by Dr Liz Young
(Based on Mark 13:1-8; Dan 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Heb 10:19-25)
The readings for today are all about ‘the end of the world as we know it’, and after I’ve shared the thoughts of others on the apocalypse I will add some thoughts on our current threat of climate change, one of the many changes threatening our lives. In Daniel, the archangel Gabriel announces that some will live and some will die in the apocalypse. In Psalm 16 the psalmist sings, “You, O Lord, are all I have and you give me all I need, and my future is in your hands.” And in Hebrews, the writer says, “Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep His promises.”
Then we come to the Gospel: “As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said ‘look teacher, what wonderful stones and buildings.’”
Jesus answered, “You see these great buildings. Not a single stone will be left in place, everyone of them will be thrown down.”
Which reminded me of how my John admired all the majestic mediaeval cathedrals we visited when we went to Europe, my two favourites being Wells and Vézelay.
And Jesus’s statement was prophetic. On the day of his crucifixion an earthquake caused the veil of the temple to be broken into two.
Later in this reading, Jesus was sitting at the Mount of Olives when Peter, James, John and Andrew came to him in private and asked, “Tell us when this will be. And tell us what will happen to warn us, that the time will come for all these things to take place.” Jesus replied, “Watch out’, don’t let anyone deceive you. Many men claiming to speak for me will come and say ‘I am He’, and they will deceive many people.”
This was very true for the early church in 200-400 AD, and we have watched bemused in the past few weeks, as Donald Trump, a congenital liar, gets voted in as President of the USA. When I moaned to my John that Trump got in because of poor school education in the Midwest, he reminded me that my sister got her PhD in Kansas, and I always use Harvard for my medical cross checking.
Politicians have always twisted the truth to their own advantage, and I was reminded of Disraeli’s words, that “there are lies, damned lies and statistics”.
But the readings also emphasize hope: there is always hope amongst the gloom and doom.
When this is over,
May we never again
Take for granted
A handshake with a stranger;
Full shelves at the store;:
Conversations with neighbours;
A crowded theatre;
Friday night out;
A routine check up;
The school rush each morning;
Coffee with a friend;
The stadium roaring;
Each deep breath;
A boring Tuesday;
Life itself.
When this ends,
May we find
That we have become
More like the people
We wanted to be,
We were called to be,
We hoped to be.
And may we stay
That way – better
For each other,
Because of the worst.
To return to the Mark Gospel, what a mix of topics in this chapter: the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, linked with the announcement of Jesus’s second coming. Jesus warning us of false prophets and that the disciples will be handed over to the authorities …
The last words of the reading are “this is but the beginning of the birth pangs”, and my optimistic self immediately thought of what do birth pangs lead to? The joy of the arrival of a new child, with the attendant responsibilities, the interrupted nights, and the challenge of caring for a vulnerable child who in spite of having obviously inherited similar characteristics, has their own individual personality, that you have to learn to adapt to and accept.
To revisit the apocalypse theme,
from Steve Garnaas-Holmes, …
People will never turn on each other
And, golly, we have the utmost care for pregnant women, we’re safe.
I’m glad.
Imagine living in that type of upheaval;
In that world justice isn’t abstract, but a daily commitment.
In that world it’s necessary and hard to care for each other.
Christians can’t stand by and see how it turns out.
They have to be part of how it turns out.
They have to bear witness daily – not by saying the right stuff,
But by living lives of radical kindness and courage.
They have to sacrifice for the sake of love,
And dare to be kind to the wrong sort of people.
They have to risk rejection, even persecution,
For their unconditional kindness.
They have to resist injustice and stand up against the Emperor.
I mean, in that world they have no security but God.
They have no defender but Jesus, no hope but Grace.
They have to live lives of death and resurrection.
And we might not want that, perhaps.
Our own current anxieties centre around climate change and I was pleased to read evidence in the New Scientist that corals can adapt to warmer seas: and elsewhere to read of community efforts to help others to minimize its impact, so …
Let us create a community that trusts both in God and in one another, and go out today with Hope in our hearts, planning to share more of ourselves with each other. Amen
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