Loving God, you teach us not to be alarmed by the things that we see happening around us, but instead to place our trust in you.  Strengthen us in our faith by the power of your Holy Spirit, leading us into life in all its fulness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    The gospel that we heard today is part of a section of Mark known as the “little apocalypse.”  This is Mark, chapter 13, which includes images and signs that are generally associated with the end times – the time when Jesus will come again and when life on this earth will come to an end.  Some of the things mentioned include the wars and earthquakes and famines that we heard about today.  Later in the chapter, other things such as persecution, and the darkening of the sun and moon, and stars falling from heaven are mentioned.

    Every so often, I get somebody asking me if I think we’re living in the end times.  Inevitably, they have heard or read something that prompts this question.  In fact, you could easily have a whole room full of books and videos – all of them about the signs of the end and about the order in which things are supposed to happen.  All of this leads me to a very important question: Why do people get so hung up on identifying signs of the end?  Why is there such an interest in laying out all of the signs to watch for?  (Can any of you tell me?)

    (Possibilities: wanting to be ready - fear - death wish? - distraction from life? - some sort of proof that the Bible is true?)  The thing is that while all of these various signs are mentioned in the Bible, ultimately we are told that we will not know when the time will come.  “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk. 13:32).  We can study the signs all we want, but ultimately we will not know the time of the end.

    For the sake of argument, let’s say that we do know that the end is near.  Would it change anything in how we live?  (Yes?  No?)  It seems to me that if it would make that much of a difference, then we are failing to live as God intends us to live.  In many places the Scriptures teach that our life on this earth is relatively short.  We are just like the grass or the flower of the field – here today and gone tomorrow (Isa. 40:6-8).  When we grasp this reality, it encourages us to make every day count, and to use the time that we have been given to the glory of God and in the service of others.

    And so, today I’d like to focus on those things in our readings that have to do with how we live our lives on this earth.  The first thing that seems to come out of today’s gospel is a warning about where we place our trust.  Any humanly created structures, no matter how magnificent, are quite fallible.  The Jerusalem Temple was a wonder to behold, and a huge structure that wasn’t even finished yet in Jesus’ day.  Yet, just as Jesus predicted in today’s gospel, it was all thrown down.  Not one stone was left upon another.

    And so, we are asked through today’s gospel where we place our trust.  Do we trust investments and pensions and bank accounts?  Do we trust in buildings and institutions?  Do we live not trusting anyone or anything?  Or do we place our trust in the only One who is trustworthy?

    Hebrews reminds us, “he who has promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).  In fact, all through the Scriptures we find instances of God’s promises coming to fruition.  In one instance after another we are shown that God’s promises can be trusted.  When God promises that his people will be rescued from slavery in Egypt, it happens.  When God promises “never again” will a flood destroy the whole world, it happens (Gen. 8:21).  When God promises a Saviour who will save his people from their sins, it happens.  Our God is faithful and trustworthy, and invites us to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

    When we do believe in Jesus, there are many promises that go with our trust in him.  Salvation, forgiveness and eternal life are the first things that come to mind.  Jesus also promised to be with us always, to send the Holy Spirit, and answers to prayer that are in his name and according to God’s will.  Jesus promised to come again, and to take us to himself and welcome us home when our time on this earth is complete.

    And so, when we claim God’s promises and truly believe and trust in Jesus Christ, it changes our approach to life.  For example, when we see things like earthquakes and famines and wars occurring, we are not alarmed by these things.  Even if we end up suffering or having far less than we did before as a result of these things, we know that such things are only temporary, and we continue to have the life of Christ within us.  Even in the midst of disasters, we know that we continue in God’s care and that we can trust in God for our basic needs to be met.  When our trust is in God, there is no need to fear.

    In today’s gospel, humanly created structures are not the only things that are unworthy of our trust, but also people who come and say “I am he!” (Mk. 13:6).  Now, our initial inclination might be to assume that these people are claiming to be Jesus or the Messiah or something, but it’s more than that.

    In the gospel of John there’s a passage where Jesus says, “I am he” (at least in the English translation) (Jn. 8:24).  In the Greek, however, Jesus actually says “I am,” which is one version of the name of God.  Some of you might remember that when God’s name is revealed in Exodus, it is “I am who I am,” or “I will be what I will be” – “I am” for short (Ex. 3:14).  God is essentially the verb “to be.”  And so, when people come along and say, “I am he,” they are really making themselves out to be God.

    I was trying to think of examples of people who have done this, and the main thing that came to mind were cult leaders or even televangelists who have extorted money out of people, or have cut them off from their families, or have managed to get large groups of people to do exactly as they say.  There are people who claim to speak in the name of Jesus who are not trustworthy and are actually exalting themselves.  It is just as the gospels said it would be.

    However, when we have a living relationship of faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we learn how to recognize Jesus when we see him.  Anybody who says that they speak for Jesus or for God and doesn’t use their lives to glorify God by serving others is a sham.  There is no reason for us to be led astray by such people.  Always look for the Spirit of Christ, and if it is missing, do not place your trust in that person.

    However, where Christ is present, there is life in all its fulness – life that is strengthened as we meet together and worship together and encourage one another and even “provoke” one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24).  Let us then focus on these things and use our lives to glorify God through service to others.  In this is life in all its fulness – life that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lectionary 33(B)                                Mark 13:1-8
November 15, 2009                            Hebrews 10:11-25
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2009 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved