We've all heard "dumb criminal" stories about lawbreakers who do things so stupid that it's a wonder that hadn't gotten caught before they were. Well, recently I heard a story about a much more clever criminal. It's the story of men who broke into a department store, and instead of stealing everything in sight and thus risk getting caught with a bag full of loot, he simply switched price tags around. One thousand dollar TV sets displayed the price tag of $100. Expensive jewelry showed costume jewelry prices. The next day he simply came into the store, bought everything he wanted at the switched price, and then sold it later for its real worth. It almost sounds legal, doesn't it? You know, sometimes we put a high value on things that are actually trivial, and a low value on things that really have great value. Sometimes the Lord has to straighten out our priorities, as in our Scripture reading this morning. The 13th chapter of Mark starts out with Jesus and His disciples in the Great Temple in Jerusalem. Built by King Herod, it was one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. "As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, 'Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!' 'Do you see all these great building?' replied Jesus, 'Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'" This introduces the topic of future happenings, which is the theme of chapter 13. Now this is a topic everyone is interested in! We all want a peek through the keyhole of the door into the future. Jesus' disciples were no different. But before we can understand what Jesus is saying here, we have to put the whole chapter into a 1st century, not a 21st century, perspective. Chapter 13 of Mark (as well as chapter 24 of Matthew and chapter 21 in Luke) is a unique form of literature known as "Apocalyptic" literature. When we hear the word "apocalyptic," we think of some cataclysmic event at the end of time, but there is a whole lot more to the use of the term than just that. Apocalyptic literature is a type of literary genre that was very popular around Jewish circles in Jesus' day. It's a lot easier to explain what I mean when I say literary genre by giving you an example than by giving you a description. When I start talking about a story that includes a spooky mansion, a group of strangers together at a dinner party, a guest who ends up in a pool of blood on the parlor room floor, and an ending where we find out the butler did it, then you know I'm talking about a murder mystery. That's a literary genre. Without even reading the book, we know a lot about what happens in it because we are familiar with the genre of the literature. Mark 13 is of the genre of Apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature features symbolic language, a pessimistic view of history, anticipation of the end of the world in some great and imminent crisis, a grand and Universal battle between the forces of good and evil, and visions of cosmic upheaval. Apocalyptic literature is always written at a time when things seem to be going badly for God's people, when the forces of evil seem ready to defeat the forces of good on a grand scale. It is written, however, to reassure God's people that the Lord is still large and in charge, even if it seems that evil is in control and all hope is lost. Apocalyptic literature always ends with divine victory and the elimination of the forces of darkness. Much of the Book of Daniel is apocalyptic, as is the Book of Revelation. Now, this is important to remember: Apocalyptic literature is meant to reassure God's people that God will triumph over present suffering and bring in an age of eternal blessedness. Knowing all this gives us some key insights in understanding what is admittedly a tough passage of Scripture to understand. The setting for Mark 13 is clear. Jesus predicts the destruction of the Great Temple in Jerusalem in response to some words of admiration on the part of His disciples for this engineering wonder. Later, on top of the Mount of Olives and in full view of the Great Temple, Jesus expounds on His prophecy, at the prompting of a kitchen cabinet of four disciples. Notice that Jesus' answer is in two parts because the question posed by the four is in two parts: "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?" Verses 5-23 concern themselves with the first question – namely, when will the Temple be destroyed (this happened in 70 AD, by the way, during the Jewish uprising against Rome and Rome's heavy-handed response). The second question is answered in this morning's passage of Scripture. To sum up, Jesus is telling these four disciples but also we modern-day disciples to not only "Follow Me", but also to "Watch for Me." Keep awake for His Second Coming. Like a fig tree in which buds are coming out in imminent anticipation of the warmth of spring, Jesus' second coming is certain, but the timing of it is unknown. When He does come, it won't be a secret. It will be an earth-shattering event. "The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give it's light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the Heavenly bodies will be shaken." This language is not intended to be taken