November 18, 2006
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church
Pastor. Per Inge Vik
Text: Mark 13,1-8 “Live now!”
My parents were born during WW I, and were young during WWII. My mother has told about the christian awakening that broke out during her youth at the place where she lived. A lot of young people attended christian meetings, and surrendered their lives to God. My mother sang in a youth choir, and it was a ”Time of the Spirit” in those days.
Many preachers focused on the signs of the end of time. But not all the preaching was healthy. Especially some lay preachers focused on the end of time in a way that scared the youth. Some young ones lay awake during the night and didn’t dare to sleep because they feared that if Jesus came and found them sleeping, they would be left behind.
Isn’t it a typical phenomenon that in times of trouble there will be much focus on the end of time and Jesus’ second coming? Think of the Christian TV channels and radio stations here in the US, after 9-11 and the troubled times in Iraq. Any of us might have noticed all the preaching concerning Babel, about Jesus’ second coming and the battle of Armageddon. Actually, the attempt to identify the Antichrist and to predict the battle at the mentioned end of time, has become typical for some Christian groups.
I have pretty mixed feelings concerning this trend. On one hand I think it is correct for Christians to wait for Christ’s second coming. In the texts that we read in our Sunday services towards the end of the Church year, this motif is strongly present. And it belongs to our faith. Jesus has clearly promised to come back.
We are reminded about this every Sunday as we confess our holy faith: “Ascended into heaven… He will come again..” We shall live in the hope of His second coming. Especially when Christians have had hardship of different kinds, it has given courage to focus on these texts about the end of time.
But on the other hand, to live our lives too deeply into the future, can lead us to forget the life that we are to live here and now.
There is a big difference between living now in the light of Jesus’ second coming and to live totally focused on the future!
All the nice texts that we have read from Mark’s gospel this fall, have given us help to a healthy life as Christians in our daily life. Last Sunday the topic was our giving, and about stewardship. Jesus was at the temple court, watching what people brought to the treasury, and he taught his disciples about the big gift that the poor widow brought. She gave all she had, and surrendered her life totally to God’s hands.
Today we have heard that Jesus together with four of his closest disciples moved eastwards. There were the two pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew, the sons of the ship owner Jonah, and then James and John, the sons of the ship owner Zebedee. All these four were former fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Together with Jesus they now leave the city through the eastern gate, descend down to the Valley of Kedron, and then up to the Mount of Olives. The view from that point is spectacular towards the Temple area.
I have been there many times, taking pictures of Jerusalem from that position. The view is marvelous. But the City as it looks today, has changed much from the time of Jesus. The Old City is now dominated by the Doom of the Rock, and the Al Aqsa mosque. Behind these, modern Jerusalem stretches far and wide, to the south, west and north.
The disciples are impressed by the view that they see: The Temple with its courts and tall walls, the Beautiful Gate, the Golden Gate, with nice ornamentation and carvings. King Herod the Great was not only a domineering and suspicious tyrant. >From NT he is famous for that. We know that he murdered the baby boys in Bethlehem after the wisemen had come, asking for a King’s son that they understood had been born. Then he felt his power threatened.
But Herod also was a enterprising builder. He struggled to make friends with the Jews, as he himself was an Edomite. He enlarged the temple area, so the simple temple from the time of Serubabel, that was re-erected after the Jews returned from the captivity in Babel, that was so tiny and pitiful through several generations. But, Herod the Great recreated it to a building of glory. But it would not last very long.
The prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled only 40 years after he had proclaimed it. That means that only a couple of generations could enjoy the beautiful view that the disciples saw from the Mount of Olives. After the Jewish rebellion against Rome in the years 66-70, Jerusalem and the temple was demolished. Under the leadership of General Titus, the Romans robbed all the precious treasures from Jerusalem.
Today one can see the pageant of triumph with the Menorah and the Arc of the Covenant depicted on the Arc of Titus in Rome. Literally there was not one stone left upon another as the Romans had finished their ravaging, a punishment for the Jewish revolt. Till this day, only the Wailing Wall is left. Which is not a part of the temple itself, but only the south western corner of the huge temple court. There the Jews have gathered for all these centuries to weep over what happened in the year 70 A D.
When Jesus predicted what was going to happen, the disciples wanted to know when this disaster previous to his second coming was going to occur. He doesn’t answer the question. Another place he says that no one knows, not even he himself, but only the Father. So when the disciples are concerned about the time, he instead leaves them with the signs. The signs that the time is approaching: Wars and rumors of war, earth quakes and famines. In the text for today he ends by saying: This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
But notice the most important here: When you hear about this, do not be alarmed, Jesus says. When you see and notice the signs of the end of time, then lift your heads, encourage, as the time is close, he says. So, Jesus doesn’t say this to frighten, but to encourage the believers! He does about the same as the dentist, as he is fixing our teeth. When the pain is at its worst, he says: “Just a moment now, and it is over!”
Now, I think that instead of being too focused on the end of time, we should live our daily lives, serving as stewards. Luther says in one place that if he knew that Jesus would return tomorrow, even so he would plant an apple tree today. That is a strong statement that the most important for us, is to live now! To the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God now and forever. Amen
