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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. It is so impossible to see into the future, isn’t it? So impossible to know for sure, for truth, what the future will hold. And yet it’s what we want to know more than anything – We want to know how things will turn out, What will happen and when and how And who will be involved -- And will it be all right. We want to know the future, and we want to know it in detail, Especially when we – you and I – are in transition, in a time of discernment and decision - When things are not settled, And when the future is less predictable than we imagined it would be. Although, when we admit it to ourselves, the future is always less predictable than we imagine it will be. But we crave information, knowledge about what’s going to happen, Even if it is impossible to know - Even if we cannot bear them now – even if they would be too much for us to cope with, too much for us to bear. I’m sure that all of us would like to know how the next weeks and months and years will unfold for our ministries – yours and mine. Who will pastor you? Whom will I pastor? What will life be like? Will it be better, will it be worse, and will it be about the same? And we are so demanding that we even want to know the details – Exactly what day will such and such happen? Exactly whom? Exactly how much? Exactly how long? All of those questions coming from our desire to know the future – In order to feel as if we are in control of it And in order to feel comforted in that feeling of control. But – the future is not ours to control, is it - Even through knowing about it? The future is out of our hands and in God’s hands. It’s God whom we celebrate today – the Father Son and Holy Spirit – who holds the future – our future and the church’s future and the world’s future. And it is ours to have faith and to listen to the Spirit and to glorify God. Jesus says in the lesson from St. John’s gospel – “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Jesus says – you cannot bear the many things I have to say to you know. But the Spirit of truth will come and will guide you into all truth and will declare to you the things that are to come. And, as Jesus says, the things that are to come belong to him, and to the Father And we will know them through the Spirit. The future belongs to Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we simply glorify and believe. And there is no argument that it’s not easy to believe when the future seems uncertain. Uncertain in this congregation, uncertain in our city, uncertain in our country and our world -- And even uncertain personally – there are many thing I’d like to know about the future, and I’m sure many that you’d like to know, too. But faith – belief, trust, in God who is beyond us, is what we cling to in uncertain times. God - who is a mystery to our minds but a reality to our lives. God - who throughout history has guided and cared for his people And challenged them and led them in new paths and set them free from their old lives. God is the one who is with us, and who is even today guiding us into all the truth – Providing us with what we can know now and keeping for the future those things that we cannot bear now. I was thinking about this need that we seem to have, this desire, to know the future, to know the outcome, to know the answer, And I was thinking about what was happening 63 years ago this week Knowing that some of you remember very clearly where you were and what you were doing when you heard that the allies had invaded the coast of France on what people came to call D-Day. I am sure, based on what people have told me and what I’ve read and heard and seen in the movies, That up until that time, while there may have been lots of boasting and bravado about how we were going to beat the enemy and destroy his power and all that. That, until that day, people were very uncertain, very worried, very concerned about whether the allies could in fact recapture Europe from the Nazis. And even on that day, there were many things that could have gone wrong – even some things that did go wrong, and that the outcome was far from certain, even after the first steps had been taken to liberate Europe. Looking back now, with the 20-20 vision of hindsight, we know how the story ended. We know the outcome of the invasion that began with D-Day. But we didn’t know at the time. At the time, there was much we couldn’t know -- Much we couldn’t bear to know about how difficult it would be, and how many people would die, and what we would find as we moved deeper into the continent. I’m sure everyone wanted to know - And yet it wasn’t theirs to know. It was a matter of faith and patience and trust. I think also of those who face their future head-on this week, those who are graduating from high school - Leaving one well-known life and walking into an unknown one. What will their future hold for these graduates, and for their families? That too, is a matter of faith and patience and trust. Trust that, as Jesus says, The Spirit will guide us into all the truth, The Spirit will take what belongs to Christ and the Father and declare it to us. He will declare to us the things that are to come. And we trust in Christ’s word Because we can look back and see God’s care for his people – Ever since Abraham and Sarah began their journey - Ever since Moses and the people were brought out of slavery in Egypt - Ever since God raised up judges, prophets and a king for Israel - Ever since God brought back his faithful people from exile - Ever since God gave his only Son to die for us - Ever since God poured out his Holy Spirit on those who believe in Jesus Christ. God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit has been with his people throughout the ages, And has always had their future in mind – Whether it was the future of a promised land Or the future of salvation forever and ever in his Son Or the future of a community gathered together by his Spirit. God has always had our future in mind. And, if the future is anything like the past – and it most likely will be – God will be in it too – Providing for his people – In surprising ways, yes – in amazing ways sometimes. But there, guiding us, leading us -- Giving us all truth.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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