March 29, 2020
Mark 13:1-8; 24-37

Standing on the Mount of Olives and looking to the west, it can be humbling to think about the view that must have been present during Jesus’ day … the massive temple that stood on the hill on the opposite side of the valley.

The sight of the building … the centre of religious life in that corner of the world dominates the landscape seen from the serenity of the gardens on the opposite hill.

Jesus could certainly use a little serenity.

His time in Jerusalem has been marked with criticism and conflict.

He has cleansed the temple … he has criticized the actions of the religious leaders and those who place more emphasis on the appearance of being pious rather than actually being pious.

Jesus has called on the people to keep true to the centre of their faith … to love God and to love their neighbour.

Now, he’s leaving the Temple when one of the disciples notices the size of the stones that composed these great buildings.

It’s the same as any tourist would say … looking at the beauty of the buildings without considering what goes on inside. But such a remark … as innocent as it might have been … shows that the disciple didn’t fully understand what Jesus has been condemning and teaching during their visit.

The structures on the temple mount were built and maintained through the offerings and sweat of people who were exploited by their political and religious leaders. They were built on the widows’ coins, as well as the offerings of those who enjoy an abundance in their lives.

They were built to contain God … and to control who had access to God’s presence in their lives. It excluded and set people apart from one another.

Jesus’ response to the disciple when he is marvelling at the size and grandeur of the Temple … what we would call bricks and mortar … is that people shouldn’t get too attached or enamoured with such structures.

“Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Today’s passage is considered an apocalyptic text.

For some, apocalyptic means the end of the days … a final resolution.

In Mark’s hands, the destruction of the temple would be considered a sign that an end was near. For those who made their livelihood through the operation of the temple and control of religious life, maybe it was the end of the world.

But another way to look at an apocalypse is to consider it a revelatory event … a moment when eyes are opened … things are revealed … and through this revelation … the world changes. Things end, but they end because a particular view of the world ends.

Jesus’ description of the destruction of the temple reveals the reality of what is to happen in the coming days … his persecution by the religious and Roman leaders … his death … his resurrection … and all the signs that will accompany these events.

The world will change … life will not be the same … especially for those who live a life of faith.

For them, the centre of religious life had been the temple … it was a place of atonement … a place where forgiveness was handed out.

That begins to change shortly after the scene in today’s lesson.

The temple and the way it functions was no longer compatible with the coming reign of God.

With Jesus’ death and resurrection … that centre moves.

The centre of faith becomes the cross.

Mercy and forgiveness come through the cross rather than through the discretion of the temple leaders.

The cross becomes the new gathering place for the people … it becomes the place where the power of God … the presence of the God … is revealed in the crucified Jesus.

It is through the cross that we have received grace … God’s unconditional love … and through this love … our call to serve is realized.

And Jesus’ instructions to the disciples to remain awake and alert … is a call for us to do likewise … to remain vigilant to the needs of the world and to be alert for God’s presence.

It’s not hard … as we move through the Covid-19 crisis … to hear Mark’s words and have a tug of doubt about the future.

It’s more than a little ironic that I am delivering a homily on the destruction of the temple in a sanctuary where all the pews are empty.

But that is the context of our moment.

Mark was trying to place the destruction of the temple by the Roman oppressors in the context and teaching of the time.

In the context of our time, we don’t know what life will be like after this pandemic passes. We just know that the landscape will be different … there will be a new reality in place … and that, as a faith community, we’ll need to adapt to that reality.

This is the final Sunday in the Lenten Season … something that we might have missed in our time of self-isolation and social distancing.

We are coming to the end of our time of intentional reflection … when we are called to walk the journey to Jerusalem … and to the foot of the cross.

With each step, we have an opportunity to consider how true our hearts and our actions are to our call to serve and to love … is our love of God woven through our words, deeds … through our very being? … Have we kept the cross at the centre of our lives?

Exactly, what do we hold at the centre of our faith?

Maybe we should consider the effects of the pandemic upon faith communities. What will our ministry look like?

The form of the institution … the way it functions … will change … even before the pandemic began its hold … the church was changing … evolving to meet new realities and new challenges.

The bricks and mortar aren’t meant to contain God’s presence or God’s love. Certainly, the doors that have been closed and locked can’t restrict this love.

We are still church.

The changing landscape … the increased needs within the community mean that our service is even more important that it was just a few weeks ago.

Near the end of today’s lesson, Jesus tells the disciples to remain awake and watchful.

Perhaps, that is advice we can follow during these trying times.

Stay alert … be vigilant … for others’ needs … for places where we can serve.

May you all be safe and healthy … in the days ahead. God’s grace be with you

AMEN