November 15-16, 2025
Pastor Russ Norris

I’ve always been a fan of science fiction, even back when I was in high school. As a freshman in college, I joined the science fiction book club, which led to one of the great moments in my life, when we were
visited by Isaac Asimov, creator of the Foundation series and the three fundamental laws of robotics! In later years, while I still enjoy a good story, my passion for science fiction has faded somewhat, since our modern world seems more and more like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel.

From George Orwell’s 1984 to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World; from Planet of the Apes to Soylent Green; from The Handmaid’s Tale to The Hunger Games; so much of modern literature seems fascinated with stories of doom and disaster, the end of the world. At least, the end of our world. Maybe that explains why so many people today are fascinated by those parts of the Bible that focus on the end of the world. And that’s not new. You can see it in today’s Gospel reading. The first believers fully
expected the end of the world and the return of Christ at any moment. After all, didn’t Jesus say the Kingdom of God was at hand? And so, the disciples ask Jesus, “Teacher, when will this be and what will be the sign that it is about to take place?”

It’s amazing how many books have been written in just the last few years about the Rapture and the Second Coming. Lots of people are more interested in the Book of Revelation than the Sermon on the Mount. Richard Rohr talks about how so many Christians today see Jesus as the punisher-in-
chief who will come at the end of time to judge the world … in spite of the fact that Jesus himself seemed less concerned about the end of the world than about how we live in the present.

The Bible talks far less about the punishment of God than about the promises of God. The promises of God:
The promise that death shall have no dominion.
The promise that nations shall beat their swords into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks.
The promise that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
The promise that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God.

Whatever tomorrow holds in store – whatever the future may bring – we have this assurance, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life.”

So, it’s not surprising that Jesus doesn’t have much to say about the end of the world; but he talks a lot about the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God isn’t something to fear! The Kingdom of God is love, joy, peace. It’s the promise that all those things that enslave and oppress us – fear, despair, loneliness, sickness, and death – they’re not the last word! God has the last word. And that word is Life!
Sure, we look for Christ to return in glory at the end of time. Remember the words we say every time we gather to share the Eucharist? Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! But Christ also
comes to us now, today, and every day! He comes in the bread and the wine of Holy Communion. He comes in the waters of Baptism. He comes in his Holy Word. He comes in the fellowship we share as the body of Christ. He comes every time we reach out to help another: “Whatsoever you do for one
of the least of these, you do it for me.”

Jesus paints a picture of the Kingdom of God – the reign of God – bubbling up around us all the time – like yeast that makes the bread rise. The Kingdom of God, he says, is like a mustard seed. It’s tiny, but it grows! It’s like the salt that gives flavor to life. It’s like light shining in a dark room. The Kingdom of God is breaking into our world all the time. And that’s not a cause for dread. It’s a cause for celebration!

Because the Kingdom of God doesn’t wait for the end of the world. The Kingdom comes now, today, in little acts of kindness, faithfulness, and love. Sometimes we’re so busy waiting for God to do something really big, that we miss all the little things God is already doing right in front of us.
Oh, the signs of the Kingdom are all around … if we but open our eyes. Read the Gospel again. Yes, says Jesus, there will be wars and rumors of war, and nation will rise against nation (and we know all about
that). There will be natural disasters, earthquakes and famines, and many will come in his name, and say, “I am the One”, and they will lead many astray. But … and it’s an important but … this is not the end of the world!

Because the Kingdom of God, the reign of God, isn’t something out there, in the far-off future. The Kingdom of God is breaking into our world, into our lives, all the time, in little acts of kindness and compassion, in the struggle for justice and peace, in our stewardship of creation, in the lives of those who live by the spirit of Jesus. The Kingdom is already here.

“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” Even so,
come Lord Jesus! Come to us here. Come to us now, today.

Amen.