Seeing the Future

The Rev. Joseph Winston

June 22, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
It sometimes seems that there is a common desire in humanity to see what lies
ahead of us. Our written works, technological advances, and markets show us that
we want to know what will happen.
Science fiction writers are but one group of people who try to see what the
future holds for us. A well-known and widely respected author of this type of
literature would be Jules Verne (1828-1905). His classic book Twenty Thousand
Leagues under the Sea written in 1870 described ways how people could work and
live underwater. Another illustration of an author who writes about what might
occur would be the novelist H. G. Wells (1866-1946). His masterpiece The War of
the Worlds published in 1898 warned society about the forces that science could
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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unleash on the world.
Researchers in labs all around the world do something similar to the great
science fiction authors. Not only do these men and women see what might be pos-
sible but they also try to invent the future. Take for example Thomas Alva Edison
(1847-1931). His brilliant mind brought to market such items as the incandescent
light bulb and the phonograph. These two inventions revolutionized the world. By
displacing fire as the primary way of generating light, Edison made the houses and
the workplace safer. The phonograph brought a personal music selection into the
home and actually, it is the forerunner of the iPod that so many of us use today.
Alexander Graham Bell, a contemporary of Edison, gave the first public demon-
stration of the telephone in 1876. One year later Bell Telephone was founded and
as they say, “The rest is history.” Because of his work, we now can talk to just
about anyone. Orville (1871-1948) and Wilbur (1867-1912) Wright were the first
to make a controlled flight in a powered aircraft. Five years later in 1908, they in-
vented the first airplane that carried passengers. We can now quickly travel across
the world because of their efforts.
Finally, there is the group of people who have gotten a bad name during the
past few weeks because of their speculation about the price of oil. Traders are
those individuals who try to see what direction the market is moving so that they
can make a profit. Basically, they try to buy low and sell high. This wheeling and
dealing might include agricultural goods such as wheat or rice, currencies like the
dollar or the euro, or one of the many stocks.
Seeing the future is one of the common themes that runs throughout all our

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lessons today.
Look at the first lesson. The prophet Jeremiah has been given by God a vi-
sion of what will occur to Jerusalem and all the surrounding towns and villages.
Violence and destruction will move through the land of Israel because of what
the people have done. They have left the L ORD for other gods that demanded the
sacrifice their children (Jeremiah 19).
The psalmist in the second lesson clearly sees that he will not live much longer
if the Lord does not come in and save him. His family does not share in his vision
that God helps. They have completely abandoned him but this does not deter the
author from his task of asking God for assistance. Over and over, the psalmist asks
the Lord to come to his aid.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks of the day when God’s Word will be pro-
claimed publicly. He also tells us the message the He brings the sword that divides
families. Jesus is not calling for warfare either now or at the end of time.2 Rather,
Jesus is tell us what has happened in the past and what will continue to happen
in the future. Some people will reject Jesus and this decision might cause painful
breaks in the family.3
Probably the most important example of seeing what the future holds is found
in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Somehow, Paul received a status report
about the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:13). To put it bluntly, Paul was not very
happy with the news brought to him by some trusted insider. It appears that some
2
S.J. Daniel J. Harrington; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra Pagina Se-
ries, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 150.
3
Ibid., p. 151.

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of the Christians were living just like everyone else (Romans 1:18-32). This of
course upset other members of the church. So, they decided to pronounce judg-
ment on their fellow Christians. However, there was one little problem. The judges
were doing the same things as the accused. It was just that they had not yet been
caught in the act (Romans 2:1-16). Another faction of the church was firmly con-
vinced that Christians must also be Jews (Romans 2:17-3:18).
From what has gone before, it is clear that Paul does not like the direction
the church in Rome is taking. With obvious frustration in his voice, he asks the
church, “What then are we to say (Romans 6:1a)?” Paul continues with a follow
up question that raises the next issue, “Shall we continue in sin in order that grace
may abound?”
The grace that Paul speaks of in his letter to the Romans is one of absolute
acceptance. Before Jesus, the Gentiles, that is you and I, could not come before
God or into God’s presence because we did not do what was required of us (Ro-
mans 2:14-16). Fortunately for us, God decided to have mercy and compassion on
us (Romans 9:15-16). We see this most clearly in the death of Jesus. He died on
the cross for you and I even though we continued to rebel against God (Romans
5:8). This generosity of God is also found in the other gifts that Jesus gives us:
forgiveness of sins (Romans 3:25), the peace that we are no longer at odds with
God (Romans 5:1), and the eternal life (Romans 2:7, 6:23, 8:8).
God’s unconditional welcoming by its very nature is a gift to us that God does
not take away. As we all know, grace also comes to us when we do not deserve
it. These two unchangeable attributes of God’s grace gave the Christians in Rome

