Apocalyptic Happenings: What is being Revealed? - Sermon for 11/17/24

Gospel: Mark 13:1-8
      1 As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
      3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 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 birth pangs.”

Dear siblings in Christ, grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 
           Today we hear Jesus continue to rail against the earthly powers at play and that soon the temple will no longer be standing and then he goes into describing what sounds to be a forthcoming apocalypse after being asked how and when the temple will be destroyed. Today’s gospel passage comes directly after our passage from last week when we heard Jesus warn to beware of the scribes who act all important while devouring widows houses, all while he pointed out and made others aware of the widow who put in all that she had left to give to the treasury. Last week we explored the idea that part of this was Jesus’ way to continue to point out the hypocrisy of those in positions of power, who have been entrusted with large sums of money and resources, and yet instead of using what they have to ensure that all in their community, all in their care have enough to live well, they use what they have been entrusted with to bolster their own positions of power and to make the temple and places of worship extravagant and today we hear that the temple is made of such large awe-inspiring stones and even though one disciple was clearly impressed by this fact, Jesus was not. Jesus instead spoke of its coming destruction. 
         This passage and its apocalyptic imagery of so much war, destruction, of false leaders, and natural disasters is terrifying, but then again, does it really sound that far off from what we are seeing throughout our world in this age, and what has been seen throughout history. But yet, even in the face of terrifying images Jesus tells us to not be alarmed, don’t be afraid. These words of destruction were shocking to those who heard Jesus say them, but they may have been a source of comfort for the first readers of Mark’s gospel which was likely written during or just after the the Roman armies squashed a rebellion against the empire and consequently destroyed the temple and so much more (SALT's commentary for the 26th week after Pentecost), which would have been devastating not just for the Jewish people but also for the early Christians who many were still Jewish. And perhaps some found comfort in the fact that Jesus had predicted these horrors to come, and that Jesus reminded them to not be afraid, for through the destruction and chaos there is something new happening, that the world is experiencing the beginning of birth pangs, but what is being birthed in the midst of all of the destruction and chaos they experienced? And what does this mean for us today, what is being birthed within the chaos and destruction of today’s world?
           A lot of what Jesus had predicted with his apocalyptic imagery sounds eerily similar to what we have been seeing and experiencing for a good part of many of our life times, and perhaps recently, it seems a bit more dire, with the impact of climate change causing much more destructive natural disasters, with so much political upheaval, with so much distrust between nations and within nations, with leaders that we could easily point to as leading us astray causing so much more harm and dangers for the most vulnerable and marginalized amongst us. And so we may find ourselves in a similar boat as those early Christians after the temple was destroyed, we are facing the fear of the unknowns of the destruction all around us throughout the world. 
         And yet Jesus calls us to not be alarmed, to not be afraid. And we might be left asking, but how are we able to not be afraid when so much seems to be changing and in destructive and harmful ways for so many? Often when we think of apocalyptic stories, we think of those movies or shows that are set post nuclear war, or in a zombie infested or diseases infected world or even sometime like the left behind series but yet when we see the various bible stories that warn and predict apocalyptic events, it’s not about the destruction and end of all things. But instead when the various bible stories mention apocalyptic themes it is more about what is to be uncovered or revealed (perhaps this leads to why the last book of the bible full of apocalyptic imagery is named revelation). So within the apocalyptic times, what is being revealed, or unveiled, what is being uncovered? In the moments throughout our lives where we witness or experience destruction, upheaval, and the grief that accompanies it, what is being uncovered or revealed about our current reality within the world? And what are we being called to do from there when we start to see what is being unveiled and revealed? 
         Often when there is much upheaval and destruction, we can learn a lot about our society, either for being the ones experiencing such destruction and upheaval or by how we respond to others who have experienced such. When witnessing or experiencing destruction and upheaval, we are able to learn and at times see when various systems and institutions in place are not working well for all people, or how they may be inherently oppressive and may need to be dismantled, evolved, or transformed to better serve the needs of all people. Through noticing what gets unveiled and revealed we are better able to point out where systemic sin is at play, in systems and institutions that were put in place in such a way to privilege a few over all, and perhaps some of those systems weren’t inherently set up in a way to keep some out, but when attention is brought to how this ends up being the case, is proper change made to make it more equitable for all people or do we just keep it the same for the sake of simplicity or because it has always been this way, like how some spaces are brought up to ADA code and other times, they are not and those places are uninviting for those who are not of abled body. Or like how after decades of protesting and fighting for equal rights the institution of marriage within this country was finally transformed, only 9 years ago in 2015, to include all loving couples and yet this right now may be in jeopardy in the near future. Or how wars are either started because nations want more land or resources and try to forcefully take it from others, or because some have reached their breaking point after nearly a century of a more powerful nation backed by even more powerful nations quietly oppress them, systematically stealing land and creating apartheid systems to keep them in their places even though their families have been living on that land for centuries. Or more closer to home today, we see the upheaval of how our own nation is so vastly divided and perhaps will soon see our own government look so vastly different than anything we have ever seen in this country before, and we are left to question why all these things have come to be and what is it that is being revealed about these systems and these realities? 
         I don’t think there are easy answers to those questions, especially if it means that we need to take a long hard critical look at some of the systems in place that we have gotten so comfortable with, especially if they haven’t brought or don’t threaten to bring harm to ourselves or our loved ones directly. But when this apocalyptic destruction happens and we finally become aware of the harm done to others, what then can we do? What are we called to do? What are the birthing pangs leading to? Are the birth pangs leading to innovation, and the evolving of society so that all people no matter who they are or how we each may be diversely different can live full and abundant lives without the fear of harm that so many earthly forces and systems are entrenched in? So we are left to question how we, as followers of Jesus, might be called to make changes within our own communities so that we are able to better notice what is being revealed within the upheaval and destruction that we face throughout our lives and how are we being called to evolve and transform through the birth pangs to be co-creators with God in making this world a more just place where all of its abundant resources are shared and stewarded equally and equitably with all people so that all people may be able to live life and live it abundantly? 
        The future can be a scary place of unknowns, especially in the face of all the apocalyptic events and happenings that we can see all around us with so much war, unrest, and division. And despite the fear, Jesus reminds us that we need not fear if we but follow him through all the uncertainty. Within the uncertainty, Jesus reminds us that God is on the move guiding us through it, even when hope may be hard to find and when we may feel most hopeless and helpless within our world and in our own uncertain moments of life. God through Jesus, has experienced the hopelessness and helplessness of Jesus’ death on the cross, but even when it all seemed hopeless, we know that was not the end, that Jesus rose from the dead to give new life in heaven to all and now reminds us to not be afraid and gives us all assurance that we are not alone in the here and now. And we are called in the moments of all this uncertainty, destruction, and upheaval to continue to share and show God’s love in the world, to all who also may be despairing alongside us, as we continue to notice what is being revealed in these moments of distress, and work to get through it and make change for the betterment of all people with the resources we have been entrusted with through the Spirit’s guiding, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 
    -- Written and preached by Pastor Tamara Siburg

If you wish to listen to the sermon the reading of the Gospel starts at 41:56 and sermon starts at 43:18