This is our final reading from Mark’s Gospel. While November 24th is the last Sunday of the Church Year, that Sunday we will have a reading from John’s Gospel. This week we get Mark 13:1-8, but I recommend taking a few minutes to read the whole chapter.
Chapter 13 is frequently known as the “Little Apocalypse” because Jesus reveals (the actual meaning of the word apocalypse is reveal) what is coming. Unfortunately, our reading does not go on long enough to get into the gritty parts of the chapter. Much like the Revelation to John, the imagery of this chapter is difficult for some folks, but let’s look at it in its context. In Jesus’ day, Israel was occupied by the Romans and many people were longing for freedom. Under unwanted rule, people sought ways to comfort each other in the midst of hardship. One way they did this was with apocalyptic literature and theology.
The hallmarks of this way of thinking are that there is a tension between the forces of good and evil, God is going to act on the side of good, the world is going to be fundamentally changed, and all this changing is going to happen soon. Apocalypse is not about the future. It is about the here and now. So much of the overthrowing of the current order we see in Mark 13 and the entire book of Revelation are meant to give hope and comfort to people in deep distress. While not all of us will find too much comfort in the words on the page, the underlying message will resonate.
So what are we to take away from Jesus’ little apocalypse? Just some weird stories? Telling the future? No. Apocalypse should stiffen our spines today to look directly at the injustices and oppressions of the world and work to cause their overthrow. Each one of us who has joined with the cause of Jesus Christ has our part to play in the liberation of the world. By dying and rising with Christ we are freed from the fears of this age to build the new world God dreams of. The hope offered by apocalyptic literature is the same as the hope offered by Jesus’ passion for the new creation and his free offer of his life. This message is especially important to those of us who stand on the top of the privilege ladder – people like me: straight, white, cis-hetero men who can speak in places where others would be shut out.
As we end Mark’s Gospel this year and prepare for Luke’s gospel on the first Sunday of Advent, let us also prepare to stand against the powers of this world that seek to destroy and divide, remembering that God is with us, Jesus has already showed us the way, and the Spirit will lead us in all our paths.
St. Augustine's Chapel 