Perspective
November 15, 2009
Mark 13: 1-8
Are we there yet? That is what I have been asking…like a kid on a road trip I feel as if I’m twiddling my thumbs – crazy excited to get where it is that we are going. I guess I’m just having a hard time being in the present. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but its not here yet. And while Christmas decorations are already up in Brush and have filled the stores for over a month now it is not Christmas yet, it is not even Advent, our true time of waiting.
So what is today? What is the point of today? Or does that even matter? The world is telling us today is a shopping day…a day to start preparing for Thanksgiving if not for Christmas. Today is a day that we live for the future…but that doesn’t feel right either.
Last week my hope for our service on stewardship was that we would “take stock” of our resources. Particularly the work of our hands…how is it that God is calling us to use our hands to bring resurrection to the world. We read our stewardship scripture from the last book of the Bible, from Revelation 22 but this week its as if we are in a flash back. Last week we saw the new heaven and the new earth and the tree of life with the leaves for the healing of the nations – we saw the river of life and we heard that there was no more night, no more darkness and no need for a lamp or for the moon because God will be with us and will be our light at all times. The light of God shining evermore is the not yet…that for which we wait, that for which we work. For it is by the work of our hands in response to God’s call that we grow and strengthen and heal the love and light and peace and joy and hope that already exists in our world. As John the author of Revelation painted a beautiful picture of the kingdom to come we came face to face with the not yet of God’s promises. We know, we trust that we are on the road to a new heaven and a new earth – a place where there is no death or poverty or despair or pain – but as a parent repeats to the anxious child…no, we are not there yet.
Instead we are in world where we hear of shooting sprees in Texas and Florida. We are in a world where children are hungry and homeless, where racial, ethnic, religious and political divides and tensions lead not only to fear, hate and apathy but also acts of violence. We live in a world so full of war we don’t even remember that war is not only taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan but also in Israel, in Somalia, in India, in the Congo, in Columbia, and Uganda to name only a few. We live in a world that fears the environment – we are uncertain but afraid of the dangers of global warming, we worry as we hear of the rising number of hurricanes and the unexpected ones like Ida that made land this week. We are in a world where we hear daily about nuclear weapons in North Korea or elsewhere –
We look at the world and see pain and violence on a global scale but even closer to home we hear of abuse and violence, of death and suffering, of lost jobs and lost hope…
There are days that it feels like the whole world is crashing in around us…and we wonder…is it? Are we approaching the end times? Are these the trials – the birth pangs – that will lead us into a new world?
There is much speculation about this, especially since this weekend a new film was released, 2012…a film that uses the ancient Mayan understandings to predict the end of the world.
The movie has received much negative press for creating a culture of fear – seeking to cast itself not as fiction but as prophesy. The 2012 phenomenon is based on the Mesoamerican Long Court Calendar which counts days and cycles…Dec. 21, 2012 is considered the end of the 13th cycle – and therefore the end of the world as we know it. Scientist, Historians and Mayan scholars all argue this is a misinterpretation or misrepresentation of the Mayan understanding, but hey, it sells. Interestingly enough, those who made this movie also made Independence Day – a movie about the world ending due to alien invasion and the Day After Tomorrow (a movie about the world ending due to global warming). These people have figured out that “the end” sells…images of the statue of liberty crumbling at the force of a 20 story wave, pictures of land masses breaking apart, explosions, alien ships blowing up the white house, create enough fear and adrenaline in consumers that we cannot stay away.
