Still In Control

The Rev. Joseph Winston

November 29, 2009

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
Loosing control is a frightening experience. Commonly, people say that time
appears to move in slow motion. Frame by frame, step by step, agonizing instant to
the next, the awful film plays out right before your eyes. With razor sharp clarity,
you can see what will happen next. You no longer are in charge. Even though it
appears to you that time is standing still, in actuality, you do not even have time
to think. Hours of mind numbing training now pay off. Your mind immediately
jumps to the proper procedure, your throat barks out orders that might be your
last, and your educated hands fly to their proper places. Their combined mission is
simple. Continue to run the show as long as possible. As the inevitable approaches
you, instinct finally kicks in. Your heart races, palms sweat, and you speak one last
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

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prayer. Then you can do more.
We live in this world. Accidents happen all the time. An airplane collides
with birds and it ends up with its passengers and crew in the icy cold Hudson
River. Cars spin out on wet roads and careen into guardrails. The ambulance races
with its sirens blaring toward the emergency room carrying its precious cargo of a
human life.
These everyday experiences that we all share of loosing control might make
it completely impossible for you to believe that God is in charge of the world.
But that is exactly what must happen. To understand today’s Gospel lesson, to
appreciate the message behind the four weeks of Advent, and to recognize the gift
of Christ’s birth, you need to trust that God is behind every action here on earth.
This is hard to do. Normally, people do not see God as the force behind his-
tory.2 Turn to almost any history book for proof. There you will see long and
detailed discussions on the climate’s impact on people, involved analysis of the
native people and their interactions with the newly arrived settlers, tables of natu-
ral resources found in the area, and even a complete list of the disasters that befell
them. God will be missing from these pages.
Another complication you face is how we look at the past. In our society, we
see history as the days of yore that starts way back there and continues to yes-
terday. These former times can be grouped into chapters that have a beginning,
a middle, and an end. One comes after another in the books we write. Our civ-
2
Jacob Jervell; James D. G. Dunn, editor, The Theology of the Acts of the Apostles, (The Edin-
burgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), New Testament
Theology, p. 135.

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ilization does not see an end of all this collecting and collating. We believe that
tomorrow’s history is nothing more than a page in a chapter that someone else will
write.3
The final obstacle set before you and the belief that God has a set plan for
the world, is the way the Church reads the Bible during worship. Rather than
doing what most people might by reading a book from its beginning to its end, we
instead begin our Advent journey near the end of the Gospel according to St. Luke
and then during the year we jump through the book. By doing this, you actually
miss the introduction where the author tells you,

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the

By skipping right past these four critical verses and starting your reading from
Luke just before the Good Friday account, you practically loose the author’s in-
tentions. He proposes to show you the history of salvation.4 He wants to prove to
you God’s plan for the world. He has seen everything with his own eyes and he
3
Jervell, The Theology of the Acts, p. 135.
4
Luke’s specific interest is presenting theology in history and this approach is unique in ancient
literature. Ibid., p. 116.

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desires to give you first hand evidence of how God works. You would not know
this unless you took the time to listen to the introduction.
Today’s Gospel lesson builds on these facts found in the opening verses. It
tells you that God is in control. That is the reason for the signs. They tell you want
to expect. For example, a yellow traffic sign in the shape of a triangle means to be
careful. You need to yield your right of way to someone else. Consider the dark
clouds on the horizon. They alert you to the possibility of rain. Even smoke has
a purpose. It warns you of fire. You know how to interpret these signs. You have
been told what they mean.
Jesus describes the signs that mark the coming of the Son of Man. In the heav-
ens, the normal, everyday activities of the sun, moon, and the stars will change
(Luke 21:25a). At the same time, the entire world will be confused about what is
happening (Luke 21:25b).5 People will faint because they look death in the face
(Luke 21:26).6 Only then will the Jesus come to the earth (Luke 21:27).7
Because you do not know when the end will finally come, Jesus gives you
practical advice, “Watch and pray (Luke 21:36).” Keep your eyes open. See what
is happening. Understand that everything is still proceeding to God’s plan. Pray.
5
Luke Timothy Johnson; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3,
Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 327.
6
Ibid.
7
The text here is an allusion to Daniel 7:13,
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.

