Stronger Than Stone: Mark 13:1-8 - Twenty Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer in Crack of the Wailing Wall by Janine on flickr

¹ As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” ² Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
  ³ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. ⁸ 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.” (NRSV)

Earlier this week, millions of Christians around the country were seeing red…

The global coffee chain Starbucks unveiled its “holiday” paper cup design: plain red.  In years past, the cups have been illustrated with Christmas tree branches, snowflakes, and ice-skaters.  But not this year…

One internet evangelist posted a video on Facebook accusing the coffee giant of “taking Christ and Christmas off of their cups,” because “they hate Jesus.”

This worried me, because we just ordered new paper cups for our church—and we love Jesus, but he’s not on the cups!  [I should point out that baby Jesus never appeared on Starbucks’ cups to begin with.]

Jesus may be “the reason for the season,” but any more, Christmas in America isn’t really about Jesus. 

This is happening as part of the larger decline of the institutional Church in this country that we see in the decline of church attendance and the closing of congregations.  Sunday isn’t the day of rest it used to be.  The Church no longer has the moral control of society it once did.  The future has never been more uncertain for our congregation or for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Juan R. Cuadra - Own work on Wikipedia Commons

But this pales in comparison to the crisis on the horizon for Christians and Jews in Jesus’ day.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and his disciples are departing the magnificent Jerusalem Temple, built by Herod the Great.  Its gargantuan size was matched only by the fact that much of it was covered in pure gold.  Surely, Jesus caught his disciples off guard when he told them, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

But this isn’t the worst of it…  Jesus warns his disciples of false Messiahs, wars, earthquakes, and famines. 

As history would have it, the Roman Emperor Nero destroys Temple forty years later.  It won’t be long before major persecutions break out against Christians. 

Make no mistake—Jesus is building his Church during the worst possible time.  It’s going to be hell to be a Christian.  But, by the grace of God, the Church prevails.  The martyrs prevail.  Not even the Roman Empire can stand against the in-breaking of God’s Kingdom.  In our world today, the Church is flourishing in parts of the world where Christianity is illegal and persecutions are widespread.  The Church is flourishing amid famines and violence.

So why is the Church declining in a wealthy country of religious liberty where we remain the cultural majority?

My take on it is this: The Kingdom of God will always triumph over every foe, except for the Church…  If the American Church is going to crumble and decline, it’s going to be because of our own complacency.  This will happen when we let our Bibles get dusty and start listening to false teachers, whose teachings have nothing to do with the gospel of the crucified and living Christ; when other stuff begins to take priority over serving our neighbors in need.  The Church will crumble as we give up meeting together, and stop teaching the faith to our children.  The Church will crumble as individuals and factions battle it out for authority and control; as we sink more time and energy into maintaining the status quo rather than doing ministry.

If there’s anything to be learned from the destruction of the Temple, it is this: Jesus does not build his Church with stones.  He builds it with people. The Kingdom of God is built upon relationships of mutual belonging to Christ and to each other.  It rises as the Holy Spirit calls and gathers us

·         To worship and praise

·         To pray with and pray for

·         To teach the Christian faith to our children and to each other

·         To encourage and embrace the poor

·         To meet real needs

·         To work for peace and justice in all the world

It’s a difficult time to be a Christian.  It’s a difficult time to be a human being, especially as nations rise against nations; where there are earthquakes and famines.  Jesus said these are the beginning of birth pangs. 

What is being born to us is new life.  The proof is in the pudding—that the Body of Christ is flourishing in the places, among the people where you’d least expect it.  The Holy Spirit rests upon us to deliver us in all our trials and give us the power to make a difference.  Even if our congregations and our very lives crumble to pieces, Jesus will still be here. 

Today is the day to hold fast to these promises; to be bold in approaching the throne of grace; to be courageous in proclaiming our faith. 

Together, in Christ, we are stronger than stone.  Very truly I tell you, an army of devils cannot tear down what Christ builds up.