When? [Proper 28B - Mark 13:1-8]

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 The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Mark 13:1-8

 

When?

St. Stephen’s, Schuylerville

 

Sometimes you just don’t know what to say to Jesus.  Have you ever had that experience?   Well, so did at least one of Jesus’ disciples.  And so he just blurted out, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”  And probably the stones were large.  And certainly the Second Temple appeared quite large, especially to a citizen of the 1st century, in the days before skyscrapers and NYC and the UAE.  But Jesus meets that awkward outburst with something much more serious.  And then, it seems, no one talks again until they get to the Mount of Olives.

 

But in the silence, the disciples’ minds were racing.  They were wondering.  Because once again, they could not make sense of Jesus.  Neither could they make sense of a world that can’t seem to help but fall apart.  The disciples: they are just like us.

 

Jesus didn’t answer their question…at least not in the way they expected.  They were looking for a date, maybe a timeframe, at least a ballpark.  It is easier to plan for a disaster if you know when it is coming.  And so that is their question: when?  It is a question Jesus seems to ignore in today’s Gospel passage.  Instead, he piles on.  They are worried about one impending disaster; Jesus assures them that there will be many.  They ask when.  And Jesus answers, yes. 

 

Because Jesus is honest.  And honestly he is not telling the disciples anything they don’t already know.  Because the “when” is human history.  There are always wars and rumors of wars; conflict on this planet is so prevalent that it is how we tell the story of our species.  There are always self-proclaimed saviors, blustering messianic promises; in some countries they are called kings; in some they have to run for their office.  Famine drove the ancient Israelites into Egypt; today it drives human migration around the globe and spurs bloody battles over water and food.  The ground has never been settled because the foundations on which we build our societies – greed, violence, and domination – will never allow us peace.  “When?” the disciples ask.  And the answer is “yes.”

 

We live in a troubled world.  Two-thousand years after the disciples sat with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, all of their worries are still worrying us.  People live in the shadow of existential dread, always wondering when.  When will the next hurricane hit?  When will the stock market collapse?  When will my family and friends fall victim to a shift in the political climate?  When will my child’s school be on lockdown?  When will my job become obsolete?  When will a nation fire the nuclear bomb that starts the next world war?

 

So many questions amount to so many worries.  Recent studies suggest that we are a little more anxious every year in this country.[1]  But you likely don’t need studies, because you probably checked facebook during the week of the election or really during just about any week in recent memory.  And so you know there is a lot of anxiety out there.  And in here.  And in here.

 

At the end of Jesus’ talk, after decidedly not allaying the disciples’ fears, Jesus says, “This is just the beginning of the birthpangs.”  At first glance that does not feel like a very comforting thought.  The beginning suggests that there are more to come – and more intense – and closer together. 

 

And that does not sound like good news because most of us do not like pain.  But not all pain is created equal.  Birthpangs are, I am told and I have seen, quite painful.  But also, they are productive in a way that a broken leg never is.  The troubles of this world are painful.  But not like a broken bone.  Jesus compares them to a birthpang.  And as painful as birthpangs are they are also symbols of hope. 

 

Birthpangs end in new birth, new life.  Even though they often feel like they will never end, birthpangs do not last forever.  And so it is true: there is a lot of bad in our history.  And a lot of bad in our world still today.  You’ve seen the news.  You’ve lived your share of tragedies.  You’ve cried bitter tears; you likely have some scars on your heart.  And it is hard to bear; life can feel heavy.  Sometimes it feels so bad that even our prayers hurt.  Sometimes the terror and tragedies of life feel so immense that we don’t even know what to say to Jesus.

 

But Jesus knows that; he knows our pain – even the pain too deep for words.  And it is Jesus who assures us that the pain isn’t meant to last forever.  And while, of course, Jesus stays with us through the pain, will always be with us in our hardest times, his prayer is that one day the pain of the world will end.  That is the promise of the birthpangs.  There is hope in this troubled world.  The pain won’t last forever.  The future is full of a beauty that will cause the pain of this world to feel like nothing more than a distant nightmare. 

 

I don’t know when these things will be accomplished.  I don’t know when God will wipe away all our tears.  I don’t know when the Kingdom of God will finally come and there will be peace on earth.  But I do know that Jesus answers every “when” with a resounding “yes.”

 




[1] https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/annual-poll-adults-express-increasing-anxiousness

Location: Schuylerville, NY 12871, USA

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