Alive in God

We are coming quickly to the end of the church (liturgical) year; we are now only 3 weeks out from the first Sunday of Advent, which is the first Sunday of the new year.

The liturgical year is the way many of us Christians mark time throughout the year and throughout our lives. It’s a calendar that follows the rhythm of the story of Jesus’ life on earth – marking the time of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension; recalling his ministry of teaching and healing and his way of living in the world with love and compassion; his desire to unite all people in the kin-dom of God.

The first half of the liturgical year includes the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. These seasons tell the story of Jesus’ coming into the world as the Messiah, the Anointed One, who is to fulfill God’s plan for the redemption of all the world through his own death and resurrection and the outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit on the church and on the world.

The second half of the liturgical includes the long season of the Time After Pentecost (what our Episcopal friends call ‘Ordinary Time’). This is the season of growth for the Christian church and for those of us who long to follow the example of Jesus to love God and love our neighbor. During this season, we hear stories of Jesus teaching people how to live now (in “this age”, as Jesus tells us) and what to expect in the time to come (“that age”).

The beauty of the church year is that it keeps us grounded in Jesus and his life-giving message of love and redemption and salvation for all people. Observing the changing liturgical seasons, week after week, and hearing the biblical stories associated with each season keeps the story of Jesus alive; it helps us focus on Jesus as we (try to) follow his example and live faithfully in this world today.

The liturgical year reminds us that, though we live in this world, we do not belong to it. We belong to Jesus and, through Jesus, we belong to God (John 17). As Paul writes in today’s reading from 2nd Thessalonians, God chose us for salvation; made us holy through the Spirit and gave us belief in the truth; and called us through the gospel – the good news – so that (we) may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

This is the truth on which we stand firm – the truth on which we stake our lives and by which we order our lives. We are God’s people; we belong to God. One day, in the time to come, in “that age”, this world will pass fully into God’s realm of justice and peace and abundance; into the eternal life that God offers to all people. We don’t know when that day will come or how it will happen or what it will feel like or what it will look like. We need not fear what is to come. For now, it is enough to know that we are God’s people; we belong to God. God is always with us.

In today’s gospel story, we hear the Sadducees (the Jewish religious authorities who do not believe in resurrection; that is, life after death) ask Jesus what will happen after people die. Will life continue in the same way we know it now?, they ask. Will we need to concern ourselves with power and hierarchy and family lineage and gender roles? That is the only life the Sadducees have ever known on this earth; it is hard for them to imagine anything different after death. So, they question Jesus. Perhaps it’s a trick question, one they think Jesus cannot answer; the kind of question that will reveal to the people that Jesus is not as wise as they think he is. Or perhaps the Sadducees are sincerely wondering what comes next; fearful of the unknown, they are looking for reassurance that life will continue as it always has.

Jesus offers the Sadducees the reassurance and hope of resurrection; of new life rising out of death. He tells them God is the God of the living; for to God all of them are alive.

Jesus offers us – who are the children of God in “this age” – that same reassurance and hope of resurrection; of new life rising out of death. We stake our lives on these words: God is the God of the living; for to God all of them are alive.

We need not wait for “that age” to come to see God and to know the new life that God gives us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

God is the God of the living; for to God all of them are alive. God is with us now in “this age”.

What does this mean for us today?

It means that even in this present time of chaos and destruction and cruelty in our country and in the world, we need not fear. God is with us and we are alive in God.

God is the God of the living; for to God all of them are alive.

We are alive in God through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

We are alive in God through the waters and Word of baptism, claimed by God as God’s beloved, forgiven, raised new life, marked with the cross and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

We are alive in God through the body and blood of Christ, given for us and for all people, to nourish us and keep us in the faith.

We are alive in God through this community of faith that gathers faithfully, week after week, to hear the story of Jesus, to be in communion with God and with each other; to strengthen your faith; and to grow into God’s call to follow the example of Jesus, acting boldly to build community with diverse people and to nurture creation.

We are alive in God through the strong name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirt.

May you trust God’s promise of redemption and vindication and new life given through faith in Jesus Christ.

May you keep your focus on the story of Jesus as you (try to) follow his example and live faithfully in this world today.

May you rejoice in knowing that in both this present age and in that age that is to come, you belong to God.

God is with us now. God is with us always.

God is the God of the living; for to God all of them are alive.