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Dear Centenary Family,
We’re approaching the end of the Christian Year. Next Sunday, the Christian Year comes to a close with a celebration of Christ the King Sunday when we consider what the world will be like when Christ finally and fully rules over all things. We also consider what kind of ruler Jesus came to be which stands in stark contrast with most of the rulers the world has known in its history.
This Sunday is a Sunday that wrestles with the question of what you can count on when the world as you known seems to be coming apart at the seams. The Gospel reading, Mark 13:1-8, is the account of Jesus’ disciples wrestling with the question of what really lasts when things you thought would never change, erode, or be destroyed. For them, the triggering event for these perplexing questions is Jesus’ word to them that the great temple of Herod will soon come tumbling down. For them, that would be a sign that everything they’d believed about God, themselves, and Israel’s history was being called into question.
What do you hold onto in such times? The sermon I’m working on wrestles with that question and is entitled, Hold on to This—Always!
I find that in troubled times Scripture always has a way of providing reassurance and confidence, but so do some of the great hymns of the church. This Sunday, our processional hymn is How Firm a Foundation. It’s No. 529 in our hymnal if you want to look it up. I won’t cite all the verses, but verse 3 contains words certainly worth clinging to whatever any of us might be experiencing or going through right now:
When through the deep waters,
I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
I look forward to singing that hymn of hope with you Sunday!
Peace,
Matt
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