“Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will not pass away.” -- Mark 13:31
Happy New Year!
Lutheran Christians and others who follow a liturgical year
probably get the reference. Others,
might scratch their heads and think, “the fool’s a month early!” In the Christian Calendar, Sunday, December
3, 2017, the First Sunday in Advent, marks the beginning of a new church year. Each year, the calendar focuses on one of
the Gospels, and, this year, the majority of our Gospel readings will come from
Mark. I like this Gospel for it’s
urgency and the way the whole Gospel leans forward toward the cross.
Mark was likely written around the time of the Jewish War (66-73
CE) and the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE. Those were tumultuous times in Judea and the
region around Jerusalem. To the Jews and
Christians living during those dark days, it must have seemed like the whole
world was falling apart. We know that
the Christian community fled the violence in Jerusalem and immigrated to Syria
in the late 60’s. The original readers
of the Gospel heard Jesus’ prophesy in Mark 13 against this violent, uncertain
and terrifying backdrop.
In the context of Mark’s telling of Jesus’ story, Mark 13
was spoken to his uncertain and confused disciples as they balanced on the
precipice of the crucifixion. Jesus had
warned them three times that he was going to Jerusalem to die. They didn’t understand. His confrontations with the leaders of the
people grew more and more intense as the last week in Jerusalem passed. They didn’t get it. “Keep awake!”
He said, but they couldn’t manage to stay awake for an hour as he prayed
in the Garden of Gethsemane (14:37).
The picture Jesus paints in Mark 13 may be bleak and
terrifying, but doesn’t it describe the way life is often experienced in this
broken world? Perhaps that’s why so many
people down through the centuries have read Jesus’ words and have said, “this
is us.” But there is a promise
here. It is the promise of the birth of Immanuel
(which means “God with us”). It is the
promise of an empty tomb on the far side of the horrors of the cross. It is the promise of a Christian community
that survived the Jewish War of the early 70s CE and many other trials and
tribulations in the years since. It is
the promise that Jesus’ words will not pass away. Not now, not ever.
We still live in tumultuous times, don’t we? North Korea launched an ICBM this week that
the “experts” say could reach any place in the United States. Scary stuff.
Wars and rumors of war circle the globe with fear and terror and
uncertainty. The pervasiveness of hatred
and abuse and harassment are revealed in the halls of the powerful and
privileged and even from those once respected in our land. To quote a line from a 1987 R.E.M song, is this “the end of the world as we know
it?”
Maybe. Maybe
not. But Jesus’ words to us are the same
as they have always been:
Stay alert! Continue
to trust the promise. Stay focused on
the mission. Love God. Love one another. Love your neighbor as yourself. Lean forward into whatever the future may
hold knowing that God truly goes with us.
Always.
Blessed New Year!
Peace,
Bishop Mike.
Thanks for reading.
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