PROPERS: PROPER 28, YEAR B
TEXT: MARK 13:1-8
PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2018, AND SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018.
ONE SENTENCE: The chaos of life encourages us to always “walk in faith” – already transformed.
Jesus’ words in the gospel lesson were truly prophetic when they were first spoken. They were prophetic in the sense of speaking God’s truth, and also in the sense of predicting the future.
Jesus is standing with his followers in the area of Herod’s Temple. The disciples are awed by the structure. Some 50 years in the building (and still it was not completed), it is said to have been one of the most breathtaking sights in the ancient world.
It was, of course, the focus of the Jewish faith. There was Holy of Holies, a chamber in which only the High Priest could enter – and he only once a year. This was the central place of all the ritual sacrifices prescribed in the Torah.
Every other place of worship – every synagogue – paled in comparison.
So, the people who heard Jesus’ words must have been startled:
“Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
His words were truly proleptic. They anticipated things to come. How Jesus knew, I do not know. Perhaps he was truly aware of the deal with the devilwhich many powerful people had made with the Roman oppressors. Maybe he was aware of the conflict simmering beneath the surface. Perhaps he knew there would be payday someday.
The illustration he chose – the destruction of the Temple – was seen and interpreted as truly apocalyptic. Hidden things would be revealed. The Day of the Lordwould come. The Temple could not be destroyed without cataclysmic events taking place. His warning would be heard through the millennia.
Whatever his source of foreknowledge, he was spot-on.
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Some 35-years later, long after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the seeds of rebellion would take root in the seaside city of Caesarea-Philippi, when Greeks sacrificed birds outside a synagogue – an abomination to the Jews. The fires of rebellion spread across the land.
Thousands – Romans and Jews – died in the early skirmishes. The Roman General Vespasian, soon to be Emperor, conquered Galilee and the areas north of Jerusalem first. Then siege was laid to fortress city of Jerusalem. More than a million people took refuge within the walls.
People starved. Conflict arose among the Jewish leaders. Zealots burned the stored food in hopes of provoking the people to fight against the Romans.
But it was not to be.
Late in July, A.D. 70, the Roman army breached the walls and entered the city. The city and Temple were burned. A million people died. The Temple was destroyed, with each stone being taken down from the other. Those stones weighed as much as 160,000 pounds each.
Only the Wailing Wall – the western retaining wall – remains to this day.
But that was not the end. The Roman troops moved on to towns and fortifications south and east of the city. The overran Qumran – causing the small sect of apocalyptic Essene believers to hide their sacred scrolls in nearby caves. Those scrolls were discovered 1,870 years later. We call them the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Roman army moved further south, along the coast of the Dead Sea. They laid siege to the last rebel hold-out – the Herod-built mountain fortress, Masada. Elevated 1,000 feet above the desert floor, the Romans waited and waited. Finally, they built an engineering marvel – a siege ramp which allowed them to enter the fortress.
Their effort was for naught. The 900 rebels in the fortress had taken their own lives, rather than live in Roman slavery.
Jesus saw all that coming. Thirty-five years earlier.
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The disciples were stunned by Jesus’ words. How could this be? This magnificent building?
The Gospel according to Mark tells us:
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.”
Many religious leaders have sought to identify the Day of Judgement. There have been multiple movements throughout history in which one group or another was certainof the time. Books have been written. Movies have been made. It was 40-years ago today when charismatic evangelist Jim Jones led 900 residents of Jonestown to drink poisoned Kool-Aid.
But listen to Jesus’ words: “There will be wars and rumors of wars… Nation will rise against nation… earthquakes… famines.”
My question to you: When has there NOT been a time of these things? When has there NOT been war – somewhere in the world? When has nation NOT risen against nation? When has there NOT been earthquakes or famines?
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The answer is never. These conditions have always existed.
The point is to be prepared.
The time for transformation is now. We do not know… we cannot know when our individual apocalypse will come. But, be assured, it will come.
But there is more to be gained in the here and now. Being transformed, having our lives radically changed by the grace of God, is about more than getting to the Kingdom of God. It is also about finding the Kingdom of God in our midst.
That can be done in myriad ways – more ways than there are numbers of us. We will not complete the ushering-in of that Kingdom in our lifetime. But we can be open to the transformation – the new life – which allow us to see glimpses of God’s reign on earth.
We don’t need to wait for wars and rumors of wars… nation rising against nation… earthquakes and famines. The time is now. Life can begin anew today. Commit to enrich your life. Move toward a deeper faith. Walk in faith, each and every step.
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