Not knowing

‘…‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’ (Mark 13:32)

Mark 13:24-32 (Advent -2)

(in some liturgical cycles of readings the choice of Gospel text for this Sunday is Mark 13:1-8 instead of 13:24-32 used here. The context and overall thrust of each passage is not dissimilar, however).

The unknown unknowns

Donald Romsfeld, former US Secretary of Defence coined a few words that will go down in history (to pardon the pun):

there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know

Very often economists, political scientists (note the reference to ‘science’) and social analysts seek to ‘project’ or ‘predict’ the future based on models of observation of past behaviour or outcomes. Some even go far as to say that there is a 35% probability that such and such an event will happen.  This is plain silly.

Not knowing in advance is a major human pain. If only we knew for sure about this or that – our future sicknesses and recoveries, our joys and sorrows, our passing from this life … The insurance and assurance industries as well as the financial markets make a living from uncertainty. The reality of uncertainty (or risk which is a similar idea though not identical) pervades every aspect of life including our religious beliefs and practices. We might be ‘sure’ or even ‘very sure’ but ‘certain’ belongs more to the realm of scientific proofs and evidence. Without some degree of uncertainty and, therefore, unknowing, faith would be redundant. God left enough flexibility and chaos – all within a bigger loving plan – to allow us freedom, choice, decision and risk. That’s life.

At this time of year, in the Northern hemisphere, the days are short, temperatures are sliding down and we are surrounded by the beauty of decaying leaves.  Thoughts of the coming festival of Christmas (or is it more yuletide for many?) may not necessarily evoke positive feelings as memories of past Christmases, loved ones who are no longer with us and on-going hurts can put a dampener on the festive spirit.

There is a time and a place for facing the reality – sometimes brutal reality – of the situations in which we and others around us find ourselves. We don’t know what the future brings and what the new year will hold. Memories of our plans and hopes and anxieties this time last year can be a useful point of reference (some people find the keeping of a diary helpful).

And the unexpected will happen

The traditional saying ‘we not the day or the hour’ is so true. In life and in social and inter-personal relationships the ‘unexpected happens’ all the time. Our worst fears are rarely fulfilled and the very things we never thought of happen while our hopes are sometimes (but by no means always) dashed. Such is life. The key point, in Mark, is to ‘be ready’ always and everywhere.

A poem composed by Minnie Louise Haskins (1876 – 1957) is relevant especially at this approaching season of the year when we begin to think back as well think forward.

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

The ‘not knowing’ is driven home in a special way because, according to Mark, ‘..about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’ (v.32). The reality that the Son, who according to our faith, is fully human and divine ‘doesn’t know’ emphasises the truth that Jesus was and is fully human and shared with us the limitations of knowledge.  That he was and is fully divine in no way contradicts this even though the fuller realisation and explanation of all this would be a long time after Mark wrote up his gospel. After all, we are told in Luke 2:52 that in his earlier years:

Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.

But God is in charge

The reassuring truth is that God is in charge no matter what chaos and suffering faces us at this time.

In this passage of Mark we read the signs of the times when that gospel was written up from oral tradition.  The world of Mark’s community was one of darkness, war, calamity and persecution.  Chapter 13 of Mark, as a whole, is a no-fun chapter. There is talk of destruction, cosmic upheaval and of persecution and false messiahs.  To get a sense of this week’s short extract from the chapter it is good to read the whole chapter (and indeed the gospel of Mark but, in the latter case, no all in one session). The 13^th chapter is rich in Old Testament imagery where references to light, darkness, the sun and the moon are founded in many places throughout the Hebrew scriptures. For example the following passage in Joel 2:31-32 is typical of this type of imagery:

The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

It was widely believed among the disciples that the end of the world was – literally – near.  Very near. There is no point in trying to manoeuvre around this fact because it is plain not only from Mark but the other gospels and the New Testament itself. Mark does not emphasise, in his gospel, judgment and punishment (compared to Matthew for example). But, the ‘end-time’ and the global upheavals and distress associated with such a time is near, very near.

The five-fold so what of Mark

The implications for Mark’s hearers (and for us today) is the ‘fivefold’ Markan vocation:

1. faith (trust),
2. repentance (changing the way we live and think),
3. healing (by entrusting our deepest wounds to God),
4. following (by living a new way of life that gives space to the in-breaking of God’s kingdom) and
5. mission (being sent into the world in the time that remains to us) to give witness through our actions and practical contributions.

We can read such warnings and outlook in a spiritual sense that for each individual disciple in today’s world life is short and death is relatively near and gets nearer as we age (this does not require mathematical proof!). However, there are some who spring up every now and again and predict with certainty the end of the world on a given date and time. It would be comical if it were not so sad. 

With the global fry-up as a concrete challenge today….

But, there is a sense in which ‘the end of the world as we know it’ might be nearer than we think. You guessed it – the environment and climate change pose major existential threats to our assumptions, our lifestyles and plans.  Even modest further increases in global temperatures will spell catastrophe for millions and this will have knock-on effects everywhere. Nobody knows for sure the scale of the problem. What is clear is that no single Government or organisation wants to take responsibility for seriously cutting their own greenhouse emissions. So, there is potentially an apocalyptic scenario developing before our eyes.

We should act individually and collectively for our sake and that of others before it is too late. But, thinking about the future in this foggy, wet and dark November in Ireland we do well to follow the upbeat message reported in Luke 21:28:

Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

And by the way we believe that

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end ..

(from the Nicean Creed recited by most Christians when they meet together every Sunday).