literally, but it is purposely exaggerated to make a point – we'll know it when Jesus gets here! He'll come in the clouds with great power and glory, gathering His people from the four corners of the globe. Here's the point: Don't let the Master catch you napping!! Two thousand years is a long time to wait, and it's easy to get lethargic in our faith. It's easy to say, "Well, nothing has happened. I guess nothing will ever happen. God might be in His place, but things are definitely not right with the world." The demands of everyday life push our spiritual life onto the back burner of existence. It's all too easy to give up, to assume Jesus won't come around again, to assume that the life we currently have is all there is, to let our spiritual lives grow flabby and lazy. In short, it's easy to quit watching. It's easy to put God and His authority out of our minds. There is a painting of an old burned out mountain shack. All that remained of the house was the chimney, and some charred debris, littered around the ground. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather, dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words, the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology of life. Those words were, "Hush child, God ain't dead!" You see, in the midst of all the tragedy and trauma that life can throw at us, it's easy to get distracted into thinking that the fate of my world rests entirely on our own shoulders. This is a terribly tiring thought, because sooner or later something will come along that we can't handle. It's easy to assume, because of the long delay in His Coming, that Jesus won't come again, that He has been rendered either powerless or irrelevant. But we see from this Scripture that such is not the case. God ain't dead. He's still in charge. And He's coming back to put everything back together. Apocalyptic literature came out of the sea of emotions that swirled in the couple of centuries before Christ, and for a century or so after His Resurrection and Ascension. It came out of the culture of the persecution and oppression of God's people. It is meant to tell us that God is very much alive and very real. Difficult situations always end, sooner or later. But God is still Emmanuel -- God with Us. You see, we all need to celebrate Advent in its true spirit to keep us spiritually healthy. Sometimes we put the cheap price tag on the expensive commodity, and vice versa. Our emphasis during Advent is all too much on the shopping, the decorating, the partying, the concert-attending, and all the rest that lie ahead. Now don't get me wrong – I'm not saying these are necessarily bad things in and of themselves. But remember that we can't switch price tags; we can't make spiritual matters of less importance than temporal pursuits. Here at the start of Advent, let us remember the reasons for the season. Jesus' Coming again in imminent, but of that day and that hour no one knows, not even the Master Himself, only God. But there is, however, one kind of Advent that we can expect to happen, if we want it to. That is the personal Advent of Christ into our lives. He can be born anew in our hearts and in our lives this Advent season, especially in those places and spaces that we haven't allowed Him to be born into yet. He can be born again in the things we say and do that might hurt others, or impede the uplifting of relationship and community. He is born anew in the lives of those who give their jobs, their families, their children, and their situations to the Lord. He is born over and over again when we bow in prayer and talk with Him about the way things are and the way things ought to be. And when Christ is born again into this or that particular situation, it can be changed and renewed. We can make this the best Advent ever if we remember a few things. He is born anew in our hearts, in our lives, and in our church if we, first of all, remember that there is power in service to others. When we serve Christ's children, we serve Christ. The antidote for the ever-increasing complexity of the season in which we always seem to have to schedule more, try more, and buy more is to affirm that the Reason for the Season is the service to others. Christ came to be a servant to all. We can make this the best Advent of all, secondly, if we remember to remain connected to the faith community. In all the hustle and bustle of the season, it's easy to forget that Christianity is a team sport, not an individual activity. We must continue, in the midst of being pulled 27 different ways, to get together for worship, service, fellowship, and fun. And lastly, we can make this the best Advent of all by expecting Him to arrive any minute. When we expect guests for Christmas, we clean, scrub, bake, and generally get the house ready for the arrival. Advent is times to clean, scrub, and generally get our personal house ready for company. It might be delayed, but in the getting ready there is the opportunity for real growth. And maybe that's why it's taken so long anyway – Jesus is just giving us all time enough to really get ready. Keith Almond P.O. Box 4388 Leesburg, VA 20177 703-344-3569 |
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