Reflections on the Return of Christ -- or Celebrating the Presence of Christ

I remember when I was in Eighth Grade in Mrs. Starner's Geometry Class.  One afternoon someone had predicted that Christ would return at noon and the world would be destroyed.  A few Sunday's before this our youth leader showed a movie "A Thief in the Night" four our evening youth fellowship.  We were all afraid.  One of my friends said this would be the day we'd discover if the Bible was true or not.

Well it was noon on that special day that we were sitting in Geometry Class.  The old Simpson Street School in Mechanicsburg, PA had an interesting central clock system.  If you listened closely you could hear a loud click as each clock in the school in sync would switch from one minute to the next.  At 11:59 AM we all started staring at the clock waiting for the loud click.  The room became silent.

Similarly at noon the Mechanicsburg Fire Companies would test their fire sirens.  One was outside in the school's playground.

My heart pounded with anticipation for that moment.  We heard the click of the clock turn to Noon.  Then there was a moment of silence -- the fire sirens sounded and our hearts raced even faster.  After a minute the sirens stopped.  Class continued and 20 minutes later the class bell rang and we all went off to lunch and the rest of our day.  That was the first time I remember being affected by an end of the world scare.

Christians often in difficult times look for the return of Christ to take us out of the mess of this world.  But as I grew older and studies scripture more closely I discovered that most of the popular "prophetic" stories about the end of the world had little basis in scripture.  St. Paul looked for the coming of Christ in his own age.  Indeed the prayer of the early church was the Christ would come quickly.

I've often wondered if in our rush through life we miss seeing Christ's return among us.  St. Paul taught us that the Church is the body of Christ.  Each of us using our spiritual gifts to minister and care for hurting world, each of us using our talents to share reconciliation and grace makes Christ present in the world.  Maybe what we missed was that Christ HAS ALREADY returned.  Christ is presence in the work of the Church.

As we care for the poor, give comfort to the hurting, help those alienated from God find grace and share God's love we show the face of Christ to others.  Our eyes should be Jesus' eyes seeing the needs of the world.  Our ears should be Jesus' ears hearing the cries of the oppressed.  Our hands should be Jesus' hands offering healing and wholeness. Our feet should be Jesus' feet carrying us to places of need.  Our voice should be Jesus voice offering God's amazing grace and infinite love.  Perhaps rather perusing scripture trying to predict a date for Jesus' return, we should get about the business of being Christ for others.  If we put the effort into trying to predict Christ's return into making Christ present in our life, community and world -- we might just be instruments of making God's commonwealth a felt reality.

The truth of scripture is that just saying you understand the right doctrines so your name can be on the right list so that you can avoid hell is an empty and meaningless faith.  Our faith is not best .lived not by talking about empty doctrines but living out Christ's love.

On the Ministry of Bishop Middleton

Soon the Susquehanna Conference will say goodbye to Bishop Middleton.  She has truly been a blessing and an encouragement to me.  Unlike many of our Bishops she did not actively seek the office.  Eight years ago at Jurisdictional Conference folks just seemed to turn to her in their voting and she was asked to take on the mantle of leadership.  What I have appreciated most about her has been her ministry of encouragement.  When ever I ran into her she always had a word of greeting and a smile.  Often when I faced challenges in my parishes a little note would come across my desk letting me know that she was praying for me.  That little personal touch has been a blessing to me.

Too often our Bishops get bogged down in administrative matters, solving problems or the weightier matters of being a connectional leader.  I am glad for eight years we had a Bishop who was a person of deep prayer and spirituality who took the time to be an encourager to her small church pastors.  I wish her the best in her retirement - and I pray that our next Bishop might have that same sense of being a spiritual leader and encourager to those he/she superintends.

The Dwelling Place of God - In our Buildings or In our Hearts

David longed to build a temple to symbolize the dwelling place of God with God's people.  Because David was a warrior the Lord prevented him from accomplishing his dream.  Later David's son Solomon built the great temple in Jerusalem along with an extravagant palace for the king.  However, the cost was so high, the debt so great that from the time the temple was built there was no peace in the kingdom.  Eventually after Solomon's death the kingdom divided and never again would it achieve such greatness.

In Moses' time the presence of God was symbolized in the tent that was erected around the Ark of the Covenant.  A tent I think is a more fitting symbol of God's presence because you can take it down and move it where ever you are going.  It seems, however, that religious folks love their buildings.  We pour vast amounts of money into construction, upkeep and repair.  Often great growth occurs in a church when they unite around a new building project, but also great conflict can arise over competing visions of exactly what this building should look like.

Where does God dwell today?  I think God encouraged the building of tabernacles and temples in the ancient world because that was how folks understood the presence of God among them at that time.  It was really an acquiescence to human frailty.  In Ephesians 2:14-22 Paul writes about how when the dividing walls between people are broken down God dwells in the hearts of his people.  We carry God's spirit with us wherever we go.

I have felt the presence of God in the lovely architecture of grand cathedrals and in the simple white washed walls of an early 19th century meetinghouse.  Each can be a tool that allows us to focus on the reality beyond the four walls.  However, I've also experienced God presence even more deeply when I put a bed sheet over the hood of a HUUM-V in Afghanistan and lead communion for troops who hadn't seen a chaplain in a long time and needed the comfort of the sacrament and the assurance of God's grace.  I've experienced God's presence in hospital rooms at the birth of children, in the beauty of a sunset on the beach or the vast view from a tall mountain peak.  God is present with us when we have the sensitivity of faith to see beyond this reality to the reality that is beyond.

What then is the place of our church buildings -- are they holy ground?  In a sense I think they are very much like our communion ware -- vessels which can be used to experience the holy but not holy in and of themselves.  What makes a place holy is not the sign on the door or the architecture but the faith of the people who gather there in love and share God's grace with those around them.

Too often today we have an unhealthy view of our Church buildings.  We struggle to maintain them to keep alive memories of the past.  But they are only truly holy places if they become tools in the present to help people come into loving relationship with God, learn to love others, and empower folks to be a blessing as they have been blessed.  What makes a building sacred is not its past -- but how useful it is as a tool to make God's presence felt in the here and now.  It need not be large or fancy, it need not have the latest equipment.  Perhaps what makes a place holy, is really the spirit of God in the hearts of those who gather there.

God dwells with his people not in a building.  Where two are three are gathered, God is in the midst of them -- whether it be a dusty village around a HUUM-V, a beautiful sea side, or a large cathedral.  The important thing is not the building, but being open to how God might use the setting, the gathering of friends, and a touch of His grace to make God's presence more vivid in our lives.  The Church would be stronger if we found God's spirit more in the gathering of faithful friends and in a heart turned to God, and relied less on ancient buildings and past memories.