Sermon for the 26th
Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28
| Text: Mark 13:7-8 Jesus said, “Don't be troubled when you hear the noise of battles close by and news of battles far away. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be earthquakes everywhere, and there will be famines. These things are like the first pains of childbirth”. |
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Don’t be troubled!
Have you ever stood in a
historical site or building and tried to imagine what happened at this spot to
make it famous?
Over the years I’ve had the good fortune of walking through ornately decorated
banquet halls and along the porticos of ancient castles where knights and ladies
in fine dresses, or even kings and queens once walked,
and while I’m doing this I try to imagine the people who centuries before had
walked on that very spot, or worshipped in this very old church, or fought
battles on the walls of this castle.
The magnificence and beauty of
the cathedrals, churches, and castles, with their high ornate vaulted ceilings,
sculptures and artwork, built without the technology and machinery we have
today, demonstrate the skill, creativity and the ingenuity of humanity.
These buildings have stood for centuries and it’s almost tempting to
think they will be there forever.
But this may not be the case. As
many of these ancient buildings that still stand in all their glory just as
many, if not more, lie in ruins.
Today’s gospel reading leads us
to thinking about just this. Jesus and
his disciples were leaving the splendour of the temple complex in Jerusalem.
According to historians at the
time, the temple in Jerusalem was an architectural masterpiece.
King Herod who ruled at the time of Jesus’ birth reconstructed the temple
into the largest building in ancient times.
The base on which the temple was
built was almost 15 hectares. (The only part of the temple that remains today).
The temple is described as a mountain of
white and yellow marble adorned with gold.
It was constructed with enormous stones and the surrounding complex
included sprawling courtyards, colonnaded courts, grand porches and balconies,
covered walkways and monumental stairs.
Herod’s temple was more massive and far grander than Solomon’s temple.
It was built to last. It was
built to impress, and it certainly did that.
It must have been quite a sight
as the gleaming marble and stunning metal work flashed in the Middle Eastern
sun. For the people of Jerusalem,
the temple was a symbol of the glory of God and a sign of the glory that would
return to Israel. It was centre
and focus of Judaic religion. It
was designed to stand forever as the permanent house of God.
The disciples were obviously
impressed by this remarkable building.
“Look Teacher!
What massive stones! What
magnificent buildings!”
What Jesus said next almost
amounted to sacrilege.
“You see these great buildings?” he said.
“Not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them
will be thrown down.”
This is the place where God and his people came together.
To say that God would allow this is … unthinkable.
The Bible speaks about evil
bringing terrible trouble before the coming of Christ to turn away as many
people as possible from God and his eternal kingdom, to distract people from
their faith in Jesus, to bring about hopelessness in the hearts of humanity.
It’s happening today.
Evil challenges every value and principle we know to be God’s way and encourages
us to abandon God’s ways. We know how
values that we know to be God’s ways are questioned and said to be out of touch
with today’s world.
Evil tests every human relationship, even family members will turn on one
another (Mark 13:12).
Haven’t we seen an escalation in violence within families in recent times?
Evil causes us to be anxious and afraid when our own strength and energy and
inner resources aren’t enough to face the future.
Evil terrifies us when everything that we thought was solid and secure and would
go on forever in this life suddenly comes to an end.
We know that our place in this
world is temporary and that even our world is temporary.
We know that all the things that we think give us a sense of security and
permanency is only an illusion while in actual fact, they are temporary and
unreliable.
We know from personal experience or from observing what happens in other
people’s lives that in a moment ‘the rug can be pulled out from under us’ and
that what we rely on, and thought were so solid and important are not so solid
and important after all.
A decline in health, a serious
accident suddenly puts everything into perspective.
All the things that were so important before our illness or accident have
no relevancy whatsoever in the light of our new situation.
Our accumulated wealth, our qualifications, our family, or whatever it is
we treasure, can’t do anything to prevent cancer, heart failure, or even death.
All the things we consider grand and important, in the end are so
temporary.
All this is what Jesus is
talking about as he was leaving the temple when he said, “See these big stones
and how permanent and important they appear to be in the structure of the
temple. Don’t be fooled.
In the not-too-distant future, they will have no importance.
Everything that these stones represent will come to an end – the
sacrifices, the offerings, the festivals, the temple traditions, the priestly
order, the very centre of Judaic religion and faith in God will be shaken.
If that isn’t bad enough, Jesus
goes on.
