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Sermon: The First Sunday in Advent (B) - 27th November 2011
St Aidan's Anglican Church West Epping 8:30 am
Readings: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; I Corinthians 1:1-9; Mark 13:24-37
We live in a great age – though often a very confusing one. There are many benefits we can enjoy and many things can give us sleepless nights. On the one hand we have the benefits of great scientific discoveries. Medical science continues to amaze us so that what was impossible one day becomes a standard procedure the next. We have new technologies so we can better enjoy our computers or our TV experience. The world has never seen these things before.
On the other hand we see the continual growth in greed in our society, the impact of crime and drugs. World-wide, we see global unrest which is both political and environmental. Yet with bad news that flows like a constant stream we don’t see people seeking after God, returning to him, or trusting in him with renewed vigour. Rather, after each disaster we see people more committed to shake their fist in his face.
So what does God say to a world that has not only turned their backs on him, they’re also loudly banged the door on him as they have stormed out of the room like any petulant teenager. How does God respond? What will God say?
In Mark 13, Jesus is near the end of his ministry. Palm Sunday is behind him. The horror of Good Friday lies before him. In his three years of ministry he has seen his popularity come and go. One crowd wanted to make him a king. Another wanted to throw him over a cliff. He still had the hosannahs of Palm Sunday ringing in his ears but he knew it would never last. And as he came to his final week he must have wondered what he had achieved, after all his teaching, how much had people understood of his mission. What did they understand of God or of themselves.
At other times, as Jesus considered Jerusalem he felt they looked lost, like sheep without a shepherd – lost in a Roman world, seduced by Roman culture and thinking. Where were the people of God, and what did they know of him?
And so we come in Mark 13 to the climax of Jesus’ teaching. Mark 13 is like a bookend. Jesus began his ministry with the Sermon on the Mount. But he ends it with Mark 13. Sadly, it is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Bible. People have used its vague allusions to justify all sorts of crazy doctrines. But with the aid of Isaiah 13 and Daniel 7, the two books Jesus loved to quote and loved by him as much as any first century Jew, the meaning is fairly straight forward, though we are also assisted by hindsight.
So what does Jesus say to this lost nation, this lost people of God?
His first point is, don’t be overly impressed by this world. Don’t get carried away with it and dazzled by it. It just isn’t worth it. What triggered this teaching was a comment by the disciples as they walked through the Temple precinct. The disciples were admiring the large stones that made up the Temple foundations. These stones were magnificent, and they formed the foundation for one of the greatest buildings of the ancient world. If it had not been purposely destroyed by the Romans in AD 70
it would be admired as much today as the Parthenon in Athens or the Colosseum in Rome. Herod the great, who built it was surely one of the greatest builders of the ancient world. And the Temple was only one of his stunning achievements.
But so great was the Temple that the Romans recognised that it would always be a threat to their rule, always a rallying point for Jewish nationalism. So its not surprising that as the disciples walked in its shadows that they responded like any Jew would, filled with national pride, and impressed with Herod’s brilliance.
And Jesus response was to say, don’t put your confidence in bricks and mortar – as impressive as these stones are, [and they were impressive,] they will all be thrown down. If your confidence is in buildings, then you will be disappointed.
These days we live in a wonderful world. There are many things we can enjoy. Jesus is not saying we cant’ do that. He doesn’t always call us to aestheticism. His point is, there needs to be more. We need to consider God and his plans for his world. If we don’t understand that, we will be lost.
Jesus told the parable of the rich man who enjoyed his wealth. But what would he do with it? He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. He was a fool. He was rich in the world but not rich towards God. Now there is nothing wrong with barns and building barns. But life needs to be more. If the rich man had used his leisure to seek after God, that would have shown the beginning of wisdom. But instead, he died a fool.
Life is more than barns or Temple stones. So if the lesson is – not be too wedded to this life, we also need to consider God, -
Then Jesus takes his teaching one step further. He is warning us that God has a way of dealing with people who turn their backs on him, who force him out of their life. The description comes in verse 24
“The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.”
People have pondered over this and have looked forward to a day when this judgment will happen. But what Jesus is doing is quoting Isaiah 13 to remind Israel of how God treats those who curse him, who attack his people, who attempt to frustrate his purposes. The idea of the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light is a poetic description of the reversal of creation in Genesis 1. In Isaiah, God is so angry he will shake the earth, so much so, that creation will go backwards.
The language of Isaiah 13 is both magnificent if not horrifying –
I must quote it.
“See, the day of the Lord is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.”
Strong stuff! Babylon had taken Israel as captives and Isaiah announced God’s judgment on them. But there is no comfort here for Israel. Look at what Jesus has done. He has taken this pronouncement of judgment on Babylon and applied it to Israel herself. How many times had Jesus warned Israel. He told the parable of the vineyard where the workers, instead of listening to the son, plotted to kill him. They knew Jesus was telling the story against them in order to warn them. But there was no repentance.
And so the events of Mark 13 were fulfilled in AD 70. when the Romans inflicted the punishment on Jerusalem that Jesus had warned them of. But this shaking of the earth had a second purpose. As well as waking up the world to reveal the real power of the universe, God’s intention was to show them their true king. And so Jesus speaks of the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds with great power and glory.
Now people have come to all sorts of conclusions about the coming of the Son of Man. We need to ask – where is he coming to? Many have concluded that he is coming to earth. But Jesus is referring to Daniel 7. There the Son of Man is coming into the presence of the Ancient of Days. He is coming to his throne. He is coming to receive his kingdom. Jesus warned his audience that all these things would be fulfilled in their lifetimes. And they did see the coming of the Roman armies. And through Calvary and the garden they did see Jesus coming into his kingdom.
This is the world’s true lord, their true king. We can look at our world with great uncertainty. Its easy to worry about the future and what it may bring. Jesus was about to face shocking torture and death. The disciples were about to have their world turned upside down. So Jesus message was, be on your guard, be alert.
With the advantage of hindsight, we can learn the lessons of history. And yet we will each face our own crises. We will each reach a point where we can’t see God or what he is doing. Yet it has happened before, and these events are there to remind us of where we can find love, when love eems gone,where to find truth in a sea of lies, and where to find hope in each hopeless situation, and where to find the power of God and the glory of God amidst the chaos. Our hope is not in fine buildings or strong armies, but in the suffering servant, the bruised reed, who brings life and light and new hope.
where we can’t see God
or what he is doing.
Yet it has happened before,
and these events are there to remind us
of where we can find love,
when love seems gone,
where to find truth in a sea of lies,
and where to find hope
in each hopeless situation,
and where to find the power of God
and the glory of God
amidst the chaos.
Our hope is not in fine buildings
or strong armies,
but in the suffering servant,
the bruised reed,
who brings life and light
and new hope.