Why The Word Defines Reality, Despite Reason And Emotions

Text: Luke 21:25-36

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  

We do not like it when things are bad.  For example, when you see pictures of a natural disaster, a starving child, or a horrific car accident, part of you wants to turn your head away.  It is just easier that way.  

Now, if it isn’t natural disasters, consider for a moment how we often avoid going to the hospital, how we feel uncomfortable at funerals, and how we get uncomfortable with doctor test results.

Simply stated, we don’t like it when things appear dark.  We don’t like it when our world is unpleasant.  Instead, we want a growing stock market, good blood test results, peace in the world, and a lollypop.  In fact, we have this peculiar notion about us that we are often drawn to comforting falsehoods because they shield us from unpleasant realities and difficult emotions.  We want to avoid pain, we don’t want our worlds to change, and we want to feel emotionally satisfied, which leads us at times to rely on deceiving lies.  Again, it is just easier this way.    

Now, I don’t have to tell you that there are a bunch of other ways that we try to avoid dark and unpleasant things in our lives. We can distract ourselves by keeping busy with projects; we can drown our worry with substance abuse; we can think overly positive thoughts to combat the treachery we are hearing, and so forth.  There are thousands of other tricks that help us cope with this topsy-turvy world we live in.  

There are times, though, when we are not successful in avoiding the darkness of life – when our world is not pleasant. Indeed, there are times when the world and its problems have a way of becoming very loud so that we can do nothing but become terrified.  And when this happens, we get desperate.  We can freak out or break in two.  You know what I am talking about, those times in life when life runs you over and then backs up and does it again a second time.  When this happens, we often resort to wanting to give up.  Depression can set.  Bitterness can spring up, giving way to hatred for just about everything.  And in many cases, suicide will break forth, and a person will end it all.  

Dear friends, in our Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus talks about cosmic events in the stars, earthly events like storms and tidal waves, and worldwide confusion among nations.  In other words, the way Jesus talks about the world is as if all of creation is being torn apart – falling apart with chaos. Now, to be clear, Jesus focuses on these events as indicators of the world's end.  However, the application is still the same.  That is to say; whether it is the end of the world or just another day of the grind, when everything seems as if it is tumbling down and being torn apart, we are to raise our heads with hope, not drop them with fear.  But why?  

Dear friends, you may have noticed that I often call this life we find ourselves in ‘the vale of tears.’  This phrase, ‘vale of tears,’ is a poetic phrase that refers to the sorrows and struggles of earthly life.  The word vale means valley – and as you know, a valley is typically low and full of shadows.  The second part of the phrase is tears.  Tears are marks of pain, loss, and trials.  And so, put together the phrase ‘vale of tears’ reflects the struggle of suffering that a person travels through in this life.  

It is important to remember that the phrase, ‘vale of tears,’ is not a permanent place for you and me.  It is not the final destination for the Christian.  Instead, it is the journey through which you – as Christians - are traveling.  As we travel through this world from our birth to the grave, our journey is marked by many shadows and tears.  To deny the valley of tears is to deny reality.  We all travel through the valley.  We all have tears.  Do not believe for a moment that all those super positive motivational speakers and polished celebrities are not in the valley and do not have tears.  Everyone is in the valley, for this world is cursed by sin.  Everyone will have tears – suffering – for this is the nature of this world impacted by the curse of sin.  

And so, to deny the reality of the vale of tears is to be a fool.  And to be given to irrational fear is not helpful either.  And so, what shall you Christians do when the shadow of the valley extends over you? The answer: you are to lift up your chins and raise your heads.  

But let’s clarify this a bit; when Jesus tells us to lift our chins and raise our heads, is He telling us Christians to ‘man-up?’  Is Jesus barking at you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and drudge through the vale of tears with spiritual grit and holy tenacity?  No, He is not.  You see, when you are told to lift up your chin and raise your head, you are being told not to rely upon your own reason and wisdom – what you see before you.  You are told to direct your eyes away from the terrifying things in the vale of tears and ignore the loud thundering and the noisy pain of life – you are not to give into fear of the troubles of the valley and instead take hold of the Word of God.  Baptized Saints, you are called to lift up your chin and raise your head, not giving these dreadful signs more credit than they are due but allowing these things dreadful signs to redirect you to the promises of God’s Word.  

Let me try to flesh this out for you a bit more.  Let’s use an example: a Christian funeral.  

At funeral services, you encounter dead people.  Think back to your last Christian funeral: the body of your loved one is motionless and cold. The deceased person is also filled with formaldehyde, methanol, and other chemicals to halt decomposition, prevent bacterial growth, and dye natural coloring.  After the funeral, the door to their 300-pound casket is shut, and then the deceased is laid in a 3,000-pound concrete burial vault with an additional 15,000 pounds of soil on top.  Simply looking at this with natural reason and wisdom, one would have to conclude that the deceased will be confined to that grave forever.  And yet, we Christians do not look at the formaldehyde, methanol, chemicals, vault, and soil, saying, “Grandma Susan is dead forever.”  No, at the grave of our loved ones who are baptized into Christ, we take hold of the Word of God and speak through our tears and pain, despite all appearances, 

“Grandma Susan will awaken in glory, and we will see her face to face in the splendor of Christ.”

“The trumpet will sound, and Grandma Susan will be raised bodily up and out of the grave beyond the reach of death, never to die again.  She is sown with a perishable body but will be raised in immortality.”

You see, Baptized Saints, when Jesus tells us that the sky and earth will wear out but that His Word won’t, He is telling us that His Word defines reality and has the final word.  That is to say, if the world were to return to chaos, start self-destructing, and the whole universe start coming apart at the seams, the Word of the Lord will stand for eternity as a rock of trust and confidence for you.  God’s Word defines reality despite what our reason, senses, and wisdom tell us otherwise.  

And so, Baptized Saints, if a comet is hurling towards us at 10,000 mph, or if you hear that we are in World War III, or the doctor tells you that you have stage 4 cancer, or if you are at the funeral of a loved one who just died in Christ – lift up your chins… raise your heads… open your ears… your redemption draws near to you…  Listen to the Holy Word of God that is eternal, true, and reality for you:  

“This valley of tears is just a little while.  Christ Jesus will make all things new.  There will be a new heaven and earth, where every tear from the vale of tears will be wiped away forever.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old will pass away.”  

Some will call this blind faith.  Perhaps they would be correct if Jesus had not risen from the dead.  But Jesus has risen from the dead, and so we listen to Jesus’ Word despite everything else.  His Word defines reality: what is and what is not and what is to come.  

Baptized Saints, be on guard.  Do not let go of the Word of God.  Do not let the Word become dull to your ears.  But lift your chins, raise your heads, and open your ears to Jesus’ Word that stands firm in the heavens.  Rest in the reality of the Word that sanctifies you, defines reality, governs creation, and is the foundation of all things.  

In the name of the eternal Word of God – Jesus Christ.  Amen.