Today's Gospel reading from Mark follows a pattern known as apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic writing came out of periods of turbulence, traumatic change, and usually during active periods of religious persecution. People found their current situation very upsetting and confusing. The future seemed to promise only more chaos. Yet at the heart of this writing was the belief that it still made sense to be a person of faith. In situations where the role of the people of God in shaping and influencing current history seemed to be insignificant, one persevered and waited, seeking God through the smoke of upheaval and uncertainty and resisting the temptation to fall into escapism or denial.
In the Gospel of Mark, the phrase “when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be” originally had been an allusion to the attempt of the crazy Roman Emperor Caligula to place his image inside the Temple. Later when the Romans in 70a.d., leveled the Temple and whole city of Jerusalem after three decades of political insurrection, the words were further reinterpreted. With the destruction of Jerusalem and expulsion of both Jews and Christians from the city, Jewish intellectual and religious life would escape to the town of Jabneh just south of Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast, and the geographical center of Christian life would eventually move to Rome. Unfortunately, each community would become further alienated from the other.
One could spend a lifetime guessing names and dates in the apocalyptic literature, even though that has always been of small worth. The real value of this literature for us lies in recalling the past in our defense. Written in an age of confusion, we are assured that the promises of God are still valid and the Word of God comes. In an age of slavery, Moses arose to be God’s agent of deliverance, in a time of degenerate religious leaders, Judas Maccabeus arose to restore the Temple, in an age of cruel tyrants, John the Baptist came out of the desert preaching preparedness. The list of such midwives of new birth did not stop with the birth of Jesus. Closer to our time, there was Sojourner Truth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Desmond Tutu. The Gospel is proclaiming to us today; in the fullness of time, God comes this day. There are always new voices appearing that convey God’s Gospel in a clear way to those in bondage and holding on to nothing, but hope.
The apocalyptic literature calls for repentance. It calls for preparedness, but it does not predict the end of the world. The end of the world is God’s decision and God’s alone, and that is why false prophets who use the Biblical literature to foretell the end and foreclose on the future are denounced for presuming on God’s prerogative. The witness of the people of God in ages past says, “Yes! There are signs of crises and cultural breakdown all around us. Can we calm down and see signs of hope too, signs of God being very near? Many things do not make sense, but is that really unique? It’s been like that before. Where will it all end? We don’t know exactly, but the human race is not being abandoned to the junk pile. Jesus Christ is Lord of life, not of dead ends. The Holy Spirit is awaiting, awaiting for you and me. New birth is being incubated and growing among us right now. Because God lives in our time, moral behavior does matter. Even though the lions are out there, God’s grace is in the arena too.
We are here this morning on the first day of the week, in a role of being seekers of God operating in the world, as detectives and interpreters of the clues of God's Presence. God has not abandoned us. At the heart of it all, the Biblical witness testifies that even in ages of turmoil, God will not be scared alway or vanquished whatever profound crises hold the world in their tight grip.
Watch and be prepared for surprise. If we are prepared to let God enter and guide our lives, we are going to be not only stirred, but even shocked. and shaken. We are likely to go places we might not like to visit, we will accept some tasks we would prefer not doing, we will be a bit bewildered, and at times we may feel we are strangers in an alien land. Nonetheless, only an open heart can be filled. A classic Christian tale recounts a disciple who once asked a wise mentor “Help me to find God”. “I can’t,” said the teacher. “No one can help you do that.” “Why not,” said the astonished disciple? “For the same reason that no one can help fish to find the sea.” An open heart discovers God, perhaps God that is hidden, disguised, or in the depths: God, often mysterious and whose presence is apt to be perceived in reflective hindsight; God always available, yet never subject to our whims and control.
Only an open heart can grow and be filled with new things. You can't be pregnant and give birth if you don't stretch and make room inside you. Advent calls us to acknowledge our empty spaces, our perplexity, and our need for a savior. Be aware, advent warns; be aware for in times such as these, when there are plenty of charlatans hawking sensational and empty false hope. New birth never comes to those already full and those who greedily consume and fill themselves with easy, but bogus answers. Be alert! Remember you are not alone. Keep awake! Keep the light of hope alive and burning, for you have now entered the time and season of God’s advent.
