The Double-Zero Decade was Good within God
Luke 12:4-8 assures us that not one of us or nothing in our lives is forgotten by God, except our sins alone. Don't be afraid of the past, of the present, or the future. Take those double-zeros of the first decade of this century, arrange them within the word God and know that "The Double-Zero Decade was Good within God." January 1, 2010.
Remember the Y2K alarm at the beginning of 2000? We feared that as the world's computerized clocks clicked to double zeros it would trigger a millennial meltdown. The first seconds and minutes of the decade showed no signs of chaos. As a matter of fact, after the first hours and days of the year 2000 those fears proved to be unnecessary. But maybe there was something to the alarm, not so much related to the first ten minutes of the century but the first ten years.
TIME magazine has dubbed it the "Decade from Hell" (http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1942834,00.html) and it's not difficult to understand why. Bookended by economic crashes it was the worst decade ever for U.S. stocks. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were followed not by peace, love, and understanding but by corrupt CEO's and scandalous politicians and athletes. Foreign born terrorism and homegrown violence multiplied in the form of anthrax letters, school massacres, sniper shootings, and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – there were more mass shootings and school attacks in this country and more large-scale terrorist bombings worldwide than in any previous decade. Natural disasters like tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on innocent people. Man-made debacles like one of the most discombobulated presidential elections in U.S. history polarized politics further. Add to that the recent, record-breaking job losses and foreclosures. Here in downtown Milwaukee the success of the Marquette Interchange construction is overshadowed by a Park East redevelopment that has cancelled as many plans as it has barren lots waiting for investors. And the completion of MSOE's Kern Center and our own Grace Center benefit the community but frustrate people looking for parking here at Grace, especially suburban visitors, the elderly, and parents lugging baby seats and diaper bags. We saw the completion of the Grace Center and enjoy its use, but this high privilege is accompanied by high responsibility; the mortgage is now bullying our budget with its $30,000/month demand that threatens to pull money and ministry away from the general fund because financial gifts to the building fund are not keeping up with mortgage payments. Our Wisconsin Synod was dealt unexpected and unprecedented losses in revenue and, as a result, cutbacks in ministry and manpower. If that's not enough to make us pull the covers up higher and just stay in bed tomorrow morning, our own personal and family troubles over the last decade might just be enough for us to agree with those who want to call it the "Double Zero Decade," as in nothing good at all from 2000 through 2009. Double zero!
How do you respond to that? Simply put on a happy face and refuse to be paralyzed by pessimism? Okay, but on what basis? Al-Qaida is taking terrorism to another level. BPA contaminants are just the beginning of new cancer-causing discoveries that will turn our everyday conveniences into common killers (and will we be able to give them up?) The crippling effects of personal and national debt still lurk around the corner. Ignore those scary signs and you're as safe as a silly ostrich with its head in the sand. Fear them and you're on God's hit list. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell."
Terrorists can kill our bodies, but not our souls. Cancer can rob our loved ones of life, but not eternal life. Frozen salaries or unemployment can diminish our lifestyle, but not our status as children of God. Disasters or accidents can ruin our homes or possessions, but not the miraculous working of God's Word or prayer in our lives. Faithlessly fixating on such physical fears means we believe physical well being is necessary for our security and survival. "If I have health and wealth I'm in good shape," is our motto, implying that if we don't have health and wealth we're not in good shape. We're no better than the pagans if that is our hope. Through the prophet Nahum, God condemns the Ninevites to whom he had sent Jonah with promises of forgiveness, peace, and security. Remember, they repented? The whole city believed in God! But then, in times of trouble, they just couldn't resist the need to trust in something more tangible. So they paid wealthy tribute to nations around them to protect them as allies, and they beefed up their army to healthy numbers for further security. Meanwhile a merciful God stood with his arms wide open. Empty. Waiting for them to come, but their fears turned them away from God to health and wealth – mocking the giver of all, the Savior of all, and the Lord of all. "Although they have allies and are numerous," God promised, "they will be cut off and pass away … they will be completely destroyed" (Nahum 1:12,15). Our God who calls himself jealous will not stand around and let us make allies with the health and wealth in this world, as if they are God and allegiance with them means safety and providing. According to Jesus, the danger of health and wealth collapsing around us isn't nearly as fatal as the danger of mocking the Lord and God of heaven and hell: "Yes, I tell you, fear him."
