Knowing What Time It Is

Romans 13: 8-14 Marianne Niesen September 11, 2011

Erma Bombeck, in her book titled When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time To Go Home, observes: "You can always tell when vacationers are going or coming. Travelers who are at the beginning of a trip laugh and tell jokes. Their clothes match ... Those returning are impatient. Every plane they board is like the last one out of Baghdad and they are going to be on it."[1] Erma's scintillating wit captures in a humorous way something of what Paul was getting at in today’s text. It may seem obvious but it is indeed important to know what time it is. Timing is everything! But, Paul was not referring to chronological time. He uses the Greek word ‘kairos’ which refers to a ‘special’ moment, a precipitous time. Surely, you understand, he challenged the Roman Christians, this time in which we live calls us to live honorably. To act with love. To fulfill the law by acting decently toward one another, toward our neighbor. But, here’s the thing - nothing particularly odd had happened. As always, life was life in the Roman Empire. I described something of that in an earlier sermon. There was no particular new crisis that called for things to be new.

So what was this ‘kairos’ moment? What was this ‘time?’ A clue for us is in Paul’s image of ‘waking from sleep’ and ‘day being near.’ Those are Easter images. Remember it was ‘early in the morning, on the first day of the week’ that the disciples found the empty tomb. Easter was all about a new day, new light, a new way. Easter was a call to do now what Jesus had done. Easter was the confirmation that loving enemies and neighbors was the Christian way forward. Jesus you remember, as he stood before Pilate, rejected violence as the way. Now, admittedly, Christians have not done a stellar job of imitating Jesus. Still, as Paul wrote to people living in the midst of a very violent Roman Empire, he called them back to their roots. There is almost a parental tone here… I know you’d like to kill the Romans and give your enemies the what-for but . . .You know what time it is! You know better than that. Act like it. Put on the Lord Jesus. This whole text is full of baptismal images . . . when those early Christians were baptized, they literally were stripped of their old clothes and put on a new white garment, symbolizing a new life in Christ. They were ‘clothed’ in Christ. For Paul, the time in which Christians lived would forever be Easter time. That was the new dawn and the new day. Christians were to respond to the reality of their time with Easter values – love, compassion, forgiveness, justice (which is, quite simply, a world where all have enough). Perhaps you remember that song, written in the 60’s - They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love . . . Paul would have liked that song. That’s what he was getting at!

A person today would really have to be removed from all TV and radio and news to not know that today is September 11, 2011 – exactly 10 years after the terror attack that left 246 people on the four planes dead, 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground dead, and 125 at the Pentagon dead. Memorials are being held all over the country today. TV specials have been produced, songs have been written, TV anchors like Tom Brokaw have been interviewed to share their reflections on what it was like as that day unfolded. I watched countless video clips with titles like What We Learned and Ten Years Later. I was pondering the possibility of sharing one of them with you this Sunday. Some were good. Some not so good. As I watched, over and over, I heard things like . . . we’ve been shaped by 9/11 . . . or . . . they tried to divide us but we came together . . . or . . . we responded to hate with love.

And, as I’ve reflected on it all, I finally came to the conclusion that there is a bit of truth in the noblest of the thoughts as well as a lot of wishful thinking. We did change as a nation on 9/11. They call it a loss of innocence. We realized what most of the world already knew all too well . . . that we are vulnerable, too. And we did come together – but only for a little while. The divisiveness and fear that abound in our nation today are, I would argue, a sad legacy of that day and of the decisions that followed. We’ve been at war for a decade. Families right here have had to make incredible sacrifices so their Moms and Dads and sons and daughters can travel far from home in military service. Ten years ago, most of those who joined the National Guard never left the country. It was a great – and fairly safe - way to serve your country and get education and retirement benefits. Not any more. Today, we celebrate the return from Iraq of members of our church community – like Barb Conner, who’s been gone almost a year. And that story is not unusual. We’re in the midst of an economic crisis that is devastating families and communities. Congress is dysfunctional – and fighting its own war - a far cry from the group of people who came together, sharing their pain and concern, pledging to work together and make compromises.

