Sermon for Proper 28 Year B - RCL |
Track 1
As
Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look,
Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked
him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here
upon another; all will be thrown down." When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."
“Look! What large Stones and what large
buildings!” What a way to start a
reading. I almost wish we could stop
right there with our reading from Mark.
But no. Next we get into the text
about the end of times and the destruction of the temple. As we approach the end of the church year the
texts always turn to the expectation of something to come. The end of the world as it is known and the
coming reign of God. Today we have the
last reading from Mark for our church year.
Next Sunday is the last Sunday before we start advent when we remember
Christ the King. So what are we to do
with this reading?
The disciples have just come
out of the temple and they are in awe.
It was a huge building. When I
was on vacation n Europe I went to several wonderful cathedrals and I was
impressed. I am sure I said something
similar. Wow – what a wonderful stone
cathedral! How magnificent! Or if you happen to be traveling with me you
would hear me say things like – Wow look at that ornate pulpit! I can’t imagine
preaching from such a pulpit Or Look at that magnificent pipe-organ. Just like the disciples we are impressed by
earthly things. We like to visit and be impressed. But what does Jesus do?
Jesus predicts a time when
the temple will be no more. Wow. Talk about asking for it. The occupation force – the Romans would not
like this kind of talk. It would be
another reason to Jesus to be put to death.
And when we read about the charges against Jesus later in the gospels
this is one of the reasons given for why he should be crucified – But we get to
that part in lent! So it is no wonder
that the disciples wait to ask Jesus about his prediction in private. It is bad enough he said what he did in
public.
But Jesus really does not answer
their question. Instead Jesus says. "Beware that no one leads you astray.
Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take
place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there
will be famines.”
As in other places in Mark’s
Gospel Jesus tells the disciples that following him is not going to be easy and
many people will try to lead us astray.
And what is worse for us is the signs Jesus mentions seem to be all
around us today. Nations are at
war. There are earthquakes. There are famines. The terrible attacks in France just this past
week. So is this the end of times?
There are people who fixate
on the “signs” all around us and are happy to predict that we are nearing the
second coming of Christ. That the end is
near. From time to time we do get people
“decoding” the bible – almost like they have a secret decoder ring! They predict a specific time for the faithful
to leave this earth and for the destruction of those of us left behind. And I am sure that I would not be someone
they would predict would be taken away!
Or perhaps this makes you
think of a street corner preacher – perhaps with a sign saying the end is near
– predicting the end and telling you to repent.
Now I have to say that I read this – and the rest of Mark Chapter 13 –
about the end times and I have to go to the end of chapter 13 where Jesus tells
the disciples “Keep alert – because you do not know when the moment is coming”.
No one knows.
Jesus goes on to say that all
of these signs are the birthpangs. Jesus
is not really focusing on the end but on new beginnings. And that the new beginning is going to be
hard. But the good news is that new life
comes from birthpangs.
This should be good news for
all of us. It should be good news
especially to you. Right now St.
Matthews is in the midst of birthpangs.
The discernment of how and what will be here is happening – perhaps not
as fast as we would like but the Holy Spirit has her own timetable!
This reminds me of a story my mother has told about being pregnant – I think with me – and when she was very near to term her relatives say in the living room staring at her and asking when I was going to come. Her answer was I would come when I was ready and to stop sitting there staring at her and waiting. New birth will ultimately come on its own schedule – like any baby!
This reminds me of a story my mother has told about being pregnant – I think with me – and when she was very near to term her relatives say in the living room staring at her and asking when I was going to come. Her answer was I would come when I was ready and to stop sitting there staring at her and waiting. New birth will ultimately come on its own schedule – like any baby!
The worship of God and the
wonderful outreach of this community will continue. The form may be different but I don’t hear
anyone saying that it won’t continue.
But entering into new life is never without mess. Entering into new life is never without some
pain and discomfort. At our diocesan
convention on Saturday we were reminded of a saying of our new Presiding Bishop
Michael Curry. “The God that is behind us is bigger than any thing that is in
front of us.” Our God is bigger than we
often acknowledge. Our God has our !
Being a disciple of Jesus in
a time when people are awed by large stones – just as much or more today than
2000 plus years ago – is not easy.
Verna Dozier – one of my
favorite authors said this about the new creation that Jesus is talking about
here “…the kingdom is here, the kingdom is still to come. It is a faith statement about the dream of
God.”[1]
There will be a new
birth. That is why we are here. We are called to be the agents of
change. We are called to show a world
that worries more about what Starbucks puts on its cups – or does not put on
their cups – than it does about feeding the hungry - that the new kingdom is happening now. We are called to be change agents. We are called to help bring God’s dream of a
kingdom of love to fruition in each of our corners of creation. We are called
to show the world that God’s Love exists everywhere – and especially on this
corner of Edison and Bell!
Amen.
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