John 10:22-30
Tribulation: "great affliction, trial, distress, suffering; an experience that
tests one's endurance, patience, or faith" - in other words, NOT what
we would consider a good time!
Most are at least familiar with the idea
of the biblical, seven-year "Tribulation" period which is believed to
immediately precede the return of Messiah.
I also think most understand the "seven years" is not to be
taken literally; at the very least, seven years should not be understood
according to a human concept of time since we must also understand that when
Jesus teaches us not to worry about "when" ("for it is not for
you to know"), He is reminding us that time in this matter is clearly in
accordance with YHWH's own divine timetable.
We have our own task within this timetable - not after.
The concept of a tribulation period,
however, should not be summarily dismissed by the faithful because Jesus also
mentions this period in a practical application, how-it-matters-to-us-today way
in the "parable of the sower": "He who received the seed on stony
places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet
he has no root in himself but endures only for a while (I add, only as
long as it 'feels' good or as long as it's 'safe').
For when the tribulation or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately he stumbles" (Matthew
13:20-21 NKJV). The NRSV says "trouble or persecution,
both indicating two different circumstances of spiritual distress and
challenge.
When persecution of the early Church was
beginning to heat up, St. Peter encouraged his followers not to give more
credit to the challenge than was due: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery
ordeal that is taking place among you to test you as though something
strange were happening to you" (1
Peter 4:12). Could it be said that
Peter is simply acknowledging that "life is hard" especially for
those who go against the grain of the dominant culture? Christians did that in Peter's day; today,
not so much. Today we are encouraged to
be "tolerant" of the dominant culture, not "faithful" to
the Eternal God.
I have said it before, and I will say it
again before I go further: "End of Time" theology is, at best tricky
and at worst, spiritually dangerous.
When it comes to trying to pin down a finite period in which THE
Tribulation is, was, or will be, theologians do not agree because the Bible is
not clear about "when" - and for good reason, I think, if we take
Jesus at His word that it is "not for you to know".
Someone once said, 'let us stop worrying
about life-after-death, and focus more on life-until-death' ("discipleship")
but even this begs the question for the faithful: if there is no heaven and no
hell, no spiritual reward or punishment, would we still bother with Jesus
anymore than we might bother with Socrates?
Because to really follow Him, to really devote ourselves to what He not
only preached but practiced - AND COMMANDED - is going to bring trouble of its
own because the life Jesus led was COMPLETELY CONTRARY to the dominant culture
of His day. Following Jesus was
dangerous in every sense of the word - and became even more so after the Day of
Pentecost. How have we come to believe
it is any safer today? We have made it
safe, but it cannot be biblically measured that we have made it
"respectable" because for the most part, the Church today chooses to
'follow' Jesus - BUT - at a very safe distance so that His life will not
interfere with ours.
The "Great Ordeal" mentioned
in the Revelation (7:14) seems to be
a reference to that defined, seven-year Tribulation period, but I have often
wondered how it matters to us especially in a nation in which persecution of
Christians simply DOES NOT HAPPEN. Daily
living can be pretty tough on its own, with its own challenges and temptations;
so could this "great ordeal" just be the "great ordeal" of
mortal life itself for those who devote themselves to the Lord?
That "great ordeal" is a time
of testing whether in the concept of Tribulation or in the manner of the life
we choose to lead "in Jesus' name" - facing and
resisting all manner of temptation - and whether we are truly giving glory to
the Most High God - OR - if we are merely using His name "in vain" to
suit our purposes, to make ourselves feel good about what we do even if what we
do is contrary to the Holy Scriptures (assuming we even know the Scriptures!). We cannot escape the "pain" of life
whether it is the everyday, run-of-the-mill heart aches and heart breaks and
disappointments we endure - OR - somehow getting caught up in the cosmic battle
between Good and evil by suffering persecution OR succumbing to temptations.
We are mortals; we are going to get hurt,
Christian or not, often by self-infliction.
Physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually, we all must endure. It is not a matter of whether we will
survive, however, if we are of the "sheep" to which Jesus refers in John's gospel. The Flock of the Great Shepherd. The ones who will allow themselves to be
moved from one pasture to the next for our protection and well-being; "heeding"
the Voice (responding) rather than merely "hearing" the sound
of His voice. There is a profound
difference.
For those who will obviously choose not
to follow Messiah, including so-called "believers" (not to be
confused with actual "disciples"), the matter of survival of this
"great ordeal" rests entirely on running in circles and surrendering
themselves to whatever "fad" (aka, "temptation") happens to
be popular and promises to give what it clearly does not have the power to
give: a real and lasting sense of purpose.
But not only commercial practices but cultural ones as well: drugs,
alcohol, sex, mindless consumerism, hoarding - all desperate attempts to add
meaning to their lives and finding nothing but pain, degradation, and
emptiness. This, for many, is real life.
Because these "fads" obviously
"fade", they cannot be depended on - and yet we spend extraordinary
amounts of time, energy, and money on these things that promise us anything
"too good to be true".
Conventional wisdom and experience have clearly shown us that if it does
indeed sound "too good to be true", it is probably not true at
all. Yet in a moment of weakness or
desperation and in spite of our better judgment in the context of what is
actually written in the Holy Scriptures, we dare to hope that perhaps this time
it may be true. It never is, of course,
and we are left weaker and more vulnerable than before. And totally lost - because while we may claim
to have "heard" the Voice of the Great Shepherd, it is in
these moments when we prove that we failed to "heed" the Voice
of the Great Shepherd.
In this manner of real life, then, how
are the "sheep" identified?
Exactly who is Jesus talking about?
Those who continue to cling to some random event from long ago hoping
for some "magical" quality - OR - those who manage and order their
daily living in devotion to the Risen Christ?
There are many who have gotten caught up in these false promises in
search of fortune or easy living or personal happiness in pursuing everything
the evil one tried to use against our Lord in the wilderness. Jesus, you recall, rejected them all in favor
of the Holy Father. Somehow, we have
managed to convince ourselves that we can have all that the evil one tried to
tempt our Lord with AND enjoy the blessings of the Almighty God and Father at
the same time!! These are NOT the sheep
of the Great Shepherd!!
"My sheep ... follow
Me",
says our Lord. Not incidentally but
purposefully and constantly. Not by
"magic" but by sheer will to spend an entire life in pursuit of
something much greater than self. THESE
are the ones who have been given the hope of eternal life; the ones who
"FOLLOW" Him. All day. Every day.
Morning. Noon. And Night.
I think we can all identify those
Christ-less moments in our lives when we get so busy with what we want to do
that we fail to acknowledge and DO what we must do. And when it comes to trust itself, I think we
all have serious trust issues. Now,
however, is the time to get past those trust issues and leave everything at the
altar of our Lord. We remember the
Passover each time we come forward to partake in the Supper of the Lord. We remember that the Passover required
complete trust in our Lord right before we are to be "called out"
from the bondage we have willingly submitted to over time - without hardly a
notice.
Today is the Day of the Lord. Today is the Day of your new-found Freedom
from bondage to sin and death. Today is
your day of renewal in discipleship.
Today is the day we must SHOW our Lord we really do trust Him. NOT to "get us to Heaven" for our
own sake - BUT to get us through the Tribulation, the period of testing, TOGETHER
for the sake of the Holy Church AND our immortal souls.
Trust this, HEED the Voice, and we will
see The Light at the end of the long tunnel of Tribulation. AMEN.
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