Thoughts going in, Sunday Nov 14th

Luke 21: 5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." 7 "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?" 8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." 10 Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 12 "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life. (TNIV)

Well, it’s that time of year again. “That time,” being the end of the church year. Let me begin by saying a couple of things about the lectionary system. A lectionary is nothing other than a roadmap of readings—a ‘playbook,’ if you will. I think that in order to appreciate the lectionary system, people should spend time in churches that DON’T use a lectionary. Without a lectionary, every Sunday is up to the whim of the pastor in terms of what the theme will be; which readings will be consulted, etc. A lectionary has the benefit of preventing that, as well as functioning as an ecumenical tool. I’ve always found it very comforting that if my parishioners were out of town but attended another mainline church, they’d at least hear the same readings we used.

Having said that, it is the lectionary that assures us that every year we will trace the life & ministry of Jesus. After all, it is ALL ABOUT him. And each year, as the church year ends ….with Christ the King Sunday (the Sunday before the first week of Advent)…and as the new church year begins (Advent)…the theme(s) are about THE END. The readings not only culminate with the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but they also culminate with the parallel of THE END of time; the end of all things; the end of this age and the advent of the new age. Because the last couple of weeks of the church year AND the first week of the new church year ALWAYS have some crossover material, it’s sort of a balancing act that the pastor has to do in order to make sure the sermons don’t sound the same for 3 weeks in a row. With that in mind, I will attempt to put on blinders concerning the next couple of weeks as I consider this Sunday’s text.

Vs6: “as for what you see here…” Jesus in this verse contrasts an apparent ‘rock of stability’ with a prophetic oracle that in actuality, its days are numbered. What’s under discussion, of course, is Herod’s Temple and all of its magnificence.

The condensed history goes as follows: Solomon’s beautiful temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586BC. As control of the area passed from Babylon to Persia, the captives of the era were eventually allowed to return and given permission to rebuild the temple. This “second temple” was completed around 515BC. It was, however, NOTHING like the original in terms of beauty and magnificence. Around 19BC the Roman client king Herod the Great—in a bid to ingratiate himself with the people—began a massive renovation of not just the temple, but the entire temple mount area/complex. Clearly his intention was to “out-Solomon” Solomon. Ironically, Herod the Great never saw the completion of his project, as work continued on roughly 50yrs after his death.

The point is this…regardless of the fact that the Jews were a subjugated nation languishing under a complicated system of client kings and direct Roman rule, and even regardless of the fact that the temple had been ‘given’ to them by a despised despotic ruler, it had still come to symbolize for them **ALL** that was held dear in a religious sense: God’s presence with his people; their unique status as God’s people; and most important of all HOPE for a better tomorrow (aka a tomorrow without Rome). This temple, and everything about it was their ROCK OF STABILITY. And here's a further irony...this was so much so, that MOST of the people "missed it" when God in the flesh was standing in their very midst.

And so, Jesus highlights the immense INSTABILITY of their rock. Within a mere 40yrs or so, the whole thing would be in ruins. Over and over the psalmists say things like “O God, you are my rock.” I think there’s a huge lesson here for us ANY TIME we tend to find “our rock” of stability in anything other than God himself--whether religiously or temporally. Whether it’s our parents…our youth/health…our education/commitment/work-ethic…the capitalistic system…American might…the status quo of western civilization…our ability to contingency plan…YOU NAME IT, whatever “rock of stability” you’re counting on is just as fragile as the Jerusalem temple was in circa 33AD. It looked ‘unsinkable,’ but it may as well have had the word ‘Titanic’ on the front door.

One of the books I’m currently reading is “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s a fascinating work about how things—either good or bad—“tip;”….about the phenomenon of the last straw that breaks every camel’s back, either positively or negatively. Historians argue about what exactly was the tipping point for the history of Herod’s Temple. A great deal of unrest—civil and religious—had been bubbling near the surface for some time. But in Aug 66AD Eleazar ben Ananias (a young upstart of high priestly and ruling class lineage—and captain of the temple guard) persuaded the temple priests to refuse gifts and sacrifices from foreigners, which meant abolishing the long-held practice of making daily sacrifices on behalf of the Emperor (and for the good of the Empire). This amounted to a clear signal of open rebellion against Rome. The situation TIPPED inexorably toward war with Rome and eventual (and final) destruction of the temple.

Of course, with the psalmists people of faith should ALWAYS look to God as their “rock of stability,” the one in whom everything rests, etc. But we don’t always do that. This passage and these words of Jesus remind us that sooner or later EVERYTHING has a tipping point……everything BUT GOD.

Cheers,

TM