Posts
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
"But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved."
- Mark 13:1-13
In yesterday's reading, Jesus responded to His questioners with a question. He answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?" And the common people heard Him gladly. Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation." Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury, for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down." My study bible tells us of this entire chapter in Mark's Gospel: "This passage has two points of focus: (1) the destruction of Jerusalem and (2) the end of the age. These points converge in Jesus' teaching and guide our interpretation. The temple had been rebuilt by Herod the Great, including porticoes, courtyards and colonnades, covering about sixth of the area of Jerusalem -- an architectural marvel dominating the Holy City. some of the stones were about 10x40x20. . . The grandeur of the buildings made Jesus' comment about their destruction very dramatic. It would be hard for the listener at that time to imagine such great destruction. In A.D. 70 this prophecy of Christ came true when the Roman general Titus recaptured Jerusalem and leveled everything on the temple mount. It was rumored there was gold between the stones, so not one stone was left unturned. Only a retaining wall remained, later called the Wailing Wall, after Emperor Trajan (c. A.D. 135) permitted Jews to come to this site once a year to mourn the temple's fate. Jews still mourn at the Wailing Wall today."
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" My study bible points out that interest in the end of the age is nothing new. "The disciples want to know when all the things spoken about the end times will take place. Jesus obliges them."
And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows." My study bible tells us that "Jesus' first word about the end of the age is a warning about deception. Take heed is a dominate note throughout the discourse. Do not fail because of deceit by impostors, speculation about dates, political upheavals, natural catastrophes, or persecutions. Today, popular preachers contradict one another with novel doctrines which are at odds with the historic interpretations of the Church. Take heed that no one deceives you!" Sorrows here reads literally "birth pangs" in the Greek. My study bible tells us that they are applied to the "world-renewing events and crises at the consummation of the Kingdom."
"But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." My study bible says that "such experiences are recorded in the Book of Acts and Paul's Epistles. Until the return of Christ in glory, His followers will suffer and people will fall into apostasy. Discipleship produces martyrs and confessors (those injured or maimed for confessing Christ before men). Jesus tells His disciples plainly what will happen to them. Tradition holds that of the Twelve, all but John died a martyr's death. The promise that the Holy Spirit will speak through us is not intended to discourage preparation for Christian teaching. It refers primarily to crises."
"Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." A note in my study bible reads, "There is security of salvation for him who endures to the end, but it is not ours to say when the race is over. the modern innovative doctrine of 'eternal security' -- once saved, always saved -- is not the teaching of Jesus; rather, He teaches the endurance of the faithful through God's strength and grace."
"End times" seem very much to be on many people's minds today, but it seems, also, that they have always been a concern and preoccupation -- especially in times of crisis. We should remember that Jesus' stress on endurance is the key to this passage. The word used here for endurance literally means "remaining under" as in bearing a load, a kind of bearing up, and it is also closely related to the word for "patience." Clearly, Jesus does not promise His disciples an easy life! Nor does He promise that the Kingdom is coming immediately, easily, and without struggle. On the contrary, they will be the recipients of the effects of that struggle. As my study bible points out, all but John will die a martyr of the first Apostles. Today, "end times" are very much upon people's minds. Not only is it that two millenia have passed since Jesus' time on earth in the flesh, but more particularly the new millenium into which we are entering now seems to be filled with threats not just to our security and our immediate well being, but in fact, threats that are -- one could say -- to the planet. We have problems with pollution (including those possible from nuclear accidents and radiation), problems indicative of possible climate change, wars that seem to be unceasing in their frequency, weapons capable of almost inconceivable destruction, and every day seems to bring news of crime and breakdown of social behaviors that undermine qualities of life. Human slavery, rather than ending from legal criminalization, is actually on the rise throughout the world in perhaps new forms. Throughout the Middle East, Christianity is being threatened in its birthplace. Worldwide, refugees and mass migration are becoming greater and greater; world populations are on the move far more than we understand from displacement through warfare and economic crises. The internet itself -- a modern phenomenon that allows me to write this blog and send it out into the world -- can also be used for great harm, not only targeting individuals, harming children, or abusing trust in one way or another -- but as our reliance on these systems grows more and more, the internet itself becomes a security concern for nations. Our understanding of ourselves changes as we shift into a new age of instantaneous communication, worldwide markets that interact with one another within hours, and crises that magnify one another, so that what happens in one place affects others. The sense of who we are is changing based on these developments. My study bible also points out Jesus' emphasis on a breakdown in family loyalties, although elsewhere Jesus says this will happen for His sake -- that His truth is that which pierces all other realities and relationships. And there we come right back from international crises and threats and problems to the real emphasis Jesus has been placing in all of His talk in the temple at Jerusalem, which is on the affairs of the heart. When we remember that ultimately it is the decision for each of us in the heart that really plants this kingdom in the world (see the greatest commandments dialogue from Thursday's reading), then we get down to the place that puts this all in perspective. How do we go through crises? How do we "bear up" as Christ teaches His disciples here, as they went through their own inconceivable crises of war and destruction in Jerusalem, and eventual persecution as apostles sent out into the world with the gospel message? Really, the teaching is the same. We are to endure. We can't say when the end is, and it's not our job to do so. It's our job to do what is asked of us, to carry on in faith, in following these two great commandments to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love neighbor in extension of such relatedness. Jesus gives us one other great promise in His teaching today, and that is also with us in all times of crisis, a reliance on the Holy Spirit and the implication of the necessity for prayer. We have a Comforter. The apostles are not promised a perfect life, and neither are we. We may see all kinds of things breaking down around ourselves in one way and another, even as new innovations that can do a lot of good also are used for bad; but that's just a reflection of human weakness that has always been with us, a reflection of our own imperfections, ambitions, pride, and frailties. What we can rely on, however, are His words which will not pass away. We each have a job to do to live these two great commandments in the ways in which choice comes to us in our lives. We each have a choice to contribute to this world in the ways in which He has taught, and we can come together as community to do so as well. We may not be able to control the world and everybody in it, we might not be able to solve all these problems of human failure and control the nature of the planet, but we can do something that is ours to do, and starts in the heart. His words come to mind from Matthew's Gospel: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). In all things, we are to endure with patience, and rely on the Comforter. He's warned His disciples -- and us -- in advance, of the birth pangs of the Kingdom, which we still endure. But He also gives us the Help to do so.
