And this too shall pass

“…Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down” (Mark 13:2))

Mark 13:1-8 (Year B: The 2nd Sunday before Advent or the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 18^th November, 2018)

Many of us love our churches: I mean the buildings. They remind us of other times, perhaps, or of other people including those gone before us. I like to muse a while the odd occasion when I visit the church where my parents attended mass daily or weekly in the final quarter of their lives. I know many people, across all Christian traditions, who like a particular pew or seat in a regular place at a regular time with a regular service. Then, there is the beauty of the Cathedral or the hillside chapel with fond memories. These places (and times) can still the soul and provide just a little bit of space to be still and to know that we are loved. I call these secret places of the soul.

But, all of this will pass. We are strangers and pilgrims in a temporary abode waiting and working for a kingdom that cannot be seen but is more real and infinitely more powerful than the kingdoms of this world. Next Sunday we will celebrate the ‘Kingship of Christ’ and after that a new ‘church year’ begins on the first Sunday of Advent (yes, Christmas is coming!). Liturgically, we living in ‘end times’, so to speak, and those who live in the northern hemisphere look around and we observe decay in the gardens and woods around us. Winter is now truly arrived. And this too will pass.

The prophet, Daniel, in the first reading writes:

At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence.

This time of anguish referred to by Daniel mirrors what has happened or is about to happen when Mark wrote his gospel for the second generation of Christ-followers who faced a dark world ruled by evil spirits. Some readers old enough to remember will recall a special prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel which was incorporated immediately after the saying of the ‘Low Mass’ from 1886 to 1964 (in the latter year I made my first Holy Communion although I don’t think I was paying too much attention to liturgical details of the Usus Antiquior at the time!). Interestingly, this prayer has enjoyed a little revival only very recently when, one, Pope Francis (against whom no accusation of being a recalcitrant sponsor of a Tridentine revival can be levelled) urged Roman Catholics to pray this short prayer at this difficult, divisive and crisis-laid time.

All Christians may return to the sources of scripture including today’s readings from Daniel and Mark to deepen our sense of urgency in the struggle to witness to a communion of love. Rather than shunning the world and seeing everything and everyone as our enemy we should look up to God and outwards to a world in urgent need of healing. Then, we might be better placed to return inwards to those secret places in our soul where the Holy Spirit is gently at work whispering peace, healing and renewal in our tired spiritual bones. A simple prayer of trusting and loving is more powerful than a million tweets or thousand likes or a frenzy of off-line and on-line activity.

And these times of darkness, schism, repression, marginalisation and spiritual poverty will pass too so that “with the morn those angel faces smile, which I have loved long since, and lost awhile” (from ‘Lead Kindly Light’ by Blessed John H. Newman whose feast day is the 9^th October in the Roman Catholic Church and the 11^th August in the Church of England and don’t ask me why!).

Its winter but we are a people of hope because we may ‘hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful’ (Hebrews 10:23).  In these dark times for our country and our continent we may strive to be among those who ‘shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever’ (Daniel 12:3). What else can we do?

Word count (above) = 683

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In addition to this coming Sunday’s Gospel reading, which is common to most Christian churches, the other readings from scripture found in the ‘paired’ Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) of the Church of Ireland for this Sunday are: Daniel 12:1-3;  Psalm 16(15); and  Hebrews 10:11-25.  Directly parallel Gospel readings to this particular Gospel reading from Mark may be found in Matthew 24:1-8 and in Luke 21:5-11.

In the liturgical cycle of the Roman Catholic Church, for this coming Sunday, the choice of readings is the same as above except for the Gospel reading, which is taken from Mark 13:24-32 (The coming of the Son of Man and the Lesson of the Fig Tree. See previous blog “Not Knowing”).

Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse (Gospel of Mark 13:1-8)

Preliminaries

Mark is setting the scene for a difficult discourse imminent in Chapter 13. The chapter opens up with a question from the disciples. We are in the company of the disciples, here, and not ‘the crowds’.

1-2:  A question and an answer

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’  Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’

Today, we see that Jesus’ prediction came through about the mighty Temple only fully restored, ironically, by the Romans and then to be destroyed, again, by fire. Quite likely, the gospel of Mark that we have received was first written immediately before the destruction of the Temple in around 70 A.D.

3-4:  Still more questions

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ 

The closest of Jesus’ disciples want to know. When will this happen and how will we know when it is about to happen. They are less focussed on the here and now but on what will happen about which they know little or nothing.

5-8:  A time of great tribulation

Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

In times of darkness there is a temptation to lurch from one extreme to another as we grasp to what we think is certain and unmovable. God, alone, does not change. Everything else does.  We must be on guard for many will come with false promises and the seduction of certainty and promise only to mislead and disappoint. By their fruit you will know them.