Second Presbyterian Church

"Can We Endure?"
November 16, 2003

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2003 » Sermons for November 2003

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
by The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• 1 Sam 2: 1-10
• Mark 13: 1-8

Have you ever noticed how things are often not what they appear to be? Just a few years ago, and for several decades earlier, the United States had been embroiled in a, so-called, "cold war" with another superpower, the Soviet Union. I grew up with this cold war as the world context. Most of you are also very familiar with that world context. I can recall wondering how, if ever, this rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States would end. The only real scenario I could imagine was a nuclear holocaust, in which the entire world would be destroyed as these two superpowers, and their allies, hurled hundreds of nuclear warheads at each other. To me the Soviet Union was like the United States - strong, almost all-powerful, and basically untouchable in terms of any kind of armed confrontation.

Then one day in the late 1980's the Soviet Union, the entire Soviet Alliance unraveled like the yarn in a snagged sweater. It began with Mikhail Gorbachov and his attempt to free up the Soviet Union with his Glasnost policies. It accelerated with the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the process toward the reunification of Germany. The Balkan Republics declared their intention of dropping out of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's fate was sealed when Boris Yeltzen, as head of the Republic of Russia voted not to participate in the proposed restructuring of the Soviet Union. So, one evening, at midnight in Moscow, the Soviet flag was lowered and the Russian flag rose in its stead. By the next day, the Soviet Union had dissipated into political oblivion.

Who could have imagined such a change? It was an incredibly astounding event, when the superpower, the USSR, virtually disappeared as a political entity. Who could have imagined that the USSR would not endure?

The disciples were leaving the Jerusalem temple and returning to the Mount of Olives. The disciples were awed by the size and structure of the temple. At that time it had been under construction for nearly 40 years. And this temple had another 30 years of construction left before it was completed (around 66A. D.). It was built on a grand scale. The stones used in the temple's construction were 37 ½ feet long, 18 feet wide and 12 feet high. That is an impressive size stone block. The technology used to move a stone block like that from the quarry to the temple must have been amazing to watch. No wonder the disciples were impressed! When I try to picture the size of those temple stone blocks I too, am impressed. I don't think I have ever seen a building with stone blocks that large.

The size of the Jerusalem temple and the size of the stone blocks were not accidental. Sometimes the Lord God is referred to as a rock, something solid; something that is strong and heavy. When a person entered the temple he could visually experience the Lord who is like a Rock, totally unmovable. Who could imagine something as stable as a structure built with such huge blocks as being unstable? Who would have imagined that there could be a destruction of something that looked, literally, so absolutely permanent? Yet, the temple would not endure.

Jesus uses this moment to teach his disciples, and in doing so he taught succeeding Christians. So, Jesus responded to the amazement of the disciples by saying, "Not one stone shall be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." Such irony. That which looked so permanent would be utterly destroyed.

What actually happened? In 66 A. D. the Jerusalem temple was finally complete - some 70 years of construction. Four years later, just four years of use while completed, the temple was utterly destroyed! 70 years of construction, 4 short years of use! Rome brought the temple down, along with all of Jerusalem when they quelled a major Jewish rebellion. And from that time until this day the Jewish faith has been without the use of temple sacrifices! It could not endure.

There are all kinds of examples from human experience and human attempts at permanence that ended up not being very permanent at all. The superliner, Titanic, is just one famous example of the folly of humanly constructed endurance: the ship that could not sink sank during its maiden voyage.

We live in a time in which we long for that which can endure. Yet there are forces all around us that are calling us away from the True Endurance, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, "Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray." Why is this the case? Because people, even people who consider themselves Christians, are hungry for someone who can provide answers to daunting problems, such as "wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and other natural or human tragedies. We are easily led astray by some dynamic, charismatic, smooth-talking leader. No wonder the scriptures often refer to people as sheep, because we can be so easily swayed by the crowd and by a compelling leader who knows how to manipulate the emotionality of a crowd.

Jesus is warning us; he is warning the church to stay focused upon him. To stay focused upon his death and resurrection. Because, if we do not remain focused upon Jesus Christ, crucified and raised from the dead, then we are very vulnerable to the false messiahs of our day. False messiahs who are offering happiness and fulfillment, self satisfaction and a whole host of solutions that are nothing but self-serving, narcissistic pleasures that are bereft of truth, depth, and true meaning. You and I can choose any number of false messiahs who are claiming "I am he!" You can choose the lottery and hope you can beat the odds of 1 in 70 million to win big money. We so easily succumb to the entrapping web, the false belief that money can provide meaning and happiness in life!

Another popular false messiah that can influence any one of us is entertainment. We live in a culture that worships pleasure and fame. We will do anything to experience pleasure and to be entertained.

Power is the final false Messiah I shall mention. But let me be clear, there are many, many others! Power's gospel is that if you acquire enough power, influence, or self-importance, then you can have a fulfilled, meaningful life. This, too, is ultimately an empty promise. Power, like pleasure and money, is addictive; it can take over your life! And, if you don't break your addiction, it shall, like all the others, leave you desolate and spiritually dead. They will all kill you!

The entire thirteenth chapter of Mark deals with the trials that we encounter as Christians. It is a tough, tough time. And the chapter notes that no one can endure all this without the intervention of God who loves and cares for us. As Christians we have two gauntlets to run, not just one. We have the gauntlet of ridicule and persecution, because we are Christians. We have the gauntlet of being seduced away from our focus upon Jesus Christ, the real, the One, the Only Messiah for humankind.

As a Youth, when peers find out that you are a Christian, they will often tease you, and wonder whether you are superstitious, or not. It can be a very lonely, lonely feeling.

Secondly, we have the gauntlet of being seduced away from our focus upon Jesus Christ, the real, the One and only Messiah, that God ever gave to humanity for humanity. It is so easy to be drawn in by the sirens of Money, Pleasure, Power and all their other cohorts.

Mark was speaking to a church that was under pressure, that was the object of hostility by the rest of the Roman Empire. It was a church that suffered persecution. It was a church that struggled to stay alive. It was a church that felt discouraged. It was a church that needed reminding that people who choose to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah are going to have struggles and problems, feel put down and ridiculed.

And, Mark needed to remind the Church that what they believed, although they saw no evidence of it, was that life in Christ was eternal life. He reminded them, and us that because of the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross that Life, eternal life shall be the final answer with God!

In the midst of defeat, when it looks as if the world, and death shall be the real victors, Christians boldly speak out their faith that Jesus Christ, who died, has risen from the dead, lives for ever and shall return to redeem the Church, his chosen. And many went to their deaths with their faith being expressed upon their lips.

Can we trust Christ that much? Can we trust sufficiently in the life that God offers us through Jesus Christ so that we can go to our deaths believing that we shall have the life that God has given us? Can we believe that it is forever? With the Spirit of the resurrected Christ, I do and I challenge you to also reaffirm your belief in a loving, forgiving God who is with us, even though we die- forever! Amen

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.