I’m not a big advocate of “The good ol’ days,” but there are times. There are times when I long for the days where we always left our doors unlocked, rather than locked, bolted and secured with an alarm system. I long for the days when we could leave the house after breakfast play all day with our friends, not return home until dinner time, and our parents never had to worry that we’d be abducted. Those days when school arguments were ended with “double dog dares,” instead of knives and automatic pistols are fondly remembered. There was a sense of peace and security. Ah, those were the days!
This all came to the forefront on 9/11/2001. When the towers fell and the Pentagon attacked, we felt threatened, violated and exposed. Suddenly the threat of terrorism was everywhere. The aftermath of the Columbine School shooting and other subsequent events was never feeling safe in school, never walking alone. Then we heard what seemed like madness when a cub scout arrested for bringing his camping utensil to school, and arresting teenagers for a food fight, or even eating a pop tart into a gun shape. Amber alerts remind us that our children are targets and cause us to have them play violent video games and exercise only their thumbs rather than have them run, jump and play outside.
I say that to say this. We live in a broken and sin filled world. As Christians we are challenged to live as people of faith in such a world. What does this look like? Today’s gospel text gives us a glimpse of life in a broken world.
Lets look into this passage deeper. The scene of this gospel story takes place near the temple. Some of the disciples are impressed with the new temple that Herod the Great started to build. It was larger than any previous temple and certainly one of the most impressive structures in Jerusalem. The temple was more than simply a beautiful building, though. The temple was a sign of God’s presence with Israel. The temple was Israel’s connection point with God and also a symbol of their identity as God’s people.
Jesus—almost flippantly--tells them that the temple will be destroyed and a time will come when not one stone is set on another. Jesus’ words could be compared to making the statement that the Capitol and Whitehouse will be destroyed. The world as the disciples knew it was going to come to an end—just as our world came to an end with 9/11, Columbine, and the economic recession.
Like us the disciples scramble to figure out how to live in such uncertain and trying times.
The disciples first ask Jesus to tell them the signs that will precede the end times. They believe that if they know the future they will be able to deal with it. The present might be uncertain, but if the future is assured they can live with the uncertainty.
So many people seek to know the future even today. Tim Lehaye with his “Left Behind Series” and Hal Lindsey with his book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” have demonstrated that a person can grow rich spouting their ideas about what the future will be like. Even when the authors claim them to be fiction people still want to cling to them as fact. People also look to the stars, crystal balls, tarot cards, and palms to get a jump on the future. They do all of this to no avail. Knowing the future doesn’t help them.
Jesus answered the disciples with strange words. He tells them that there will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines. These calamities were common in the days when Jesus spoke to his disciples. He was not giving them the inside track on knowing the future. He was telling them that they did not need to know the future—we just need to know the one who holds the future in his hands.
I want to look at those warnings of Jesus also for a bit. We are told the future will be filled with trials and tribulations just like the present is. As Christians we will continue to live in a broken sin filled world.
Talking about the future or prophesying the future is not living our lives out in faith. Trusting in a God who holds the future in his hands is how we live by faith. The saddest thing is that there are church folks who go from one pastor to another worrying about when the rapture will happen and never grow in their faith. Oh they think they are because they devour every book written on the subject trying to figure out the date when Jesus never called us to do that. Jesus told us to only BE READY. Jesus wants us to live out our faith.
Faith does not believe that God will make our lives comfortable and affluent. Faith knows that whatever situations we face God will be with us through those situations.
Faith is not worrying about the future. Faith is being concerned about the needs of others today.
Faith is not longing for a heaven when we die. Faith is being concerned for others, witnessing to them, and inviting them to experience the heaven on earth (God’s presence) with which we have been blessed.
So, how can we turn our attention to the long term, and avoid getting too focused upon the short term?
During the whole of chapter 13 Jesus issues clear advice about how we should react to events, so as to help us keep a long-term perspective. (13:5), “Watch out that no-one deceives you.” In other words take care not to be fooled by false teachings, and there are false teachings at work in the national church today. (13:7), “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.” Wars are awful. They are horrible; but they must not draw us into thinking that God has withdrawn from his world. The Son of Man will return with great power and glory (13:26); and he will send his angels and gather his elect from the ends of the earth (13:27).
Later in the chapter are calls to be steadfast in our faith: Jesus says v 11 “Do not worry beforehand about what to say”; and v13 “Stand firm to the end”.
So when our circumstances shift from comfort to discomfort; when our world moves from certainty to uncertainty; and when perhaps even friends and family turn against us, these are not reasons to reject God or to cease to believe in him. They are the opposite. They are times to remind ourselves that Jesus predicted these events. They are times to stand firm.
Another theme running through the whole chapter is that of being alert and watchful. Verse 5 “watch out”, verses 9 and 23, “be on your guard”, verse 33, “be on guard, be alert”, and verses 35 and 37, “keep watch”.
Will Jesus return? Is He coming back? He said he will! He is coming back. It won’t be like the return of Doctor Who and not even like the Return of Superman, but Jesus is coming back. Before that day, he’s told us what to expect. Jesus calls us to be alert, and not to worry even if circumstances are awful.
We need Jesus to stay on the right path and to live a full life! Let me give you an example.
Many years ago, the actor Charlton Heston had to learn how to drive a chariot with four horses for his part in the movie Ben Hur. He explained to an interviewer that after many weeks of chariot lessons he told the director, “I think I can drive the chariot all right but I’m not at all sure I can actually win the race.” The director, responded,” You just stay in the race and I’ll make sure you win.”
Today Jesus asks us to stay in the race of life no matter what happens to us. And Jesus Christ promises us that as long as we are with Him …we will win the race of life. So the challenge for us this week is simply this. The disciples learned to live their faith one day at a time. Let us follow their example and the example of countless Christians who have gone before us—trusting, loving, serving—never knowing if this is our last day or not, but being assure that no matter what God is with us.
