SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT
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Readings: Malachi 4: 1-2a and Luke 21: 5-19
“Keep Calm and Carry On” is a famous second world wartime slogan, which has seen an enormous renaissance in recent years, either with that text or variants of those words. I’m told it was chosen for its clear message of ‘sober restraint.’
‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ is very much the message of Jesus to his disciples in today’s gospel. We could find the passage alarming in its stark predictions of the future, but it also comes with a promise of survival. These verses have often been known as the ‘little apocalypse’, to be taken along with a lengthier outline of the end-time in Mark chapter 13.
But are these words of Jesus about the end of the world? Bishop Tom Wright, an eminent biblical scholar, believes that the passage is really to do with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and is not about the end of the world. In fact, when Luke’s gospel was written, the Temple had probably already been destroyed, as the Romans had lost patience with the Jews and destroyed the city in AD 70, with a million Jews dying in the conflict and many thousands taken away captive. Some might say that these words have been put into Jesus’ mouth after the event. But we know how many times he railed against the institution of the Temple and the religion of the day, so I think these predictions were genuine. But as with many a bible chapter, different interpretations can be made. More than a few people have read such verses as these, and thought ‘This is surely what we are living through now…’ I suggest that people have been saying the same in almost every era of history, and are saying it now.
The context of the discourse between Jesus and his disciples is, of course, their admiration of the Temple building. In today’s terms, it would undoubtedly be Grade 1 listed; a world heritage site. As we learn in another part of the gospels, the Temple had already been under construction for forty-six years at the time of Jesus, and it was becoming more and more splendid. The cloisters and columns were made of pure white marble. There was a vine made of gold and each cluster was as tall as a man. Josephus writes of the Temple that its front ‘was covered all over with plates of gold’ and at the first rising of the sun reflected back a fiery splendour, and made those who forced themselves to look at it to turn their eyes away, just as they would have done at the sun’s own rays. But to strangers, when they were at a distance, the Temple appeared like a mountain covered with snow, for as those parts of it that were not gilt, they were exceeding white.’ No wonder the Temple was admired. But there is always, in such places, a danger of glorifying the symbols of worship and not the true subject – the one to be worshipped.
Why did the Temple have to go? Jesus saw that the Temple kept up and even hallowed a way of relating to God that required both elaborate ceremonial and a hierarchy of intermediaries. The Temple institutionalized an extremely complicated and burdensome system of what was required to approach one’s maker. No wonder Jesus turned up there one day with a whip. The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple are seen by him as a prelude to the end of history and its consummation. It is beyond question that the bible and the New Testament in particular promises a culmination of human history, when God will act to bring about an end to wickedness and injustice, and when his kingdom of peace and love will come in its fullness.
Jesus always seemed clear that with his appearance, God’s kingdom was arriving. After his death, resurrection and ascension, Christians became sure that he would come again, and that is a theme we shall have much in our minds during Advent. But now, we live in the in-between time. The signs of God’s kingdom dawning came with the arrival of Jesus, but we wait for its fulfilment. The message is that the future is in God’s hands, and it can take care for itself. The message to us is not to be overly concerned about the future, but to stay true to the faith and to pursue holiness and justice.
Jesus does not promise an easy ride, and there may be some tough times ahead. ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, plagues’ – maybe these aren’t so much prophecies, but just an acknowledgement of how the world is. The Gospel challenges us to remember the woes of the world, perhaps by prayer, or works of charity, or political activism. Then Jesus warns of persecution. Real persecution has come and still comes to many Christians, but even to us who escape it, we find ourselves living in a culture of not just apathy to the Christian message, but of some mistrust or even outright hostility. The Swiss catholic priest and theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, who died in 1988, said ‘the claims of the Christian gospel stand in contradiction to the false gods of every age.’
Jesus told the disciples that they would be brought before kings and governors because of his name. But this would be an opportunity to testify to the truth. Surprisingly, he told them not to prepare their defence in advance, because they would be given words and wisdom. One can also testify by behaviour or example – it doesn’t just have to be by words. So, the message is not to focus so much on the future that the opportunities of the present are lost or mis-lived. We live in a world of intense speculation; you only have had to listen to almost any news broadcast this last week to know that. And the rise in social media has led to a surge in conspiracy theories, predictions, revelations about or allegations against public figures and celebrities, much of which is unfounded and without substance. Jesus would say, “Do not be led astray by all this. Keep calm and carry on.”
The short passage from the prophet Malachi contains some vivid imagery – the day is coming when the arrogant and evildoers will be burnt up like stubble. We might rub our hands with glee at the thought, but as Bishop John Pritchard warns, don’t cling to your moral high ground – you might be caught out. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus gives a parable about wheat and weeds growing together until the harvest and then being sorted out; the wheat going into the granary; the weeds being burnt. As Bishop Pritchard says, the wheat and the weeds are both part of me, and will continue to be so until the end of my life.
What gives us reassurance is that God’s judgment is the only one that matters, and those dealings will be utterly fair and gracious. Jesus, too, despite his grim warnings and predictions, promises the disciples that ‘not a hair of your head will perish’ – and that by their endurance they will save their souls. We know that nearly all the apostles gave their lives in the service of the gospel. But for the Christian, as David Adam says, ‘Death is not fatal!’
So to hear again Jesus’ message as we go about our lives in a largely unbelieving world: Don’t be terrified when things get tough; use this as a time of witness. We will be given the words and the wisdom to cope at the right time. God is faithful to his promises.
I’m reminded of the words of Mother Julian of Norwich, that 14th/15th century mystic, who certainly knew about living in a time of difficulty and darkness, and threat- with plague raging, and personal illness, but who maintained utter faith and trust in God’s loving purposes. “All shall be well; and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”