But as people of faith we ask different questions, we have different expectations, different fears and different hopes. Last week we studied the true end…the end of the Bible – the last image of God and God’s people…and it was…beautiful. No death, no darkness, instead we saw rivers and trees and fruit and joy. This is the picture of the end that we as Christians look toward – the new heaven and new earth where wars have ceased, the hungry are fed, the outcasts welcomed, where hope has been realized. It is our happy ending…but depending on our perspective there is much between here and there…
This is what Jesus provides for his disciples in our text for today, perspective. Reading the 13th chapter of Mark sounds like a chapter out of Revelation but it is in the gospels it is in the middle of the good news of Jesus, but the tone of this chapter has received attention and even a nickname…the little apocalypse. Apocalypse means unveiling – contrary to common understanding it is not a prophecy or a foretelling of what will happen…it is the unveiling of a truth that already exists. Emily Dickenson once wrote that “the hope of the future is hidden in the present” and that is what I think of when I hear the word apocalypse…that somewhere in our world is the truth, the hope, the promise of what is to come. In our little apocalypse Jesus and the disciples are walking out of the temple and the disciples are in awe of the grand structure like rural folks first visit to the big city… “check out these stones and how tall these buildings are!” Jesus and the Disciples are right there staring at the massive structure of the temple that was rebuilt by King Herod. I imagine they were straining their necks, squinting their eyes as they stared up at this massive and beautiful structure. Like my first trip to New York City as a small child – I remember standing at the base of all those huge buildings – and feeling afraid – they cast shadows on the earth, and made me feel so small, so insignificant.
But when Jesus stands at the base of these structures he does not share my nor the disciples awe, instead he says;
"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
It must have been impossible for the disciples to realize what Jesus was saying. As they stared up at the temple and the other large buildings…how could they even fathom this same city in ruins? The buildings were so much bigger than them, and everything that was taking place in Jerusalem was built around and functioned with the support of these structures.
I can’t read this scripture without thinking of the World Trade Center…I picture the towering presence that I experienced as a child – and what they represented…those buildings were powerhouses, not only in steel and iron but in the institutional structures of our society – we trusted that they were strong and would endure…
And when I read Jesus’ words to the disciples I see those horrible images of flames and dust and rubble…
"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
On September 11 we all paused in shock and in fear and somewhere within us we asked…is this the end?
But in the days that followed something happened, something changed. Somehow through the dust and despair of that great tragedy, if only for a moment we saw the world differently – we gained perspective.
Have you ever experienced a shift in perspective like this?
You are looking around and everything feels larger than life, the obstacles, struggles, challenges ahead of you feel insurmountable. You stand beside a crisis or a worry and you feel so small, so weak, so powerless like an ant trying to navigate through our world. That is what the disciples felt at first, they stood among those huge buildings and they too believed that they were powerless, that the world around them towered over them…but then they gained perspective. Jesus saw them looking up with awe and fear and trembling at these buildings and he said…no you are not seeing it right…come get a different view…and he took them to the Mount of Olives so that they were looking at the buildings from a distance, and they looked different – smaller, limited, especially in contrast to the expanse of land and sky that surrounded them. Just like the images on the powerpoint…both of downtown Denver but one the buildings tower over you, they are all there is, but in the other…there is sky, there are mountains, we are able to see that these structures are not everything. From a different view the disciples realized the possibility of what Jesus was telling them…these buildings will be thrown down…and when they could see the buildings in their entirety, and within the context of the wider world a few of them were able to take Jesus seriously and ask: when will this happen, how will we know, what will be the signs?
Jesus tells them this is not the question to be asking, in verse 32 he says:
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father
We hear in this text that what is important is not the date but the perspective…
View matters. When we are standing at the bottom of the building and we can’t even see the top of it, or see around it, we are without hope. But when we change our perspective, back up a few steps or even a few miles we see that this moment, this challenge, this pain, this struggle has limits too, it might even be a bit smaller than we realized when we were at its base.
