The Time Is Fulfilled

The Time is Fulfilled

Epistle: Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2 

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56

The Greeks have two words for time: Chronos, which is sequential or clock time, and Kairos, which is the time of a significant event, or the fullness of time, or the time when change is inevitable and almost “must” happen. 

I learned this distinction while I was in seminary, studying Greek, and learning about the end of apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was the segregation of the people by ethnic and racial distinctions, and supported by laws imposed by the white minority. It existed legally from 1948 until 1994 in South Africa. 

During the period 1960 to 1983, some 3.5 million blacks were forcibly removed from their homes and resettled in tribal areas. During this resettlement, these individuals were stripped of their citizenship. These actions precipitated international action, including sanctions, and a trade embargo. In 1990, the President, Frederik Willem DeKlerk, began the process of disbanding the laws of Apartheid, and in 1994, Nelson Mandela, a black former political prisoner, was elected President. 

Last Monday, Martha and I were in Springfield, Illinois, for an afternoon meeting. We took the opportunity to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum. The museum carefully tries to treat the memory of the former President with a practical appreciation of the world he lived in. They present him as a politician, and a man who moved towards the Emancipation Proclamation in incremental steps. It is clearly identified how his actions angered some of being too bold, and angered others, as not being nearly strong enough, even detailing the arguments on both sides.

These are broad political examples of time fulfilled, a Kairos moment, when change seems nearly inevitable. We have all found situations in our lives when we were taken to the point at which we had to make a decision. In those moments, failing to make a clear choice actually “Is” a choice, so you may as well do what is right. 

One of the ways we describe God, is that God is infinite. God was - before there was time. God will be, when time as we know it stops. As humans, it is impossible to imagine infinity. We are bound to a creation with a distinct life-cycle. Our own lives are bounded by the progression of our age and health, which many times becomes bound together. 

We noted that in Luke’s gospel in Chapter 11, the human Jesus turns his attention towards Jerusalem. At this point, he begins to change the tone and content of his preaching. He expects more from the disciples. He wants them to understand his message and make a commitment. The clock is ticking. 

You can have an opinion others do not share, and as long as you do not change your behavior, people can tolerate that. But when you decide to change, to act differently, the people around you will react. There will be distinct pressure for you to “change back.” 

In today’s passage from Jesus, he tells the folks, change is hard, but it is time to “be the change” he is demanding. The community of Luke’s people lived through the Roman action to destroy the Jerusalem Temple, and end the existence of the Temple leaders in the political life of the land. There was a separation of church and state imposed by the occupying army. 

In the period following the destruction of the Temple, the entire nature of Judaism changed from a priestly and sacrificial religion, to a personal religion, advised by teachers/rabbis, and operating outside of the central sphere of political and cultural control. 

The Jews responded with an intense period of reimagining who they were as a people. It was only in this aftermath that the Jews finally decided which of the ancient texts would be given full status as belonging in the Bible. Up to this point, they largely accepted the first five books, the Psalms, the major prophets and some readings. Today, the Protestants accept as the Old Testament what the Jews chose, while the Catholic Bible includes all of the texts that were in an ancient Greek translation known as the Septuagint. In the New Testament, all of the Old Testament quotations come from the Septuagint. 

While the Jews were in this heightened state of clarifying what it meant to be Jewish, the Christians were debating within their own ranks if to be a Christian was to be an advanced sort of Jew, or something completely different. The larger number of people Luke was writing for - are presumed to be gentiles (not Jewish), and largely ready to be separate from the Jewish faith and customs. But change is sloppy. There is always pressure to “change back.” Change within the confines of a household are especially good at bringing heartache and tears. 

But there are Kairos moments. There are times when the decision is right before you. There are situations when delaying the decision actually “Is” a decision. 

Jesus anticipates the coming confrontation in Jerusalem. The “Baptism by fire” that he is inevitably going to experience, will leave no doubt that he has made a commitment. In fact, the people of Luke’s community either have experienced a wave of persecution of the Christians, or have heard that such things have happened. 

You and I, we know the stories of the faithful people in the Old Testament. We understand, it had to be terrifying to walk into the Red Sea with the water standing up in a wall with the howling chariots of the Pharaoh chasing them from behind. Go forward and maybe die, or stay put and die for sure. 

At times like these I wish I had the resonant voice of Samuel L. Jackson, “What is in your wallet?” What decision will you make today? Are you ready to stand out in your house, in your block, in your school community as a person committed to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly/trusting in God. Can you be a non-anxious presence in tumultuous times, knowing that God is with you? 

You may well face ridicule, when every one else is wringing their hands. When the anxious announce their plans to escape to Canada in November, will you claim to belong to the God of heaven? When those around you announce doom to our whole way of life, can you speak up for the peace of Christ? 

Two US Olympic synchronized divers, David Boudia and Steele Johnson, won their silver medal on Monday 8/8, and each opened their interview by saying. “I have my identity in Christ. Diving is what I do, but it is not who I am. I was prepared to win or lose the contest, knowing that my identity and my friendships are not dependent on my performance.” 

I applaud their ability to articulate their faith in personal terms. I find that they were prepared to let the situation come to them, and let their faith be expressed, even as they enjoyed the fruits of their passion and performance. They did not credit winning to faith, but rather, they credited their peace of mind to their faith. 

This is what we are promoting here. This is an identity rooted in the relationship with God that we have nurtured by our prayer and worship, based on our commitment to justice and service to our neighbors. This is what sets us apart from the anxieties of the culture. These are the values that mean the world - and even eternity - to us. 

You might have been faithfully in these pews for years. At one level, it might seem there is no decision to be made. But today is not at all like yesterday, and tomorrow promises to bring even more change. This time, this day, requires a new articulation of your faith. This is a time when the faithful must let themselves be identified as believers. 

So in these anxious times, are you ready to make a commitment to this Jesus Christ who we bring before you today? Is this the hour where you increase your faithful participation, in service to others, in worship and in fellowship, in education and outreach to the community? Is this your hour to be the change that Jesus asks of his disciples? 

May God bless you with the peace of Christ, and the wisdom - to allow the anxieties of this world, to reinforce your habit of prayer, and dedication to the love of God and neighbor. The preparation time is fulfilled. Amen.