Call To worship

  One: God is gracious faithful and full of compassion, offering mercy and forgiveness to all who seek it.

All: In the midst of calamity and tribulation we look to God’s rule, not to our own designs.

One: Praise God for the marvelous works of creation, as we seek to participate in God’s new day.

All :God’s creative work continues among us, as God’s law is being written in our hearts.     

 Prayer  

God speak to us in our dark days, when the heavens are shaken and our lives are in turmoil. Lift among us a vision of your glory. Before your vast power over all the far reaches of time and space, we bow in awe and reverence. Grant that this hour may turn our thoughts and actions in new directions.                                                       

We find in the gospel today what is known as apocryphal writing    The gospeler has Jesus speaking of the future. Of what will come. 

Like the argument about time, the question is always did Jesus say this or did the gospel writer write this on a reflection of what they already knew had happened.   Predicting vs remembering.    In passing the experts say that feel that there is a small possibility that Jesus as recorded by Mark might have said this but could have been refereeing perhaps the first temple destroyed in 586 by the Babylonians or really to any building in the city and perhaps not the temple in particular. Whereas the other gospelers are a little more specific in regards to refereeing to the temple.   

“Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”   Is it a prediction or a fact that nothing is eternal. That change comes to all things. 

Jesus speaks a truth not one stone would be left on another.  The Romans did a most complete job of destroying the temple in 70ad. 

The rest is as apocryphal as you can get. 

 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”  Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.  Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.  When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. 

  All of these things had happened in the past.  Is just predicting or just stating what is known.  That nothing stays the same but is constantly moving forward.   Truly in the words of Geoffrey Chaucer However, it is believed to be much older and was first recorded in archaic English by St. Marher in 1225 .   Time waits for no man. 

I looked at the next few weeks in my day book and thought. Oh my Blessed Father.  Do you ever feel like the water is already flooding the mail room and the boats haven't even been swung out yet. (a Titanic reference) I stop and think of all that has to happen in the next two weeks (fourteen short days) to be ready for the beginning of Advent and I get that horrible sinking feeling.   Stop right there. Christological wisdom reminds us not to worry. That we must just take things as they come, stay in the moment and trust that it all will be ok and as it should be.

This is what I think that the gospel is speaking of.  Jesus reminds us that all things have there time. 

Yes Augustine is right in that time is but an impression on the mind, experienced by each of us differently and yet standardized by a clock.  And Yes Augustine is correct in that future and the past cannot exist.   

Time is a movement regardless of how you may perceive it.   It is that movement from the future to the now to the past. 

 We cannot worry about the future for it is fluid full of infinite possibilities of which only God knows which path we should be offered or directed to.   So…we cannot worry about the future  and yet neither can we look to the past.



 It is true that our past does inform our now but only if we take the time to let it inform our now. The past can be a dangerous and jealous and try to hold us where we have been and shield our eyes from the infinite possibilities  of the future. 

We are left then with the present even in its fleeting moments.   To be in the present to be in this moment, to encounter discern the divine with in us and  in the countless ways that you can encounter God in a single moment. 

 I think that it is in those moments that we encounter God’s time which is patient and steadfast, calmly lovingly guiding us on this journey. 

I was watching something and the family was gathered around the Thanksgiving table (American Thanksgiving that is) and each person in turn said what they were thankful for. The final person in the end said that they were thankful for this moment in time, and the blessings and love in it. 

In a world driven by clocks, appointments demands on our time, today gospel reminds us that all things will eventually change, grow, flourish and yes fade and die away. 

God’s gift is this moment, the assurance that we can be in this moment to not worry over what has been not to stew over what might be.    To be in this moment and take that long slow breath and know that in this moment all is well, that in the moments to come God will be with us, as we have seen God with us in moments past.  God has gifted us with his time and in turn perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give is our time.  May we search out moments and know  to still and slow our time to experience God with us, our strength and our hope. To once more take faith and believe and know that God is with us and we are not alone.  Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Sending Forth and Blessing

One: Pass on to others the compassion you have received share with them your experience of God’s presence. 

All: We will give thanks to for God’s faithfulness and live out our gratitude day by day. 

One: God sends you out to all the earth to minister to every human need. Live out your priesthood under the great high priest follow Christ’s lead.

Blessing

One: Now may you know Peace and  May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen 

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