Loving God, you urge us to keep awake and to watch for signs of your coming.  Grant us the vision to be able to see you at work in our world and the readiness to answer your call to service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Today’s gospel is one of those readings where we perhaps assume that we know what it’s all about.  It’s about the end times, right? - the end of the age.  One of these days, Jesus will return, and boy, are things going to get interesting then!  But what if at least part of this gospel is a lot more immediate than we think?  What if this gospel is also about Jesus’ own apocalypse, or revelation, or uncovering?

    The thing is that once we really start to dig in to this gospel, the double and triple meanings seem to be everywhere.  The prediction about the destruction of the Temple most certainly refers to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Yet, Jesus’ own body is also referred to as a temple, for it is the place where God resides.  These words we heard today occur very close to the end for Jesus - for soon his body will be destroyed.

    After Jesus’ suffering, the sun is darkened as he hangs there on the cross (Mk. 15:33).  The powers in the heavens are shaken as the curtain in the Temple is torn in two and the earth shakes and the rocks are split in two (Mk. 15:38; Mt. 27:53).  And then angels are sent out who appear at the empty tomb (Mk. 16:5; Mt. 28:2; Lk. 24:4).

    And then, of course, there are all of those warnings about staying awake.  Remember the disciples in the garden and how they couldn’t even keep their eyes open?  They were sound asleep when the guards showed up to arrest Jesus.  They had missed their chance to watch and pray with him.

    And then there are the times that are named when the master of the house might come (Mk. 13:35).  In the evening was the time of the Last Supper, when Jesus revealed himself to them in the bread and in the wine.  At midnight was about the time they were in the Garden of Gethsemane and the guards showed up to arrest Jesus.  At cockcrow was the time when Peter was warming himself by the fire and denying that he had anything to do with Jesus.  And at dawn was when they took Jesus to Pilate in order that he might be condemned to death.  Through all of these things the disciples were being admonished to keep awake so that they could see what was really going on.

    Thus, as we hear this gospel today, we need not be lulled into thinking that all of this only has to do with the distant past and the distant future.  Over and over again in this chapter of Mark we hear the call to keep awake, be alert and beware.  There will be those who claim to be God but aren’t.  There will be those who claim to be the messiah but aren’t.  There will be those who will try to focus all of our attention on interpreting prophecy and understanding the end times, rather than living each day as members of the body of Christ and signs of God’s reign here on earth.

    This gospel has more to do with our life here and now than what we might think and also contains more good news than what we might think.  I’d like to share with you a poem that is called “Darkness” to help us to reflect a little bit further.
Darkness.
Stars falling from heaven.
The gathering of the elect.
Pay-back time.
And when will it happen?
God only knows.
What do we make of these words and this worldview?
Do we think there will be judgement and retribution?
Do we buy in to a ‘Day of reckoning’?
Is ‘Pie in the Sky’ what our focus and behaviour in this life is all
about?
Is the question for us – what awaits us?
Or is Jesus more interested in how we are living
and loving each day
and how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives.
We are always on a journey
and journeys necessitate travelling light
so if we’re not coming back this way
what are we taking with us?
What are we going to let go of and leave behind?
Let’s be basic.
Are you ready to travel?
Have you made your will yet?
Have you thought about who will finish
your unfinished business?
What’s going to happen to the stuff in your house,
in your shed or attic?
Have you shared your story
with those who need to know it most?
Whoever you are,
wherever you are on your journey,
these are serious questions
worth a discussion,
worth some prayer.
We’re all on a journey.
We need to be awake.
We need to be aware of what’s happening in our world
and be ready to respond in love.  (Spill the Beans Issue 18, 2016)

    In a way, this poem has just taken us on a journey, inviting us not only to consider the future, but also to be aware of how we are called to live and to love in the here and now.  The thing is that when we only focus on the past or on the future, it is easy to miss what God is up to in our world and those times when God quite simply shows up.  And how does God show up?

    Sometimes it is through the actions of another person, sent to be the presence of Christ for us.  Sometimes it is in answers to prayer and in the gift of healing.  Sometimes it is in the bread and wine of Holy Communion or in the waters of baptism.  Sometimes it is in the sudden awareness of the Holy Spirit at work through another person.  Sometimes it is in the actions of whole groups of people working for justice and peace.  Sometimes it is in the still small voice that comes to us during times of quiet prayer.

    However it may be that God shows up in our lives and in the world around us, it does, in fact, happen - for God is not absent.  God continues to be present among us through the risen Christ, who continues to work among us to bring about the reign of God.  And so, keep awake - be alert!  Be ready to meet your God - not only at the end of all things, but each time that God shows up and calls us into service.  For sometimes, God even shows up through us.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lent 5 (NL 2)                                    Mark 13:1-8, 24-37
March 13, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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