The Household of Caring: Mark 13:1-8 - 26th Sunday after Pentecost

¹As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” ²Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
 
  ³When 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?” ⁵Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁶Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. ⁸For 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.”

The test of time by hehaden on Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Black Friday is coming…

Don’t those words sound apocalyptic to you?  Like the end of the world is upon us?  Considering what happens on Black Friday, one would almost think it is: large crowds of people busting doors down, fighting over merchandise, everyone desperate to get what they “need.”

At the same time, there are things happening in the world which truly are apocalyptic: the deadly wildfires in California that are the deadliest in history; mass migrations of people fleeing violence and war; the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting… 

I truly wish it was the end and Jesus was returning—for at least, there’d be some relief in sight. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is warning his disciples of the chaos and calamities they are soon to face: the magnificent Jerusalem Temple, God’s dwelling place on earth, will soon be destroyed.  Not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

False messiahs who will lead people astray.  There will be wars and rumors of wars; nations will rise up against nations; earthquakes and famines will happen in various places.

Worst of all, Jesus is going to die.  God’s only Son, the Messiah—will be crucified as an enemy of the state.

All these things are too terrifying to imagine—but they will happen. 

Even now, Jesus warns that the world as we know it today will become even more chaotic and calamitous.  So what do you do?  Do you live for today and try desperately to have as much fun as you can?  Do you become a “Doomsday Prepper” and build a mighty fortress in your backyard?  Do you give up hope?  Do you let fear run your life?  Or, do you hold fast to the promises of God?

To do that, you need God—and you need God’s people…  As the author of Hebrews writes, “you must not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some.”  You meet together in order to pray and worship, study the Scriptures, and serve the neighbors.  Just as importantly, you meet to share your burdens and care for one another.  And this is where it gets tricky.

I fear there is a deadly silence with the Church when it comes to many of the pains and struggles we face…

Here’s what I mean: a church-going woman received beautiful cards and meals when she was recovering from knee surgery.  But when her husband was hospitalized following a failed suicide attempt, there was nothing. 

Nearly half of all Americans will suffer a serious mental health condition in their lifetimes.  Suicide is among the most common causes of death in the United States, especially among young people.  People everywhere are addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or pornography.  Abuse and domestic violence are tearing families apart.  Hundreds of children in the Leechburg school district are in danger of going hungry.  If these things happen to you—do you keep your suffering a secret?  Are you afraid to come to church, for fear of what people will say or do? 

I haven’t encountered a single person who hasn’t been impacted in some way by the Synagogue Shooting.  We’re frightened by chaos and calamities happening in our world.  But are we as a church grieving these tragedies and sharing our feelings?  Or do we stay silent—lest we offend someone, suffer a harsh rebuke, or divide the church?

But what good is the church if you must put on a happy face and pretend like everything’s fine?   What good is the church if it’s not engaged in God’s work of healing the public?

It’s very telling that God essentially abandons the mighty and magnificent temple to destruction.  God is not about to stay closed up in a building while God’s own children suffer.  The cross is proof that Jesus chooses to dwell not in glory and magnificence, but among all of the broken, frightened, and forgotten people of the world.  Jesus builds his church so that all God’s people who suffer will find acceptance, care, encouragement, and ultimately new life. 

The strength of our church lies not in the size of the stones that build it, but in our ability to care for each other’s brokenness.  What happens to one of us happens to all. 

What makes GriefShare so special is that when a common struggle meets genuine Christian love, the burden gets lifted and healing can begin.  AA and NA function much the same way: it’s a safe place for people to escape isolation and shame and be in the presence of people who care.  Meeting together and healing together go hand-in-hand.

So how do we go from being a house of stone to a household of care?

We start by praying for the Spirit to reveal to us those who are suffering—and what they are suffering. 

We don’t wait for them to come to us.  We go to them.  And not to fix them or give them advice, but to hear them.  One of the most loving things you can do for a person is to listen and appreciate what they’re going through.  There is so much good that comes simply by being heard.

As you pray for courage to listen, you must also pray for the courage to speak.  When you openly share your hurts and fears, you’re encouraging others by the simple fact that they’re not alone.  Sharing truly is caring.

Pray also for the courage to act—to proclaim with our words and especially out deeds, “God loves you and so do I.”

At the same time, we need to be deliberate about creating safe spaces to talk about the things going on in the world.  I am extremely proud of our adult Sunday School and Bible Study groups for the example they set.  We engage a lot of difficult subjects, and while we may not always agree, we remain allies in Christ’s mission.

There’s no sense in meeting together if we forget that Christ is with us in our struggles and that Christ brings salvation through the generosity of one Christian to another.  Meeting together means healing together.  The more that we listen, learn, and engage God’s people where they hurt, the more encouraged we will be.  You can trust God and face just about anything when you know that there will be people to love and care for you along the way, no matter what.