Today church was half empty (and, yes, that photo was taken during the service) because Samstock is on. Most of the young musos in church are there leading that worship: they have had the usual late spring experience: high winds, freezing temperatures, and driving rain. But we had other things to do. After wimping out of the gym yesterday and getting the son up just in time for the morning service, We were confronted by Barry (he’s the chap waving in the photo) setting off an alarm.
For he was preaching on the second of these passages: it is time to wake up, to be sober, to reform that which we need to: to deal with the besetting sins that we face, for the Lord could come at any time. If you look at the other passages for this day you will find that this theme of the imminence of the return of the LORD runs through them all. I am quoting from two letters. Paul clearly made this point frequently: if people then were anything like they are now (and we have no reason to think otherwise) he would need to do this.
1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Part of being in the light is having sober conversations about not only our errors — which is where Barry went — but how the errors of our society lead us into such a state. I’m quite aware that many people do not see the gospel: they see self improvement, or spirituality… making lists of worthy things to do rather than be a consumerist. (and given that I went for a walk after church with the son, and took some photos, I’ve probably crossed two of the ten “spiritual” directions off my list today). But the gospel is more than self improvement. We discipline ourselves for the sake of Christ, not because it will make us more worthy of him. We take the good (even from the Huffington Post) and we learn from that — being quite aware that there is error mixed in all human activities. That anything can be turned to idolatry. To understand this quote, Jeanette Fitzsimmons — who is a thoroughly nice woman — used to be the co-leader of the Green Party in NZ, and Rodney Hide (who is not nice, and on the libertarian edge of the right) is calling her out on her protesting drilling for oil offshore.
Jeanette opposes industrialised living. She wants the world to live more simply and more in harmony with the natural world. It’s not enough for her to live as she chooses. Her mission is to force the rest of us to live as she says.
We have green policy after green policy making fossil fuels ever more expensive. We have continuous and hysterical protests in response to surveys and exploration for oil and gas, let alone its continued exploitation.
I long ago parted company with the green movement. That was when I realised it was a cult with always the same answer, no matter the science and no matter the obvious failure of previous scary predictions. I also thought it a failing that green sustainability meant billions of people must die.
Back in the day, the greenies viewed the big human die-off as part and parcel of getting back into harmony with nature. Funny, they don’t talk about that so much now.
But there are many in the church who would side with Jeanette, because she says that she cares for the environment. Or with the women’s movement, because they say that they care for women. But saying that and doing something about it are two different things. We are not called to act on our passions — at night, instead, we are supposed to cheerfully work them out with our spouses (for lust can drown our wrath) but in the day we are suppose to look at what the consequences of what we are doing.
And act accordingly. Part of this will involve dealing with being called stupid, or unsophisticated, or unfashionable.
Let that happen. Our job is to reform ourselves, and do good. Not to be spiritual, not to be nice, not to soothe the minds of those going to perdition, but instead sound the alarm. This age will end. And without the grace of God, we will be damned for a very long time.
