Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann
Luke 21:27-28
November 13, 2016
This past week, we’ve been hearing a lot about historic events and stunning surprises. While many people seemed to be running out of superlatives or comparisons, I did hear one commentator compare Tuesday’s election to the election of Andrew Jackson—a political outsider popular with people who were not part of the elite. Jackson was elected in 1828. Most of us probably don’t have much familiarity with events that far back in US history. And, if you’re not too familiar with President Jackson, I’m virtually certain that you’ve never heard of the Great Disappointment. It happened just after the Jackson presidency. A Baptist pastor named William Miller had been poring over his Bible, studying end times prophecy, especially in the book of Daniel, when he was surprised to discover that the ancient prophet had actually provided detailed information about the precise date of Christ’s second coming. His theory had to be fine-tuned, but, with the help of a few other believers, Christ’s return was calculated and determined to the exact day: October 22nd, 1844.
For more than ten years, Miller traveled around the young nation lecturing to anyone who would listen, urging them to get ready for Christ’s return. And, people actually listened. In fact, many people from the general population joined the group that had come to be known as the Millerites. These people sold their belongings, quit their jobs, and on October 22nd 1844, donned white robes, and stared heavenward ready for Jesus to appear. They watched and waited and nothing happened. For the Millerites, the failure was devastating. For the world, it was an occasion to mock believers. The whole affair came to be known as the Great Disappointment. Great expectations crashed into great disappointment. The believers had anticipated October 22nd with their faces turned heavenward in eager anticipation. The day ended with their heads hung low in shame and disappointment.
None of you, of course, had the sad experience of living through the Great Disappointment. And, even if you had been living at the time, I’m confident that you would have been able to discern the absurdity of any man declaring special knowledge about the day of Christ’s return. Still, you’re definitely not immune to your own hard disappointments. In fact, for many of you, your life of faith has been dealt some severe blows and your head has been bowed. Great expectations dissolved into great disappointments. You’ve all experienced it. Disappointments invade every life. They are part of reality for every one of us. A relationship degenerates into despair, a job is taken away, a talent is spurned and rejected, a spouse is buried, a child snatched away by the world, a happy home torn apart. Disappointment, hurt, and loss, is real. It breaks your heart. It drives your head down. Far more serious though is when you allow those disappointments to define you, and a bowed head becomes your standard posture. Worse yet, it becomes a choice. “Keep your head down,” you think, that’s the way to deal with life’s hard knocks. “Keep your head down,” is the advice given to people in the midst of severe trials. “Keep your head down,” is the way to get through the disappointments. “Keep your head down,” has become the motto of many Christians. They’ve been disappointed—you’ve been disappointed—by personal loss. A bowed head means less risk: living with your head down, you don’t expect too much. And, that’s safe. If you don’t expect much, if you keep your head down, then you don’t have as much to lose. Personal hurts and tragedies can compel Christians to lower expectations, drop their heads, and shuffle through life hoping for little and looking for even less. Disappointment defines them.
Not only do the challenges and difficulties of life have a tendency to push our heads down, but so can the culture around us. The world loves quiet and hesitant believers; and discourages Christians from speaking boldly about their faith or living courageously in the reality of their faith. Too many Christians seem to be more than ready to comply with the pressure to keep quiet and they accept the standards of the social order. They keep their heads down and their eyes aimed at the floor. It’s safer and simpler to take a low-key, head-hanging approach than to get committed too deeply. The world is also very good at leading believers to see themselves as second-rate, not quite-up-to-the-standard, not quite able to cut it in the real world. Christians have been taught that they are fools to believe that Christ rose, lives now to rule the world, and is coming again to judge the world. It’s implied that a committed Christian faith is appropriate only for the simple, the unsophisticated, and the uneducated—something for people who don’t know any better. In the face of a hostile world, too many Christians, maybe some of you, go through life like a whipped puppy—uncertain, excessively apologetic, intimidated, fearful. You don’t want to impose. You don’t want to offend. You don’t want to provoke ridicule and mockery. Subdued and cautious, you slip through life, trying not to be noticed, trying not to stick out from the norm. You keep your head down.
Jesus commanded the opposite. He made it clear that his disciples were not to keep their heads down. There was nothing about their faith that should cause them shame or embarrassment. There was no reason for them to hang their heads. Jesus spelled it out just a few days before his crucifixion. “When you see everyone else at the end of their rope, fearful and fleeing the pain and sorrow of this broken world, when everyone around you is overwhelmed with disappointment, and shattered expectations, I want you to stand up, lift your head up high, and move forward! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t be embarrassed. And certainly don’t drop your head and be ashamed of who you are in me.” Jesus wants you going through life not hesitant and despondent, but functioning with confidence and great joy—functioning and living with your head held up. You should look up and ahead with sure confidence knowing that Christ is in control of everything, knowing that sorrow and difficulty today, just means that the day of Jesus’ return is a little closer.
