Most of us probably think of the state of Tennessee as part of the “Bible Belt” an area of the southern United States known for its religious fervor. But it has not always been so. According to author and historian Jack Neely, at the turn of the 19th century, Tennesseans were a largely heathen people. Traveling evangelists and missionaries made little impression on either the cotton growers on the west end of the state or the hillbillies on the eastern end.
Then, on December 16th, 1811, a massive earthquake rolled across the southern United States. The ground cracked and shifted, houses collapsed, mountains spewed forth jets of hot water, and the smell of sulfur filled the air. And suddenly, people across Tennessee and the whole South began to pray. A number of small earthquakes followed the big one. And along with the increase in earthquakes came an increase in church attendance. The Methodist Church alone, says Neely, reported an increase of 50% in membership in its southern churches in the year 1812. (1)
Nothing will make you religious any quicker than a good earthquake. When the ground around you is shaking, it is only human to seek that which is unshakable.
In Hebrews 12: 29 we come to another of the writer’s notable “therefores.” He writes, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe . . .”
Interesting words for the times in which we live.
We live in a world that all too easily can be shaken. That’s the first thing we need to see from this passage in Hebrews. And that is one of the great understatements of life.
This past January you and I were inundated with horrific images of the terrible earthquake that shook the tiny, impoverished nation of Haiti. The shaking started on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 4:53 p.m. EST about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. The shaking lasted anywhere from 35 seconds to up to a minute which, researchers tell us, is a long time for the ground to be shaking. The effect of this shaking was magnified by the shoddy infrastructure of this impoverished nation. The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, left the country in a shambles and left more than 200,000 dead. Later in February a larger but far less destructive quake hit the South American country of Chile. It was a reminder to us of how vulnerable our world is to natural disasters.
While these earthquakes were terrible, almost beyond imagination, they were not the worst earthquakes that history has known. The deadliest earthquake in history struck Shaanxi, China, in 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people. (2)
We live in a world that can all too easily be shaken. We all know that’s true.
For example, within the past two years we have seen the earth shake beneath some of our largest financial institutions. As this ground shook experts tell us our country stood on the precipice of a financial collapse comparable to the Great Depression. I won’t ask you how many of you favored the bail-out of some of these institutions, but both the Bush administration and the Obama administration thought the bail-outs were necessary in order to stave off a catastrophe. Certainly many of you have seen your property values drop from the accompanying real estate collapse. This time we were reminded how vulnerable our financial markets are to man-made disasters. Such near disasters, of course, brought out many examples of grim humor.
One witty writer asked, how bad is the financial situation? It is so bad that . . .
Parents in Beverly Hills have fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.
- It was so bad . . . a truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.
- It was so bad . . . Motel Six won’t leave the light on anymore.
- It was so bad . . . you get a credit card in the mail and it’s already pre-declined.
- It was so bad . . . McDonald’s is now selling the 1/4 ouncer.
- It was so bad . . . the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds.” They mean them, not you.
Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. “Oh Great!!” says one comedian. “The guy who made $50 billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 trillion disappear!”
We live in a world that can be all too easily shaken financial meltdowns, terrorism, all kinds of public disasters, and an endless array of personal tragedies that can happen at any time to you or those you love automobile accidents, sickness, loss of a job, breakup of a marriage, random violence. This is a cruel world.
The truly disturbing thing is that some of the most important events in life are beyond our control. We like to think we are in control of our lives, and when we’re young, it may seem that way. But as life goes on we learn that control is an illusion. Life happens. Sometimes you draw the short straw and there is nothing you can do about it. You may simply be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I’ve read, for example, that after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, more than forty-five widows gave birth to babies that were conceived prior to the day their husbands died as a result of this act of terrorism. That is the last thing these women could have anticipated as they awaited the birth of their child that they would have to raise these children alone.
Some things are out of our control. We do the best we can. We try to be responsible, but we never know what tomorrow may bring.
There is an old Peanuts cartoon strip. Lucy is hovering over a bug. She says: “Look at this tiny little bug. It’s appalling how little he knows . . . He’s not like us . . . He doesn’t know anything about voting or disease or earthquakes or love or Monday mornings!!”
Linus asks: “Who’s better off?”
Sometimes we wonder, don’t we? And the really frustrating thing is that being a Christian does not protect you from the earth shaking beneath your feet.
Mark A. Schaefer, an Australian pastor writes, “You know the greatest thing about being a Christian? It’s that everything works out for you perfectly . . . You always get the best parking spots. You never get into fights with people. You get the best jobs, with rapid promotions. You get straight A’s in college. Your love life is always great. You never get sick. You never get sad. It never rains on your vacations. Your favorite team always wins. Yes, indeed. The life of the Christian is one non-stop joy fest.” Then he adds, “You don’t look convinced. Is that not true? Oh, thank God,” he concludes, “I was beginning to think it was just me.” (3)
We live in a world when everything that really matters can be shaken up in just a heartbeat. Many of these events are things over which we have no control. And it doesn’t matter who we may be. Some of the greatest Christians who have ever lived have experienced the ground shake under their feet in a terrifying way. Among those who died in Haiti’s earthquake were some who had come to that country to do Christian missions. We live in a world where things can be shaken. We want to live joyfully, confidently, but we also need to live prepared that some day when we least expect it, our world can be shaken.
That is why it is Good News when the writer tells us that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. He writes, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe . . .” He is telling us that we can experience a reality that cannot be shaken, a kingdom that is a gift from God.