“When you hear about wars and threats of
wars, don't be afraid. These things
will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. Nations and kingdoms will go
to war against each other. There
will be earthquakes in many places, and people will starve to death.
But this is just the beginning of troubles” (Mark 13:7,8).
This is all pretty heavy stuff.
At first glance it’s hard to respond at the end of today’s gospel
reading, ‘This is the Gospel, this is the
Good News, of the Lord’. There
doesn’t seem to be very much good news and joy in what Jesus has to say.
But there are at least two spots
that shed a ray of sunshine on all this doom and gloom and gives us a hint of
hope and the possibility of joy in the face of all that is so negative.
The first one is the last sentence when Jesus says,
“These things are like the first pains of
childbirth” (Mark 13:8).
“Wait a minute”.
The mum’s here might be saying – “the pain of childbirth is no picnic”.
What Jesus means here is that there is an end to the pain.
There are the early warnings of pain a
mother has as she goes into labour.
There’s a lot more pain to come and it’s a bit scary, but then it stops there is
joy and new life, the kind of joy that a mother has when she holds a new life in
her arms. When the Son of Man comes
again there will be an uncontrollable, overwhelming, unbelievable joy, even
greater than holding your own newborn baby in your arms.
What this is saying, and it
doesn’t matter whether we are talking about our day of dying or the last day of
this world, there is pain, everything seems to be out of control, and things are
getting worse. But there is an end
to this pain. This is not a chaotic
process. God is in control.
His love for his people holds them close to him as all this unfolds, and
he will guide them through this troubled time to the joy of new life forever.
The biblical writers have
recorded the details about the end of the world to reassure us that in the end
what is important is not so much what
is coming but who is coming.
Jesus says, “Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in the clouds
with great power and glory. He will send the angels out to the four
corners of the earth to gather God's chosen people from one end of the world to
the other.” (Mark 13:26-27).
The lead up to the end of the
world might be scary in one sense, but Jesus and his angels will always be ready
to help us get through it. When the
last day finally arrives, Jesus will return.
Remember, he is our loving Saviour; he died for us.
Those whom he loves and those who trust in him have nothing to fear
during these last days when everything appears to be chaotic.
Not even the idea of the Last Judgement can fill us with fear, because we
know that all the sins that could possibly condemn us have been washed away with
the blood of Jesus.
That leads me to the second word
of hope and comfort in our somewhat terrifying gospel reading today.
When uncertainty and trouble and fear fill our hearts, Jesus says,
“Don’t be troubled” (Mark 13:7).
“Don’t be troubled”. “Don’t be
afraid”. “Don’t panic”.
“Don’t let all these things upset and stress you.
I haven’t lost control of what is happening in your life and in the
world. I have you safe in the palm
of my hand.”
To use the words of Psalm 46 –
we can trust the One who is “our
refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” (Psalm 46:1).
Think of what is troubling and
stressing you right now. Think
about those times when you feel so overwhelmed, so frustrated, so helpless in
the face of those troubles. These
experiences we are having are the troubles of the last times.
Jesus says to each of us, “Don’t be uptight and stressed.
You might not think it, but I’ve got this covered.
Trust me, I’m on it and I will get you through it.”
In John 14 Jesus says, “Do not be worried and upset.
“Believe in God and believe also in me.
(John 14:1).
In Matthew Jesus says, “Do not be worried. Look at the birds: they do not
plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven
takes care of them! Aren’t you worth
much more than birds?” (Matthew 6:26).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us in a parable to build our house
on the rock, on Jesus and his promises.
The parable tells us that no matter what storms and disasters come, that
house will stand strong and firm.
Jesus says to us as he has said to his people throughout the ages,
“Do not be afraid.
I am with you” (Isaiah 41:10)
and you will stand solid against any storm.
These days are the days to trust
Jesus’ love for you because that is the one constant thing in this ever-changing
world. Even though everything else
around you will fall away and disappear, Jesus’ love for you will not change and
his presence to uphold you and strengthen you through every trial and trouble
can be counted on.
When every type of disaster strikes us
and scares us, the apostle Paul says, “Neither
death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the
present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is
nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of
God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
God has each of us in the palm of his hand and nothing can come between
us and the God who says to each of us personally in our Baptism and every time
we receive Jesus’ body and blood in Holy Communion, “I am with you.
Don’t be afraid even in these last days”.
© Pastor Vince
Gerhardy
17th November, 2024
E-mail: sermonsonthenet@outlook.com
