Last week I was away for several days at the Sacred Heart retreat centre in Croydon south Although the nature of my stay there was by no means a retreat; Having lived in the Frankston area all my life has meant that I know the south and the south eastern side of Melbourne very well But for trips to the eastern suburbs I really do need my Melways So you can perhaps imagine my dismay when I reached into the place where my Melways always is To discover that it was not there; Little did I know it was required for a much more important purpose As a stable book rest for one of my children to draw on in our other car But that didn’t help me much on my way to Croydon I was forced to go by the road signs Which is often okay – If you know what direction the roads run and where they lead And if you know which places are on the way and which are not – I got to where I was going And because I was on the look out for signs and sign posts I also saw a very unusual sign out the front of a small Church This was not the usual What is missing in Church – UR sign Or Jesus is the Reason for the Season sign But in large letters proclaimed Baptist Church – Independent, Fundamental, Pre Millennial Yes – pre millennial The church community that has a sign out the front saying pre millennial Is – apart from being most peculiar indeed Making a statement about their view – or doctrine – about the last things and the expected second coming of Jesus Christ Churches and denominations have very different views about these things Largely because the Scriptures themselves are most ambiguous and unclear – Numerous interpretations of the sequence of events are possible A group of minister’s were discussing this once at their local get together And the Pentecostal Minister declared confidently that Jesus, when he returns to earth as they fully expected him to do very shortly, would certainly fellowship in that denomination because it has the best and liveliest music The Reformed Pastor objected saying that No, Jesus when he returns would certainly fellowship in that denomination because it had the best and most scriptural preaching And the Catholic priest aid No Jesus would attend that Church because it was the only one that had existed form the very beginning But the Anglican priest said decisively – No, when Jesus returns he will come to us, Why would he change after all these years? The Gospel reading from Mark is taken from the great discourse or sermon that Jesus gave on the steps of the temple in Jerusalem In answer to a question that has two parts What will the end of all things will be like And when will that terrible event will occur Our reading – somewhat oddly – began around the middle of the lengthy response Jesus gives in Mark’s Gospel to those questions For many who heard him speak these words The end of their world was to prove to be very close indeed Within thirty or so years Within the space of a single generation When Jerusalem was surrounded and besieged by the Roman army responding to an uprising against their rule And when its people had all but starved to death The city was ruthlessly invaded and destroyed It’s inhabitants fled and were scattered The temple was torn down and looted – stone by stone Only the wailing wall remains of that great structure It must have seemed like the end of the world to those who endured that terrible event It must have felt like it perhaps felt to be in New York on September 11 last year Or in Bali on October 12 this year… Many people, many Christians and Christian leaders, have And still do today Understand the words of this passage in Mark 13 And the two long passages like it in Matthew and Luke To be a description of the end of the world Of a final – still future - apocalypse An event that many such preachers and teachers consider to be imminent In Christian bookstores you can buy videos explaining why this so Or read books, even comic books meant for children, depicting the very event The biggest selling book in Christian bookstores around Australia this year is one such novel I can remember hearing a message of this nature when I was eleven and twelve From a visiting evangelist and being terrified by it Then the Communists were the enemy who would bring out the battle of Armageddon Now it is terrorists In the days of Jesus and the first disciples it was the Romans… Such evangelists Such comic book theologians Have missed the point of the teaching of Jesus as it is preserved here by St Mark The language Jesus uses Is drawn almost entirely form the Old Testament It is the same language used of the fall of Babylon centuries earlier It is a style of speaking and writing that was well known and much used in the ancient world All of the signs of the times that Jesus gives Have occurred in every age of human history And are occurring of course today Didn’t it feel like the very powers of heaven were shaken on September 11 last year and on October 12 this year? The point is much more confronting than simply saying bad things are going to happen And difficult times are coming The wake up call Jesus issues is this - Every generation is the last Every generation lives in the end times or last days We stand constantly at the very edge of history Every one of us has only a finite and limited period of time on this earth We will meet our end The season of Advent reminds us of these – uncomfortable - things And in doing so issues a spiritual wake up call To the Church and to us individually As the final words of Jesus in the passage implore “keep awake” So that you may know and discern the signs of the times Learn the lesson of the fig tree Jesus told his disciples Most of the trees in Palestine are evergreens The fig tree is one of the few that loses its leaves over the colder months When it’s leaves begin to appear This is a sure sign that the warmer months are close at hand – The “Christ Mass” is drawing near and the signs of that are beginning to appear Will those signs lead us to Christ Are we awake to the presence and reality of God in our world In our lives? Or is it the next big party or break up dinner Or bargain or Christmas special That occupies our thoughts and commands our attention? On my way to Croydon last week I was desperate for a sign A sign I could read and understand Often we are desperate for a sign that points us to God Especially in a world gone mad As the reading from Isaiah pleads “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down” Show yourself God Prove you are really there Do something Give us a sign - The sign we get is a child, an infant A sign that almost very one missed Except some poor shepherds and some magicians from a far off land So let us keep awake Let us learn the lesson of the fig tree And see the signs that tell us God is here among us Let Advent this year be a wake up call For us to se and to recognise That the Messiah who came and who is still yet to come Is already here! Finish in silence |