As Christians we have the blessing of the big picture if we allow ourselves to see it. Jesus was not trying to scare the disciples, nor is that the intention of any of our Christian apocalyptic writings – they are not there to frighten us into faith or to say to unbelievers, agree with me or else – they are there to give us perspective. Jesus was trying to tell the disciples, you may look at these buildings and think they will stand forever, you can put your trust in these structures believing that bigger is better but you are looking at it wrong. You are too close, you have to take a step back…and realize that these buildings will fall…all that you know will change, the things of this world that you put your trust in, that bring you feelings of safety and security will be destroyed…
And he was right. That temple did fall to the ground only 40 years later around the year 70. And with the destruction of the temple, the system of laws and sacrifices that was inherent in the structure of the temple ended…the way of life that they knew came to an end. But in an end there was a beginning. Mark, the first of the gospels was written right about this same time. Scholars disagree as to whether Mark was written before or after the temple was destroyed but either way…as the temple fell…our scriptures were created…
So what does this say to us, to our fears…to those images of buildings that we trust in, rely on, crumbling to the ground. I think we can take any building, any system and structure that we put our trust in and hear Jesus telling us
Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
We have seen it happen, we saw it on September 11 and we learned from that tragedy that buildings do fall, stocks do fall, systems crumble…everything changes.
But this is not for us to fear. Being prepared for destruction is not about being right, judging others, nor is it living in fear or even looking for signs that destruction is coming…instead we learn from this little apocalypse and Revelation to seek a bigger perspective. To put our hope and trust in God and not on this world, not on buildings or institutions or systems or structures…all the worldly things that bring us feelings of safety will be destroyed…but this does not have to be bad news…as I said, it is gospel, it is good news
It is the good news that all those things that keep us from God, all those things that we put our faith in, all those things we trust will fall away and there will only be God. God is, God was and God will forever be.
We are to trust in God, put our faith in God alone, not on politicians, not on statues and buildings and structures…but on God and the promises of Christ for at the end of all that we know…there is God.
And so the question is not are we there yet, but where are we? Where are our hearts, our priorities our trust, our hope right now. This is a text about today - not in the future of the holidays, not in the fear of 2012, but today…Mark 13 does not teach us about tomorrow but gives us a wider view to live today. Amen.
-Rev. Selena A. Wright
This is what Jesus provides for his disciples in our text for today, perspective. Reading the 13th chapter of Mark sounds like a chapter out of Revelation but it is in the gospels it is in the middle of the good news of Jesus, but the tone of this chapter has received attention and even a nickname…the little apocalypse. Apocalypse means unveiling – contrary to common understanding it is not a prophecy or a foretelling of what will happen…it is the unveiling of a truth that already exists. Emily Dickenson once wrote that “the hope of the future is hidden in the present” and that is what I think of when I hear the word apocalypse…that somewhere in our world is the truth, the hope, the promise of what is to come. In our little apocalypse Jesus and the disciples are walking out of the temple and the disciples are in awe of the grand structure like rural folks first visit to the big city… “check out these stones and how tall these buildings are!” Jesus and the Disciples are right there staring at the massive structure of the temple that was rebuilt by King Herod. I imagine they were straining their necks, squinting their eyes as they stared up at this massive and beautiful structure. Like my first trip to New York City as a small child – I remember standing at the base of all those huge buildings – and feeling afraid – they cast shadows on the earth, and made me feel so small, so insignificant.
But when Jesus stands at the base of these structures he does not share my nor the disciples awe, instead he says;
"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
It must have been impossible for the disciples to realize what Jesus was saying. As they stared up at the temple and the other large buildings…how could they even fathom this same city in ruins? The buildings were so much bigger than them, and everything that was taking place in Jerusalem was built around and functioned with the support of these structures.
I can’t read this scripture without thinking of the World Trade Center…I picture the towering presence that I experienced as a child – and what they represented…those buildings were powerhouses, not only in steel and iron but in the institutional structures of our society – we trusted that they were strong and would endure…
And when I read Jesus’ words to the disciples I see those horrible images of flames and dust and rubble…
"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
On September 11 we all paused in shock and in fear and somewhere within us we asked…is this the end?
