightening and filled with distress for us. However, these happenings serve to shake our foundations so that we may be open to something else … to the One who is our sure foundation. That sure foundation - that One - is Jesus Christ out Lord!

Therefore, for Jesus himself and for the loving hands that hold us in life, now and forever, thanks be to God!   Amen.