18.11.2025
Saint Francis
23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Nov. 16, 2025
St. Francis Lutheran Church
Pastor Elizabeth Ekdale
Dear Partners in Ministry -- grace, mercy and peace from God who invites us to trust, delight and commit to God’s ways. Amen.
We are unaccustomed to giving more than a passing thought about end-times, trials and tribulations. This morning, we will hear from Jesus about these very subjects: “Nation will rise against nation, there will be great earthquakes (something we don’t want to hear about in SF), and in various places famines and pestilences; terrors, and great signs.”
But reflection about end of the world biblical texts is no longer the sole property of itinerant preachers on Market Street. I have been listening to you these past several weeks and many of you have indicated deep concern about the state of affairs in our country, the future of our world, our planet, and humanity.
Everyone clamored around Jesus wanting to know exactly when will the end times arrive and what will be the sign this is about to take place? Jesus' response: Nobody knows the day and the hour of the end except God alone. This means that if you think you know when it’s coming, the very fact you think so is proof that you don’t. These ancient words from Luke sound so archaic with their predictions of wars and rumors of wars and yet, when we look around at the sad state of the world, the words may not seem so strange and far off after all.
Historian and social critic Christopher Lasch remarks in his book, The Minimal Self - Psychic Survival in Troubled Times, our modern world makes “survival artists” of us all. Fearful about the water we drink, the air we breathe, the great mushroom cloud looming over the horizon, we retreat into extreme self-concern in order to get by as best we can and grab what we can.
Do we let our fears get the best of us? Jesus admonishes, “Do not be terrified, when you hear of wars and tumults.” Do not be afraid, we hear over and over in the bible.
But how is it to possible to think realistically of the future - whether the future of our world, our church, our country and not be terrified?
One way is how psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton who recently died, describes it as “nuclear numbness” -- paralysis brought on by the terror of the future.
Another way to respond is how some of the wealthier members of the congregation in Thessalonica responded as we heard in our 2nd reading.
The community at Thessalonica was so convinced the end times were imminent that they gave up completely -- stopped working, stopped caring for one another, and resigned themselves to live off their neighbors for food and other items. Paul excoriated them for this kind of thinking.
There is another way -- a way of hope, a way of faith, a way of trust. To not be terrified and paralyzed about the future is only possible for those who trust that something redemptive and decisive has happened in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus . . . that God has entered our world as one who loves us, and despite what we have done with the world, God will never abandon us and the world.
St. Paul’s counsel to the Thessalonians is relevant for own lives. Don’t give up on the world. Work even harder for the gospel of Jesus Christ, continue to live in hope and build up the reign of God. And, for God’s sake, get your priorities straight. To live in faith and hope in the world means that we cultivate what is truly important. Paul stresses perseverance on working, serving and caring for one’s neighbor even when one is not sure about the future. Ironically, it is this very sense of being uncertain that can help us discern what is most important for our lives and the lives of our neighbors.
What is unnecessary or trivial? What is essential or a non-negotiable?
Christian spirituality, one preacher commented, is about prioritizing our loves. Love of God, love of neighbor and neighborhood and love of self. None of this is simple or easy. It is far easier to be complacent or simply numb out and not care when all we hear about is bad news. Paul urges us on: “Siblings, do not weary of doing what is right.”
Finally, we need to care of each other and ourselves. The ongoing efforts of justice making and serving our neighbors can be exhausting. We are commanded to honor the sabbath -- to take time to rest, to pray, to play (canasta) to take a screen time break, to celebrate, to reflect, in order to keep our hearts open and alive to the grace of God.
Together -- by supporting one another and prioritizing our life together in Christ, we can live securely in the present without the anxiety about the future eating away at us. We can maintain a spirit of hope and confidence that there is no better service for us than in our own way, in our own place, in this community -- witnessing to God’s kind and merciful and just reign for the world and for all of creation.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
