“Stand up and raise your heads”

Luke 21:25-36


  

Pastor Tom Johnson, 12/2/12

Jesus is describing a pretty frightening picture. Perplexing things are happening to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations are in a state of confusion. The ocean waves are threatening those venturing out into the water and those in the coastal areas. Jesus is describing the time leading up to his glorious return—the time he appears in the clouds to usher in a new creation—a time when he will make all things new. That day, Jesus will reveal his full power and authority over heaven and earth. Our Gospel reading from Luke says that people will faint from fear and foreboding at what they see—even before Jesus comes back. That sense of dread and anticipation of harm will be so intense and profound that people will pass out.

This is a very real and legitimate reaction. To go unconscious or in the face of danger is a proven survival technique. The brain stem perceives the threat and then cuts off the flow of information to the rest of the brain. This can be very useful because some predators will only kill and eat live game. Perhaps predators think that the animal they’re pursuing is sick or already decomposing and not a very good meal. Nevertheless, to pass out in the face of danger is to be overcome by fear—the body, mind, and spirit are literally paralyzed and held captive to the imminent threat. Fear is a powerful thing. It can stop you in your tracks. It can keep you from experiencing life to the fullest. It can knock you down. Fear can render you spiritually unconscious—it can leave you as good as dead.

But Jesus is not coming back to threaten us—he is coming to redeem us. “Now when these things begin to take place,” Jesus says, “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

“Stand up and raise your heads.”

I’ll never forget the days and weeks following the tragic and terrifying events on September 11, 2001. The flight I had booked was just a week or so later. There were so few people on the flight that we all sat near each other and just talked—even the flight attendants joined us in a conversation. My family and I had already planned on going back to my hometown for Thanksgiving. My brother-in-law got everyone excellent tickets for a football game at Purdue University. Even though I grew up going to these games, everything seemed different. I felt vulnerable around so many people. To make matters worse, the police were checking bags at the ticket gate—that was also a new experience. There was something very different about singing the national anthem that day, and something different about hearing the patriotic poem that I had heard hundreds of times before. And while I was taking it all in, in the quiet thoughts of my mind, that is when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Two fighter jets appeared out of nowhere—without warning or sound to give you a heads up. And then, as if the jets were pulling a long invisible cord with a payload of thunder, the sound of the roar of jet engines filled the stadium with a deafening noise. It was a rush. And I have to say, it was pretty awesome—and terrifying at the same time. I did not see anyone around me faint our pass out because of the display of power over our heads. We all lifted up our heads—we all stood up even more proudly to be under the protection of such remarkable machines of war. I have to believe that those pilots wanted to lift the spirits of those eyes that were downcast and those bodies that were bent over in a sense of defeat and depression.

And so it is with Jesus when he comes, and the time leading up to his coming. Already, it is pretty frightful what the waves and sea have done to the New York City area with hurricane Sandy. It is scary to read about the surge in violent crimes in the Chicago area. It’s disturbing that more people do not have hope for the future but more of a sense of dread. Jesus does not want us to faint with fear and foreboding. He doesn’t want us to be overcome with sense of dread and danger so intense—so profound that we lose all hope. He wants to free us from the paralysis of fear. He wants to fill us with reassurance that our redemption draws near. He’s not coming to threaten us; he is coming to save us. He’s not coming to harm us; he comes to heal us. Don’t recoil and shrink back in fear.

Stand up and raise your heads on the solid ground and rock of Calvary. He stood up on the cross and raised his head toward heaven and declared, “It is finished!” He overcame sin, evil, and death itself. Stand up and raise your heads in the confidence that because he lives, we will live also. Early on the third day, Jesus stood up and raised his head in triumph over the empty grave. He has given us the victory. So, stand up strait! Lift your heads up! Stand tall! Keep your chins up! You are a royal daughter of the Lord of lords—you are a royal son of the King of kings. He’s coming for you! “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”