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My heart beats for love. I want to be different. I want to be who I am called to be. WORTHY and LOVED!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Midweek Lenten 5

Mid Week - Lent 5 “Journey to the Cross: Things Are Not As They Appear” Mark 13: 1-8

Have you ever seen the signs that say that things are not as they appear? Jesus is trying to wave one of those sings in front of his disciples in this evening’s passage. Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple, probably after a time of Jesus teaching, and one of the disciples tries to point out to the group the beauty of the place they just came from. Maybe he was really stuck by the outward beauty of the temple or maybe he was just trying to start a conversation, but either way his observations were cut short as Jesus gestures to all of the great buildings around them, including the temple, and saying that the time will come when they are no longer standing - no longer considered to be great. 
Isn’t this true in our lives as well? That things are not always as we think that they appear.  What seems to be the most solid may not last and what seems like an ending is only a beginning. We, like Jesus’s disciples, sometimes get too caught up in outward appearances. We get caught up in rumors and gossip. We get caught up in the limited way that we see things, when Jesus is trying to open up our eyes, the disciple’s eyes, to the much larger picture of what is going on. 
It is believed that the gospel of Mark was written around 70AD, right around the time that the temple of Jerusalem was seized and destroyed. When Mark looked out of his window at the ruins of the temple, did he remember these words of Jesus about not a stone being left upon a stone? 
The disciples interest is now peaked. Tell us when these things will happen. Tell us how to know that they are coming. Just like us, the disciples seem to want to know the future. But instead of directly answering their questions, Jesus instead gave them advice and wisdom that they would need to carry on the purposes of the Kingdom of God in his absence. He warned them that if they spent too much time trying to predict the future, they would end up being deceived and led astray. 
When I was in college I took a class on New Religious Movements and Cults. Something that I was struck by again and again as we studied each religious movement was the more that folks tried to predict the end times, the more they tried to decipher a set date when Jesus would reappear, the farther they moved away from the heart of the gospel message. And then when their predictions ended up being wrong they would simply say that was God’s will and set about trying to predict it again. 
But Jesus, as he is teaching his disciples isn’t looking for signs - he is looking for teachings that will sustain them in his absence. He is looking for them to be so grounded in the gospel message that they will not be deceived by false teachings and promises. So what is Jesus trying to teach them?
First, that our goal isn’t to become an expert in the end times, but instead to live as Christ’s faithful disciples here and now. Christ is looking for day to day faithfulness. Not faithfulness just on the big things, but faithfulness in every aspect of our lives. Faithfulness that will lead others to know the good news of the gospel. Because at the end of the day we are vessels for God’s message. Note, however that we are striving for faithfulness in our own lives. We can become equally distracted when we start to judge the faithfulness of others. In fact, often when we start to judge the faithfulness of others its because we don’t want to look into our own hearts to examine our own motives. 
It always amazes me when I share with people that I am a pastor for the first time the assumptions they have about myself and my vocation. Sometimes it isn’t pretty - with people simply stopping the conversation or walking away because of their ow judgments. However, if I get to know a person and then it comes to light that I’m a pastor the response is often very different - people have seen my faithfulness and so they react completely differently - often with “Wow - I can totally see that now”. 
Second, disciples need to be discerning. The point of being discerning, however, is not to try to predict when Jesus will come back. The point is to keep ourselves from being led astray by false teachings. 
For the last several years I have taught Bible Studies at colleges - first through the Wesley Foundation at Penn Sate and then at Mansfield University. Every few years a group of students would ask to study Revelation, which often led to a conversation about why they wanted to study the book of Revelation. The first answer was always the same “so we can prepare ourselves for the end times.” I would often ask students when we entered into this study to be there every single week, and usually over the course of an entire school year, we would slowly work our way through the book, until at the end they world declare “this wasn’t what I thought it was at all.” The book of Revelation instead of teaching them how to know the signs of the end times, often taught them instead how to be faithful and discerning Christians here and now. 
Third, believers must be patient. Jesus described some awful things that were going to take place in this world and described them simply as birth pangs. As I write this sermon, I have two dear friends who are in the process of giving birth. The first has been having contractions on and off for the last month. However, her doctor has helped her to realize that these aren’t contractions that will lead to her son’s birth, but instead are simply ones to prepare her body for what is to come. She needs to be patient.
We too, need to learn to be patient. Changes don’t happen in people’s hearts over night. We aren’t called to simply share the gospel message once and then have a friend or family member or stranger come to accept the Lord. If that happens, it is wonderful. But often in takes 15-20 positive interactions with Christians who care about them before they even step foot in a church building, let alone accept the Lord. We need to be patient and keep being faithful in sharing the gospel message, no matter what.

And perhaps it is that no matter what part that is the most difficult. Jesus lists these awful things that are going to take place but then asks us to continue to witness to the good news which is about hope. For Christians there is always hope, no matter how things appear. How can be we be a people marked by hope as we go about witnessing to the gospel message? How does our patience and discernment and faithfulness play into this message of hope? How can we witness not to temporary things that will fade away, however beautiful they may seem right now, but instead point folks to the enteral faithfulness of Jesus Christ? Let us pray…

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