November 14, 2021 Sermon
Sermon title: "The End is NOT Near!"
Scripture: Mark 13:1-8
{{Other lectionary suggestions include I Samuel 1:4-20, the story of the conception of Samuel - his mother was Hannah -, I Samuel 2:1-10, Hannah's Song, and Hebrews 10:11-25.}}
Mark 13:1-8
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
1As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" 2Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." 3When 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?" 5Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. 6Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8For 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.
The title of this sermon is "The End is NOT Near!", and I want to emphasize that point: the end of the world is NOT near, and Jesus essentially says that: the end of all things is NOT near. What Jesus IS saying, however, is that as all these things happen, his followers may not escape the trials and tribulations that will be and are all around us. You and I may not be persecuted for our faith......but global warming does seem to be a problem, and you and I will not escape the effects of what's happening right now. I don't really want to preach about global warming - I mean, you watch the news and you know we are in an historic drought in our state and you know that weather events seem more severe than before. But even with all the climate problems, the end is not yet. Look at how eager the disciples were to know when the end was coming. Lots of people have wondered that, and some have even made some predictions - WRONG predictions! - about when the end-times would be. Jesus called all these upheavals "birth pangs"......perhaps the BEGINNING of the end, but ONLY the BEGINNING! As you know, he lived 2,000 years ago, and the world is still going. So don't look for the end in your lifetime. Not only is that a mistake. It is also a form of idolatry. Get busy or stay busy as you work for the kingdom, but it's not your business to know when all this will end. And this isn't the only place in Scripture where the question is asked. In Matthew, right before the Ascension, the Risen Christ is asked again, "When will the end be?" And what does he say? "It is not your business to know what the Father has planned", or something like that. But what IS your business is to keep on doing the things Jesus did: heal the sick, feed the hungry, visit those who are imprisoned, etc. As that black spiritual says, "Keep on WORKIN' for the Kingdom...."
Even though I called this sermon "The End is NOT Near", there are some other things worth mentioning that have nothing to do with the end of the world. The Scripture for today opens with the disciples being impressed with the size of the Temple. But that's human beings for you: impressed with the SIZE of things! Jesus dismisses the disciples' awe with a few statements that there will not be one stone left upon another, and after 70 A.D., Jesus was proved right when Rome destroyed the Temple. Also, Jesus notices the LITTLE things. Today's Scripture reading comes right after the story of the widow's mite, which was the topic of last week's sermon. The disciples seem to be in awe of the BIG donations from the rich people....but Jesus notices the LITTLE things, such as the two coins put into the Temple treasury by that poor widow. One of the other lectionary choices for this morning was from the book of I Samuel, and I mention this because it is in that book, when God eventually through Samuel chooses David to be king of Israel, that we get the verse, "Men look on the surface, but God looks on the heart." That's Jesus here: he sees the little things while the disciples are impressed with the grandeur of everything.
Back to the title of the sermon, "The End is NOT Near".....the New Testament scholar N. T. Wright says, "One of the arts that Jesus' followers must learn after his departure is patience. False teachers, frightening rumors and natural disasters will all tempt them to panic. They must resist the temptation. 'These are only the beginnings of the birth pangs.'"
There is another commentator I'd like to quote before I end this sermon. His name is William H. Willimon, and he's a Methodist who grew up in South Carolina. He's in his late sixties, I would guess, and he has been the Dean of the Chapel at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He has also served as a Bishop in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. And he's one heck of a preacher! And I love his insight. Listen to this: In today's Scripture reading, "Jesus is here depicted as a prophet who says that the ups and downs of history and disturbances in the natural world are somehow connected to or are somehow being used to work the purposes of God. Though God created the world, there is still struggle on earth and in heaven, and chaos is reluctant to bow to the purposes of God. This world, this age, can therefore be a time of tribulation for the followers of Jesus, and yet we can live with confidence and assurance even amid the tribulation. We know who has the last word."
Isn't that great? That's the Resurrection faith, the Old Testament prophet faith that even in great turmoil and pain, God can bring something good out of it. Giving birth brings great pain - the "birth pangs" that Jesus mentioned - but it also brings great joy and promise.
One more quote from William H. Willimon, and then I'll stop! Says Pastor Bill (!), "Even in tough times, perhaps especially there, Jesus promises us that we are not alone. Even in tough times we will be able to testify that Jesus does not leave us alone. Jesus did more than warn us. Jesus dared to say that even such a disaster as this was a time to look for the action of God in, through, and in spite of the disaster. Jesus doesn't say that God dismantled the temple or caused disaster to befall God's people. But he does claim that even a national disaster can be an opportunity to look up, to stand on tiptoes for a good look at what God is doing among us, even in the darkness and disaster. A time of terror and sorrow can be, by God's grace, a time of redemption."
That's our faith. Do you believe it? Do I believe it? I hope so, because without that faith, that trust, what do we have? Thanks be to God for his gift of the knowledge of God! Amen.
Pastor Skip