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the incorrect idea that nothing in their lives had to change. Paul responds to this
mistaken assumption with the phrase, “By no means!” or in the words of an older
translation, “God forbid!”
The rest of our lesson from Paul’s letter to the Romans explains what will
happen to us. Our baptism unites us with Christ (Romans 6:3). On first glance,
it might be surprising that we join Christ on the cross. There is a reason why we
must be there on the tree. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We are paying
what we owe. This also means that we must allow death to take its complete
course. Our body is totally destroyed and along with it, our ability to sin because
everyone knows dead people cannot do anything at all (Romans 6:6-7). The next
part of our future is our resurrection (Romans 6:5). We are given new life that is
markedly different from our previous life. We are one with Jesus (Romans 6:5)
and we are free from sin (Romans 6:7).
No longer is the cross that killed Jesus and us a tree of death. It like us has
been given new life. God has transformed the tree that killed His Son and us into
a tree of life.
At the end of this portion of the Paul’s letter, Paul draws several conclusions
that should sound familiar to us because they are included in the confession and
absolution that we use here at Tree of Life. Christ’s death on the tree was for all
the sins of the world (Romans 6:10). Paul then tells us that Jesus continues the life
of service to the Father that He lead before His birth (Romans 6:10). The results
of our baptism into Christ’s death on the cross and our new life are twofold. First,
we are dead to sin (Romans 6:11). This simply means that sin has no power over

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us. We are free to live. This brings us to Paul’s final point. The life that is required
of us is one of service (Romans 6:11). We are to work for God by living like Jesus.
The question that each of us must truthfully answer is simply this, “Have you
seen the future?” We all have. It lies just outside the front doors of this building.
It is a cemetery. Every one of us will end up in some place like this because we
will all die.
A peaceful cemetery graced by beautiful landscaping does not have to be the
end of our story. There can be something more. We can have a future that never
ends. There can be eternal life with God. All that it takes is for us to stop rejecting
the gifts God offers us.
This opportunity is presented to us every moment of every day. By the power
of the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to us and says, “All that I have is yours. I give
these gifts of forgiveness, peace, and life to you, not because you deserve them
but because I love you.” Do not turn Christ away.
Jesus knows what will happen next. You will not refuse what He offers you.
Joined together as One, you along with your sins will die with Him and you will
rise with Him. Jesus also realizes that you continually need Him. Sometime in the
future, you will decide that your desires are the most important thing in the whole
world and you will fall back into your old lifestyle. This action on our part does
not deter Jesus from His mission. Once more, He will offer to die with us so that
we might live with Him.
Finally, when that day comes when we enter the grave for the last time, we
will not be afraid. We have been there before with Christ and we know what will

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happen next. Our body and our sins will die and we will once again awake a new
creation.
Somewhere deep inside each of us is the need to know the future. It is there
because we all realize that there must be something more to life. Science fiction
authors know this. They tell us stories that attempt to give us an accurate glimpse
into the future. Researchers acknowledge this reality and they work long hours to
make their vision of what will be happen. Traders use it to their advantage. They
bet large sums of money that their intuition is correct.
We do not have to read books of fiction, wait for the work of researchers, or
trust in the intuition of traders. God has given us something else. The Word of the
Lord has promised that Jesus will always be with us.
Last week God blessed some of us when we saw the future of the church.
About one hundred individuals, evenly split between adults and children attended
Vacation Bible School here at the Tree of Life. The leaders taught the youth five
different stories about God and our responses of sharing with others, growing
in the faith, loving others, praising God, and giving our time and talents to our
neighbors. The children enjoyed the program that reinforced the lessons through
singing songs and playing games. None of this would have been possible with out
the countless work done by all the volunteers.
God has great plans for Tree of Life. We have been placed here to tell others
this message. The Tree of Life is where God brings the dead to life.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and

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minds through Christ Jesus.”4

References

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra
Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991).

4
Philippians 4:7.