“Bad Moon Rising”

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought it to be interesting that the Church starts the beginning of the Liturgical year with Gospel readings that talk about the end times.  I suppose it has a lot to do with making us reflect on the fact that we are in the season of Advent, which means “the coming”.

We know that at the end of Advent we celebrate the coming of Christ into the world, but right now the Church wants us to focus in on the fact that mankind will at some point be no more; and here even science agrees: that the universe as we know it is slowly winding down.  Our sun will indeed be darkened and without the sun the moon cannot shine.  But of that hour no one knows; neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son and definitely no human being; only the Father knows.

But in our first reading today, Isaiah who has seen troubling times seems to be shouting out to God to not delay.  He says “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.”  How many of us have felt that way at times, if we are honest, whenever we hear of wars and more wars; or when we hear of mass starvation and senseless killings due to hate and prejudice.  How many of us want to shout out to God to come down and stop the earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and the freak snow storms.

There was a song that came out in the late sixties by the group Credence Clear Water Revival that was called “Bad Moon Rising.”  The lyrics have a lot in common with our readings today.  They go like this: “I see a bad moon rising, I see trouble on the way, I see earthquakes and lightning, I see bad times today, so don’t go out tonight for it’s bound to take your life, there’s a bad moon on the rise.  I hear hurricanes a blowin’, I know the end is comin’ soon, I fear rivers overflowing; I hear the voice of rage and ruin.  So I hope you got your things together, hope you are prepared to die, looks like we’re in for nasty weather, one eye is taken for an eye.”

When John Fogerty wrote that song we were at war in Vietnam, riots had broken out around the country not only over the war but also over race relations.  We were fighting the so called cold war with the Soviet Union and people who had fought for peace were killed.  It looked like the end was coming soon.

And today, forty years later, we are still at war and people around the globe seem to be either involved in civil war, or their economies are falling apart, not to mention all the natural disasters.  And there are people today who are saying the end is near.

So the question is, how many people have you encountered who told you that they couldn’t believe in a God who would just sit by idly and allow all these bad things in the world to happen; what kind of God is that?  What can we say to them?

We might tell them that it wasn’t always that way; that there was a time when all was right; that God never meant for humankind to suffer; that that wasn’t His plan at all.  We can tell them that God and man started out walking together and it felt like paradise; that all of creation was in harmony; with each other and with the Creator.  God was the potter and we were the clay.  In His image we were formed.

We can then tell them that mankind became full of pride and turned away from Him to do its own thing.  The person may respond by saying that they know the Bible story and it is only a myth to explain our beginnings; this is the age of science and we know we evolved.  Now I know I’m treading on dangerous ground here, but truth can never be found if we avoid the hard questions people have.  So how do we respond?  What is our witness?

As a child I was always interested in science, it was the one subject I excelled at; I always got an A.  The others - well, let’s just say my energy went into the subject of science.  I loved astronomy and biology, and the theory of evolution just seemed like a natural way to explain the development of all the different species, including man.  It never crossed my mind that God wasn’t the creator; if this was how He was to do it, so be it.  To me the Bible was teaching spiritual truths, it didn’t go into scientific detail on how it was done.

The story of Adam and Eve made sense to me - for even myths tell a story to enlighten us to a truth - it made sense to me because I saw that sin is real in the world and I see its effects, and it also made sense to me because through all the bad things that happen in the world, I have seen and felt the goodness that comes from a loving God.  This is what I share with those who don’t believe or have lost hope; and we can all share our own stories.

I tell them that I know God is real because I have seen God’s goodness.  I see it when people put pride aside and sacrifice their time, talents, and money to help those who have lost someone to war, hurricane, or sickness.  I have seen God’s hand at work when I hear of people who gave all, including their life, to help those who are suffering at the hands of hate and prejudice.  I tell them how I felt God’s loving arms around me when my father died; I felt Him through the loving touch of friends and family.  And I see God’s goodness whenever I look into my son’s eyes.  I see it in a sunset, I see it in the stars at night, I see it in my birds and in my cat.  God’s goodness is all around us if we just look with our spiritual eyes; eyes that keep their focus on Him and are not tempted to look away to things that cannot help us.

Jesus tells us that we are to stay awake, to be alert, and this means we are to stay active.  We are to be a witness to a world that is hurting; that there is hope; and we are to show by our actions that God does love us.  We are to stay active by being that lifeboat for people who are having a tough time staying afloat.  We are to be a light that shines in the darkness; we are to be Christ’s body on earth.

Advent is the time when we wait for the coming of our Lord, but each day should be a day when He is born; born in each of our hearts and made visible to those we meet.  When Elizabeth greeted Mary, the baby she was carrying leapt within her, may we stir new life within the people we meet.

We are called as Christians to be a witness for God, a God who desires that all people know that He is a loving God that wants to restore us to that time when mankind walked side by side with Him in the Garden, in the cool of the day.  We are to be the Image of His Son, who came to be among us to show us the way back.  He came, that all may have life, and He showed us the way by how He lived and by how He died.  He showed us that we can overcome sin by giving all that is ours away, so that we can receive all that He has to give.

Jesus tells us that we are like servants who have been put in charge, each with our own work to do until the Master returns.  We are the caretakers of this world.  What an awesome responsibility!  What trust the Lord has in us to do what He has taught us to do; and we know that it isn’t an impossible task because He sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit.  He also told us that he would be with us even until the end of time and that everything He said would remain with us always.

Let us Pray:

May God bless you with Discomfort…

At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger…

At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears…

To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them, and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…

To believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen.

Franciscan Benediction

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