{"id":4581,"date":"2020-11-29T14:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-29T14:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/29\/god-hope-and-fear-based-on-isaiah-641-9-and\/"},"modified":"2020-11-29T14:00:19","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T14:00:19","slug":"god-hope-and-fear-based-on-isaiah-641-9-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/29\/god-hope-and-fear-based-on-isaiah-641-9-and\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGod, Hope, and Fear\u201d based on\tIsaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13:24-37"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cBut in those days, after that
\nsuffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
\nlight, \u00a0and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in
\nthe heavens will be shaken.\u201d \u00a0Is it fair to say, CHECK? \u00a0I mean,
\nthese things haven’t literally happened, but it feels like it is
\nclose enough. \u00a0The world has we know it has been through at least as
\nmuch upheaval as the moon losing it’s reflective qualities.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

It also sounds like grief to me, the
\ndarkness and heaviness of grief, when even if the sun shines, it
\ndoesn’t matter, because the heavy cloud of loss serves as a thick fog
\nthat doesn’t let the sunlight in.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And most people are grieving right now,
\nto greater or lesser extents.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This year (probably for the first
\ntime), I’m glad that Advent Scriptures are apocalyptic. \u00a0Usually I’m
\nannoyed by that. \u00a0But this year, they… fit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sun will be darkened, the moon
\nwill not give light, the stars will stop shining.\u201d \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yes, fine, that happened. \u00a0Now what?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Well, the writer of Mark says that when
\nthat happens, Jesus will show up. \u00a0It probably helps to remember that
\nthe early Christians expected end times during their lifetimes, and
\nthat the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by Rome in 70 CE
\nseemed like the beginning of the end. \u00a0The Gospel of Mark was written
\npretty soon after that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So it seems like the Gospel writer is
\nsuggesting, \u201cthese terrible times are just a sign of the good
\nthings God is about to be up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Can I admit something? \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That sounds terribly naive!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(I feel like I just lost pastor points
\nin some tally somewhere.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Except….\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

My life has been about paying attention
\nto the Divine, both in the stories of the Bible and in the stories of
\npeople’s lives, and as much as I hate to admit it, the Gospel writer
\nisn’t wrong. \u00a0When things are looking particularly bleak, and when
\neverything is shaken up, God is still there \u2013 and God is
\nEXCEPTIONALLY good at breaking into moments like that with grace and
\nwonder. \u00a0(Perhaps the reason a Hail Mary pass is called that…)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Or perhaps, it is just that when
\neverything else is chaos, there are less barriers to God doing God’s
\nthing, because it is people’s control that keeps God away.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now, I believe that people have failed
\nto contain this pandemic, and people have made choices not to protect
\nthe vulnerable from the devastating economic impacts in individual
\nand family lives. \u00a0Much of this has been done by government, and
\ninstitutions. \u00a0It has NOT been God’s will that so many got ill, so
\nmany have died, nor that so many have been harmed by the side effects
\nof the pandemic (which, as with medicine, can be deadly serious.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yet, I believe that God is at work to
\nbring as much good out of all of this as possible. \u00a0Because that’s
\njust how God is.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And I think our work is to try to help
\nGod along the way, mostly by not letting people put up barriers to
\nGod’s work. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Of course, it can be hard to tell
\nexactly what God is up to, and it can be REALLY hard to find the
\ndifference between our agenda’s and God’s agenda, but as a general
\nrule, God’s agenda has to do with bringing full and abundant life to
\nall people, or any step in that direction that doesn’t do more harm
\nthan good.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The pessimistic part of me is afraid
\nthat the pandemic is going to be used to make profit for the already
\nwealthy, to consolidate power among those who have it, and to reverse
\nany progress made for vulnerable populations. \u00a0As supporting evidence
\nI offer: \u00a0the stock market, and women dropping out of the labor
\nforce. \u00a0I’m stopping there before I get angry all over again at the
\ninjustices.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And, indeed, human beings are an easily
\nterrified lot, with existential anxiety, and a tendency towards
\ntribal thinking that results in short term and feel good actions
\nrather than long term and global problem solving. \u00a0We can be our own
\nworst enemies, and no matter how much someone has (in wealth or
\npower), basic human fear often tell them it isn’t enough, and they
\nkeep trying to get more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So, God’s agenda isn’t going to get
\nimplemented automatically. \u00a0There are real impediments to it, even
\nthough God’s agenda is the best one out there.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now more than ever, it can be easy to
\nfeel small and helpless in the face of the problems of the world.
\nHowever, we each have our own power, and we have a connection to the
\nGod-of-All who takes our power and effort and might and combines it
\nwith others to make the best use of what we offer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So, in these early days of Advent, I
\ninvite you to do what you can to advance God’s agenda, and my
\nsuggestion in this case is: \u00a0do what you can to let go of your own
\nfear. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(NOTE: \u00a0this doesn’t mean stop being
\nSAFE, they’re different) \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Letting go of fear probably means
\nacknowledging it, naming it, listening to it, possibly even playing
\nout a lot of worse case scenarios. \u00a0You may want to share about this
\nwith someone you trust, it will help even more. \u00a0It may be worth
\nexamining fears, as they often contain fears themselves, stacked like
\nnesting dolls. \u00a0The really great part about this is that by the time
\nyou examine all the way down, the fear at the core is quite small and
\ncan be managable!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the end of this process, reminding
\nyourself that even in those worst case scenarios you are loved by God
\nand by other people, you are worthy, you are cared about, and you are
\nnot alone. \u00a0None of us can be alone, because God is with us, and God
\ncarries the love of others to us. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It may feel small, but letting go of
\nour fears is a way to let God live more fully in us. \u00a0And it makes
\nthe world a little bit less fearful and a little bit more \u2026
\nvibrant.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And that is a lot like lighting a
\ncandle in the darkness. \u00a0It makes a big difference.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So, dear ones, face a fear this week,
\nand let it’s power diminish. \u00a0In doing so, you participate in
\nbuilding the kindom. \u00a0Amen <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBut in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, … Continue reading \u201cGod, Hope, and Fear\u201d based on\tIsaiah 64:1-9 and Mark 13:24-37<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,97,1895,56,64],"class_list":["post-4581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-advent-1","tag-light-in-the-darkness","tag-schenectady","tag-sorry-about-the-umc-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}