But in the days that followed something happened, something changed. Somehow through the dust and despair of that great tragedy, if only for a moment we saw the world differently – we gained perspective.
Have you ever experienced a shift in perspective like this?
You are looking around and everything feels larger than life, the obstacles, struggles, challenges ahead of you feel insurmountable. You stand beside a crisis or a worry and you feel so small, so weak, so powerless like an ant trying to navigate through our world. That is what the disciples felt at first, they stood among those huge buildings and they too believed that they were powerless, that the world around them towered over them…but then they gained perspective. Jesus saw them looking up with awe and fear and trembling at these buildings and he said…no you are not seeing it right…come get a different view…and he took them to the Mount of Olives so that they were looking at the buildings from a distance, and they looked different – smaller, limited, especially in contrast to the expanse of land and sky that surrounded them. Just like the images on the powerpoint…both of downtown Denver but one the buildings tower over you, they are all there is, but in the other…there is sky, there are mountains, we are able to see that these structures are not everything. From a different view the disciples realized the possibility of what Jesus was telling them…these buildings will be thrown down…and when they could see the buildings in their entirety, and within the context of the wider world a few of them were able to take Jesus seriously and ask: when will this happen, how will we know, what will be the signs?
Jesus tells them this is not the question to be asking, in verse 32 he says:
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father
We hear in this text that what is important is not the date but the perspective…
View matters. When we are standing at the bottom of the building and we can’t even see the top of it, or see around it, we are without hope. But when we change our perspective, back up a few steps or even a few miles we see that this moment, this challenge, this pain, this struggle has limits too, it might even be a bit smaller than we realized when we were at its base.
As Christians we have the blessing of the big picture if we allow ourselves to see it. Jesus was not trying to scare the disciples, nor is that the intention of any of our Christian apocalyptic writings – they are not there to frighten us into faith or to say to unbelievers, agree with me or else – they are there to give us perspective. Jesus was trying to tell the disciples, you may look at these buildings and think they will stand forever, you can put your trust in these structures believing that bigger is better but you are looking at it wrong. You are too close, you have to take a step back…and realize that these buildings will fall…all that you know will change, the things of this world that you put your trust in, that bring you feelings of safety and security will be destroyed…
And he was right. That temple did fall to the ground only 40 years later around the year 70. And with the destruction of the temple, the system of laws and sacrifices that was inherent in the structure of the temple ended…the way of life that they knew came to an end. But in an end there was a beginning. Mark, the first of the gospels was written right about this same time. Scholars disagree as to whether Mark was written before or after the temple was destroyed but either way…as the temple fell…our scriptures were created…
So what does this say to us, to our fears…to those images of buildings that we trust in, rely on, crumbling to the ground. I think we can take any building, any system and structure that we put our trust in and hear Jesus telling us
Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
We have seen it happen, we saw it on September 11 and we learned from that tragedy that buildings do fall, stocks do fall, systems crumble…everything changes.
But this is not for us to fear. Being prepared for destruction is not about being right, judging others, nor is it living in fear or even looking for signs that destruction is coming…instead we learn from this little apocalypse and Revelation to seek a bigger perspective. To put our hope and trust in God and not on this world, not on buildings or institutions or systems or structures…all the worldly things that bring us feelings of safety will be destroyed…but this does not have to be bad news…as I said, it is gospel, it is good news
It is the good news that all those things that keep us from God, all those things that we put our faith in, all those things we trust will fall away and there will only be God. God is, God was and God will forever be.
We are to trust in God, put our faith in God alone, not on politicians, not on statues and buildings and structures…but on God and the promises of Christ for at the end of all that we know…there is God.
And so the question is not are we there yet, but where are we? Where are our hearts, our priorities our trust, our hope right now. This is a text about today - not in the future of the holidays, not in the fear of 2012, but today…Mark 13 does not teach us about tomorrow but gives us a wider view to live today. Amen.
-Rev. Selena A. Wright
