Mark 13:1-8
Do not be alarmed.
- That’s the first thing I have to say about today’s gospel.
- And it’s the same thing Jesus told the disciples.
- “Do not be alarmed.”
- Do not be disturbed or troubled by all these things. Do not be frightened.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Jesus also told the disciples that he’s not talking about an ending but about a beginning…the birthing of new life.
- He’s describing a movement toward wholeness…fullness…and completion.
- Today’s gospel theme is that of “making all things new.”
- And I think it’s exactly what we need to hear these days when it looks as if many things are coming apart at the seams.
- Today’s gospel overflows with good news.
- And yes…it is difficult and challenging.
- But it is worth all our attention and effort.
It’s a gospel about hope.
- It’s a gospel about opportunities and possibilities.
- It’s a gospel about finding meaning and new life.
- It’s a gospel about our future.
- And who among us does not sometimes wonder…worry…or even become alarmed about our future and the future of our world?
When I become alarmed about the future I am not really focused on the unknown and a time yet to come.
- I am more focused on the known and the present time.
- I want to know if the temples I have built will withstand the test of time.
- Will the center hold?
- Will my relationships endure?
- Will my attainments and accomplishments continue to give identity…meaning…and security?
- Will the order I have created for my life…well-being…and joy remain intact?
- Are the foundations and reference points of my life stable and strong enough to last?
That is…I am focused on the large stones and large buildings of my life.
- So…when I hear Jesus say:
- “Not one stone will be left upon another…all will be thrown down.”
- I get a bit twitchy.
Jesus says the very things that I am most focused on are coming down.
- I cannot help but wonder if I have missed the point and been distracted from what really matters.
- From the new life that is waiting and wanting to be birthed in me and through me.
I believe that is what is going on with the disciple who says to Jesus:
- “Look…Teacher…what large stones and what large buildings!”
- I think he has missed the point and has distracted himself from what really matters and is calling for attention.
What I mean is…what this disciple says does not make sense to me.
- This surely was not the first time this disciple…an adult Jewish man…had been to or seen the temple.
- He had grown up going to the temple.
- He had gone to the temple with Jesus at least twice before this day.
- The large stones and buildings of the temple were not new to him.
- He had seen it all before.
- It was not his first rodeo.
You see…there is a disconnect between what he says and what has just happened.
- Jesus and his disciples have just left the temple where they sat opposite the treasury watching the crowd put money into the treasury.
- Many rich people put in large sums.
- But a poor widow put in one penny…all she had.
- Jesus says to his disciples:
- “Truly I tell you…this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.”
- With those words Jesus has cracked the mortar between the stones of power…wealth…prestige…reputation…position and security.
- A separation has begun.
Jesus holds up the widow as an example.
- She is not the example the disciples or we would hold up.
- She has no wealth…no power…no position…no security.
- She is the one we overlook…ignore and sometimes abuse.
- And the first thing…the only thing…any disciple says is:
- “Wow! Look how big that building is.”
- They don’t get it.
- Do we get it?
Is this disciple trying to change the subject?
- Is this disciple trying to distract himself from what Jesus has just said?
- ..we have all done it.
- We change the subject or distract ourselves…
- So…we don’t have to deal with the elephant in the room.
- The vulnerable…painful and broken parts of our lives.
- Is that disciple looking at the large stones and buildings…
- So he does not have to look at himself in relationship to the widow?
- Is he feeling the large stones and buildings of his life beginning to shift and separate?
When have we felt that shift and separation?
- I felt it happening when I resigned a call without having another call.
- I feel it every time a loved one dies.
- In the beginning…I remember my temple coming down the day the bishop sent me a letter questioning my call to the ministry.
- It is all those times I look at what is happening outside of me instead of what is happening inside of me.
- It is there whenever I refuse to see…acknowledge and receive the widow and her way of life in my life.
Well…it is an uncomfortable place to be…and we have all been there.
- Jesus says it looks and sounds like “war and rumors of war. Nation will rise against nation…and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines.”
Every one of those is an image of separation:
- Nation separated from nation…kingdom from kingdom…the earth from itself.
- Even the widow is an image of separation.
- She’s separated from her husband and the life she once had.
- Those images describe not only what is happening around us but also within us.
- It’s showing and telling us something we don’t want to see…hear…or deal with.
- It’s too frightening…painful and uncertain.
Let us then consider this:
- That they are not separations that destroy but separations that create and give birth.
- That they are an opening…a space…for something new to come to life.
And it is here that Jesus speaks with such tenderness and reassurance.
- “Do not be alarmed…this must take place…this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
- It’s as if he is saying: “Do not worry.
- This is normal. You’re going to be OK.
- I am the Midwife who will get you through this.”
What if…in these times when it feels like our lives are shifting and separating and everything is being thrown down…
- We trust the Divine Midwife and just push a little.
- Push with faith…push with hope…push with love…push with anticipation of something new.
The Divine Midwife next to us whispering:
- “Push…push…push.
- It is almost here.”
- What might be birthed?