It’s sad that the very thing that should encourage Christians so frequently discourages them. Jesus told us that when we see the signs of his coming, we should lift up our heads with expectation. But, too many Christians see the hostility and the unraveling of this world, and get frightened and discouraged. It should not be that way! The signs of the end should encourage you. Christ is coming. He is coming soon. The signs prove it. the signs of this world coming unglued and falling apart as it rebels against its Creator are the evidence that Christ is near, your full redemption is getting very close. Get your head up and get ready. Christ is coming.
It’s like dealing with one of those strong, gusty, north winds as fall turns to winter. You know how it feels. That blast of frozen air can slice right through a body. Most people go out into the driving wind with a shudder. When the force smacks into them, they bend their heads low, stare only at the ground a few steps in front of them and hurry as fast as they can to get out of the cold. But, not everyone does this. There are those unique, perhaps odd, souls who greet the blast with exuberance. They have the heart of a polar explorer. They love the cold. They love the jolting embrace of the sharp wind against their faces. So, they step out into the gust with their heads held high looking straight ahead, relishing every moment spent in the invigorating air. They love it. That’s how it should be for you. When you are tempted to drop you head and try to muddle through; don’t shudder, don’t be afraid. Instead, delight in the nearness of your Lord. Rejoice when the signs are roaring around you and ringing in your ears: it means that Christ is coming. Get your head up! The promise will be kept. God does not disappoint his people. Get your head up and look, because when you look up, you see Jesus.
When their world was falling apart, and everything was screaming, “failure!” and “disappointment!” the disciples should have been looking up. If they had looked up, they would have seen Jesus—Jesus lifted up and crucified as the full payment for all failure and the healing for every disaster. But they weren’t looking up. On Easter evening, gathered in the upper room, their heads were hanging low in fear and shame. And Jesus would have none of it! He did not let his disciples remain in their dark defeat and disappointment. He came. He lifted up their heads. He gave them new joy and new hope. He does the same for you, today. God does not want you plodding through life with your head hung low. He does not want you in a state of fear, despondency, embarrassment, apprehension, or shame. He wants you confident, joyful and expectant. You are confident because he is faithful. He keeps his promises. He will come again, and we do know when. No, the Bible does not tell us the exact day or even year when Jesus will return, but it does tell us when he will come: he comes today, right now. Look, up here. He’s coming right now, right here. In flesh and blood, here and now, Jesus comes in the Sacrament to you. Whenever we celebrate his life, death, and resurrection in the Lord’s Supper, he comes. He comes to tell you that you are his own. He comes to you to wash away the stain of every sin. He comes to reassure you that he is in control and that he has perfect plans for you. He comes to lift up your head, stand you up tall and certain, and direct you forward into the teeth of the gale with his grace and strength. That’s what happens, here at the altar.
Jesus is the confidence in your living. He’s the spring in your step. He’s the fire in your eye. He’s the resolve in your decisions. He’s the authority in your words. He’s the guarantee in your future. He’s everything. It’s because of him that you lift your head high, today. It’s because of him that you greet every cold blast of this sinful, world with unflinching determination, with your face forward, a gleam in your eye, and a smile on your lips. Christ came for you. Christ comes now, for you. Christ will come again for you. He comes this morning and fills you with his grace, and then sends you away, whole, complete, restored. He heals hurt, erases disappointment, and brings everything to completion—including you. No space is left unfilled, no expectation remains unmet, everything is restored when he comes. He comes, today. And, he comes, certainly, on the Last Day. Our Lord comes and everything comes together in him.
It’s getting colder outside. The chill of sin and evil blows hard and invades every space. It’s a harsh and nasty world—just like Jesus told us it would be. The northwest winds howl with fierce, unrelenting determination. And, that’s all right. Jesus told you to expect it to be that way. When the wickedness and brokenness of the world rage and roar around you and threaten to freeze you, it just means that Jesus is coming soon. You taste that coming, here, this morning. Quit bowing your head and bending to the wind’s icy fury.
Lift your head up.
Greet the promise of the day.
Christ is on the way.
Your redemption is drawing nigh;
Meet the gale with face held high.
Amen.