““Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
    and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Matthew 24:29-35

“I saw how the Bible isn’t a book about how to get into heaven, it’s a library of poems and letters and stories about bringing heaven to earth now, about this world becoming more and more the place it should be. There is very, very little in the Bible about what happens when you die. That’s not what the writers were focused on. Their interest, again and again, is on how this world is arranged. Does everyone have enough? Are the power structures tilted in favor of the vulnerable? Has violence been renounced, or is it being kept in circulation? I read the passage where Abraham argues with God. And then I read where Moses argues with God. And then I read those prayers in the Psalms with those lines Where are you? and Why do you hide your face from me? and Why have you forsaken me? People questioning God, doubting God, arguing with God.” (Bell, Rob. Everything is Spiritual . St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

“So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.”  Jesus says these words about interpreting the signs of the times – making the correlation between the events of now, and how we might interpret the presence of G-d in the now. In other words, when leaves are sprouting from trees, and flowers are beginning to bud, we know that spring is here and summer is near. We know this by experience – thousands of years of experience. So if the world seems to be falling apart, if we are experiencing all kinds of problems and losses and persecution, then we should also believe that Jesus has not abandoned us, but is present in the bad times, just like the good times. In those moments, Jesus’ presence is imminent, if not already among us.

Now I find this teaching profound. We often correlate bad things happening to us to the absence of Jesus in our lives. Here Jesus is saying just the opposite – that among the pain, suffering and persecution of our lives, Jesus is close at hand – to support us, to take our pain and suffering on to himself. This is the teaching of Easter – through the cross, Jesus takes our pain and suffering on to himself so we can know him through the good as well as the bad of our lives. When Moses experiences the burning bush, when Jacob wrestles with G-d at Peniel, G-d makes G-d’s presence known through fire, through conflict, through pain and struggle. As such, Jesus achieves his glory in the suffering of the cross. It is the divine paradox – it is our G-d who goes beyond our understanding but loves us also beyond our understanding.

Pastor Dave

“…you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Mark 16:6-8

“Curiosity is an antidote to despair. Despair is the spiritual disease of believing that tomorrow will simply be a repeat of today. Nothing new. The future simply an unbroken string of todays, one after another. But curiosity, curiosity disrupts despair, insisting that tomorrow will not be a repeat of today. Curiosity whispers to you, You’re just getting started …”

(Bell, Rob. Everything is Spiritual . St. Martin’s Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

The women went to the tomb that first day of the week, the day of the resurrection, not out of curiosity but out of duty. They were puzzling over what to do about the large stone that was blocking the tomb, but everything else they were expecting to encounter was anticipated. There would be the body of Jesus, the dead Jesus. There would already be a smell for he had been dead for three days. There would be the grief, for they had lost their teacher, their friend, their loved one. But what they encounter when they arrived at the tomb left them afraid – and curious. The text says, “…terror and amazement had seized them…” It would be that curiosity that would lead them into the future. In their despair they thought all was over, but they soon learned they were just getting started.

It is our curiosity that will move us forward in our faith time and time again. If we allow despair to rule our lives, we will be defeated in all things even before we start. But if we allow our curiosity to disrupt our despair, as Rob Bell puts it, then tomorrow will bring new ideas, new understanding, new life, and new stories.

We need to learn from the early disciples who, when they were huddling in fear on that day of the resurrection, Jesus came to them and said “Peace be with you.” And then he breathed on them the Holy Spirit. It is the peace and love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit that will defeat our despair and drive our curiosity to feel the presence of Jesus every day.

Pastor Dave