Our End or Our Birth?

There is a chapter in Mark sometimes called the Apocalyptic discourse or Mark’s Little Apocalypse. It is this week’s lectionary text. Before we read it, we need to do clear away some unhelpful ideas and teachings about apocalyptic literature and prophecy. The language and images of apocalyptic literature are difficult to understand. Apocalyptic literature¹ is a distinct genre, and how it functioned in the 1st century BCE through 1st century CE is very different from how we use the term now. Apocalyptic literature was often about the end of an age, but not the end of the world. Ancient people understood the world to have distinct ages. These were often associated with empires, so for example the age of the Roman empire, or the age of the Persian empire. The Lord of the Rings uses this sort of “age” language, the age of elves or the age of dwarves. The passing of an age is not the end of the physical world.²

The other thing to remember as we look at Mark 13 is that prophecy was not fortune telling, or making predictions about life thousands of years in the future. Prophecy was about telling the truth in a particular time and place. It was for the original audience, not us – and we living two thousand years later are overhearing the prophecy. We can gather important lessons when we overhear what a prophet says, but it’s not a roadmap for our times. We need to be wise as we overhear. Jesus is talking about events that will impact the disciples and early Christians. As we overhear Jesus’ words, we hold them up against our situation and we see what we can learn.

As he [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,”Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 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. Mark 13:1-8 NRSV

These may be scary verses for you. You may have heard them interpreted to mean that the merely being Christian will cause one to be persecuted. You may have been told that these are the signs of the “end times”. Let’s read them carefully. Let’s think about what the text actually says and what it might help us understand in our context today.

First, the disciples exclaim about how great the Temple is. They do this immediately after Jesus has just criticized it for it’s complicity in an unjust society that craves honor and benefits from the poverty of others³. The disciples have just seen and heard Jesus and the representatives of the institution at odds with each other. Jesus has won the debates. And yet, they walk out of the building and essentially exclaim, “Wow, a great place.” Oh those clueless disciples. Yet I wonder, what institutions do I think are great, that may not be so great? Are there institutions in our time that need to “be thrown down”?

We know that soon after Jesus resurrection and ascension, the Roman Empire destroyed the Temple⁴. What does this have to do with us then? For us it may be helpful to remember that buildings and institutions and even social structures come and go. They are all impermanent. None of our institutions are the actual kindom⁵ of God- no matter how hard we try. And trying to be as close as we can to the kindom of God is a good and worthwhile task. But we are going to fall short. I don’t like to think that institutions and social structures and even buildings that are familiar to me, that support me, that I just plain like, may be destroyed. It’s frightening. And history tells us it can happen. They may need to be destroyed so something else can emerge.

The disciples want to know when this will happen and what the warning signs will be. Seems to me this is a smart question- at least it’s one I would ask. But notice, Jesus doesn’t tell them. He points out that the world is a dangerous and confusing place and that’s to be expected. It’s our normal world. Jesus also tells us, multiple people will claim to be “the one”, the savior, the Messiah. Don’t be fooled. They are not.

Jesus tells the disciples and us; don’t be confused or overly alarmed when the world is its dangerous self. In a world filled with wars and rumors of wars, in a world filled with false prophets, in a world with all manner of disasters, don’t lose your focus. Don’t lose your way. These things are not the kingdom, They are not how things will always be, They are not the end. They are the birth pangs.

Valarie Kaur⁶ talks about discerning what this present darkness is. “Is this the darkness of the tomb or the darkness of the womb?

Jesus tells us this is not the end. Things may seem and may actually be hard and frightening and dangerous. Beloved, this is the darkness of the womb. Birthing is hard and dangerous work- for the one giving birth and the one being born. Yet these are the birth pangs out of which the new kindom of God will emerge. ⁷

Let’s read a little farther:

As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. Mark 13:9-10 NRSV

And we – each of us- have a role to play the coming kindom. It will not necessarily be easy. We will need to stand up and that may be hard for us to do. We are called to stand up and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. We each have a role in this new birth. Not all of us will stand before governors or kings or the president or Congress. Not all of us will stand before church councils and denominational assemblies. But all of us have some place where we will be asked to share the gospel. It might be in your neighborhood, it might be in your family, it might be to yourself. Your testimony may be speaking up or it may be showing up. Each of us has our particular way to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

What is the good news that we are called to proclaim? That God loves us, all of us. God’s love isn’t dependent upon our loving them in return. God’s desire and aim is for the wellbeing of all of us. We are called to love God, to love our neighbor, and to love our enemy. It’s not easy news. It’s not necessarily safe news. But it is good news.

1. Here are a couple of short articles about apocalyptic literature, first and second, The Society of Biblical Literature has some other resources, here. ↩︎
2. See Warren Carter’s book, John: Storyteller, Interpreter, Evangelist, (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc: 2006) pages 99-101.  ↩︎
3. see last week’s post on Mark 12:38-44. ↩︎
4. The Temple is destroyed in the Jewish wars in 70 CE. ↩︎
5. I am using the word “kingdom” rather than “kingdom” because kingdoms in our world have always been hierarchical and sooner or later become destructive to human flourishing. While, yes, God’s kingdom is different, I think it’s difficult for us to hold a new definition for an old word. ↩︎
6. https://valariekaur.com/ ↩︎
7. We might want to recall that Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born anew/ from above. John 3:1-10 ↩︎