“Stand Firm” – Nov 18, 2012 Sermon
November 18, 2012
Scripture: Mark 13: 1-13.
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus, “not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Sermon: Stand Firm
by Rev. Doreen Oughton
Well, isn’t this an inspiring passage?! Talk about going out with a bang. This is our last lectionary reading before the church’s new year (Advent). Since last Advent, the Gospel readings have come primarily from Mark, with a little bit of John thrown in as it is every year. Personally I really love Mark’s Gospel, the way he portrays Jesus as really challenging not only the religious leaders of the day, but his followers as well, which, of course, includes us. But this 13th chapter of the gospel? This I could easily do without. In fact if you cut the entire chapter out, it would read quite smoothly from chapter 12 to 14. This chapter has a whole different style – it’s what is called “apocalyptic.” This is the stuff of the doomsday preachers, the ones on the street corners that you cross over to avoid. Look out – bad times are a-coming.
Bad times were a pretty constant reality in first century Palestine. The Temple, these amazing and beautiful buildings, had been constructed by Herod the Great beginning in 19 BCE. As stunning as it was, it inspired mixed feelings in the native Israelites. While it was the center of their religious activity and national identity, it was also very corrupt, and in collusion with the Roman Empire. And while the Temple held great wealth, the economic situation of the native people deteriorated. The tax burden was about 50% even at the lowest incomes, and more and more people were forced off the land and into poverty. There were periodic uprisings and rebellions that were brutally suppressed by Rome. People were hung on crosses that lined the roadways. This would have been going on in Jesus’ time, and it escalated in the decades after his death. In fact, things came to a head right around the time the Gospel of Mark is believed to have been written, between 60 and 70 CE. The Roman-Jewish War began in 66, with early victories for the rebelling Jewish forces, but they found it difficult to establish a stable government because of the conflicting factions amongst them – the rebels and zealots and the aristrocracy and religious leaders. The rebels became increasingly fanatical and were expecting the arrival of a messiah, meanwhile insisting that all Jews fight against the Romans with them.
It may have been these fanatics that Mark was thinking when he wrote Jesus’ words warning his disciples against false prophets claiming to be the Messiah. It may well have been a time when family members turned on one another, not for the sake of the Good News as Jesus taught and lived it, but for power, for victory. The Jewish people were familiar with such apocalyptic writings. The Jews had endured centuries of very, very bad times, which often leads to such writings, warnings that these bad times are signs that the end is coming, judgment is coming, and that these hard times are themselves judgments. So it’s interesting what Jesus says here. He warns that hard times are indeed coming – fighting and earthquakes, floggings, and killings and betrayals. But he says these things do not mean the end is coming. He says that in fact, they indicate that something is actually being born. He names the constant cycle of wars as routine history, something that has always happened. But because of him, instead of continuing in an endless and pointless cycle, the suffering and pain of them have become birth pangs.
These things are not God’s judgment, but they can instead be an opening for God, an opening to preach the Gospel to all nations, an opening to the Holy Spirit. What people might consider “the end” can actually be the entry to a whole new life. Jesus did call out to the people to repent, but not because the world was ending, but because the kindom had come near. And remember that repent does not mean to sit in sackcloth and ashes, does not mean to beat yourself up, but to turn – turn to a new way. Pay attention! Look around you! See the bad things that are happening and don’t get caught up in the same old cycle. Feel the pain, but don’t believe it leads to death. Feel the pain as birth pangs that will lead to new life. Be on guard, not to protect your life, but to find openings to proclaim the good news. Stand firm in his teaching that God is about love and creation, mercy and justice. Not retributive justice where the person who’d been down now is on top and gets to exact revenge. But restorative justice in which there is healing and mercy extended to all, where all are equal in value, where all are cared for.
The disciples have asked Jesus a question in response to his statement that these grand Temple buildings will be torn down, but Jesus doesn’t answer them. They want to know just when this will happen, and what signs can they look for that it’s about to come about. He doesn’t give them a time line. While he cautions them and predicts many events, he does not say that these are signs of the end. Later in chapter 13 Jesus does talk about days to come when “the powers in heaven will be shaken… and the son of man will come in power and glory.” But, he says, no one knows when that day is. The message is to stay alert and watch for it – watch for the in-breaking of the kindom. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Not because you will be condemned forever, but because you’ll miss the opening and have to wait for another, or turn around. One commentator suggested that these apocalyptic texts are like the rumble strips on the road, jarring us awake when we become sleepy / complacent.
While these passages can sound scary, I don’t believe Jesus was intending to scare the disciples, like parents who warn their children about shots are not trying to scare them. The explanation can decrease fear and anxiety. Jesus, and/or Mark, is explaining some very painful realities, but not as a threat. Ultimately he wanted to comfort them and empower them. This passage takes place between the day Jesus parades into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the evening he is arrested less than a week later. Jesus knows that things are going to get much, much worse for the disciples. He can’t pretend otherwise. While the good news is still the good news, how could they stand firm in it if they didn’t expect or understand the suffering they would all have to endure? And this message transcends first century Palestine. How could we, as followers of Jesus, truly believe and preach the good news if we thought it was all going to be sweetness and light, milk and honey? We may not have brothers killing each other, parents killing their children, floggings and such, but there is betrayal, there are wars and rumors of war, there are earthquakes and hurricanes and floods. There is hunger and homelessness and injustice and oppression. There is bigotry and hatred even among Christians. So Christ is warning us – stay awake, stand firm. Don’t panic and judge. Don’t be led astray by those who preach hatred in God’s name. Don’t be deceived by those who would tell you that the power is what’s important, the buildings are what’s important, that wealth is what’s important. Our God is a God of love, of salvation, of restoration. God is with us, the kindom has come near. The kindom has come near. May it be so.
