Called to Faith

Sermon basued upon Daniel 12: 1-13. <-- Audio file of sermon.

Good morning. As always it’s a pleasure to be here with you and this week is no exception. You see, worship is one of those spaces where we come and intentionally yet humbly try to watch for God. We catch glimpses of God in music, prayers, the Word, the space, one another, and many indescribable moments. We also catch glimpses of what God wants for us… healing, love, sanctuary, justice, celebration, peace... wholeness, if you will.

I raise this issue about worship not because today’s sermon is about worship but because I think the rich and multi-layered way we experience worship is similar to the rich way we can experience today’s reading from the book of Daniel. You see, this week we continue our look at apocalyptic literary texts from the bible with one that in some ways is the most difficult passage we’ll look at. It’s difficult in several ways but also rich with meaning. But we’re going to try to go from the big picture and zero in on a core piece of meaning.

If you should ever decide to read the book of Daniel, I suggest you do so with an ancient Persian and Babylonian history book one side and a good biblical commentary at your other side while sipping on a big cup of humility. I’m not saying that this book is out of reach for everyday people. I’m saying that the more you engage it, the more it will show you… sort of like worship. So let me start off by sharing with you some of why this is such a complicated text and then we’ll move into figuring out what beauty emerges from its complexity.

First off, if you were following along in your pew bibles, you may have noticed that today’s Daniel text is the last chapter of the book. Daniel is not a very large book and this is a passage that draws to a close a series of stories and visions. I say “series of” because in fact, this book was not written all at one time. When we, the modern reader pick up this book, we see a nicely put together chronicles of a man named Daniel broken into chapters and verses. In reality, the original texts that we pull this from are a combination of scrolls that draw upon the experiences and folklore of the Jewish people while they were in exile. To make matters more interesting, some of those scrolls are in Hebrew while others are in Aramaic. So, we add language issues on top of the historical issues of putting together a book that cuts across time.

Now, all this may not seem important when we read either the book or today’s individual text but it is. It’s important because it means that when we look to interpret the symbols and the stories, we should be even more diligent in our study and care with what we learn. Wars have been started in the name of what people believed this book was telling them. Wars have been started because they were too sure of their own knowledge that they forgot to faithfully watch for what God wanted to reveal.

And this is the key point I believe God has for us today. Our calling is to faith, not knowledge. It is from genuine faith that we see what is important and then grow into knowledge and wisdom that is purposeful and transcending. But even more core, faith is sometimes all we have… and that is more than good enough.

Okay, so with that long introduction, let’s jump into this scripture text more fully. Chapter 12 is really the end to a longer vision that Daniel is sharing that started in Chapter 10. Like I said before, Daniel and the Jewish people are living in exile. This is a time where they are being terribly mistreated. They aren’t being mistreated necessarily because of their religious beliefs, though there is that too. But more broadly, they’re being victimized because the dictator like leadership is concerned only with conquering more lands and more people. All commoners were subject to oppression and the whims of the royals, not just the Jews.

So these stories that called upon folk heroes like the angelic Michael and Gabriel were a source of hope and comfort to the Jewish people that the suffering they felt would not be the last word. And that’s where we break into this story. The conclusion of this great battle where God’s justice triumphs over these worldly rulers is a time to pause and take it all in. And what happens when Daniel pauses in this vision? He sees resurrection and new life.

Now at this point you might be thinking, “how is it that Pastor Lavender sees this as being about faith? Sounds more like last week’s sermon of God’s triumph and the Lamb’s victory.” Well, it is… but it’s not. This vision was shared with people who would not know that victory during their lifetime. They would continue to know suffering and abuse. So, if we have a promise of victory but we aren’t there yet, we’re left to be faithful in the meantime.

Let’s reread part of this passage. Verses 1-4 read,
‘At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.’

What do we see here? Well, first of all, in a broken world of fear and pride, people are going to suffer. The whole of the book of Daniel is about good, everyday people suffering even when they try to do the right thing. Now we don’t live the wretched lives of the people in exile that starved to death and were held in slave labor but we do know about other ways to suffer, don’t we? Think about your own life. What about times of intense grief and loneliness or fear and uncertainty? We’ve all had them. And we’ll continue to have them. Look around this room or at your friends and family. Unimaginable tragedy strikes without care or concern for how good and faithful we are.

But to the suffering Jews and to us today, this passage offers hope. It offers a vision of deliverance. It offers the first biblical reference to resurrection. Now resurrection is one of those words that sometimes our modern mind doesn’t know what to do with. It’s a word that’s been abused and twisted at times. It’s a word that offers comfort and hope at other times. But what is it?

Well, I spent a lot of time this week reading about resurrection. The Nicene Creed, The Apostles Creed, The Scots Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism… every historical and constitutional document in the reformed Christian tradition refers to resurrection. But by and large, they refer to the resurrection of Christ and its meaning for the life of the church and for us as individuals. Not as much is said about the idea of resurrection and deliverance for the people of God.

But where did I find more information on resurrection? In texts about funerals. We, as a people of faith believe that something happens after we’re dead that does or will transcend death. Our faith heritage is not usually very specific about what that looks like because we just don’t have much biblical guidance one way or another. But we are clear that death is not the last word.

But much like I said of last week’s text, I’m not willing to tell those who are suffering that they have to wait for the hereafter for deliverance and I don’t think Daniel was either.

Resurrection is something that happens in ways we are not always aware of in the midst of it. For the people of Daniel’s time and the generations in exile that read these scrolls, they took heart in the way they passed on parts of themselves, their heritage, and their faith. I say this because of verse 3. “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” This verse is referring to victory found in sharing of ourselves with others, an act of faith.

In the bible, wisdom is never about knowledge or facts. Wisdom is about faithfulness and diligence. People without much knowledge are referred to as wise because they seek more than they speak. They are humble with knowledge and desire understanding over convincing others of their rightness. The wise are also those who remember and hold to the journey that has brought them here and will carry them forward. So when this verse says the “wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky” it’s referring to those who faithfully seek to take part in God’s victory. And that faithfulness will help them lead others to righteousness.

So here we are, back where we started. We’re called to faith. Our hope in resurrection both in the afterlife and now is wrapped up in this faith. For Daniel and his people, their faith was all they had left. It told them of their history, their hope for the future, and sustained them in this time of trial. It was everything to them. And just like the people who read Daniel’s stories found hope in their time, we must ask what is it our faith means to us in this time?

Well, we read from Hebrews 11 today that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That means that faith is that quiet utterance from within that tells us our hopes are not in vain and that we are not delusional but in fact visionary. So when I ask, what is it our faith means to us, I intend that more as something we should go from here and chew on. What are the hopes that well up in us? What things not seen do we believe in? What beliefs make us better people, more Christ-like? What does our faith compel us to do? What do we even think faith is?

When I am back with you on February 6th, we’ll look at one last apocalyptic text and flesh out what some of these questions of faith look like for us as a community of believers. But in the meantime, let us humbly ponder these questions of what is faith and God’s calling to faithfulness, looking for glimpses of God along the way. And let us do so with assuredness that faith is sufficient and it is our calling. Amen.