Eagerly Waiting

Sunday, November 12th, 2006
Proper 27 B
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Hebrews 9:24-28

24For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

I went to visit Aunt Patsy while I was in Virginia Beach this week. I surprised her, I think. She was moved into an assisted living and nursing center few days ago, it happened to be behind the hospital in which Hannah was born, in Chesapeake. Driving down Battlefield Boulevard brought back some memories of a night a little over 11 years ago when Leslie and I drove that same route as a couple and drove back home a couple of days later as a family.

I had a wonderful visit with Aunt Patsy. I had to wear gloves and a protective mask, since she is fighting a lung infection of some kind, but she caught me up on her family, and I told her about how things are going here at Jerusalem and with the Hispanic Ministry.

The conversation began there, but it wandered on to other subjects, and the week’s events being what they were, she asked me how I felt about the outcome of the elections. I shared with her that I was pleased with the results, but when she gave me this LOOK, I had to explain that, coming from the experience that I come from, my pleasure at the outcome of elections is not necessarily with regards to the specifics of who got elected to what position, but more with the fact that there has been another peaceful transition of power. I hope we never lose sight of how precious that is, given the situation of the world today.

I remember being a lot more invested in the outcomes of elections. It didn’t last too long, thankfully. Not that I don’t CARE who gets elected. I care very much. I’m still a citizen, and there are still issues that I believe deeply in. But I found I can lose perspective if I focus solely on what the powers of this world are doing or not doing in response to my vote. All I found I needed to do to quell that depth of investment was to remind myself that salvation – not just my own, but everyone else’s – did not and does not depend on who got elected to the Congress, or the Senate, or in those years when it happens, who the new President is. It is okay to recognize civil and secular holidays, because they are a part of the society in which we live and work, but we should never, EVER, as members of the body of Christ, forget that there is truly only one holiday that bears celebrating, and that is Easter. That is the reason we are here, that is the ONLY reason we are STILL here, after two thousand years, or after a hundred and seventy four years. Our salvation rests in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is ONE term that has no limits.

So, on to the text:

Over the last few weeks we’ve been walking through the message to the Hebrews. It is written to a group of believers who have been suffering persecution for their faith in Christ. The letter is devoted to comparing and contrasting the supremacy of Jesus Christ as their (and our) high priest and sacrifice over and against that role being carried out by one of the Levitical high priests of Israel – those who fulfilled that role by virtue of having been born into the tribe of Levi.

This morning we are again presented with a restatement of what Christ has done for us. The reference to Jesus having passed through a sanctuary NOT made by human hands but rather, heaven itself, is not just the writer saying ‘my high priest is better than your high priest!’ it is a statement of faith. It is not, I think, intended as a taunt to those who would relinquish their faith and return to the drudgery of the repetitive ritual of prayer and sacrifice and offering in order to maintain one’s justification before God, but it is intended as a word of encouragement, of hope, of exclamation, reminding them (and us) of the ultimate nature of Christ’s purpose and accomplishment on earth. The Gospels are full of the teachings of Jesus – the synoptics – Mark, Matthew and Luke, are primarily made up of Jesus’ teachings. The Gospel of John goes in a different direction. John is a gospel of belief, of witness, of encouragement, yes, but it is more fully given to the task of explaining who Jesus WAS rather than what he TAUGHT – though there is some of THAT as well. The epistles delve into two areas of the Christian life – belief and practice. Paul focuses for the most part on practice – what it means to LIVE the life of a follower of Christ, though he DOES dedicate most of the epistle to the church at Rome to belief. The rest of the letters and writings we find in the New Testament focus on articles of faith and encouragement of believers.

One thing that I was more aware of in the meetings and worship services over the three days I was at the State Association meeting this week was of the role of encouragement – of believers, of leaders, of laypeople. The preaching was exemplary, full of wit and humor and insight. I would invite anyone who can to join us next year as we meet in the Convention Center in Richmond next November 13th and 14th to come along. Attending some of the meetings can be, in all honesty, boring. But it is in the ‘in-between’ times that the true wealth of the Baptist General Association of Virginia is seen and experienced. The hugs and handshakes and sharing that goes on does more to build the body of Christ CALLED the BGAV than anything else. The shared worship experiences only enhance and strengthen it.

Ultimately, I believe that is what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews was going for as well. He or she knew what they were going through – they may not have been sharing in it at the moment, but had experienced it personally enough to know what to expect both in terms of what might be coming in their direction and what they would be dealing with in the aftermath of the events. There is a strength that can be gained from shared experiences that cannot be communicated in any other way.

I was listening to a message by the pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. He went through a list of people he missed – people who’ve passed away over the last couple of years. He mentioned several, perhaps 10, members of the church who’ve ‘moved to heaven.’ Among them was Bill Hendricks, one of my professors at Southern, and a person I considered a friend. I first met him and his wife Barbara while serving in Spain. Brett Younger, the pastor, was talking about what he missed about the people he was naming, and it struck a chord in me, it resonated with the feelings I have for Charlotte Lewis, for Mary Jane & Earl Headley, for Margaret and William Franklin, for Irene Hinson, for Pearl Boyle and Hazel Pierson, for Dahlia Perritt, for so many others over the last three plus years … there is something that ultimately they each held in common. At some point in our visiting, they expressed an anticipation of heaven. They each shared somehow that they were eagerly waiting for that encounter. They were ready for it, even looking forward to it.

What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

None of us here today knows when that time of encounter will come for us, but I trust, I HOPE the feeling is echoed with those who’ve gone on before. In the sense of preparedness, I would hope that we are ALL at the point in our lives that we can GLADLY say ‘come quick Lord Jesus.’ And honestly mean it. Whether quick in the sense of meeting him here or US meeting him THERE is not important – it’s the fact of the MEETING that is important. It is for us to join the host of people around the world who are eagerly waiting for that coming, that meeting, that glad reunion.

Let’s pray.


May the Lord Christ go before you—to prepare your way; Christ beside you, be companion to you, everywhere you go; Christ beneath you, strengthen and uphold you – when you fall—or fail; Christ behind you, finish and complete what you must leave undone; Christ within you, give you faith and courage, love and hope; But mostly -- Christ above you, bless and keep you, now and evermore! Amen!