Proper 28, Year B, Track 2
Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
This morning's lesson from Mark 13 starts what theologians often call the "little Apocalypse,” in contrast to the Book of Revelation, the “big” Apocalypse. This chapter is Jesus' longest discourse in the Gospels concerning the end times. Jesus speaks about a variety of calamities and portents that will herald his return—earthquakes, famines, wars, and so on. He also speaks of families torn apart by division, of the faithful handed over to unfair judgment and persecution. He speaks of false Messiahs and a mysterious omen called "the desolating sacrilege." It is a vivid description of destruction on a global scale. It is interesting that the departure point for this extended lesson originates with an innocuous comment made by one of the disciples about the size of the Temple in Jerusalem.
It feels a bit weird that Jesus would react this way. After all, the previous chapter concludes with Jesus commending the poor widow for her small but earnest contribution to the upkeep of this edifice. But that passage, which we heard last Sunday, comes after Jesus offers a harsh rebuke of the scribes, a group of religious and social elite that "like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!" He goes on, saying, "They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
So, while we can read last week's story about the poor widow as Jesus commending the woman for the sincerity of her gift, we can also read it as a condemnation of the predatory religious elites using gifts like hers to prop up their own social and economic status. The Temple in Jerusalem was the cultural and spiritual center of Jewish life in Jesus' day, and it was also a place plagued by corruption and indifference. Moreover, many of the elite in the Temple had sold out their loyalty to the Roman government occupying their country.
Jesus says, "Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." We don't know if Jesus says this rebukingly, or sadly, or indifferently. But we know that Jesus is proclaiming this: if you are a powerful institution preying on those you are called to serve, this will be the consequence. He knows the judgment that will be upon them because he will be the judge on the day of reckoning.
Those who bear fiduciary responsibility in a church bear a responsibility far greater than in other institutions, because our accountability for the gifts we receive from our members—be they gifts of money, talent, or labor—must be reckoned with them and with God. We must be able to look members of our congregation in the eye and say without deceit that we are sincerely investing the gifts they have sincerely given to build God's kingdom on earth. Christ will judge us accordingly, and what we build will only stay standing in the end if we build it following this principle.
Many preachers and speakers have come to prominence over the years for their interpretations of what the "end times" will look like, and especially for their theories about how this or that disaster, this or that politician, this or that news story fits into their eschatological interpretations of scripture, especially the Book of Revelation. Some of them receive wealth and acclaim from these interpretations, writing best-selling books that get adapted into movies. They get TV shows and build up megachurches, all based on what they purportedly know about the end of days.
The theory of premillennial dispensationalism, colloquially called "rapture theology," is the basis upon which these end-times preachers build their followings. While it is a dramatic and engaging idea, it is also a modern invention with dubious scriptural integrity, and it is very often emotionally predatory. It's easy to spin the narrative of "buy my book to find out how to avoid getting 'left behind!'" And while many of these preachers will be quick to attribute major natural disasters to this or that public policy they disagree with, the sin of extortion is often virtually absent from the narrative, even though we know from Jesus' own words that this is one of the biggest reasons for bringing down the house.
Any honest critique of extortionist tendencies must first start from within, however. As we enter the season of Advent in just a couple of weeks, we will experience a time of self-reflection in which we must honestly take stock of and be accountable for our actions or inactions. God calls us to seek forgiveness for how we have negatively impacted the vulnerable, the oppressed, and the lost. And if that process makes you uncomfortable, you're doing it right.
Mark 13 is full of disturbing and fearful imagery we might want to avoid. But after each proclamation of woe, there is a concluding statement of hope. And at the very end of the chapter, Jesus gives us an instruction: "Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." Growing our awareness of self; understanding, repenting, and reconciling for the ways we knowingly or unknowingly harm one another--that is a fundamental part of "keeping awake." Seeking justice and accountability from institutions, especially those in which we participate, is a fundamental part of "keeping awake."
Trying to predict what earthquake, what famine, and what war is a herald of Christ's coming is a fruitless exercise because no one cataclysm is a greater sign of the world's brokenness than any other. The fight against injustice might always feel hopelessly weighted against us, and we might often feel tempted to shut it all out. But only by remaining awake to it are we able to see the forces fueling it. Only by seeing those forces can we safeguard ourselves from their influence and, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, to fight them. Amen.