Pentecost 25B

Mark 13:1-8

¹As he 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."

• Overview of the gospel according to Mark from November 2020


Today's Scripture

The church's year of grace will end next Sunday with Reign of Christ / Christ the King, After that, Advent begins Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) Year C, Luke's year. Although the current Year B mostly has belonged to Mark, for Reign of Christ we'll hear from John, the Fourth Gospel; today is the last time we'll consider a passage from the gospel according to St. Mark.

In verse 4, Peter, James, John and Andrew beg Jesus for a sign related to the destruction of the built environment he has predicted. Jesus' reply in verses 5-8 includes some apocalyptic related to the badly labeled "end times." Apocalyptic writing and art incorporates symbols and words that don't mean what they initially look like or sound like: they need to be interpreted. In scripture, those symbols often come from nature such as fires, floods, skies, and earthquakes. Similar to a sign, a symbol points to something beyond itself.


COVID-19

Mark maybe especially brings us the end of the world as we've known it, but all four gospels reveal God's newness in Jesus of Nazareth. Although Jesus shows us a way of being that's in radical (at the root of) continuity with God's self-revelation and salvific actions from the dawn of time, God's revelation in Jesus is ultimate and definitive! Jesus also refers to birth pangs of the new creation that's constantly in progress and process, that won't be complete until planet earth's last day.

Beginning late February / early March 2020, life as we'd known it and expected to continue albeit with usual disruptions and disappointments slowed down and ended with COVID-19. A once in a century pandemic caused countless deaths (will we ever have an accurate count?) and devastated families. It shut down businesses and affected the worldwide economy. COVID led to even more political divisions, maybe particularly in the USA.

Mark probably was written down around the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Scholars suggest a range of dates and there are no extant source documents Mark might have drawn upon, but in any case the temple still was standing during Jesus' earthly life. Consider how central the J-temple was to economic, political, and religious life. People believed it was a conduit between heaven and earth. In today's scripture Jesus' followers gaze awestruck at the ginormous building! They imagined the temple actually contained and protected the God who never asked for and never wanted a physical structure to call "home!"


Into a Future?

Mark has no birth narrative and no resurrection account (in the earliest manuscripts), but strongly implies Jesus' ministry continues in his followers who have received their second birth and first death in baptism. Beyond those who formally belong to the church, God doesn't mind being anonymous and delights in using people who don't acknowledge him to help meet the world's needs.

Even more than the other three gospels, Mark asks, "Where do we look for God? Where do we find God?" Mark shows us we find God not in religious, economic, or political institutions–but in the vulnerability of a human dying on a cross. Do we find God in loss and devastation? Have we been finding the divine presence hidden in the COVID-19 pandemic? Do we recognize God in health care workers, police and fire professionals, delivery drivers and retail personnel, all those "frontliners" who keep us safe and keep our homes and businesses stocked with essentials? Do we find God in the sick and in the dying?

Our earthbound lives need houses, schools, religious buildings, stores, offices. We've learned to design safe buildings and to construct them out of stuff of the earth. The sight and size of the J-Temple wowed Jesus' disciples; humanly built and divinely inspired structures like Saint Patrick's Cathedral and the WTC Memorial impress and awe us in the twenty-first century. Without a doubt God indwells places people gather to pray and celebrate sacraments, where we remember and give thanks for those who have gone before us.

In the earliest manuscripts, Mark has no resurrection account, but implies Jesus' ministry continues in his followers who live and serve as Jesus' presence. Then again, all the gospel accounts are about God-with-us, God-among-us, God-for-us in Jesus and in the church that's Jesus' presence in the world…

And we find God in other temples. Not in Large Stone Structures that might contain and protect God, but in defenseless, imperfect humans God has created in the divine image. In the people God chooses to inhabit. In us!