Not One Stone - Mark 13:1-8 (Proper 28B)

 

Is your bunker ready yet? It seems like we should all be investing in them now. I’m not stockpiling canned goods, but maybe Jesus is on to something. 

Seriously, our reading today is challenging. But let’s go back through and get some context for what’s happening. The passage read today is directly after what happened last week. Namely, Jesus was teaching at the temple with some of the scholars of his day and made an example out of a widow who gave everything she had for the Lord, even what she had to live on. 

The reading today starts with Jesus leaving the temple with his disciples. The disciples are looking around because they may not travel much - it was a lot harder in those days, with the walking and all… But here they are in Jerusalem, in the big city. The buildings may look like they reach the sky, depending on what they’re used to seeing. 

I like tall buildings. I don’t mind heights; it’s the falling that I don’t care for. So - I’ve been to New York a few times and Chicago many more times. I love driving up I-90, taking the Skybridge into Chicago for scenery. It’s about this time of year that I’ve been doing it; since my extended family lives in Wisconsin, we’d have to either drive through or around Chicago to get there for Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was a kid. Back then, the tolls were much less efficient, so it would take between 6-8 hours, depending on traffic, of course, to make the trip. Now that technology has improved between cars, tolls, and even the roads. It’s about a four and a half to five-hour drive. 

Anyway - I’m losing myself. So - the disciples are stunned by the big city, and they are amazed at the beauty of man’s architectural feats. Our reading just gave the one adjective - large - to describe it, but in other translations, it adds a little bit of value and awe - using words like massive stones, magnificent buildings, or beautiful stones and wonderful buildings. 

Now, don’t get me wrong - this temple and the buildings they are talking about are something to look at, I’m sure - it’s like seeing the skyline of New York or Chicago for the first time. But what does Jesus see? Opulence. Pride. Fragility. Things that can be torn down and broken. “Not one stone will be left here upon another,” Jesus stuns the disciples. “All will be thrown down.” Could you imagine what the disciples must have been thinking and feeling? What is this guy talking about? Why? How?

This passage is often described as “apocalyptic.” Just mentioning that word, you probably get sci-fi images in your mind, like a barren wasteland. You may think of the destruction on the scale of superhero movies. It seems like Jesus is being a pessimist. But what does “apocalypse” even mean? An apocalypse is, according to Wikipedia, a disclosure or revelation of great knowledge. Yes - it could mean - a discovery, an awakening. 

Let’s get a bit of perspective - at the time, the temple was the place where humans could meet God. In the temple, it was set up with a smaller and smaller room, the center of which was called “the Holy of Holies.” They believed it was like a navel that fed to God. When the priests would enter at a specific time of year, they would wrap a rope around their ankle with bells on it because in case they were struck dead by their unworthiness by the divine, the other priests could pull them out without entering and fearing for their own lives. This is the place where they could encounter God, but only the select few. 

It’s like they were trying to contain God or make him fit into where they wanted him to be. We don’t do that, do we? I mean - I meet people, and I introduce myself as a pastor, and those same people give me excuses of why they haven’t been to church, or they apologize for their behavior, depending on how long I’ve been standing around. That’s not very grace-filled! It also says more about them than it does about me. ANYWAY - back to Jesus, he’s saying that God cannot be contained, even in the massive structure that was the temple. That all the stones cannot hold God for who He is! Spoiler alert - do you remember what happens after Jesus dies on the cross? There are earthquakes and other pains of the earth, and the curtain that separates that “Holiest of Holies” room and the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom! Now, what most people take that as is that we are given more access to God, but the opposite is true - GOD has broken out of the temple and has full access to us! Are there any structures in our world that need to be broken so that they are unrecognizable to future generations where God has full access to His creation? 

What happens after Jesus and his disciples leave town? They go to the Mount of Olives and have a private conversation. But the disciples have a very human question: When is all this going to happen? What should we be looking for? They want to be prepared. Now - that’s missing the point. It echoes back to the Pharisees after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand who demanded to know what signs of the Messiah were to come. Jesus warns the disciples to remain faithful and aware of who they listen to, that there are false prophets who will come in Jesus’ name, teaching all the wrong stuff. 

So the question remains - how does this relate to stewardship and having a life that matters (as is our series title)? Our churches may be holding us back. We think of them as the center of our spiritual life; we want people to join us in OUR churches. But what is it about the church that is so transformational? It doesn’t even matter whether it’s a Methodist church, or a Lutheran church, or even Catholic Church. God wants us to have a life that matters, doing His will. Does that include worship? Absolutely. Does that include offering? Yes, indeed. Can we be good and faithful followers and stewards without coming to church? Yes, but it needs to be qualified. God has given us abilities and gifts that make it hard to follow the example of Christ without community. We need our communities to succeed. All of them - remember we are all sinners, so that is one of the things holding the glue of our humanity together. We can have false prophets; we can go to war or experience earthquakes or famines. Some of these are man-made, some of them are natural conditions. But what Mark is describing is not the apocalypse - the awakening. It is only the beginning of the birth process.

Stewardship is also tricky - whether we serve the community differently - understanding where people’s struggles are, but those struggles do not entirely define who each individual is. We are all sinners, and the church is a hospital for the weary, not a museum of the righteous. We need to be able to minister to those who are poor in spirit. God appoints us not to be those who judge those who don’t meet up to our expectations but to manage our expectations that no one is worthy of God’s love, but still, it is freely given by God. 

This text today says that the road with God is not always lined with roses and rainbows and that believers should be prepared. Mark continues beyond our selection today, telling the disciples to keep watch but that anyone who claims to know the end times will surely be disappointed. So - how can we disciples today figure out who to trust and follow? We need to be aware of what God says through the Bible and use that information to discern what God wants from us - whether it lines up with what God (through Jesus) is like, which is love. It’s hard and painful giving birth, and that’s only the first step - raising children and teaching them to walk in such a way to promote love, peace, and grace is not an easy road either. 

So - be encouraged, fellow believers, in that God can be our refuge during difficult times in life when it feels like everything is falling apart - when you think no one stone will be left in your heart. Let the words of Psalm 16 wash over you and give you peace: 

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also, my heart instructs me.

I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.

For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Amen.