2024 More Shocking than Ever
Background
In, The Experience of God, the saintly Romanian Orthodox theologian, Dumitru Staniloae (1903-1993), speaks truth out of suffering. The love of Christ shines through his very concentrated volume. As a Confessor of Jesus, imprisoned by the Communist Party (1958-1960, he speaks with the authority of a prophet, “I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10). In his chapter on how ordinary believers, rather than intellectually focussed theologians, learn the ways of God, Staniloae expounds the ultimate purpose of the concrete circumstances of life. This is the background to my teaching today and it explains why it is a prediction for 2024.
Introduction
2023 was for me and Donna a year of compounding shocks with respect to wave after wave of (largely) negative news concerning my health. Nevertheless, the Lord’s grace is sustaining us through difficult times. ““My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is fulfilled in your weakness.”” (2 Cor 12:9). Nightly, I awake around 3 a.m. with nagging pain in my back, knee, or groin, then press on in prayer until about 5 when I get up. Compared to the story of Job, the Psalms of David, the persecutions of the prophets, the travails of Jesus and oppressions suffered by the Early Church, these are all “light momentary afflictions preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor 4:17). The ultimate purpose of the plan of God to “unite all things in Christ” (Eph 1:10), is being progressively revealed to ordinary people by a revelation of divine presence in the overwhelming concrete circumstances of life (Ps 69:2). The deepest scandal of contemporary Western Christianity is its ignorance and indifference to how the Lord reveals his glory.
Understanding the Ways of God
In every circumstance and trial of life, the Lord is working to “perfect” our faith in Christ (Heb 12:2; James 1:4). He infallibly and lovingly does this through exposing us to the insurmountable difficulties confronting the limits of our ordinary humanity. Such “impossibilities”, physical, mental, social, financial, relational, draw out weights of responsibility, fear and trembling in prayer through which the Spirit of God draws near (cf. 1 Cor 2:3; Phil 2:12). The psalmist testifies of such things, “until the storms of destruction pass by 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” (Ps 57:1-2). The depth of spiritual development always depends on faith through times of affliction. If Jesus himself could only be made, “perfect through suffering” (Heb 2:10), our Church is in crisis. Young people, sheltered so long by parents and pastors from the traumas of life and their ultimate purpose, are growing up ignorant and indifferent to the deeper truths of God; “though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” (1 Cor 4:15). Hence the exasperation of friends from a thriving church at how few young adults will attend an early morning prayer meeting. “Our affluence is killing us”. (Ps Warick Smith)
Falling Upwards (“Falling upwards” comes from liberal theology’s conviction that Adam and his progeny needed to go through a journey of self-discovery for the sake of their personal maturing. This heresy downgrades the role of Jesus.)
I used to enjoy jumping from rock to rock at the beach, but times radically change. Last week around 2 a.m. I was trying to return from the bathroom to our bed but stumbled badly and involuntarily fell forcefully and painfully across the edge of the bed. When I was able to get up and lie down again, I found myself praying strongly that, whatever my ongoing experiences of disempowerment, the Lord would “be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil 1:20). By grace, I knew I was directly experiencing the resurrection power of God deep within (2 Cor 6:7). After so much talking about myself, it is high time to speak of Christ crucified.
Why?
It is natural for fallen humans to ask, when “bad things happen to good people”, “Why” of their omnipotent Creator. Christians are not forbidden from such questioning, as long as it flows from a heart submitted to Christ crucified. I was helped once by a gifted preacher teaching on the “Cry of dereliction.”, that is, Jesus’ cry, ““Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34). This is a quotation from Psalm 22:1, and the Hebrew lamah is a so-called “interrogative of purpose” (cf. Gen 12:18; 1 Sam 1:18; Job 7:20). Jesus’ question is not about what (in the past) has caused my suffering but for what future and final purpose am I in this anguish. The answer is resurrection glory (Heb 12:2). We may suffer for our sin, but the sinless Christ (Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 3:18) was handed over by God to death for a holy purpose (Acts 2:23). Looking backwards to find a cause for your suffering we cause confusion and frustration, but in seeing God’s sovereign future purpose in all your struggles to make us more like Jesus (Rom 8:28-30) will calm your heart.
Future Shock
Jesus prophesied of “wars, famines, earthquakes” (Matt 24:6-7), and that when people were busy enjoying themselves disaster would strike, “as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matt 24:38) “sudden destruction” (1 Thess 5:3) will fall. This order of trauma preceding illumination is central to “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1). Sociologists have long predicted “future shock” due to accelerating social change (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock), today such shock has arrived through climate change and AI (think Chat GTP). A Church that refuses to receive bitter things from her Lord remains in darkness (Eph 5:14). Jesus still responds to those who are contending to lead his people, ““You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”” (Mark 10:38). Leaders in Christ must embrace unity with Jesus’ ongoing trials for the salvation of the world, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5).
Application and Conclusion: Shockless Christianity
At the height of the “Jesus Revolution” (1969), then famous singer-songwriter Larry Norman, released the mournful, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.”, about the tragic state of a Church ill-unprepared for the impending Second Coing, “Surely I am coming soon.” (Rev 22:20). Our lack of preparedness for the shocking-and-glorious/great-and-terrible Day (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20-24) has not improved. For this reason, our loving Bridegroom, longing for a Bride “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:27) is going to send shock after shock into our midst, to grow us through submitted suffering as a “shock proof Body”. The fruit of such tremors, like hatred and persecution (Matt 24:9), will induce deep growth in Christian community on an unshakeable foundation in Christ (1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20; Heb 12:27-28). For us in Perth, this will mean recognising the need for a rhythm of 24/7 prayer and praise with a missional focus. Jesus wants to build our resilience through earnest prayer from a contrite heart. As Abraham, “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10, 17-19) needed to be trained in faith by offering up the gift of Isaac on the altar, so in 2024 our Saviour will bring us into the realm of larger sacrifice. This is a hard call, but the release of God’s limitless glory requires it (Luke 24:26 etc.).