This scripture today has some notes of apocalyptic literature which is writings about the end times. Apocalyptic literature can be hard to comprehend or understand because this genre of literature is not the main genre in our culture anymore and so we don’t really know what to do with it. If you have read the bible or are familiar with the Christian narrative then you have heard apocalyptic literature but even though we have heard it I think most of us just put it in our back pocket for another day. There may be more to it though than just a prophecy for the future. I think apocalyptic literature can sometimes use its genre to give us multiple meanings. For instance, I think this passage says something both about the very last days of this earth and also about our lives here and now. We can say verses 6,7, and 8 sound eerily familiar to our current state of affairs but we can also say that the message behind these warnings and prophecies holds true to our everyday lives.
In this text, Jesus predicts that the Temple will be destroyed. This would have been confusing to his listeners for many reasons. First- the Temple is where they met God- it was the dwelling place of God so why would the Son of God be talking about there not being a temple anymore? Where would God dwell? Also, you can see that this is a grand, magnificent temple- they go on and on about how big and lavish this building is. Why would such a beautiful place be destroyed? The disciples do believe him though because they ask him “okay then, when will these things happen?” and in typical Jesus fashion, he doesn’t answer them but gives them some advice. First, he tells them to beware of those that come claiming to be that of God or to know the way of God. And he also tries to calm them by saying that it is necessary for this destruction to happen- it is necessary for everything to fall apart in order for it to be built up again. To be honest- I think Jesus could have worked on his pastoral care techniques because I don’t know if they were less anxious after hearing that.
There is a lot to unpack here but I want to focus on two aspects that I think have a big impact on how we live our lives today. The first is the warning to not be deceived. The second is what it means that things must fall in order to be re-built. Jesus warns us that we should not be deceived. I don’t know how those words feel to you as I say them but to me they are frightening and dangerous. For my personality type, feeling like I am being taken advantage of or something is being pulled over on me- is one of my worst fears. I will go to great lengths to make sure I have all the facts and that I know the truth. To think someone is trying to deceive me instantly makes me angry and defensive. But what does Jesus mean by this? Who or what is he talking about? Is He talking about people? Is he talking about earthly things in general? Is he talking about the systems we have put in place? My guess is that he is talking about all of it. The people, the systems, the ideas… You can walk into any bookstore right now and be flooded with self-help books on how to become happy or how to make a fulfilling life- all filled with ways to boost your ego or become wealthy or fast-track success. We have political candidates trying to tell us the right way to think and we have systems that aren’t working but refuse to die. Everywhere we turn, we are in danger of being deceived. We are constantly being deceived by bigger, better, systems and ideas and people. But here Jesus tells us- it doesn’t work like that. Those big, lavish, grand things must fall to allow for what will really be your fulfillment to stand.
The reason self-help books, podcasts, videos, and so on and so forth work so well in our culture is because we are a people so desperately looking for answers and we are looking for someone to believe in. This is why fad diets are a thing and cults get started and why we idolize certain individuals for really no reason. We just want someone or something to tell us the key to life. Well, actually we want the key to life as long as it includes only pleasure and happiness and a stress-free way to get it. Jesus was a historical figure who gave the world a key to life but we don’t like that one because that one doesn’t work the way we thought it would. That key involves hardship and heartache and most often more questions. That key to life says your life must come crumbling down and you must build it back up if you really want to learn how to do life the way it was intended.
Richard Rohr, a famous author, and spiritual role model writes about this concept in his book Falling Upward. He talks about how at some point if we want to reach true fulfillment and the real meaning of our lives, they must fall at some point. We spend the first half of our life creating boundaries, finding our identities, and essentially building a container to hold all the things we want out of life but then we’ve never spent the time figuring out what it is we want to fill the container with. We spend so much time preparing for the fulfillment that we never get to enjoy it. He says, in order for us to gain a new understanding of the meaning and purpose of life we must lose it- as Jesus tells us- whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The life we made and know must at some point fail us in order for us to see that this way of life is not working. He says it must happen to us because no one would choose to fall, choose to fail, it is not in our nature and yet the only way to move forward- to move beyond is by falling. I don’t think God chooses these things for us but when unfortunate things happen to us- I think God can take and use them to show us something we desperately need to see. Which I believe why out of tragedy sometimes we find beauty and deeper understanding and a truth we hadn’t known beforehand.
