Reflection on Mark 13:1-8

 

It was not that many years ago that my son Isaac was just learning to stack blocks.  I remember one of the first times that he was able to stack quite a number of blocks on top of one another.  He had just placed the seventh block on top of his thin, block tower when his excitement got the best of him and he accidentally kicked the tower down with his foot.  Isaac screamed, with tears dripping off of his cheeks, as seconds of time and effort were now down the drain.  Though a little part of me wanted to laugh at the drama over a stack of blocks which can be reconstructed in seconds, another part of me wanted to cry along with him, my heart squeezing the way it does anytime something that we hoped would last suddenly falls apart.

Maybe, I can be a little too empathetic sometimes.  Or, maybe it is because I have seen so many people struggle when what they have strived to build comes crashing down.

I think of the random guy on the internet who was videoed cutting down a really large, dying tree next to his house.  Though he thought he was cutting it correctly to fall safely away from his house, the tree ends up giving its life in the opposite direction and end up taking the life of the house with it.  The tree completely crushes the roof of the house and essentially cuts the entire house in half.  The man just stands there in utter disbelief.  I am certain the tears followed shortly after. 

Things fall apart, even when we do not want them to fall apart.

Jesus would look at our tears and hear the fears of our heart and tell us, “Do not be alarmed.”

I think of the young mother who furiously cleaned the home, finished the yard work, and shopped for some nice clothes for her children so that everything would be perfect when her beloved sergeant came home.  She could not believe her eyes or ears when the person approaching her door in uniform was not her expected husband, but rather a soldier commissioned to inform her that her husband would never be home.

Things fall apart, even when we do not want them to fall apart.

Jesus is there to see our tears, and he is there to hear the fears of our heart, and he reassures us, “Do not be afraid.”

The plain truth is that things fall apart in this life.  Nothing lasts forever.  Businesses close, loving relationships cease, families crumble, fortunes are lost, beloved toys break, historic paintings get burned, wisdom is forgotten, heart valves fail, houses do not last, and very nice vitamin C colored sports cars end in a blinding black cloud of thick smoke right in the middle of highway 220 between Towanda, and Monroeton…not that I would know.  Block towers that you have invested time building, fall within seconds.

That makes me think of the disciples who followed Jesus out of the holy temple, and then stared up at the massive stones and buildings.  I think of those who gazed at the craftsmanship that was designed to last thousands of years, and that also brings me to think of Jesus who also looks up and says, “Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”  Shortly after, they were.

And, as people of faith from around the nation look up at their beautiful, sacred spaces and then look down again and see just how empty the pews and chairs in these spaces have become over the past two years (during the pandemic), or even longer, these people of faith wonder if Jesus might be talking about their temples too?  After-all, things fall apart, even when we do not want them to fall apart.

And, when things do fall apart, what does it all mean?  Does it mean that we have failed?  Does it mean that God no longer cares?  Does it mean that it is near the end and that God is just done with us?  Does it mean that we deserve the pain that comes when things fall apart?  Are we being punished? 

We ask because we do not know what it means!  Do you know the first thing most people do when they have no idea what it all means?  People start searching for meaning.  And when people search, there are always others who are all too happy to come and tell us what it all means.

“Maybe, you need to live differently.  Come and follow me.”

“Maybe, you sinned a terrible sin and are being punished.  Come and follow me.”

“Maybe, you just never tried hard enough.  Come and follow me.”

There are so many people who are just waiting in the bushes for the chance to give you all the answers, as long as you take their pills, or buy their books, or offer up your money, or follow them wherever they lead.  Do not be mistaken, their words will sound a lot like the Lord’s words.  Their actions will look a lot like the actions of the Lord.  And, because of the danger they pose, Jesus has some words for you:

“Beware that no one leads you astray.  Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.”

Because of this warning from Jesus, lots and lots of people ask me how they know for certain whether or not something is from the Lord or from world.  And, as far as I know, there really is only one faithful sort of answer.  Does it demonstrate a love or a concern for someone else rather than self?  Is it self-sacrificial in nature?  Does it heal or help?  Does it draw together in love rather than dividing?  Does it look like Jesus giving his life on the cross?  If it looks like that, then it is probably from the Lord.

Oh, and one last thing: does it try to hold on to what was rather than embracing what God is doing new?  After-all, the Bible preaches that God is doing a new thing.

Back to Isaac and his blocks, once Isaac discovered that you could just build everything back up into even taller towers and even more daring designs, he was then just fine destroying his creations.  “Kicking” was his go to method of destroying the towers.  And, I was relegated to searching for the now scattered blocks.  Fun for me!

Now, I am not saying that you should start having fun destroying everything and everyone around you.  We have a name a person who is like that, who also is not one and a half years old: a sadist.  What I am saying though is that there is a certain kind of freedom that comes when you no longer worry whether something will fall apart or change.  After-all, it is just a simple truth that things fall apart.  Jesus puts it this way:

“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.  This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.” 

Do you know who never promised that things would not change, or fall apart, or be a struggle in this life: Jesus?  Jesus never promised any of those things. 

After-all, Jesus is about crosses and empty tombs.  Jesus is about allowing old things and ways to die and is about making things new.  He builds back better and taller, and overcomes death and crosses.  He overcomes sin and stubbornness.  Jesus raises from the grave, and when he does, all things are made new. 

Things fall apart, yes.  But, do not be alarmed, something new, and holy, and great just might be birthed any second from our Lord, Jesus Christ.  And, that is why we put our trust in Jesus Christ and call him Lord.