I'll admit it. When I have the time I can be a bit of a t.v. watcher. Over the past few months, my attention has been drawn to a show airing its first season called Flash Forward. Now this program will not end up in the discussion of great programs ever produced, but its thought provoking premise grabbed me and now I am hooked enough that I need to see it through. The protagonists are attempting to solve the mystery of who and what caused every person across the world to black out simultaneously. Left at that you've got a pretty run of the mill science-fictiony mystery. But there is a twist. You see, for the duration of the brief blackout, every person saw exactly what he or she was doing on a specific date six months into the future. So now, while engaged in the process of finding the culprits responsible for the blackout, every character measures his or her actions against a reality that they know is coming, but has yet to happen.

Of course, my television watching is just a detour and I soon find myself venturing back into the real word. And these days that means countless conversations with students about the implications of the completion of this academic year. Internships and jobs lie ahead for some. Worldly travel is in store for others. But the exchanges that really stand out for me are those with students who have completed their degrees and are moving on from IU. Amid the stresses that come with bringing closure to the semester each conversation is filled with a sense of accomplishment and excitement about entering a new phase of life. Underneath that excitement, however, rests a little unease as an air of uncertainty creeps in. That feeling of nervousness about what is going to happen next as they enter an unknown future.

Sometimes I wish I could intervene with some kind of future telling blackout or at least offer words of assurance that those feelings will dissipate. But the truth is that some uncertainty about the future is a fact of life. Our day-to-day interactions consist mostly of reacting and responding to what is happening in the moment without much, if any, idea of exactly the future holds. To a degree this is made tolerable because we feel some sense of control knowing that the way we react to each experience shapes who we will be and what may happen in the future. I cannot help but wonder, however, how our daily existence would change if we did indeed know the answers in advance. In the short term, I know I can think of more than a few people that would go for that as finals week looms! But speaking more broadly, what if our lives were more like those characters on the aforementioned television show? Would we live our lives differently if we knew the future? How would our lives look different if, we were capable of shaping our existence to meet a known future rather than in response to daily events?

This morning's text from Revelation gives us just the chance to ponder those questions. Did you hear the future as revealed to John? Did you catch what is in store for us mortals? "[God] will wipe every tear from [our] eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more..."

This is a God determined to bring a vision of the future to life. Our God is making all things new. Our God is busy preparing for us a new reality, a new way of lifeOur God has plans to welcome us to a new reign where...

pain is transformed into peace

where despair turns to hope

where troubles turn to triumph

The one who loves us is so committed to this promise that God leaves nothing untouched...God renews every aspect of our lives. In this new creation every one of us is transformed simply because God is.

Our belief in the promise of that proclamation is great hope for the future. It is a statement of our faith. And as a statement of faith, we can trust that it is going to be put to the test and, yes, we will find ourselves doubting those claims from time to time. It all sounds so neat and tidy. Something must be missing. Indeed, in my preparation for this Sunday I came across more than one critique that the selections from Revelation in our lectionary leave out other, shall we say, more colorful passages from the book. "How," the critics ask, "can you justify bearing this glorious, good news if you skip over, the beast who writes its number on foreheads? How can we be worthy to welcome this saving grace before witnessing the depths of agony in the rest of the text?"

While I think I can understand the sentiment behind this critique, I also think it is a mistake to say any of the pains and evils of the world are somehow being glossed over. Right now, a beast of a different sort is slowly making its way to the Gulf coast shoreline threatening sea life and local economies. Right now, lawmakers entrusted to the public good enact unjust policies that support racial profiling. Right now, the crush of responsibilities and busyness cause relationships to be neglected.

Given these and other trials we face...Given the bad news we seem to encounter at every turn...it just doesn't seem possible that the world as we know it could be renewed such that we would not even recognize it.

Yet there it is. That is the word we hear today in scripture. And it is not unique to this one passage. Over and over again, throughout the scriptures, this promise is repeated and reaffirmedGod is about the business of making all things newand one day our eyes will confirm this truth. One day we will encounter the kingdom in its fullness.

It is no small task to focus one's vision on the reality of God's kingdom. But we most certainly do see examples of it. The New York Times once featured an article on a Baptist Church in the heart of Harlem. This congregation resides and serves a neighborhood that is in need of rescue, and the people of the congregation felt called to extend a hand to all whose lives were in need of repair. So they contacted several banks asking them to invest in the projects the congregation had planned to improve the neighborhood...All of the loan officers were impressed by the congregation's plans, but none of them was willing to take the risk of investing in this vision of the future.

Well, that didn't stop this church. Its members were so committed to this future, they organized themselves to form a new financial institution so that they could fund their own projects. And with the resources they garnered 1) they built clinics for drug and alcohol treatment, 2) they sent small groups into the housing projects to lead Bible studies3) they created a blueprint for neighborhood redesign.

The journalist who was writing the article noted that great ministries were taking place in this church, but there was still so much to be done...And so he asked the pastor, 'What enables your congregation to keep going?' The pastor replied, "We've read the Bible and we know how it ends. We aren't at the end yet, but we know how it ends, and that's what makes the difference." One might say they have had their own flash forward.

The people of Abyssinian Baptist Church know that God is making all things new. The people of Abyssinian Baptist Church trust that there will come a day when our eyes will confirm the promise of God's kingdom. And until that day, they are determined to live toward that vision.

This, however, is not just the story of one church in Harlem. It is our story as well as we answer the call we receive from scripture today. Each of us is called to give ourselves to the God who makes all things new...to invest our lives in the vision of God's kingdom. We are called to trust in a God who restores people to wholeness. And until that day when the kingdom comes alive for all to see, we are called to follow the blueprint that is presented in God's Word.

The vision for reconciliation put forth this morning gives new shape to the daily activities in each of our lives. Having been drenched in the life-giving waters of baptism, you and I are called to love our neighbor as Jesus taught. We are called to invest our time, our money, our energy into those things that build up community. We are called to share our lives with one another in a way that reflects the future we know is comingto be the overwhelming outpouring of gracethat is the living body of Christ.

Amen.