What time is it? A time of continuing crisis and pain. In many ways, we have been shaped by 9/11 . . . and what Paul reminds us is that there is another way. Those early Christians in Rome faced difficulties also. Powers beyond their control made life difficult. The economic situation was rough. There were huge disparities between rich and poor. The empire was almost constantly at war. And, it was in that environment that Paul challenged them to remember what time it was. To remember that the challenge for the Christian is that we not allow ourselves to be shaped by violence – or terrorism or fear. We are instead ‘Easter people’ and we are to be shaped by Easter.

You may not remember that there was another event on another September 11 that has shaped our St. Paul’s community. It was 6 years ago, on Sunday, September 11, 2005 that we worshipped for the first time in this sanctuary. The Sunday before, we said goodbye to the old building and invited those who could to carry hymnals from there to here. And the next Sunday, we came together and celebrated our first service here. It was a big change and we had our share of moving pains. We had our first children’s time – and, though you may not remember, I remember that there were several people who didn’t like it and didn’t think we should do it. Some people didn’t like the screen. Some people left the church because of the move – but most stayed and worked out how we would be St. Paul’s in this new, fancy, big space. Though everything wasn’t completed by the time we moved in, we have gradually made this home. And today, on this September 11, we add one more important piece to our new home. You may remember that several years ago, the altar cross that we brought with us was stolen. We hoped it would eventually come back but it didn’t. So, this spring, just before Easter, we commissioned Tim Carney, the artist who designed the altar, the baptistery, and the altar furniture to design one more piece. This new altar cross was finished on Friday, in time for Welcome Home Sunday today.

That cross calls us to remember what time it is. We live in Easter time. We are called to be shaped by Easter, by the promise that life wins, that day triumphs, that the only way to real peace is through the power of love. That is not a wimpy statement. Anyone who has tried to choose forgiveness over revenge, hope over fear, love over judgment knows just how difficult it is. Ten years ago, I was stuck in Denver where I had gone for a meeting. Lyle was in Salt Lake City, where he was stuck midway on a journey to visit his Dad. All air traffic was grounded. Somehow – through the grace of God and Hertz Rental Cars – I was able to secure a one-way rental. (And, by the way, Hertz charged me a regular daily rate – none of the customary surcharges for one-way rentals – because the Hertz manager heard I was a pastor and said we’ve got to help her get back to her church. He knew what time it was!) I drove to Salt Lake, picked up Lyle and we made it back by Sunday. It was a surreal experience – as many of you might remember - the turmoil of those days touched everyone – rental car agents, motel clerks, gas station attendants, waitresses. But one of the things I remember most was listening to the radio. Around Denver, I got NPR but once I left the metropolitan area and was driving over the mountains, there wasn’t much available. And, in some of the rural areas through which I was driving, there was only talk radio. Conservative, talk radio. The hate rhetoric was overwhelming. I remember one particular conversation when a person called in and suggested that perhaps all the talk of annihilation and hate and getting those X@#$%s was not helpful. Jesus, after all, told us to love our enemies. That killing usually just produces more killing. The radio talk show host came unglued. He asked with great disdain – and several expletives - if the person was one of those idiotic Christians who thinks loving enemies actually works. The person tried to respond but was immediately cut off and then anyone listening was treated to a barrage of hate mongering and language that I didn’t know they allowed on the airwaves. You may wonder why I even listened but – remember I was driving and, at the very least, it kept me awake. I’ve also never forgotten it.

Following Jesus is easy when things are going well. When everyone agrees. It is quite another matter when the Romans are out to get you. When hate is on the attack. When fear reigns. But, Jesus did not give his followers a pass on this. We are to be shaped by Easter not fear; by resurrection, not death; by hope, not terror. So, on this September 11, 2011, welcome home to St. Paul’s, where we commit once again to help one another live with love in this time. After all, that’s what a church is for. We know the times in which we live . . . and we know what time it is . . . it’s time to let them know we are Christians by our love.

[1] Quote from Bombeck found on esermons.com in the sermonAwake, Christ Is Coming by Richard A. Hasler.