Sermon on Mark 13:1-8 (Proper 28)

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Climate change. Pandemic. Giant tidal wave. Zombies. Aliens. Earthquakes. A giant asteroid. Killer robots. What do all of these things have in common? Maybe you remember the REM song and theme from Stars on Lamar this year: “that’s great it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes an areoplane-Lenny Bruce is not afraid.” Like the chorus says: It’s the end of the world as we know it! The list above is many of the ways that pop culture has depicted the world ending. We have this fascination with how the world is going to end so we come up with these seemingly crazy scenarios in books, on TV, in video games and in movies. Some seem less far-fetched than others. For instance, there is a newer TV show on called Revolution which depicts the world after something knocks out everything electronic. No cars, no cell phones, no heat or AC. The world knocked back to the Dark Ages. This scenario is especially captivating to me because it is so realistic! We look at how the world is going to end for various reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is because it distracts us from the really burning question: WHEN is the world going to end?

It is with this question that we encounter our gospel today from Mark. This opening to chapter 13 introduces us to what is fondly referred to as Mark’s “Little Apocalypse” The whole of chapter 13 is Jesus talking about coming persecution, the coming of the Son of Man and the necessity for watchfulness. Aren’t you glad the lectionary writers didn’t have us read the whole thing? Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple and one blurts out “Wow. Jesus, look at all of the big stones and how beautiful and big the temple is!” Jesus then responds that all of it will be torn down and destroyed so that not one stone from the temple is left on top of another. It’s like my sister not only kicking over my Lego tower when we were kids, but sitting there and pulling apart every piece. You who are of a non-Jewish background are sitting there going “Big deal! So what?” It was a big deal! For those who were Jewish during Jesus day the temple was everything! Their center of worship. The place where many would travel great distances on High Holy days to worship. The place where God was! God resided and was present with God’s people at the temple. To bring it into perspective, imagine that one night someone deliberately and maliciously threw 10 bricks through the stained glass window so that it would have to be rebuilt. It would be a big deal, wouldn’t it? The destruction of the temple would literally be the end of their world as they know it.

So later on when they are sitting on the Mount of Olives “opposite the temple” (it gets another mention) Peter, Andrew, James and John come and ask the question that is on everyone’s mind. “Jesus, when is this going to happen?!?” They’re already forming an exit strategy and a survival plan because that’s what we do when we know something bad is going to happen. We plan. We struggle. We survive! But we have to know when so our plans are effective! Jesus doesn’t answer them though. He goes into some rather vague scenarios and then way down in verse 32 he says “but about that day and that hour know one knows…except the Father” Essentially “Your guess is as good as mine.” That’s not helpful at all. In fact that’s more terrifying because there is only one person who holds all the cards and that’s God.

That means that God can’t be controlled and God decides when the plan gets enacted. We don’t get a say in it! We don’t even get a small hint as to when the signs will happen. When it will be the end of the world as we know it. This isn’t something new we have experienced though. We’ve all experienced it on a smaller scale. My freshman year in college wasn’t the most ideal ever looking back on it. My first trip home I got into a bad car accident with an 18-wheeler. In February my appendix decided it was going to go a-wol so I had emergency surgery. Then in March my grandfather passed away unexpectedly in the night. All of this while I was trying to get adjusted to the new rhythm of college classes and life. Talk about the end of the world as I know it. We all have stories like this. Stories of jobs being lost un-expectedly. Losing loved ones that are dear to us. Failed and broken relationships. Experiencing natural disasters. At least for a short time, the end of the world as we know it. We have little to no expectation as to the warning signs for these things. Otherwise we might have planned, prepared, struggled and survived! We could have overcome it all or even avoided it! The temple that we had built would still be there in all its’ glory and splendor! Perhaps Jesus’ prediction is less prophetic and more just a comment on the realities of life. Most things don’t last forever.

Even if it is true that most things don’t last forever and we seem to constantly experience the end of the world as we know it, that’s not the final part to the story. Even though my freshman year had some huge things happen during it, the year also had some moments of great beauty and blessing. I was at a school full of professors who were understanding and willing to help me excel in my classes. I made a ton of great friends, many of whom I still keep in close contact with. I also met my beautiful wife Lauren that first year and she walked with me through much of those big things. “Don’t be alarmed!” Even when it seems like the end of the world as we know it God is still with us. How do we know? God’s only Son Jesus experienced the end of the world as he knew it. As he walked on the earth and lived among us God, through Jesus, experienced losing loved ones, the sick, the lost, the broken. Then ultimately God experienced the end of the world when Jesus hung on the cross and died. That’s not the end of the story though because that same God raised Jesus from the dead to live on even past the end of the world. With this outpouring of grace and love it meant the end of the world as we knew it. Everything is made new and changed! Death doesn’t have the final word not then, not now and not ever. Not over our relationships, Not over our jobs. Not over our lives. Death doesn’t have control. It may hurt when the things that we have built tumble down and when things change. We often don’t have time to prepare. But those are just the birth pangs that lead to something new and beautiful. A new creation. A new world that we enter into.

I’m not just talking about something far off and something that we wait for. It happens every day in many ways. Reminders and stories that God has the final word. That is both terrifying and beautiful at the same time. So how do we react to it? What do we do? First, we have to let go of thinking that we can plan for it. We don’t know when it’s going to happen or even how it’s going to happen. That’s not for us to worry about. What we are called to do is recorded in Matthew. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember that I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We are called to go and tell stories. We are called to go and sing. To live lives that show to everyone, especially those who are experiencing the end of the world as they know it, that there is something bigger than the end of the world. A God who remains with and loves his creation even past the end of our lifetime. Today can be the end of the world as we know it. With our response to God’s love and grace throughout this week we can work with God to end pain, suffering, injustice and bring a new world to everyone. Today, is the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine. Amen