by Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

Mark 13:1-8

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 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 birthpangs.”

Today’s gospel is full of powerful images. When we hear Jesus talk about buildings collapsing, terrible conflicts between nations, earthquakes and famines we clearly see those things in our minds eye. This must be especially true for those of you who experienced the Whittier Narrows earthquake. Such events instill fear in us so deep and overwhelming that they may obscure Jesus’ message: do not be alarmed, do not see them as something they are not.

Instead of giving the disciples the visual clues that they ask for, Jesus tells them how to conduct themselves in the middle or turmoil and persecution. Not only that, he meets their question with a better question: how can they go on when they are surrounded by fear, violence and indifference? They have a choice, of course: succumb to fear and be buffeted by the events of the day and false prophets. Or be witnesses, no matter what comes, to the hope of the gospel message.

I suppose it comes down to their deciding how they will spend their time. This is a good question for all of us especially when we are deluged by news and views that seem every bit as apocalyptic to us as this gospel language did to the disciples. How do you spend time? How will you live this day?

Each of the lessons we’ve heard today has something to do with the end of time, with a question about “when.” When will time as we know it end? What will that time look like? We can’t think about the time when things will come to pass without thinking about what we are to do in the meantime. Readings about the future call us to look at how we spend our time now while we are living in a world that keeps reminding us how short our time us, how fast time goes; a world where time management is an issue we seem to be obsessed with, where we look around and see problems so great that even if we had all the time in the world, we might never solve them.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t deny that crisis exists or that there are times that bring great suffering. But he calls them what they are – birthpangs of God’s power of transformation. Trusting that God is transforming the world – the larger world and our own more personal world – and that we are called to participate in God’s saving work in a fundamental piece of our lives as Christians. This is so very hard – growth, change, the coming of new ways of life are frightening processes. Being patient and hopeful requires one firm belief from us: hope. This morning, then, we are encouraged to hear how this gospel offers us hope. When we do, we will develop some very important skills, not just to cope, but to hope. Pastor Amy Richter offers some insight into this with what she calls “hoping skills.”

The first is to keep the Big Picture Perspective, the God’s eye view of human history. And the best source for this is Holy Scripture. Scripture is full of divine promises offering the ultimate in hope. The big picture is this: God is at work, bringing everything to completion according to God’s purposes. God does not willingly cause the suffering of any of God’s creatures, and it grieves the God who made us with the capacity for grief when anyone suffers or causes suffering. God can redeem anything. God is at work now, reaching out to us and offering us lives that are whole and holy, even when we can’t perceive it. So one hoping skill is to focus on the really big picture.

Another hoping skill is to get to know Holy Scripture. Scripture is how, along with tradition and reason, we know who God is, what promises God has made, how God works, what faithfulness looks like, especially as we know God in Jesus Christ. We can resist being deceived and have reason for hope if we know the scriptures, if we use them as the lens through which to view the world and as a guide for how we make our way in the world, just as we sang in our opening hymn today “radiance from the scripture’s page, a lantern to our footsteps shines on from age to age.” When Jesus is urging his disciples not to be led astray, he is reminding them to cling to what they know about him.

So this is not about being able to recall a few beloved verses but more about truly digging in and reflecting on the whole story of God’s people. When we know that the story ends with victory over death and that the way to victory was through self-giving love, we have reason to hope.

A third hoping skill is this: Expect trouble but expect Jesus Christ more. This passage in Mark from the early days of Christianity describes a reality that has been true ever since. Being faithful has meant persecution, poverty, estrangement and ostracism from family and friends and untold sacrifices. Not only is Christianity not a fast pass out of the problems that everyone encounters, it often means being open to even more difficulties. When we expect Christ more, we know that, as Paul said in his letter to the Romans, nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus wanted his disciples to know, his disciples then, and us, disciples today, that we can be alert, open, and watchful for all the signs of God at work in the world, and for what is not of God in the world. Expect trouble, but expect Christ more. Expect that we are not alone in the face of any trouble.

So how do we survive the devastation of an aggressive health challenges, the crashing down of a building, the aftermath of fires and floods that sweep away what we love? How do we survive the loss of innocence? How do we live in the midst of competing voices, all full of passionate intensity claiming that there are signs of the end of the age? Our focus must not be on signs but on the one who is to come, the one who enables us to look up after such devastation and claim God’s blessing with certainty.

Things may seem to have fallen apart. It may appear that craziness has been loosed into the world. But we are not alone. Christ is with us. We are promised the help of the Holy Spirit. How will we spend our time? Not just coping but hoping. Remember the really big picture. Get to know scripture. Expect trouble. Expect Jesus Christ more. Amen.