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Pray for your enemies (Luke 6:28). Pray the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:2-5). Pray all
the time (Luke 2:37).
You know that God is in control. The Church has sung the great O Antiphons
during Advent for close to one thousand and six hundred years. The name you
probably recognize for this great hymn of Church is, O Come, O Come, Em-
manuel. These lyrics teach you the seven titles of Christ: Wisdom (Isaiah 11:2-3;
28:29), Lord (Isaiah 11:4-5; 33:22), Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1; 11:10), Key of
David (Isaiah 22:22; 9:7; 42:7), Morning Star (Isaiah 9:2), King of the nations
(Isaiah 9:6; 2:4), and Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The hymn also tells you something
very important about what Jesus does. The Latin Titles read backwards spell out,
Ero Cras, “Tomorrow, I Come.” This is the Lord’s plan. He comes for you.
Sometimes, you do not remember that God is in charge. When this happens,
you often become discouraged. You loose your focus on what matters. You do not
know where to turn for advice. Your hope that you counted on is gone. This is but
one symptom of thinking that history has no purpose.
It often seems to me like this happens here. We drift around like a ship without
a rudder. Forces move us to and fro but are we really accomplishing God’s work?
If the answer is simply maintaining what was already here, then we are doing a
fair job. However, that is not our mission. God has already given us His plan. Love
God and your neighbor. Plain and simple, this is not happening.
It often seems all that I see is everyone for themselves. This is another feature
of the disease affecting us that we believe God is not in control. We fail to do
what is required of us. We do not help others. Problems pass right by this door

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and nothing happens at all.
Our time is quickly running out. Sooner or later, God will grow tired of our
behavior and this assembly of believers will cease to exist.
Looking death squarely in the face is sobering. This actually frightens the rest
of the world and they flee from even the smallest glance of its pallor. You have
nothing to fear. You face your own death at every worship service. We begin at
the baptismal font where your life ended. On that fateful day, the Word and the
water drowned every broken part of your life. Down went your stains. Down went
all your failed plans. Down went all the history that you so desperately want to
forget. In their place, God gave you a new life. Jesus covered every one of your
stains. You are clean. Jesus replaced all your failures. You can start over. Jesus
even changed all of history. You are His.
We recall at the baptismal font your death and resurrection for one reason only.
It proclaims what Jesus has already done for you. He came for you.8 He paid the
price for you. He conquered death for you.
The news that the Son of Man will come in a cloud with great power and glory
does not scare you (Luke 21:27). Even the judgment of the world does not frighten
you. You already know the future. You have seen it. You are His. He claimed you
at baptism. There is nothing to fear.
Even years after loosing control, people can tell you exactly how they felt
and their reactions at the time. It appears this traumatic experience is permanently
8
In Luke’s writings, every aspect of Jesus’s life and work, which includes His life, death,
resurrection, ascension, and coming again all are parts of the redemptive acts of Jesus. Jervell, The
Theology of the Acts, p. 122.

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etched deep in their brain. Perhaps there is a good reason for this. The brain des-
perately wants to believe that it has mastery over every situation, so it keeps these
details around just in case it might need it in the future.
All of this accumulated skill will not save you. You know that. As you look
around in dinner table during the holidays, you realize that age takes its toll on
the body. Memories fade and reflexes slow done. The day will finally come when
your body stops working and there is nothing that you can do to save yourself
from loosing control.
You need not worry about what will happen to you. God is in control of history.
The babe in Bethlehem has a plan that involves you. He is coming to save you.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”9

References

Jervell, Jacob; Dunn, James D. G., editor, The Theology of the Acts of the Apos-
tles, (The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 2000), New Testament Theology.

Johnson, Luke Timothy; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of Luke,
Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The
Liturgical Press, 1991).

9
Philippians 4:7.