Are We There Yet?

The 19^th Sunday after Pentecost (RCL Proper 30A)

23 October 2011

Saint Faith’s Anglican Church

Vancouver BC

Propers:  Deuteronomy 34.1-12; Psalm 90.1-6, 13-17; 1 Thessalonians 2.1-8; Matthew 22.34-46

         On Friday morning, the 21^st of October, the sun rose and shone through the open drapes of my room at the Old Stone Inn in Niagara Falls.  It was only later that morning, midway through the morning session of the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission, that I realized that the world had not come to an end.

         You may remember the American televangelist, Harold Camping, who had predicted that the world would end of Saturday, the 21^st of May.  When that did not happen, Mr Camping declared that the 21^st of May was the beginning of the end of the world and that the final cataclysm would occur on the 21^st of October.

         That cataclysm has not occurred, despite any number of significant events throughout the world, and the word is that Mr Camping has determined that the end of the world will be quiet rather than cataclysmic.  Those who die outside the Christian faith, as understood by Mr Camping, will simply die.  Their lives have come to an end and they will simply cease to exist in any conscious state.  They have been judged, condemned and extinguished.

         Although I do not share Mr Camping’s understanding of the Christian faith, I admit to a degree of sympathy for him.  He has staked his entire ministry on the coming of the reign of God in his lifetime.  Now, age 90 and recovering from a stroke, Mr Camping is waiting for an event that he will not likely live to see.  I wonder what thoughts go through his mind and the minds of his followers, some of whom have sold homes and businesses, as they realize that the reign of God is still beyond the horizon.  All their prayers, all their work and sacrifice, all their hopes and they’re not there yet!

         Time and time again I am surprised by how the lectionary, prepared almost fifty years ago and revised some twenty years ago, anticipates the events of our times.  Waiting until Friday or Saturday to write a sermon begins to make a lot of sense!

         We have heard the story of Moses who has come to the end of his life.  He climbs Mt Pisgah from whose summit he can see the promised land.  Below him the tribes of Israel are preparing to cross the river and to begin their new life in the land of Canaan.  Moses has bullied and cajoled them and be threatened by them.  Moses has obeyed and defied and argued with God.

         But Moses will not set foot on the other side of the river.  Here, on this mountain, within sight of his goal, Moses will die and be buried in an unknown grave.  Denied the promised land, God will even deny Moses the honour of having a grave that becomes a pilgrimage site.

         What thoughts, I wonder, passed through Moses’ mind?  Did he feel anger, disappointment, relief or joy?  We are not told.  Moses dies.  The people cross.  A new chapter begins.  But Moses will never be there.

         The stories of Mr Camping and of Moses cause me to ask what is our goal, our destination, as a community of faith?  How will we know when we get there?  I am not in a position to ask my questions of the founders of this parish, but I can ask it of those of us who continue to travel along this journey of faith.

         Soon the Rectory will be listed for sale and, I hope, will sell quickly with a return that will provide us with new assets for our ministry.  But once the funds are in the bank, the playground re-located and our finances stabilized, will we have arrived at the promised land?  I think not.  We will have reached an oasis that will refresh us as we prepare for the next stage of our journey.

         I am hoping that our regional Ministry Assessment Process will lead us to a vision of a ‘preferred future’ towards which we may work.  But even that ‘preferred future’ will be the promised land --- because we are not there yet!

         God’s future for us and for all of creation lies somewhere beyond the horizon of human knowing.  Like Mr Camping I wish I could predict when that future’s outlines would appear and become the environment of our present, but I shall not be able to do so.  Like Moses I wish I could at least see the promised land, but then I remember that the promised land Moses saw was not then nor is it now a haven of justice and peace --- because we are not there yet!

         So, in this mean-time you and I are called to continue our journey, giving thanks for every oasis we discover even as we keep our travel bags ready for the next stage of the journey.  Let us plan well and exercise faithful and prayerful stewardship of our resources --- because we are not there yet!

         But we will be.  Of this I am certain.  One day it will dawn upon us and we shall rejoice in its light.  On that day we will realize that this journey has been worthwhile for it will lead us into God’s dawn of life and joy.  Amen.