Last month, the chick flix feature was “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. I was reminded of that movie in preparing for today’s sermon. I know, you’re thinking, “wait, what does all this destruction talk in Mark’s gospel have to do with a Judi Dench movie?” Here’s the connection for me. In the movie, the character Sonny often says “everything will be okay in the end. And if it’s not okay, it’s not the end yet”. In my mind, I could imagine Jesus saying something similar to the disciples: “Yes, expect that people will lead you astray. Expect that there will be war and famine, earthquakes and hardships. But don’t worry…everything will be ok in the end”.
At the time that Mark’s gospel was written, somewhere around the years 66-70, Jerusalem was occupied by the Romans. It was a time of great anxiety for people. Many were enslaved and oppressed under a regime that they could not align themselves with for both political and religious reasons. Jerusalem was a dangerous place and it was a dangerous time. So for those faithful to the Jewish tradition, and even for those early Jesus followers, the Temple represented stability in a time of chaos. The Temple was supposed to be a safe haven during occupation. So as Jesus and his disciples sit on the Mount of Olives and look out towards the temple, they are observing this beacon of hope in a time of despair. And it is in this setting that Jesus says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” In other words, your place of sanctuary will cease to be. The disciples are obviously puzzled by this and push Jesus for clarification—when will this be and what are the signs we should look for? And instead of pulling out his calendar, Jesus tells the disciples to be prepared and alert. This piece of Mark’s gospel is part of the “apocalyptic” tradition. Here, the word “apocalyptic” refers to revelations about the end of times. In our post-modern culture, many folks are obsessed with the apocalypse. The entire “Left Behind” book and movie series is based on apocalyptic literature. Last year in the Bay Area, there were billboards advertising one man’s belief about the coming of the end times in October 2011. Every winter, the History and Discovery channels are inundated with tv programs about Nostradamus and the Anti-Christ. And I’m sure we’re all wondering if we should buy Christmas gifts…just in case the Mayans were right and Dec 21 is the end. However, serious biblical scholarship says this is not what Jesus was talking about at all. When Jesus talks about the destruction of the temple, earthquakes, war and feminine, he’s addressing a specific place and time. If you know your history, the Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70…Mark’s gospel may have been written after the destruction as a way of reflecting back on Jesus’ teaching. So what do we do with this gospel lesson in 2012? Where is the good news in this text? For me, it’s found in the last line of the text when Jesus says, “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” Now, I’ve never given birth, but many of my friends have enlightened me about a few things in this area…perhaps some of you can relate. The birthing process can sometimes last hours…maybe even a couple of days. In other words, it isn’t always immediate...it’s a process. And in the process, there is a loss of the life before, but there is also a deep awareness that when the baby comes, the new life will exceed expectations. That’s not to say there won’t be struggles and difficult moments, but it is life altering and affirming. When we look around us at our world, we see the destruction, war, earthquakes and famine. We see it on the news when the World Trade Center towers collapsed, when communities are ravaged by hurricanes, when lives are lost because bombs are deployed, when people die of starvation. And so we work together, hand in hand to help rebuild and restore. The birth pangs lead to new life. But sometimes the stories aren’t told. This week, the church office was filled with requests for assistance. One woman, who is a young widow, came in to ask for help finding shelter. She has an 8 year old son, but her husband died in 2007, and she has no local family. In attempting to balance work and childcare, she was unable to maintain stability and lost her housing. Now she lives in her car. We spent some time together this week trying to find her housing. Shelters won’t take her because she isn’t a victim of domestic violence. She is capable of working, but has no “home address” or phone number to put on her applications. As I worked with other local pastors to find a solution, albeit temporary, she ate some left-over soup from the AA lunch on Monday…the first food she’d had in 24 hours. This woman and her son are living in the midst of the destruction and birth pangs. But she has great hope that her situation will improve, and she has a deep faith that God has not abandoned her and her son. When we live in the midst of the destruction…when we feel overwhelmed by the earthquakes and tumbling buildings that are supposed to shelter us, we have two choices. We can continue to live in fear and anxiety, or we can live in hope, knowing that these are but the birth pangs. When we live in fear, we crumble, just like the world around us. But when we live with hope, knowing that new birth brings life, that God’s grace and love are really our places of sanctuary, then there is good news and new life to be found all around us. Everything will be okay in the end…and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end yet.
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AuthorI don't know what the future of the church is, but I know that we will continue to be a place of sanctuary and hope, working towards healing in the world. Archives
October 2017
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