Pentecost 22 Sermon Yr C
November 10, 2019
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
The Rev. Canon Michael J. Horvath
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Throughout history, various men (and as far as I can tell, they have all been men) have fallen into the trap of believing themselves to be God. Students of the New Testament and early Christianity mostly remember Caligula for his order to have statues of himself set up in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 40 CE as evidence of his divine status. Although the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius had been “divinized,” or declared to be Gods after their deaths by the Roman Senate, Caligula was the first emperor to demand this worshipful status during his own lifetime. He reigned in the manner of a fearsome and tyrannical god, saying things like “Let them hate me, so long as they fear me.” In the end, and after the years of turmoil that he made the Roman Empire and its people suffer, he died simply a man, killed by his own bodyguards.
Jim Jones was possibly the most notorious person in recent history to claim to be God. He is responsible for the gut-wrenching Jonestown Massacre in Guyana in 1978, in which 918 people died after he convinced them to commit mass suicide. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” became proverbial.
And the list of those who have assumed divine status for themselves, or who have been deified by followers is long – Alexander the Great, for example, and Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who called himself God Manifest and also erected a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem, leading to the Maccabean revolt). Amusingly, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of the Queen of England, is considered a god by a tribe in some South Pacific Islands. His cult is called The Prince Philip Movement and is quite active, so I understand.
When we hear these claims of assumed divinity, it’s easy to smirk and laugh it off as some kind of mental deficiency or psychological instability that affected these men, and were, in their own ways, one offs. They are historical freaks of nature, whose actions and declarations didn’t amount to a hill of beans, but often resulted in the loss of countless lives.
As we see, assuming the very nature of being God gave some of these men license to act in ways that were damaging and exploitative, without a sense of accountability to anyone other than themselves. That is what their twisted view of being God is all about. And what is equally disturbing is that this was the kind of god their followers were looking for. These men were able to convince their followers that the End of Days was upon them and they had the key to life eternal. False kings and false prophets are persuasive that way.
In Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians today, we encounter the church in Thessalonica struggling with the arrival of men claiming to be God and that the End of Days had come. They claimed to be Jesus returned to reclaim his people, and the Thessalonian Christians were becoming unsettled and anxious. Was it true, or was it gossip? Were they ready to face their Lord? They turned to Paul for answers. And what does Paul say in response? Don’t be quickly shaken or alarmed, keep your eyes open, don’t let these false gods deceive you, and remember what I taught you.
The letter indicates that the Thessalonians let this news of false gods slow them and perhaps kept them from believing in who they were in Christ and what they were called to do. If they were alarmed by the idea that Christ’s return was near or had already occurred, perhaps it was because they did not think that they were “ready” or “worthy,” and that they might experience something negative when Christ returned. Perhaps they were not confident that Christ loved them. Many refer to this as the “I am not…” lies. “I am not in Christ.” “I am not forgiven.” “I am not worthy of love.” “I am not beloved.” “I am not saved unless I do….” Caught unawares, and caught unprepared, would they be worthy of salvation?
Paul reminds them of who they are by first pointing out, “God chose you.” You are in Christ, you are a child of God, you are beloved. You were chosen, and chosen for salvation: “God chose you as the first fruits for salvation....so that you may obtain the glory of Jesus Christ.”
Our purpose is to live in the glory of the Lord. By the spirit we are sanctified, secure in salvation, and we are now to live this truth out daily. But there are times when we need to be reminded. Obstacles, self-doubt, worry, persecution, and opposition can cause us to question our very faith, to be shaken. Hearing a twisting of the truth or a fanciful false gospel by impostors or demagogues can temporarily stall the growth and service God has for us. In these times, rather, we are to “stand firm and hold fast.”
And we do this through the comfort, strength and encouragement that God offers each of us called to do his work on this earth. The comfort, strength and encouragement that will empower our “every good work and word.”
Truth empowers. The hope and eternal comfort is a gift to us through grace and the love God has for us. By his comfort and strength we become a changed people and it starts to show up in how we live our lives.
And we need to remind ourselves of the comfort, strength and encouragement that God freely makes available to us – especially in times like these, in the world we live in. Lest we think that the “God Complex” is under check, in August our President proudly quoted a follower who said the President was “the King of the Jews” and “the second coming of God.” A few days later, the President went on to describe himself as “the chosen one,” looking up at the sky.
It may sound amusing, and it is certainly comical, but these are not claims that we should take lightly. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, Paul might say today. Because when someone starts to believe that they are indeed God, they say things with impunity without regard to how those words may affect others. Self-proclaimed gods feel comfortable withholding mercy and compassion. And those who have assumed the status of God are not afraid to keep the marginalized on the margins, while fattening a chosen few at the center.
But don’t be deceived, Paul tells the Thessalonians, and us. These are not the workings of a loving and compassionate God. These and similar actions neither proclaim the Good News, nor herald the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. And when we encounter such a god, it is not enough to realize our Christian purpose and calling simply in opposition to that false god. Our comfort, strength and encouragement, indeed our true and only calling, comes from turning ever more purposely towards Jesus – the one who shows us what it is to be truly divine. When we are proclaiming the Good News we are proclaiming that no one is beyond the love and care of God – not women, not children, not widows, not immigrants, not gays, lesbians or trans people, not African-Americans, not Mexicans, not disabled people – no one is beyond God’s love. When we are proclaiming the Good News, we live for the good and welfare of all others.
And when we proclaim the Good News, we also proclaim that God’s creation is a gift, and our stewardship over this gift means that we need to rethink our relationship with the earth. Last week, the President pulled the United States out of the global climate pact known as “The Paris Agreement”, a particularly irresponsible action that threatens some of the world’s most at-risk ecosystems and populations. The Episcopal Church responded to this act by joining the “We Are Still In” movement, a coalition of faith partners, governments, nongovernmental organizations and companies committed to continuing to work toward the Paris agreement’s goals. I am so proud of The Episcopal Church because that is what rejecting false gods looks like in these times. And to be sure, there is a lot to reject in this particular false god.
When our world seems chaotic and consumed by conflict, when false gods appear with false promises, when it is difficult to know who or what to believe, I beg you, brothers and sisters, do not be shaken in mind or alarmed. You see, we don’t need another God. What we need are more servants, and we need to serve each other in loving ways that proclaim the Good News of the True God, in word and deed, because our world is in desperate need of it. Amen.
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