Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
Jesus delivers several predictions, a promise, a warning, and an admonition in today’s gospel reading, Mark 13:1-8. Jesus’ predictions point to a double horizon. When an awestruck disciple admires the temple’s “great stones,” Jesus predicts the temple’s destruction (v. 2). At v 4, the scene shifts to the Mount of Olives. Sitting directly across from the Temple mount, Jesus promises on the far horizon the return of the Son of Man. Using classic apocalyptic tropes, Jesus warns that cycles of warfare and natural disaster will come first; the end is not yet (v 7). Jesus warns that would-be “messiahs” will arise, declaring, “I am the one!” His disciples must not be fooled or distracted; nor should they waste time attempting to calculate the final hour—for no one knows that hour. Their commission is to wait actively and to bear witness in word and deed to Jesus, the Son of Man.
Some preachers are inclined to shy away from apocalyptic material; yet, our congregations need to hear a sermon based on this text. First, human beings display an endless appetite for predictions of the future. Despite Jesus’ warning, Christians have seemed unable, historically, to reconcile themselves to Jesus’ declaration that the “hour” of the end cannot be predicted. Second, the Church has been inclined to forget that only at the coming of the Son of Man will God’s reign take hold on earth in its fullness. Especially in times of heightened social, political and economic turmoil, believers and non-believers alike all too readily latch on to would be “messiahs,” authoritarian figures who promise to right the ship, purge society of all “undesirables,” and usher in a paradise on earth. Thus, today’s text is timely. It lends itself to sermons that are relevant, pastorally and theologically.
First, Jesus understood the dynamics in lived human experience that provoke anxiety. We, in turn, can acknowledge the heightened anxiety that those in our pews may feel. For some, it is economic anxiety. They feel trapped in a paycheck-to-paycheck existence while others prosper. Others feel deep anxiety about environmental degradation that threatens their children’s future. For others, anxiety centers on a socio-political drift toward authoritarianism, fostered by a mix of xenophobia and a widening rich/poor gap. A pastoral sermon can begin by recognizing these anxieties.
Second, we can focus on Jesus’ warning that the troubles we experience will tempt us to give ultimate allegiance to would-be “messiahs,” religious or political. We can remind our congregations that only the return of the Son of Man shall bring to full realization the reign of God. We can help them discern that the power that represents the reign of God in this world will always be the power of service, not the enslaving power of xenophobic rhetoric, tyranny, or terror wielded in God’s name.
Third, we can remind our congregations that our vocation is to bear witness to God’s self-revealing in the life, death, and rising of Jesus Christ, who came to break the deceitful power of evil over us. Like Jesus, we seek and serve the most vulnerable: the homeless, the aging, refugees, and those who do not fit in. Tyrannical rulers nearly always pick out social scapegoats on whom to heap blame for society’s problems, teaching their devotees to despise and fear them. We, servants of the Servant, must care for the targeted. Who knows? One day, as we place bread in pairs of outstretched hands, we may be startled to see stretched toward us palms that bear, unmistakably, the nail-prints of crucifixion. We will meet our Lord among the needy, until the day he comes to make all things new.
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