24 Pentecost, Year B

“GOOD NEWS, OR BAD NEWS?”
A sermon by The Very Rev. Gene Tucker; given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 15, 2009.
Proper 28 -- Daniel 12:1–4a,5–13; Psalm 16:5–11; Hebrews 10:31–39; Mark 13:14–23

The lectionary texts before us today, do they contain good news, or bad news?

All of them, our Old Testament reading from Daniel, our epistle reading from Hebrews, and our gospel reading, all of them have disturbing language in them, language which portrays strife, hardship, personal loss, struggle, warfare, and death.

From such imagery we want to turn away. But the beauty of the lectionary is that it forces us to turn our heads back toward God, who is the ultimate author of the Holy Scriptures, and particularly toward the “difficult sayings” that are before us today in His holy Word.

For the lectionary “holds our feet to the fire”, if you will. It forces us to deal with the “tough stuff” of living the life of faith.

Without this regimen, we might want to focus only on those passages that bring us comfort. But God calls us to a mature faith, to a realistic faith that recognizes that difficult times will come our way as individual human beings who are believers, and as the people of God collectively.

And the regimen of the lectionary also forces the preacher to tackle the challenges that texts such as those before us today present.

Before we consider the question we posed at the beginning of this sermon, let’s remind ourselves about the sort of literature we have before us in the Daniel passage, and in the Mark passage…..These two passages qualify as “apocalyptic” literature.

The word “apocalyptic” comes to us from the Greek (as you might expect), where it means, literally, an “unveiling” or a “revelation”. In the Old Testament, the latter part of the Book of Daniel is apocalyptic writing, while in the New Testament the Book of Revelation (which is often known by the title “The Great Apocalypse”) qualifies (hence the name of the book). But there are other apocalyptic passages in other parts of the Bible, as well, and the passage from Mark, chapter 13, is often named the “Little Apocalypse” by biblical scholars, for it has all the hallmarks of the literary genre.

So, we return to the question with which we began: “Do these texts contain good news, or bad news?”

At first glance, the answer would seem to be: bad news.

Consider the language Our Lord uses, which we hear today in our gospel text: “For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of creation that God created until now, no, and never will be.”

“Suffering.” No one wants to suffer. In fact, our human instinct for self-preservation prompts us to turn away from anything that causes pain or discomfort. Failure to do so can threaten our welfare, even our lives.

The prophet Daniel portrays a time of deep trouble and anguish, saying, “There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence….” (Notice the similarities of language between the Daniel and the Mark passages.)

Notice the theme of deprivation and suffering in Hebrews, chapter 10: “But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.”

All three of our readings today pick up the theme of suffering. There’s no getting away from it.

And, so, the question then arises: “When will these things take place?”

The answer has to be: “Always.”

For, you see, deep pain, suffering and anguish were realities in Daniel’s day. They were present in the days of Our Lord’s earthly life (recall the realities of the cross, for example). They were present late in the first century when the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews was addressing unknown Christians in their time of suffering and loss.

Suffering, loss, deep anguish…these things have marked the journey of the people of God down through the years. A brief look at Church History will reveal the truth of my comment.

Life in God involves suffering, loss, and sometimes, even deep anguish. At no time does the Church (whose true identity is as the people of God, and not an institution or a building) enjoy a time of peace and tranquility, even if the challenges the Church faces are challenges of lethargy and complacency, for even in such times, there is loss and suffering, because the forces of evil are able to flourish when God’s people are “asleep at the switch”. (Do you sense that there’s a spiritual battle going on between God and God’s people and the forces of evil? If so, you are correct in your understanding.)

So, it’s no wonder that apocalyptic writing often appears at times of deep stress and anguish.

So, would apocalyptic writing be God’s message of hope?

The answer seems to be “yes”.

Good news, indeed!

Notice the texts again, as we turn first to Daniel: “But at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” (Notice that the image of the Book of Life, a concept which is found in the Book of Revelation, also appears here.)

God will deliver His people!

That is the message, the good news.

Similarly, Jesus picks up this same theme, saying, “And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days.” (Again, notice the similarities to the language we read today from Daniel.)

The central message of texts like Daniel and Mark, chapter 13, seems to be summarized in this passage, from Hebrews 12: 12, which says, “Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees.” Why? Because, despite all immediate and outward appearances, God is still in control, and God will have the last and the final word.

Put another way, we could paraphrase this idea by saying, “No matter how bad or how hopeless things look now, we have only to see the ‘big picture’ to realize that God will prevail, and that, in the end, all will be well.”

One final thought….We need to address the question of “When will these things be?”

Jesus offers wise counsel on just this point. Though He seems to indicate a specific time of suffering, saying, “When you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains….” (Again, notice the similarity of language to our passage from Daniel this morning.)

Here is a specific image, the “desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be,” and a specific location, “Judea”.

Tackling the first issue, what could the “desolating sacrilege” be? Perhaps some answers could be supplied, including these: The erection of a pagan statue by the Seleucid monarch, Antiochus IV, in 167 BC, is one possibility, another would be the plan of the Roman Emporer Caligula to erect a statue of himself in the Temple in 40 AD (he died before his plan could be carried out), or perhaps the destruction of the Temple by the Roman army in 70 AD, (during the Jewish – Roman War).

Citing the specific location, Judea, some have posited these answers to the identity of the “desolating sacrilege”.

We should note that apocalyptic writing almost always combines specific terms and imagery with deliberately vague ones.

So, the message with respect to apocalyptic writing must be, “tread carefully, and be willing to allow God to be God….don’t limit God’s power and God’s timing by a strict understanding of the timetable for His action.”

Indeed, Jesus warns us, more than once, in chapter 13, about such specificity….We hear one of the warnings in our text today…Jesus says, “..If anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘Look! There he is,’ do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens….”

As Jesus continues, the purpose of these false personages is to lead God’s people – the elect – astray.

A brief glance down the corridors of Church History will confirm this reality. Many have come, false prophets they turned out to be, claiming to know the day and the hour of God’s acting. A few examples will suffice to prove the point: During World War I, many claimed that the battles being fought in Europe were actually the Battle of Armaggedon (see Revelation 16: 16). During the 1840s, a wave of Second Coming false prophets arose, claiming to know the day and the hour of Jesus’ return. In response, many followers of these false prophets sold everything they had and went to the hilltops to await the Lord. And in our own day, one only has to recall the sad spectacles of David Koresh or Jim Jones to realize that there are no shortages of false prophets in our own time.

But Jesus says, later on in Mark, chapter 13 (verse 32), “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

What are we to do, then, in the meantime? Jesus’ next words provide the answer: “Take heed! Watch!”

And, we are to live confidently in the assurance that God is in control, that God will have the final and the authoritative word over all the forces of evil, and that God saves His people, just as He has done from the beginning of time.

St. Paul expresses this hope quite succinctly in Romans 8: 35, where he says, “What shall separate us from the love of God?” Answering his own question, he then says (verse 38), “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, now powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

AMEN!!!!!