Sermon for 29 Nov 2020

HOPELESS PREDICTIONS Mark 13: 24-37

Some of you will remember Roy Bonisteel. He started in a show called Checkpoint which was a national TV Show produced by the United Church and went on to be the anchor at Man Alive which was a CBC talkshow.
In one of his stories he relates that he saw farm for sale in paper. He knew it was a good farm. So he went to see the farmer and asked why he was selling. The farmer replied that the end of the world was coming so he didn’t need the farm. Roy stated that the farm was worth five times what he was asking but the farmer assured him that it was enough money to live on until the end. Roy tried to dissuade him. He couldn’t, so he bought the farm.
This is the story of two men. For the farmer, the future, disabled his actions. For Roy his actions enabled his future.
There has been much time and energy predicting the future. On many accounts the world is supposed to have already ended.
In the year 999 on Dec 31, thousands of people climbed to top of Mt Zion to welcome Jesus. Obviously Jesus didn’t get the memo.
In 1998 we were told that the world would end because Jesus lived 1998 weeks. Then in 1999 a man named Criswell said that the world would end because a magnetic force would suck up all the oxygen. Obviously it didn’t suck up his!
The Elisabeth Clare Prophet had people moving into bunkers due to upcoming nuclear war.
Of course then we had Y2K, which predicted that the world would end due to the 2000 year mark. Of course most people were unaware that our calendar are not accurate. They are out by about 4 years.
Not to let you think that the predictions ended in 2000. The Mayan calendar said it would happen on Dec 21, 2012. However new info has been discovered that states it will be Dec 21 of 2020.
There are lots of other doomsday prophets.
There is a thing called the “Seersucker Theory”. That is that no matter how much evidence to prove the predictions are wrong. Every seer can find a sucker. The only thing they have proven is that they are all wrong. Even Jesus says no one knows the time of his coming.
None of us knows what lies ahead in our own personal lives. How often have I heard people say “I had no idea this would happen to me” Whether it was a job loss, a divorce, a death or the opposite: falling in love, winning the lottery, whatever. Life can take many roads. We can cower in fear or we can enable the growth.
No one knows what lies ahead for our world. Maybe it will blow up on Dec 21 but probably not. We can live in fear or we can enable the growth of our world.
This is the Season of Advent. The four weeks leading up the Christmas. According to my chocolate advent calendar we only have two days to go to Christmas.
It is a time of anticipation. We wait for the celebration of Christ’s birth. There are two ways of waiting for X
There is the passive, where we simply wait and when Jesus comes he will fix everything. There are so many theories on how that is going to happen it is mind-boggling.
For some there will be a thousand years of bad times. For some there will be a thousand years of good times. Regardless of the timing everyone believes they will be in the group that is preserved.
But that group is not motivated to heal the world. They are not motivated to repair anything. There is no pressure to make the world better for future generations.
Often this group is the people who advocate for some event to quicken the end-times; like asking the President of the USA to push the nuclear button.
Then there is the other point of view.
The people who believe that we should prepare for the coming of God’s kindom (purposely misspelled) by working at fixing the world.
If you are part of the group that believes God will fix everything then Jesus life was really pointless. He came to help us heal the world but if that is going to happen anyway then why was he here?
I believe he was here to draw a contrast between the world and the vison of God.
I believe he was here to show us what needs to be done and to empower us to proceed.
He gave us challenges like: feed the hungry; clothe the naked; visit the sick and shut-in.
He called us to bring justice and love to all people.
Would Jesus be impressed with the way our world is?
Right now there are 2825 billionaires in the world.
Jeff Bezos the wealthiest makes $1200per second. If you compare that to an essential worker in a long-term care home, making $18 per hour, he makes their entire years net income in 28 seconds.
If you are full time on minimum wage he makes your yearly income in 22 seconds.
This is not a condemnation of this man but it is a call to awareness of where our world has gone.
We have a lot of things that need attention.
Try booking anyone into a mental health facility. Often the first available appointment is months away.
We need to look at the growing concern about clean water for all people.
There are so many issues that Jesus would question us on. Both in Canada and throughout the world.
In Anticipation -we are called to action – not to waiting
In the United Church’s statement of faith from 2006 called the Song of Faith we read
As children of the timeless one.
Our time-bound lives will find completion,
in the all-embracing Creator.
In the meantime, we embrace the present, embodying the hope,
loving our enemies, caring for the earth; choosing life.
Waiting is a verb not a noun.
A man stopped to ask Socrates which way to Mt Olympus. Socrates replied “Make every step you take go, in that direction”
Let us make every step in direction of the kindom.
PRAYER God, as the anticipation of Christmas starts to build,; as the malls start to fill; as Amazon gets busier; as requests are made; help us to understand and realize the opportunity this season brings. Not just to share presents but to share life.
Help us to find the places where pain and injustice reside. Help us not to just expose but also to heal
Now we pray in the way Jesus taught us.
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us. lead us not into temptation.
but deliver us from evil. for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. forever and ever Amen
SERVICE Nov 29
Announcements
Etransfer info at bottom of page
Thanks to helpers
Gilford Drive through Supper 192 dinners were packed & picked up
in a timely fashion. There was no long wait for anyone — quite different than the Tim Horton’s drive-thru!
After all expenses were paid there was a profit of $2,703.00
Opening Prayer
Hymn – 18 There’s a Voice in the Wilderness
Lighting the Advent Candle 1
Scripture Mark 13: 24-37
Reflection
Prayer
Lord’s Prayer
Hymn 43 Go Tell it on the Mountain
Benediction
Go now in Peace
Go now in peace, Never be afraid
God will go with you, each hour of every day
Go now in faith, steadfast strong and true
Know God will guide you in all you do,
Go now in love and show you believe
Reach out to others so all the world can see
God will be there, watching from above
Go now in peace, in faith and in love
Amen, Amen, Amen
Info about contributing
The traditional way is to send a cheque via mail to one of the treasurers.
Make the cheque out to:
Churchill United Church
send to Agnes Cole at 226 Valleyview Dr. Churchill, Ont L0L1K0
or Gilford United Church
send to Doris Coborn at 1468 Gilford Rd, Gilford. L0L1R0
An Alternative (and better) way is Etransfer
(This method is faster, cheaper and cleaner. If you don’t know how to do it, the bank or some young kid has instructions)
Send the Etransfer to
churchillchurch2020@gmail.com
The security question is – What is the name of your church
Answer – Churchill
or panddcoborn@gmail.com
No security question
Another option is contact us and we will pick it up from your porch. Thanks