The Abyss

Luke 12:32-40

23 years ago, just a week before Saddam Hussein ordered the Iraqi army to invade Kuwait which sparked operation Desert Storm; I graduated from Army Basic Training at Fort Sill Oklahoma.  Back then we trained as if the Russians were still our biggest threat.  We had went out and dug fox holes and stayed up all night staring into the darkness of the Oklahoma landscape watching for an imagined enemy we knew wouldn’t come. 

Fatigued from training in the hot Oklahoma summer sun only to be chilled by the rapid drop in temperature that happens at night caused that night operation to be very difficult to stay awake through.  A drill sergeant made the occasional rounds to make sure no one was sneaking a nap. Fear of being caught was a motivation for some for staying alert.  But staring into nothingness; into a void is exhausting.  When there is nothing to look at, you can imagine anything that may be out there.  Or you can pretend there is nothing at all.

The Darkness:  Darkness is all through the Bible. Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

In the creation story in the bible God began ordering the world.  On the fourth day God dealt with the darkness.  And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Notice that God did not remove the darkness but gave the light as a gift to the earth.  The removal of darkness is to come later.

Darkness is the absence of light.  The light is the gift of God.  Physical light is a metaphor for the presence of God with us.  We can sit in the mid-day sun and be filled with darkness if we do not know God.

But as for me (Says the prophet Micah), I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Savior;
    my God will hear me.

⁸ Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
    Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
    the Lord will be my light.
⁹ Because I have sinned against him,
    I will bear the Lord’s wrath,
until he pleads my case
    and upholds my cause.
He will bring me out into the light;
    I will see his righteousness.

God has chosen to plead our case.  God does indeed uphold our cause.  Through Jesus Christ he has brought us into the light and in Him we can see his righteousness.  But some choose to remain in darkness. 

God’s glory fills the earth.  God has blessed all of creation and has said that it is good.  Yet God’s existence is denied. Darkness!

God has written his law on the hearts of his people, yet evil remains and atrocities are committed. Darkness!

Even when some light breaks through, we still tend to sit in partial darkness.  13 and a half years ago God woke me from my sleepy life and led me to serve him.  I got a glimpse of God’s light and it made me unable to be content with anything less. 

When I catch myself complaining; when I have feelings of dissatisfaction I remind myself that it is the darkness that I am looking at and not the light.  When we concentrate on the darkness we imagine things that may or not be there.  When we concentrate on the light all we want to do is peal back more of the darkness so that we can see more light.

This is what it is to have God’s kingdom come.  To have God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven.  The Apostle John was in exile on the island of Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea when he had a vision of this ultimate reality. “ ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”

When we stare into the darkness of the Abyss, into the unknown we have to have faith in God when we don’t know what may be out there. It’s about a leap of faith, it’s about being prepared, and it’s about trusting God. 

When I was out there on the Oklahoma landscape keeping watch, I knew that it was training.  I knew that the Russians were not going to be there that night.  But I trained as if my fellow soldiers’ life depended on my staying awake and alert. WE are called to be prepared; to keep our lamps lit; to keep vigilant and ready.

Yes, there will come a time where there will be no more night, but not yet. 

Yes, there will be a time when Jesus returns and will make all things new but not yet.

So is that where we are left?  Are we in our foxholes string into the darkness waiting until the end of time for Jesus to return?  Are we called, as a people of God, to just hold on and wait? 

IN the Gospel lesson the servants were waiting for the master.  They were to keep their lamps lit and themselves girded. 

Let’s be clear the master, our master is God. Is this a story about waiting for the end times?  Just holding on until the darkness passes?  Is that message consistent with the rest of scripture?  Does Jesus tell his people to hide out? To Wait.  Or does Jesus continually call his disciple to action? 

Jesus will come again and make all things new we believe this but God comes to us time and again and expects us to be ready to serve.

Be girded and have your candle lit. What does this mean?

The psalmist in psalm 119 writes:

How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from your precepts;
    therefore I hate every wrong path.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

It is the word of God that is our lamp.  It is the proclamation of the things God has done and commanded that dispel the darkness.  But notice Jesus words in the parable.  He doesn’t tell a story of keeping a lamp lit for the master’s return; he uses the plural lamps. Each one of us has to keep our lamp lit.  We each are commanded to be prepared, that is, recognize what God has done so that we can recognize what God is doing in the present. 

Jesus is the light.  Jesus came into the world to dispel the darkness.  The light of Jesus will never go out.  But we, the ones in whom the light resides, can allow ourselves to be overcome by the darkness.  We have to daily choose to participate in the light.

Imagine a school custodian that comes in and turns on the light.  The room illuminates.  The light is on.  Then she notices one of the bulbs is burnt out.  She doesn’t say “Oh, that was my favorite bulb.” No she gets a new one and goes on.  (Joseph Campbell Transformations of myth through time.)

We are the lights plural because we choose to submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord, because we have believed that he is the Son of God and that he died and was raised from the dead.  This is what God has called us to be.  The lights (plural) that shine for the light of the world (Jesus).  The story does not refer to keeping a single lamp as if we are servants sitting around a table waiting for something to happen.  We each have our own lamp lit so that we can go about the preparations necessary for the return of the Master.  It is a picture of activity not of passivity.  We are a people that should be about doing not waiting. 

Jesus also says to gird yourselves.  This is another way of saying “be prepared.”  They wore robes much like this one back then and they would be a hindrance to active motion.  So they would pull up the material into the belt to be free to move quickly.

Later the Apostle Paul would talk about a belt that might give some insight here as well.  He said, “¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”

Belt of truth he calls it.  Having the truth wrapped around you helps you to stand your ground and to stand firm. 

So not only can we face the unknown we can face what is evil in this world. 

I tell you! Anyone who says that the Christian life is boring isn’t doing it right. 

So, how is it with you today?  Have you lived out your call to be prepared?  We don’t know when the Second Coming will be but we know that God comes to us and calls us to action in many different ways.  Will you be ready when the master calls on you?