Reflections on the Gospel – Mark 13:24-37
Read the text here: Mark 13:24-37
Keep Awake! Be Prepared! The Lord
is coming! These themes of the season of Advent are also themes of this passage
in the Gospel of Mark. Last week
we finished our experience of the Gospel of Matthew with the prophecy of the
Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25; this week we begin our year of Mark with a
passage from the heart of what is called the “Little Apocalypse” in Mark. Last week Matthew gives us a rather unambiguous
teaching on the Last Judgment and the centrality of Faith in Action; this week
Mark gives us a very ambiguous look into the future to the Day of the Lord and
what our response is to be. What
in the world is this all about?
First, a definition is in order - the
word: Apocalypse. The word itself
comes from a Greek word which literally means “lifting the veil” or
“revelation.” The first of these
definitions is especially important and relevant for Mark because the climactic
event in Mark’s telling of the story of Jesus is the crucifixion account in
chapter 15 that ends with the tearing of the veil or the curtain in the temple
(15:38). This is the veil that
separates the holy of holies from the world. And the God of Israel resides in the Holy of Holies, but
once the veil is torn God abandons the Holy of Holies and God abandons the
Temple and takes up residence in and among God’s people. So Apocalyptic is first and foremost
about this question: Where is God Found?
And the answer Mark provides: In the Cross of Jesus!
Apocalyptic musings are, of course,
all the rage and have been through the 20th century (beginning in
the late 19th century) in particular. Predictions of the end of the world in fiery, bloody and
graphic detail have been the subject of films, books and (sorry to say)
preaching and (bad) theology. This
viewpoint has even invaded our foreign policy as a nation, as some support of
Israel, among one particular powerful group, is based on this (mis)-reading of
the apocalyptic texts of the New Testament. Recently a California pastor announced that the world would
end in terror and that the “rapture” would occur on May 21 (oops, I mean
October 21). Lots of folks took
this prediction seriously. Folks quit jobs, gave away possessions in order to
prepare. One cynical group on the
internet created a business where they would promise to care for your pets in
the event you were “raptured.”
They actually made money on this and folks signed up for the
service. Tragically one mother
even went so far as to murder her children in order to “save” them from the
terror to come.
Is this what apocalyptic is all
about? In a word – NO! How can all
of this predicted terror be squared with the Gospel proclamation that God loves
us madly and passionately – so much in fact that he gave us the Son? It can’t. There is not room here for a detailed critique of
contemporary apocalyptic. I will
simply say that for the most part what has taken hold is a fiction that is completely
unbiblical and actually contrary to the Gospel. The doctrine of the “rapture” is both a figment of a warped
imagination and an example of really bad bible interpretation. The “Left Behind” books are fiction –
and destructive fiction at that, since so many assume they represent the New
Testament. The other major problem with contemporary popular apocalyptic is that it is very self-focused. It appeals to the selfish and self-centered parts of our human nature that are mostly concerned with - What's in it for me? How do I make sure that I am covered? If that is really the focus of apocalyptic then how do we square that with a Savior who calls us to care for others and reach out to others in ways that address their real, physical needs? We can't. All of the Gospels and Paul believed that Jesus was coming back right away. But at the same time they also believed that in the meantime Christians were called to work for justice and to care for people and to busy themselves with the work of love. NOT to sit in caves alone, or on rooftops waiting for the Jesus to arrive. In other words - it's not about me - it's about community! The most destructive part of the popular apocalyptic/rapture nonsense is the destruction of community and the resultant turn inwards. The Gospel, the teachings and life of Jesus and the letters of Paul all have a completely different perspective: love through community!
So what does Mark in particular say
about Apocalyptic? And how does
Mark understand Apocalyptic?
First, for Mark there is a two-fold focus: Yes, Mark (and Paul and
others in the 1st century) did believe that Jesus would return right
away. They were wrong and also misunderstood
Jesus’ teaching. But the word “apocalyptic” itself gives us a hint of the
second, and more important focus which Mark lifts up – that is: the crucifixion
of Jesus. Jesus is enthroned in power when he is on the cross. Not only that, but Jesus’ death on the
cross also results in the tearing of the veil of the temple. God now is not cooped up in the Holy of
Holies. God is now to be found in
and among God’s people. And not
just in the good, happy or glorious, but rather, more profoundly, in hunger, in
loss, in terror and fear, and in death itself. God is present – because of the Cross of Jesus!
Consequently, the call of
apocalyptic is NOT to turn inward and focus on our selves and our own selfish
needs. But rather it is to turn
outward. To see through the eyes
of the Gospel that there is need – hunger, unemployment, homelessness, grief,
loss, death in our midst and that God is present in those situation THROUGH US. Jesus says – Be Prepared – Keep
Awake! How do we do that – through
Faith in Action. Through reaching
out and caring and loving in Jesus’ name!
“Once asked what he would do if he
believed the world would end tomorrow, Martin Luther is said to have responded,
"I would plant a tree today." We also, confident of God's love and
sure of God's promises about the future, can also invest in the present, in the
everyday and the ordinary, in the people and causes all around us. For we have
God's promise in the cross and resurrection of Christ that in time God will
indeed draw all of God's creation not just to an end, but to a good end.” David
Lose, Working Preacher
Comments
Post a Comment