I think Richard Rohr is right that we would not purposely choose pain or death even if it does bring us new life. I guess I can understand this- I know some things are good for me and yet I don’t do them. We are not always motivated by pure logic but also by our feelings and our feelings say “ um no thanks, I’m good for now. I’ll deal with the consequences later.” For instance, I am one of those people who cannot motivate myself to go to the gym even though I know it is good for me. I feel good now, I feel healthy now, so why would I put myself through working out? The last line of our scripture says, “ these are the beginning of birth pains” no one would willingly go through birth pains if they didn’t have to. But after unfathomable pain comes new life- comes something so beautiful that the pain pales in comparison to the joy which is set before you. We can go through example after example of how this concept is true in every area of our lives but it seems it will always be hard for us to grasp. We know it is true and yet we refuse to do the work to make it happen unless we are forced into it- like childbirth.
And it’s also confusing to us- why does something that is so beautiful have to be destroyed like the temple? The Temple is good- it’s God’s dwelling place and it’s aesthetically pleasing and people understand it. Why change that? I think this may be our real roadblock- sure we don’t want to take on pain but I think we can learn its worth it- women keep having babies after their first one because they understand the worth and people continue to workout day after day so they must think it’s worth it. The real roadblock is settling or stagnation. Why would we ever move past the first part of our lives when they are all rosy and beautiful and neat and we’ve wasted so much time trying to master them? Why would anyone who owns a nice house, has a well-paying job and loves their family choose to tear it down for something new. Why change something that seems good? Why stop doing something you know how to do to start something you have no idea how to do? This is the hard part. I think Jesus is telling us there is something better. Something better than financial security and success and safety and living within well-defined boundaries to make our lives go as smoothly as possible. And it is utterly terrifying. Almost enough for me to say- no thanks, Jesus. I’m good. I’m going to keep things as they are. This is precisely why Richard Rohr says most people won’t give this all up unless they are forced to due to any number of things such as losing a job, a major death in the family, living through an illness, loss of financial security, living through a natural disaster…
So what do we do with all this? Jesus says first- don’t be deceived into the trap the world is trying to tell you of what will bring fulfillment. Which most of us fall in. Then he says I’m guessing because he knows we will- once you fall into the trap- the only way out is to destroy it all and start again. And we won’t willingly destroy it so keep watch for when it starts to break. That is your opportunity to start to build it back up differently. Keep watch for it when it starts to break…
It sounds pretty bleak. But I don’t actually think it is that bleak. Like I said Jesus isn’t so great with the pastoral care explanations but that’s because he’s not a God that plays around. Jesus is going to tell it like it is because he loves us and he wants to help us live this life well. Which will mean doing hard things- experiencing struggle and suffering and heartache and things we will never understand. And for that I am grateful. I want a real God for a world that is filled with real things. God does not shy away from the reality of this world which allows us to not shy away from it either. What if the God we served never acknowledged this world we live in, in a real way. That would be of no help, no use, and no comfort to us.
Scripture rings true at different times and situations in our lives and in our world that is why it is called the living word- as Christians, we are called to discern what these scriptures are trying to tell us this day- in this political atmosphere and society and culture. I think this is a scripture about the Church. I keep reading Articles about people not coming back to church after the pandemic for various reasons but the main theme is they are not going to come back. People have either created a new Sunday morning ritual that serves their needs or they have found a Sunday morning ritual not fulfilling enough in their lives to keep it. The reality is that this was already true 2 years ago but the pandemic is forcing us to pay attention is that church as we have known it is not working. Keep watch for when it starts to break and build it back up differently. Hard words to hear. There will be grief, there will be confusion and resistance. This scripture holds true- it is not until we are forced that we change and that holds true today in our churches. I said Jesus wasn’t very pastoral in this message so I hope to be more pastoral to you- before we get to that it will be better and it will be worth it part – I see you and I hear you. Having something so dear and important and beautiful be not what it was- to feel like a part of your identity is being threatened- it’s sad and scary and you may feel denial or anger- the things of grief- it’s okay. You are allowed to feel all the things and to take your time with it. While church might be changing, your church community and the love and support you receive will be here the whole time. You are not going through this alone. You are in a safe space to work through this.
If we fast forward a bunch, we later learn that Jesus is the new Temple- Jesus resurrected and became the symbol of the new temple that was rebuilt- in the old temple is the only place where you could encounter God and now that we have the HS within all of us we can encounter God through any person, in any setting, at any time. To believe that there could be something more sacred or more for the glory of God than the temple was unthinkable to the people Jesus was speaking to. God was no longer just found in the temple and today Christianity is no longer just found in a church. But friends this is good news- this is the good news of the gospel- that God is so much bigger than an institution and physical buildings and dare I say structured meetings- It is scary yes but its also the first fruit that God speaks of- this realization that there is something new, something better, something that can help us connect with God even more fully. I hope you will join me on this journey of discerning what new thing God is doing in our midst, what exciting thing God is inviting us to be a part of, and most importantly what new way God will use to help the world know they are loved beyond measure. Amen
Floundering With A Purpose 