SPEAKER_00: Have you ever looked at the world and wonder if evil is winning?
SPEAKER_00: Turn on the news.
SPEAKER_00: You'll see corruption, violence, confusion.
SPEAKER_00: You see people abandoning God.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it can feel as though darkness has the upper hand.
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly the situation in today's first reading.
SPEAKER_00: Atheliah has seized power.
SPEAKER_00: The royal family is being murdered.
SPEAKER_00: The legitimate heir to David's throne appears to have been eliminated.
SPEAKER_00: The covenant promises seem to be hanging by a thread.
SPEAKER_00: And for six years evil appears to reign.
SPEAKER_00: Six years.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine living through that.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine being one of the faithful.
SPEAKER_00: Every day Atheliah sits on the throne.
SPEAKER_00: Every day appears that God's plan has failed.
SPEAKER_00: Every day it looks as though darkness has won.
SPEAKER_00: But hidden away in the temple is a little boy named Josiah, the rightful king, unknown to most people, unseen by the nation, protected by God, and at the anointed moment he emerges.
SPEAKER_00: The crown is placed upon his head, the people rejoice, the usurper falls, the covenant is renews, and peace returns.
SPEAKER_00: The lesson is profound.
SPEAKER_00: While evil appeared to be winning, God was quietly preparing the answer.
SPEAKER_00: That happens all through salvation history.
SPEAKER_00: When Pharaoh was killing Hebrew children, Moses was hidden away.
SPEAKER_00: When Saul hunted David, the king, future king was being prepared.
SPEAKER_00: When Herod sought to kill the Christ child, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus lay in the tomb on Good Friday, it appeared the darkness had triumphed, but Easter was already coming.
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest mistakes we make is judging God's work too early.
SPEAKER_00: We look at a single chapter and assume we know the whole story.
SPEAKER_00: We can experience suffering and conclude that he's absent.
SPEAKER_00: We encounter a closed door and think his plan has failed.
SPEAKER_00: But God is often doing his deepest work in the hiddenness.
SPEAKER_00: Joash spent six years hidden in the temple.
SPEAKER_00: Those years were not wasted.
SPEAKER_00: They were preparation.
SPEAKER_00: And I think many people are living through something similar right now.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you're praying for a child who has drifted away from the faith.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you are carrying a burden that nobody else knows about, or even maybe struggling with a situation that seems impossible.
SPEAKER_00: You can look at the church, the culture, or even your own family and wonder, what is God doing?
SPEAKER_00: When will God act?
SPEAKER_00: Today's reading reminds us that God is never absent.
SPEAKER_00: He may be hidden, he may be working on ways we cannot yet see, but he is never absent.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, some of God's greatest victories begin in obscurity.
SPEAKER_00: The world celebrates visibility.
SPEAKER_00: God often works through hiddenness.
SPEAKER_00: The world will celebrate power.
SPEAKER_00: God often works through weakness.
SPEAKER_00: The world celebrates immediate results.
SPEAKER_00: God works according to his own timetable.
SPEAKER_00: The future of the Davidic kingdom was not found in a palace.
SPEAKER_00: It was found in a hidden temple.
SPEAKER_00: The future of Israel was not in the hands of politicians.
SPEAKER_00: It was in the hands of God.
SPEAKER_00: And the same is true for us.
SPEAKER_00: The future of the church does not depend primarily on strategies, programs, or human strength.
SPEAKER_00: It depends on God's faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: The future of your family does not depend solely on your ability to fix every problem.
SPEAKER_00: It depends on God's grace.
SPEAKER_00: The future of your soul does not rest on your own perfection.
SPEAKER_00: It rests on God's mercy.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel complements this beautifully.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth where moth and decay destroy.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because earthly things are fragile.
SPEAKER_00: Power is fragile, popularity is fragile, success is fragile.
SPEAKER_00: Athaliah had power.
SPEAKER_00: She thought the throne belonged to her.
SPEAKER_00: She thought she was secure.
SPEAKER_00: She thought she controlled the future.
SPEAKER_00: Six years later, she was gone.
SPEAKER_00: The throne belonged to someone else.
SPEAKER_00: That is the fate of every earthly kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Only God's kingdom endures.
SPEAKER_00: And that is where Jesus wants our hearts to be.
SPEAKER_00: Because he says, For wherever your treasure is, there also will be your heart will be.
SPEAKER_00: The real question is not whether we have a treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone does.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, where have we placed it?
SPEAKER_00: In ourselves, in our plans, in our possessions, in our reputation, or in God.
SPEAKER_00: Because everything else eventually passes away.
SPEAKER_00: Only God remains.
SPEAKER_00: So if today's readings teach us anything, it is this.
SPEAKER_00: Do not lose hope when evil seems strong.
SPEAKER_00: Do not lose hope when God's plan seems hidden.
SPEAKER_00: Do not lose hope when the future seems uncertain.
SPEAKER_00: The faithful in Jerusalem could not see what God was doing in the temple, but God was preparing a king.
SPEAKER_00: And there may be things happening right now in your life that you cannot see.
SPEAKER_00: Seeds are being planted, hearts are being changed, prayers are being answered in small hidden ways, because God has not stopped working.
SPEAKER_00: He never does.
SPEAKER_00: And those who trust him long enough eventually discover that what looked like defeat was often the beginning of his victory.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.