God Will Have a People

Last year Mary Jo’s closed.  For decades this local warehouse of fabrics and sewing accessories was a regional destination for those inclined toward needle and thread crafting.  You could find just about any kind of fabric there, in bolts, or simply remnants.  There is now no “remnant” left.  It has been replaced by a mall of modern shops.

The Bible has many examples of what has been called remnant theology.  A remnant is defined most often as a body of people who are left after a catastrophe, such as the people left in Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  The prophet Isaiah (37:31-32) makes the case:

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Sometimes scripture describes a remnant as those who are left after God has winnowed the people in order to prove a point:  Gideon, whose army is whittled down by God to 300 men, nonetheless vanquishes the Midian army of tens of thousands so they may know that the victory comes from the Lord.

Remnant theology often represents the need for purification of God’s people.  The prophet Malachi speaks of the Lord coming like a refiner’s fire to make the people fit once again.  Sometimes the people need to be purged, to be sifted, to remove the dross for the people to be refined - to be made holy.

I have been drawn to remnant theology lately, particularly as I have become more disillusioned with the church in the United States.  I am disturbed by the virulent witness of conservative evangelicals, disheartened by the steady decline of mainline Protestant churches, appalled by the Catholic church’s abusive history, and distressed by the internal squabbling of my own denomination.  Yet, I see in remnant theology a sign of hope.  God will have a people.  

In every age, since the time of Abraham and Sarah, God has chosen people to introduce redemption and renewal into the world.  And while God’s people often fall into accommodation, rather than offering an alternative, to the world, again and again in history God manages to use a remnant of holy people to refine and restore God’s intentions for all of creation.  No matter how bleak the historical context, God will have a people.    

I am encouraged by the words of Paul in Romans 11:5, “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.”  Will you and I be among that remnant?  

Terrors and Great Signs

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.’” (Luke 21:8-11)

Is it any wonder that many a radio gospel preacher is proclaiming the end of the world and Jesus’ second coming in light of recent events? The apocalyptic sermon of Jesus, a version of which is found in the first three Gospels, hints at cataclysmic events as a signal to prepare his followers for the end of the age.

With earthquakes, tsunamis, and the possible pestilence of radiation poisoning, the happenings in Japan seem to be of biblical proportions. Add to that the upheaval of nations in the Middle East and North Africa and it makes one wonder about what God might be doing in the midst of all this.

I am grieved for people who are suffering as a result of these cataclysmic events. I am disturbed by the horror of what many people are facing in the challenge of rebuilding their lives. My distress, however, is not of “biblical proportions.” I tend to be rather calm in the midst of end-of-the-world proclamations by self-described prophets.

I suppose that’s because I’ve read the whole sermon of Jesus in those Gospel accounts. He begins by saying, “Many will come in my name saying, . . . ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.”

He also says, “When you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified.”

And again, “Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Maybe I am being naïve but it strikes me that Jesus is telling us we have nothing to worry about. So nations are toppled and new ones arise. Despots are dethroned and new ones take their place. Hurricanes rage and floods destroy. Economies move from depression to inflation to recession. Persecutions come and go. None of this changes the plan of God to redeem the world.

Do we, individually, get lost in the chaos? One might believe so were it not for other promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you . . .,” or “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

When you see the calamitous things that are going on in the world today, do not be afraid. Lift up your heads. Your redemption is drawing near.

What that means to me is that God is at work in the midst of the calamity and will make a way that leads to abundant life. There will be rescue, salvation, comfort, renewal – and hope.