"Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight, Red Sky in the Morning, Sailor Take Warning."

As I worked on writing this sermon one evening this week, I could see that the sunset was filled with those pinkish grey clouds that are part of this old weather rhyme: The clouds forming in the evening sky were cumulus clouds, and when they ride low in the sky as the sun sets it is a predictor of stormy weather ahead. My musing sent me to a weather indicator web site, and there I found other "predictors" for the approach of inclement weather: Insects bite more, and the bites itch more. Cows huddle in the field and turn their tails toward the coming storm. Yellow streaks are visible in the sky at sunset. When I was a child, my mother always told me that when the cows were lying down in the field that meant it was going to rain.

The Greek philosopher Thales lived around the same time as the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon. He is credited by some as being the first Greek philosopher. A story is told about him going outside one night with an elderly woman who had promised to teach him all about the stars. In the darkness, he fell into a ditch and started screaming for help. The old woman responded dryly, "You want to know all about the heavens, but you can't see what's right under your feet?" (Homiletics Online 8/20/1995) In this morning's gospel text, Jesus addresses a not so friendly crowd and rather pointedly accuses them of not being able to see what is right in front of them. He asks, if they can tell what the weather is going to be by reading the signs in the sky, how can they miss the truth when it is standing right in front of them? Worse, they go a step further and deny the message that God is bringing them. Jesus challenges the crowds in the text to figure out what is real and true … on what reality will they base their lives.

Previous to addressing the crowds with these accusations, Jesus addressed the disciples privately. His words to them make up the first part of our gospel reading this morning. If we are a bit uncomfortable with Jesus' accusations to the crowds, how much more difficult are the words to the disciples. These are words of strife and conflict. They dispel the image of Jesus as a "nice guy." The temptation as we read them is to explain them away, to make them more palatable. One of the most "impressive" ways to dismiss texts such as this one is to cloak them in "intellectuality." Meaning that we can escape into seeing what the words mean in the original languages, explain that what Jesus was really saying was only meant for a specific time and place, and finally tie everything up into a nice neat bundle of words and in the end have Jesus coming out looking … again … like a nice guy. Somehow we have gotten the mindset that we have to like everything in the Bible … that we have to study our way to a place where we are comfortable with the task of being disciples of Jesus Christ.

Jesus has "words" for us when we attempt to reduce his call to something easy – we find them in his accusations to the crowds. Dan Clendenin writes about the temptation to construct false realities: He has a list of reckless lies and false realities for us that include things like: "There's a solution to every problem if I pray hard enough. I'd be happier in a bigger house in a better location, or in a smaller house with less upkeep. I wouldn't be such a mess if not for my family of origin. I'd find more fulfillment in a different job. My kids deserve straight teeth, the best universities, challenging jobs, financial success, model marriages. And they should make me proud. From The Prayer of Jabez I expect "a front row seat in a life of miracles." I will give a little more when I get a little more. "Just a little more, enough to be secure." Earlier he says about these false realities: "Jeremiah called these 'reckless lies' and 'false hopes.' He compared them to bad dreams. The French sociologist Jacques Ellul called them 'commonplaces,' that is, deeply entrenched beliefs that only a curmudgeon would question, but which, unhappily, also happen to be false. Like junk food, they taste great, but in the end they will kill you." (Dan Clendenin, Journey with Jesus, Notes to Myself.)

The task of being the disciples of Jesus Christ … back in the day of Jesus himself … through the ages, and all the way to this morning … is not and never will be a safe, easy deal. It is the false prophets that lull us into thinking that we can create a church that people will flock to if we give them the promise of a good life that is based on material wealth and a life full of bright sunny days. That works for a while … until … until real life crashes in and we know what it is to experience the lives described in our scripture texts this morning. As the followers of Jesus Christ, we do not need to apologize for, or water down the life he calls us to. It may not be an easy or comfortable life, but it is the (capital) Good Life in the most blessed sense. It is the promise that will keep us not only in the easiest of times, but in the most trying of days. It is the promise found in this morning's text from the book of Hebrews – the cloud of witnesses that goes with us always and keeps us through our days – with Jesus being the one who goes first. In the closing chapters of the seventh Harry Potter book, the notion of what it is like to be kept and surrounded by that cloud of witnesses is described vividly. As Harry goes to face Voldemort for the last time, he finds he is not really alone: "You'll stay with me?" "Until the very end," said James. "They won't be able to see you?" asked Harry. "We are part of you," said Sirius. "Invisible to anyone else." Harry looked at his mother. "Stay close to me," he said quietly. And he set off. The dementors' chill did not overcome him; he passed through it with his companions, and they acted like Patronuses to him, and together they marched through the old trees that grew closely together, their branches tangled, their roots gnarled and twisted underfoot. Harry clutched the cloak tightly around him in the darkness, traveling deeper and deeper into the forest, with no idea where exactly Voldemort was, but sure that he would find him. Beside him, making scarely a sound, walked James, Sirius, Lupin, and Lily, and their presence was his courage, and the reason he was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other. (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows p. 700)

In all our days we are kept and surrounded by this cloud of witnesses. Especially to those going off to college in the next few weeks, remember that. This church has nurtured and kept you most all of your lives. As Chris Carter said, it is the place where he finds his car driving him to without even realizing it. The excitement of your college days will also be tempered by loneliness, long nights of cramming for exams, and last minute paper writing. Remember the cloud of witnesses that keep you always … and are there for you, not only in the easy days, but also in the tougher ones. To all of us – the life we are called to as disciples of Jesus Christ is not the simple life, but it is the best life – for we know the love of God found in Jesus Christ our Lord goes with us always and will keep us always. "There for since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses … ."