Why do you want the Day of the Lord?
The Collect for Sunday, 8 Nov 2020
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.
“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
The Response
Psalm 78:1-7
1 Hear my teaching, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
3 That which we have heard and known, and what our forefathers have told us, we will not hide from their children.
4 We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, and the wonderful works he has done.
5 He gave his decrees to Jacob and established a law for Israel, which he commanded them to teach their children;
6 That the generations to come might know, and the children yet unborn; that they in their turn might tell it to their children;
7 So that they might put their trust in God, and not forget the deeds of God, but keep his commandments;
Above is the reading for Lectionary Year A, Track One, which we use in our parish. For this time of year it is not as apt as the Track Two reading would be, this beloved passage from the eighth century prophet of doom, Amos:
Amos 5:18-24
Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
The Epistle
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Gospel
Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
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What I have known for the covid duration, but only resisted until yesterday, is that our adult Sunday School seminar, with everyone joining in the face to face back and forth across the table with each other, does not work in the church nave/sanctuary where everyone is facing forward and where folks are not accustomed to speaking out freely in any event, but to listening quietly and respectfully. It doesn't work, and we're not going to meet in the church again regardless.
Neither either Battin Hall, set up perfect for meals together but because of dim lighting left over from when the space was the nave/sanctuary, most unsuitable for a class that relies on everyone (including me) being able to read. So, this coming Sunday, November 8, we'll resume meeting in the Library even though it's not finished. Yesterday after church, Linda and I went in there and looked: since that day the water leak was found, the room has been dried out and is tolerable. Yes, the water is off, so there's no running water at the sink and the toilet is not usable, but we'll make the space work. If we're to continue online streaming, we'll use a cell phone, as was done for our 10:30 worship service in the church for several months until the new video system was installed.
As for next Sunday's (and Wednesday evening's) readings above, they are good, perfect for this time of ending the church year. There are only three Sundays left in Year A before Advent begins, therefore our readings start pointing us toward the End Time. In Christian tradition and the church, we anticipate the Second Coming, as in the Mystery of Faith: "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again". Certainly, the readings above (except Joshua) look in that direction.
But, wait, what? The day of the Lord, the end time? The second coming that two thousand years go Paul was certain was imminent, an event of his/our own lifetime? Hey, can we talk? What about the universe? What about Laniakea? We are not sheep - - Bill Weeks, beloved history teacher at Bay High, used to slap his yardstick on students' desks with a loud crack and shout, "Don't be a sheep, Be a goat", so I'll be damned if I'll be anybody's meek doctrinally submissive sheep regardless of the gospel sheep going off to the right hand saved and the goats being consigned to the left where there is outer darkness and gnashing of teeth!
As we found out meeting in the Library, we can think for ourselves and discuss freely. Faith is not certainty, faith is confidence in things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen, faith includes doubt and questions. We live in the 21st century, the firmament no longer holds back the waters above, the stars are not going to fall, and Episcopalians are not likely to congregate on a mountaintop waiting for the trumpet to sound. But Advent is at hand: how confident are you in, and how do you understand "We await the day of his coming in glory"? If you are in our Sunday School class, give thought this week to how you feel about the doctrine and notion and faith mystery of Jesus coming again to turn everything upside down and establish a new kingdom of God on earth. On the internet site Episcopalians On Facebook, an inquirer recently asked what our church believes about the Second Coming. Is it cosmic, or just liturgical words? Remember lex orandi lex credendi.
Yes, per Revelation (yesterday's class lesson even if there was no discussion), but also next Sunday's readings above, the Amos reading, and First Thessalonians, and in Matthew's gospel Jesus' likening the kingdom to the prepared and unprepared bridesmaids: it will come when you least expect it, so you better be ready or you get locked out, the Gospel of the Lord! Mind, it's not about dying and going to heaven, it's cosmic. The trumpet sounds and Jesus returns to rule, bringing with him the resurrected dead, and together with them, brings us who are still living (Paul convinced of this), we all meet Jesus in the air for judgment.
What do you think? Is this the way Creation works? Are we living into The End of Time?
BLM&PTL
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Lanikea cosmic superstructure of about a hundred thousand galaxies, including our Milky Way. NASA