The Gospel isn’t meant to be gulped down on Sunday morning, but gnawed on through the week so it really becomes a part of us. You’ve got to work at it, like a dog with a good bone! Here’s the Gospel for this coming Sunday — the twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost — with food for thought about what lasts and what doesn’t. Gnaw away!
Mark 13:1-8
As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of the disciples commented in passing, “Look,
Teacher! What huge stones these are! What wonderful buildings!”
Jesus replied, “See these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another. Everything will be torn down.”
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What will be the sign that all this is about to take place?”
Jesus began by saying, “be on your guard that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the One,’ and they will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of war, do not be alarmed. Things like this must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and empire against empire; there will be earthquakes throughout the world and famines – yet this is only the beginning of the labor pains.
The Backstory – What’s Going On Here?
A big shift happens in the 13th chapter of Mark … a shift of genre. Mark 13 is often called “The Little Apocalypse” (though sometimes this phrase is more specifically applied to verses 14-23). It is a literary style that flourishes during times of persecution that involves discussion of the end times — in particular God’s rapidly approaching intervention in history, condemnation of the evil and vindication of the faithful. It involves tumultuous events — the shaking of the very foundations of the world. Many scholars theorize that this chapter represents the author of Mark inserting a Jewish or Christian apocalyptic writing in the midst of the Gospel. You can see that language here — particularly in the describing of the tribulations as “labor pains” … the entry point for God into the world. This language would have been familiar to Jesus’ disciples as eschatological (theology about the end times) talk was prominent in this era of Roman persecution.
In this particular passage, Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple … and also warns four of his disciples about false teachers. A couple significant pieces here. First, Jesus talks to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. That was where David fled in 2 Samuel 15 when Absalom was trying to kill him … before David finally ascended the throne. It was also higher than the Temple Mount, and after the Temple’s destruction was a traditional spot for religious ceremonies and for lamenting the Temple’s destruction. Jesus is setting himself as higher than the authorities of the Temple (which will be overthrown) and against other false teachers who would claim to be the agents of God’s breaking into history.
A few things to chew on:
*Jesus tells the disciples that the Temple — the place the very presence of God resides — will be torn down. We can’t even imagine how scandalous and shocking that must have been to hear. So four of the disciples pull Jesus aside and ask for the early warning system … how can we know this is going to happen so we can get ready. For them, the destruction of the Temple had to be the main event, and the only question they had was how to be prepared for it. But Jesus’ answer turns it all on its head. The destruction of the Temple … and much more (wars, earthquakes, famines) … is not the main event but in fact the early warning system. It is not the end, but only the beginning. Not a sign of God’s abandonment of humanity, but the labor pains of God doing something new.
*This Gospel reminds us that no matter how big or beautiful or meaningful a structure or any creation of humanity, it can be easily undone. Yet that very undoing can be the doorway for God breaking into the world in a new and powerful way. 65 years ago, the people of Coventry, England emerged from a night of ruthless bombing to discover their Cathedral in ruins – a smoldering skeleton of its former beauty. Yet they knew in their sorrow that God was still present. They found two roof beams that had fallen inthe shape of a cross and bound two nails together in the same shape … and around those crosses and the enduring presence of Christ in their community God was reborn through them. After the war the world came together to construct a new Cathedral, which stands next to the wreckage of the old as a sign of global reconciliation. Read more about the [1]amazingstory of Coventry Cathedral and the Community of the Cross of nails here.
Try This:
The images of this Gospel reading are not abstractions, they are incredibly real. All you have to do is see what is happening in the fires in our very community to see what it is for people to have every physical thing that matters to them — their home, everything they own — taken away. Go into places that have been ravaged by war in ways that has not happened in our own nation in nearly 150 years — places like Sudan or the Congo or Iraq or Afghanistan — and you will find devastation that is even worse.
The reactions to this are as different as the people. There is shock, pain, fear and anger. But there is also something else. There is inevitably a foundation of joy and hope that emerges in devastated communities. There is something that happens when all the physical things we have are taken away and we have to trust in God and one another. There is a depth that life acquires that cannot be reached any other way. It is the Way of the Cross.
This week, spend some time at the beginning of each day imagining what would happen if all the “things” you had were taken away. What would you have left? How would you be sustained? Who are the relationships you would lean on? How would your prayer life be different? How would your relationship with our All Saints Church community be different?
Pray for those who have had and are having this situation thrust upon them. And then also
pray that God might move in your heart — and all of our hearts to find the depth of life only the way of the Cross can bring.
“See these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another. Everything will be torn down.”
A few weeks ago, I went back to St. Louis just for an overnight and I stopped by the house where our family had lived for the past dozen or so years.
We love this house. Robin and her mother literally redesigned and remodeled large portions of it. Our first dog’s ashes are buried in the backyard. It will always be the house our children think of when they think of “the house where they grew up.”
As I got out of my car and looked at it … trying not to look like either a creepy stalker or a thief casing the neighborhood … one of the owners came out and, in a wonderful act of hospitality, recognized me and invited me in.
It was a strange and bittersweet experience walking through this house we had known and loved and seeing it filled with another family’s life. It was a blessing seeing this house so loved by its new residents … and it was disorienting knowing that in many ways though it was the same it would be forever different.
In the end, as I drove away, I felt oddly at peace. And as I pushed into that feeling I realized that my love for that house had nothing to do with the bricks and mortar, wood and paint. My love for that house had everything to do with the love and life that had taken place within its walls.
No new owner could ever change that. None of that ever could be taken away.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus supposedly said, “Change is the only constant in life” – a pre-Socratic version of Ben Franklin opining that the only certainties were “death and taxes.”
That’s what Jesus says here. Buildings crumble. Civilizations rise and fall. Marriages fail. Friendships end. All things can pass away and most things do.
Save one. And that one is the love of God.
We are seeing so much crumble right now. Our faith in government and institutions is at an all-time low. Our buildings have deferred maintenance. For the first time in ages, the generation coming of age fully expects to be worse off than the generations before it.
We are tempted to despair. And yet we hope. Why? Because we know that change is the only constant in life. We know that as important as institutions and places are they are not the most important thing. The most important thing is the love of God, the love we share, the love that gives us life.
All Saints Church could burn to the ground. Not a stone could be left on stone. And it would not kill this church. Because this church has always been and will always be more than the place – no matter how beautiful the place is and meaningful it is to us.
This church has always been and will always be first and foremost the love of God incarnate. Love that is for each of us and from each of us. Love that is everlasting.
No one can ever change that. And no one can ever take it away.
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Check out the rest of Sunday’s readings
The Lectionary Page has all of the readings for this Sunday and every Sunday – click here for this Sunday’s readings.
Collect for Sunday
Pray this throughout the week as you gnaw on this Gospel.
Blessed God, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our
learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest
them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of
everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Want to read more?
“The Text This Week” is an excellent online resource for anyone who wants to dive more deeply into the scriptures for the week.
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