There are human beings who devote their lives to keeping the earth stable beneath our feet those who regulate our financial institutions, those who seek new medical breakthroughs, those who protect us from terrorism, etc. They do magnificent work. Some of them have made a real impact on society.
Frank Lloyd Wright was at one time probably the world’s best known architect. On every continent he was recognized for his genius in designing great buildings. So it was no surprise that the nation of Japan asked Wright to design a hotel for Tokyo that would be capable of surviving an earthquake.
When Frank Lloyd Wright visited Japan to see where this hotel, to be known as the Imperial Hotel, would be built, he was appalled to find only about eight feet of solid earth on the site where this tall structure would stand. Beneath that eight feet was 60 feet of soft mud that slipped and shook like jelly. Every test hole he dug filled up immediately with water. A lesser man probably would have given up right there but not Frank Lloyd Wright.
Since the hotel was going to rest on fluid ground, Wright decided to build it like a ship. Instead of trying to keep the structure from moving during a quake, he incorporated features that would allow the hotel to ride out the shock without damage. Supports were sunk into the soft mud, and sections of the foundation were cantilevered from the supports. The rooms were built in sections like a train and hinged together. Water pipes and electric lines, usually the first to shear off in an earthquake, were hung in vertical shafts where they could sway freely if necessary.
Wright knew that the major cause of destruction after an earthquake was fire, because water lines are apt to be broken in the ground and there is no way to put the fire out. So he insisted on a large outdoor pool in the courtyard of his hotel, “just in case.”
On September 1, 1923, Tokyo had the greatest earthquake in its history. There were fires all over the city, and 140,000 people died. Back in the U.S., news reports were slow coming in. One newspaper wanted to print the story that the Imperial Hotel had been destroyed, as rumor had it. But when a reporter called Frank Lloyd Wright, he said that they could print the story if they wished, but they would only have to retract it later. He knew the hotel would not collapse.
Shortly afterward, Wright got a telegram from Japan. The Imperial Hotel was completely undamaged. Not only that‑‑it had provided a home for hundreds of displaced people. And when fires that raged all around the hotel threatened to spread, bucket brigades kept the structure wetted down with water from the hotel’s pool.
Frank Lloyd Wright had built a hotel that could stand an earthquake. However, there is more than one kind of earthquake. Even this world-renowned architect could not protect the hotel from the shifting ground of change. The Imperial Hotel isn’t there any more. It was torn down in the 1960s to be replaced by a more modern structure. (4)
There are many dedicated architects, scientists, doctors, etc. who are doing all they can to ensure that the shaking of the earth, either literal or metaphorical, does not destroy us, but there is a limit to what any human being can do. However, there is no limit to what God can do. God promises us an unshakeable kingdom.
What that means is this: in the midst of unimaginable chaos, God can give us a place of unassailable calm and assurance. While the world around us is frantic with doubt and despair, we can have an inner spring of hope and tranquility because our trust is in God who is beyond this world of shakable things.
One author compares it to a bird perched on the branch of a high tree. He asks, “Have you ever watched a bird sleeping on its perch and never falling off? How does it manage to do this? The secret is the tendons of the bird’s legs. They are so constructed that when the leg is bent at the knee, the claws contract and grip like a steel trap. The claws refuse to let go until the knees are unbent again. The bended knee gives the bird the ability to hold on to his perch so tightly.
“From sleeping birds,” this author continues, “we can learn the secret of hanging on to a life with God. That secret is the knee bent in prayer. It is only when we bend our knees before God in prayer that we can hang on to a life with Him.” (5)
What a beautiful image of remaining unflappable even when the wind is blowing or the ground is shaking. While the world around us is frantic with doubt and despair, we can have an inner spring of hope and tranquility because our trust is in God who is beyond this world of shakable things. “Therefore,” says the writer of Hebrews, “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe . . .” That is the proper attitude for the follower of Jesus thankfulness, as well as reverence and awe.
Dr. David A. Davis says that one summer afternoon he was flipping channels and he came upon the induction ceremony for the National Football Hall of Fame. He says he sat and listened to the speeches for a while. While all of the former players thanked family members, one player in particular thanked his mother not just for her support for his football endeavors but for what she taught him about faith.
This player’s mother had been a single mom raising a family of kids with very little resources. It was very difficult. From an early age this player could remember hearing his mother say these words: “God has promised that my latter days will be better than my former days.”
The player described it as a faith statement a sincere word of motivation that went far beyond material want or need a reference both to heaven and what would be left of her days on earth. “God has promised that my latter days will be better than my former days.” (6)
His mother understood what the writer of Hebrews meant when he spoke of a kingdom that was unshakable. Have you received that kingdom or are you still trying to build your life on shifting sand? We live in a world that can easily be shaken. God wants to give us a center of calm when the foundation of our lives is wobbling. It is God’s free gift to us. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe . . .”
1. Secret History: Stories about Knoxville, Tennessee II (Knoxville, TN: Scruffy City Publishing, 1998), pp. 8-10.
2. Copyright © 2010 LiveScience.com.
3. http://www.aumethodists.org/sermons/sermon061008.html.
4. Bits & Pieces, January 7, 1993, Page 11‑14.
5. Adrian Dieleman, http://www.trinityurcvisalia.com/sermons/dan06v10.html.
6. http://www.nassauchurch.org/worship/sermons/20070909.htm.