Mark 13:24-37

‘But in those days, following that distress, “’the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall form the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer…

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent means to anticipate something that is about to come into being. The church celebrates Advent during the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. Advent is the season the church sets aside to prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus. Together we will work our way through Scripture passages that remind us of the promises of God. Some of those stories will be familiar to us. Others will be newer to us. But all will remind us that God is about to become man and dwell among us. And that in becoming us, God gives us hope where before we were hopeless.

Since today is also the beginning of a new church year, we begin a new cycle of lectionary readings. We will spend this year working through the gospel of Mark. But rather than start the year in the beginning of Mark. We start almost at the end. Our Scripture lesson for today is the speech that Jesus gives to his disciples. Directly after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This speech occurs right before Jesus is betrayed by Pilate, arrested, and crucified. It’s an important speech. In it, Jesus encourages his disciples to keep awake and alert for the promises of God are about to be fulfilled in their midst.

Now you may be wondering, why the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem was a critical moment in Jewish history. Jewish people believe that God dwells in the temple. The priests offer sacrifices to God to cleanse the temple of the people’s sin. In the hopes that these sacrifices will restore the right relationship between God and humanity. In other words, they believed that God lived in the temple. And the temple was the only place where human beings could get right with God. But If the temple is destroyed. Does this mean that God has abandoned the Jewish people?

No. Jesus tells his disciples. God has not abandoned you. The temple had to be destroyed so that God could fulfill his promise of incarnation. The prophets of old foretold that God will become man and dwell among you. You think that the temple houses God. You think that you can just keep offering sacrifices and everything will be okay. Oh boy am I about to blow your mind. God walks among you in the person Jesus. And soon you will not need priests to offer sacrifices on your behalf to God. On the cross, Jesus is going to be the perfect sacrifice. That will restore the relationship between God and humanity for all of eternity.

Now I don’t want to skip too far ahead in the story. The point Jesus is trying to make here. Is that amid the fragments and ruins of the Jewish temple. God is going to do a new thing. From the ashes of the temple will come ministry of the Son of God.

Advent then is this season of siting with tension. The tension of the birth of something new coming out of the destruction of the old. The tension of dreaming of a new world while living in the world as it is. The tension of discerning what new things God is up to in our midst. While at the same time wondering how to hold on to hope in the midst of what feels like destruction.

During Advent, I find myself looking for what new things God is up to in our midst. As a way for me to hold onto my hope that God is with us even during challenging seasons of life and ministry. On Tuesday afternoon, a few of us gathered over Zoom for our weekly lunch with the pastor. We gather on Tuesday afternoons for some virtual fellowship. Depending on who signs on that week, our conversations can take many turns. Because we met right before the Thanksgiving holiday, our conversation this week centered around our holiday plans. I expected to hear everyone talk of their holiday plans with a sense of gloom. Because the holidays this year look different than they have in the past.

Instead people shared with each other their new creative Thanksgiving plans. One family shared how they were going to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with their nieces over Zoom in their matching pajamas. Another family shared how they were dropping off their signature Thanksgiving dishes at their relatives houses so no one missed out on Grandma’s signature roasted bacon Brussel sprouts. Another person shared how they were testing a pumpkin pie recipe for their first annual virtual Friendsgiving celebration. 

As I listened to their stories, I couldn’t help but marvel at their creativity. And the fact that this creativity looked an awful lot to me like an inbreaking of the kingdom of God. Because I think the only way we can meet challenging circumstances with joy and creativity is with God’s grace. Faced with something that feels like to us what the destruction of the Jewish temple must have felt like to Jesus’ disciples. Americans are remembering the true meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday- to express gratitude to God. And reimagining new ways to celebrate.

My church family’s willingness to reimagine holiday traditions gives me hope as we journey into and through Advent. As we hopefully anticipate the birth of Jesus. We may not know what is to come. But we do know who is to come. The same God who lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The same God who comforted the disciples after the destruction of their beloved temple. The same God who promises to come again and return creation to its intended glory. This is the same God we anticipate this Advent. 

I appreciate that our Scripture reading for this morning reminds us that hope is what allows us to face the challenges of the moment we live in. And that hope does not disappoint. Into the flowers of the fields that perish. The grass that withers away. The passing power of kings and nations, here is our God! With the destruction of the temple comes the assurance that no longer will God remain in the heavens. Or behind a curtain in a temple. God becomes us to bring life to that which before was without hope.

As we head into this first week of Advent, I believe the text challenges us in two ways. First it challenges us to confront difficult realities. In the case of Jesus’ disciples- their temple is destroyed, and so with it is destroyed the way we’ve always done things. In our case, this December will look different than any we’ve experienced. But we hold these difficult realities in tension with outrageous hope. Hope that even though the temple is destroyed our God has not abandoned us. Hope that while this month ahead may be difficult, God’s promises will still be fulfilled in the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name, 

Amen.