"The Y2K Problem"

(Luke 12:49-56)

Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

INTRODUCTION:

I saw a cartoon the other day which a had a woman standing with a notepad in her hand talking to her husband who is working very intently on the computer. It's obvious that the computer has his undivided attention. The wife says: "I'm preparing for the year 2000 computer crisis. I'm making a list of all the things we can talk about after your computer dies." (1)

Computers have become as much a part of modern life as the telephone, television and automobile. We've become so dependent upon computers that it would take a lot of adjustment for us to get along without them again. That's why the Year 2000 problem that has been talked about in the computer industry and the newspapers is so frightening.

Y2k or the Year 2000 or the millennium bug as some are calling it, seems to be a major threat to industry. If you don't know what it is, let me briefly explain. Back when computers were first created and the code was hardwired into mainframe circuitry, to save space and money, programmers only left two spaces for the year in the way computers read dates. Consequently, when a computer reads 1998 it really only reads 98. When the year 2000 rolls around, some computers will actually shut down. Others will spit out bad data or start sending erroneous bills, all kinds of things.

The fear mongers have painted scenarios of the electricity and phone services going off and staying off. They say everything from the IRS to Social Security will quit working because of this problem.

Some glitches have already been related to the Y2k problem. One system that schedules appointments for three hospitals and 75 clinics in Pennsylvania shut down in April because someone attempted to type in an appointment for the year 2000. In 1996, the Visa Credit Card folks had to recall 12 million credit cards with expiration dates in 2000 because credit card authorization systems were refusing the cards. (2) Experts say that anything which has computer circuitry could be effected. (3)

Part of the good news is that the issue is being addressed and most current desktop computers have been fixed. It is the mainframes that businesses, industry and government use that are the problem children. Y2k is a very real problem that has global implications but some say it's not one to panic about.

Some folks even claim that the Computer is the Antichrist and that the Year 2000 is the first stage of the second coming and the havoc wreaked by everything shutting down is the beginning of Armageddon or the end times and Judgment Day is just around the corner. You may have seen it, several months ago someone even had a numerology list that proved that the names Microsoft and Bill Gates came up to the dreaded 666, the mark of the beast.

I. WHAT DID HE SAY?:

So, what does the Year 2000 scare have to do with this passage of Scripture from Luke? Well, they both deal with the End Times. Both are very unsettling. Both have caused people to head to the hills to escape. And both have caused people to fear.

Just look at this passage from Jesus. It's not like most other passages we've read. It's not filled with love and compassion, forgiveness and grace. Jesus doesn't sound any too pleased in this passage. He says: "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" And then he goes on to say: "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" and then describes how families will be divided amongst themselves because of him.

This doesn't sound like the Jesus who looked at the crowd and had compassion because they were "like sheep without a shepherd."

This doesn't sound like the Jesus who looked at the woman caught in adultery and told the angry mob, "let the one without sin cast the first stone." This doesn't sound at all like the Jesus who said, "Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest."

This sounds like a Jesus who is tired and filled with stress and fed up with the thick headed crowds and the whole long process of salvation. And I think that's exactly why it is in here. We see a little of the humanity of Jesus coming through. When his friend Lazarus died, Jesus' compassion for the family and friends overwhelmed him and he wept. We can't forget, that while Jesus was the Son of God, he was at the same time, fully human with human frailties just like us. He experienced hunger, fatigue, grief and even stress. And I think that's part of what was going on here.

II. FIRE AND DIVISION:

A. But there is more here, too. Jesus' message has relevance and it became reality. When Jesus spoke of bringing the fire he may have been a little fed up with the crowds and the Pharisees and even with the Disciples being so slow on the uptake. But not enough to nuke it all. God could have done that any time. I think Jesus gives us some insight into the day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. If you remember, the Spirit came and rested like tongues of fire on all of those gathered in Jerusalem.

It was a fire all right. A fire that would sweep through the lives of the disciples and the believers and the early church and set them all to burning; burning with a passion for the Good News of Jesus. Burning with love and compassion for those around them. Jesus would set the world on fire and the world would never be the same.

This fire would spread, not in an out of control, destructive, angry sort of way, but in a purifying form known as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit purifies from the inside out. The Spirit gives direction to our lives and our faith. The Spirit is the presence of the Risen Christ with us who reminds us of all that Christ taught; and strengthens us in our everyday walk with Christ by reminding us that we are the children of God.