In the movie Shrek the kind ogre and his companion, Donkey, are running in fear from their enemies through caverns and around corners, dodging arrows and jumping cliffs, only to meet up with a fire-breathing dragon. At that point the enemies chasing them become less of a concern than the killer dragon. The physical enemies threatening our security and providing will become less of a concern to us if we are cornered by the fire-hot anger of God. But God would rather have our worldly enemies become less of a concern to us because we simply trust him above all. It didn't take long for Dragon to see Donkey and woo with affection. Donkey, realizing it was in his best interest not to resist, reciprocated so that Dragon became ally not enemy. God is the greatest of all enemies for those who resist and mock him, and the greatest of all allies for those who repent and believe. Because God loves you, the fear threatened by his dangerous power melts into a faith that trusts his power as saving and good.
None forgotten
To convince us, Jesus tells us to think of the sparrows. Cute, common birds we see fluttering around rural barns, suburban backyards, or downtown buildings. They're everywhere, a dime a dozen. Compared to airport security, the economic crisis, or paying for a mortgage the safety of sparrows seems insignifcant. There is no Department of Sparrow Aviation or non-profit shelter for homeless sparrows. They're on their own and they do fine. Well, actually, they're not on their own. "Not one of them is forgotten by God." Think of your mental list of priorities for 2010, I highly doubt "take care of sparrows" is on it. But it's on God's list. Sparrows are important to him, after all he made each one, and he never takes his eye off any one of them. Now, sparrows don't have souls, Jesus wasn't born for sparrows, Jesus didn't die for sparrows, God doesn't predestine sparrows or claim sparrows as his children or promise them eternal life, Jesus doesn't give his own body and his own blood to sparrows, and the Holy Spirit doesn't take up residence in them through baptism. Yet none is forgotten. If God doesn't make promises of salvation to sparrows but keeps his watchful eye on them … Just listen to Jesus: "Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." None is forgotten.
All counted
140,000. That's the average number of hairs on a blonde woman's head. 23 feet. That's the average amount of beard a man has shaved off his face at the rate of 1/64 inch per day from the age of 20 to 65. Not that we're counting, but God is. "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid." Right now we could probably make list 140,000 items long of the massive amount of concerns God has each day all over the world – all of them more important than a piece of hair. So if a piece of hair, way down on this list, matters to God then everything else more important than hair matters to God as well. This is more than supreme knowledge. It's applying supreme knowledge. And applying supreme knowledge to counting hairs is either inefficient use of resources or extraordinary, loving attention to details so that nothing needs to worry us. Nothing, not even a piece of hair. Because God counts everything, and everything counts to God. Everything matters. People matter. You matter. Your concerns matter. Your accomplishments matter. Your feelings matter. Your relationships matter. Your secret hopes matter. Your New Year's resolutions matter. If it matters to you, it matters to God.
After a decade of discord it's no surprise that people can't even agree when it ends. Most say that the decade concludes at midnight on December 31, 2009 but some say a decade can't begin in a year that ends with zero and therefore 2010 is the final year of the decade, not the first year in the next. Then again who really cares? God cares. To God, who feeds every sparrow and forgives every sinner, nobody is forgotten, and nothing in our lives is forgotten except our sins alone. To God, who counts hairs and cares for us with detailed attention, everything in our lives matters. Don't be afraid of the past, of the present, or the future. Take those double-zeros of the first decade of this century, arrange them within the word God as double-O's and, within God, all is G-O-O-D. Amen.
Preached at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) January 1, 2010
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