B. And the bit about division? Well, division happened before the crucifixion and even more so after the resurrection, ascension and coming of the Spirit. There was nothing malicious about it. Division came simply through having to choose.

That is something we all have to do, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. It was something the Israelites were familiar with. Joshua called them to choose at Shechem, "choose this day whom you shall serve. As me for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) That's really at the heart of all this talk about division. When you choose to serve God, there are going to be those who choose not to serve God, even in the same family.

In the early days of the Church it was dangerous to choose Christ. For some it was almost an automatic death penalty. There were times in history when it was illegal to be a Christian. There are still some countries where it is still illegal.

Jesus is simply calling us to choose and reminding us that choosing him will have its cost.

III. THE FUTURE:

A. So what does all that have to do with the Year 2000? Well, it's the millennium, the end of one age and beginning of another. In this passage Jesus also tells us to watch and be ready. He says we know how to interpret the signs of the weather, we should be able to interpret the signs of the times, too.

Just like in the Y2k problem, there are people who have chosen to be the prophets of doom. In their minds they see everything as a sign of the times, a sign that the end is near. The Y2k computer problem is just one of the signs. The unrest in the former Russian states, the changing of the guard in Hong Kong, earthquakes, drought, even El Nino are all signs of the impending return of Jesus; Armageddon and Judgment Day.

The closer the turn of the millennium gets, the louder they get and the more people pay attention. Outwardly, we may ignore these messages and messengers of doom, but their words still infect our hearts and minds because some of the things that they point to as being signs of the times could very well fit the scenario painted by scripture. And Jesus did tells us to look for those signs, didn't he?

B. Well, "Yes!" and "No!" Jesus did tell us to look for the signs but he didn't tell us to make a career out of it. More importantly, Jesus told us to be ready. Remember last week's reading from Luke 12:40? Jesus said: "You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

Jesus also tells us not to worry or to try and figure out the exact day and time of his return. He told the disciples when they asked, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36)

Jesus simply tells us to trust him and to be ready. And that is where we find our hope, I that trust.

I haven't talked about Midnight the Wonder Dog for awhile. For our new members, Midnight is our dog. She's half Labrador retriever and half coon hound. She was supposed to be my wife's dog. She likes Mary all right but she absolutely adores me.

Midnight is afraid of thunder and lightening. I don't what happened but this fear has only arisen in the last two or three years. It didn't used to bother her at all. There have been times when we have been awakened at night by this dog laying between us shaking and trembling. There have been times when she has literally tried to hide under my head.

Early Thursday morning, while I was working on my sermon, a thunder storm came through. Midnight, who had been asleep in her usual position under the desk, was suddenly half way in my lap, shivering and trembling. All it took from me was a few, no, a lot of reassuring pats on the head, and Midnight was OK. As long as I was there. As long as I was touching her and giving her assurance, she was OK. Pretty soon, she settled back down and went back to sleep. Why? Because she trusts me. Because she knows I won't let anything happen to her. The same could be said for Jesus.

C. Jesus asks us to choose him, to trust him and to be ready. And that is where we find our hope. We find our hope in Jesus because we already know how it's going to end. We already know how the last chapter comes out. We've read ahead. The last chapter tells us, "Jesus is going to win."

No matter how many terrorist bombs go off; no matter how many wars or diseases or disasters we perpetrate on each other, God is still in charge. No matter how many earthquakes, tidal waves or asteroids hit the earth, God is still in charge. And God has a plan. That plan is Jesus. And Jesus is going to win.

CONCLUSION:

"The Hymn of Promise" which we sang earlier has a line in it that talks about that which is "unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see." The details of the plan in all of final stages may not be known to us. They may be "unrevealed" to us. But God knows them. And God is still in charge. And with God in charge that means the future is OK. If God holds the future, then that means God holds us too. And if God holds us, then we can face anything, anything, even life without computers.

Choose Christ and be ready. Let the fire of God's Holy Spirit purify you and fill you with God's presence in Christ. Choose Christ and know the assurance that God is in charge, no matter what the problem.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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1. Today's Cartoon by Randy Glasbergen

2. 2000 Party Over Out Of Time, Liz Stevens, Ft. Worth Star Telegram, August 9, 1998, Section G, Page 1 & 12.

3. Article at WWW.Year2000.com by Paula D. Gordon, Ph.D., Visiting Research Professor & Director of Special Projects, Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning, School of Business and Public Management, George Washington University.