November 18, 2012: "The End of the World As We Know It"

November 18, 2012

Mark 13:1-8

"The End of the World As We Know It" 

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

As Jesus came out of the supermarket, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, at this tall stack of Twinkies! Taste how delicious they are! See how they never, ever, decompose! Look how they remain eternally soft and cream-filled, after sitting on our shelves for months and even years!” 

And Jesus asked him: “Do you see these Twinkies? Not one will be left on the grocery store shelves. All will be eaten, and no more shall be made.”

A little bit later, as Jesus was sitting in the parking lot across from the store, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign that this is about to happen?”

And Jesus began to say to them…

Actually, Jesus didn’t say anything at all about Twinkies! But he did say something about how impressed we are by things that seem to be permanent fixtures in the world.  Stepping out of the temple that day in Jerusalem, the disciples couldn’t stop looking at the large stones and tall buildings that were so different from their neighborhoods by the sea. They must have looked like skyscrapers to a bunch of fishermen. But Jesus swiftly turned their attention back to him, and to his mission.

“Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another. All will thrown down.”
In that one short response, Jesus reminded his disciples that what we deem to be impressive, untouchable, indestructible, permanent, and even sacred, will one day be gone forever, thrown down, and turned upside down.

One day—sooner than we thought, it seems—Twinkies will be no more.

Already, our beloved Marshall Field’s has been replaced by Macy’s.

Black Friday shopping has been taken over by “Gray Thursday.”

And even our generals and war heroes turn out to be just as human as the rest of us.

That’s right: here we are, in November 2012, with the end of the Mayan calendar just one month away, and Twinkies are soon to be extinct.  There are wars and rumors of wars in Israel and Palestine, Iran and Syria. There are earthquakes in various places, and even our sisters and brothers as near as Chicago are experiencing famine, with the rise of food deserts within the city.

So is this the end of the world? And if it is, what does Jesus have to say about it? Tell us, Jesus—when will all this take place, and what will be the sign that all this is about to be accomplished?

Unfortunately, Jesus didn’t give Peter, James, John and Andrew the secret knowledge they were hoping for, and I’m afraid I don’t have any predictions for you, either. But I can tell you that what Jesus did say was that in the face of trials and tribulations, earthquakes and wars, and even the end of the world, Christians are to “beware”, but to “not be alarmed.”

“Beware that no one leads you astray,” Jesus began to say, “for many will come in my name saying, “I am he!” and 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 birthpangs.”

Now there have been many sermons preached on this text, sermons which warned Christians to beware of following the wrong preacher, of joining a heretical church, or of rejecting orthodox theology in favor of the newest liberalism. But I don’t think this is what Jesus was getting at. After all, the disciples were in no danger of following a radical, heretical, unorthodox preacher—they were already doing that!

Rather, Jesus knew his disciples faced a reality that is still true today, which is this: When things we think are permanent start to fall apart, we start to fall apart, too.

When the things we think are sacred and untouchable are suddenly gone, we get scared. We try to hang on to what we know. And we are easily swayed by those who tell us “the end is near.” This is why Twinkies are flying off the shelves of supermarkets and gas stations. It’s why people are protesting the new Thanksgiving Day shopping deals (not because of worker justice, mind you, but because we hold Black Friday to be, and I quote, “the holiest day in retail”.) And it’s why the news outlets can’t seem to get enough details about the general’s other woman, the “other” other woman, and the shirtless secret agent.

Every day, it seems, we are reminded of the truth that: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”  (Isaiah 40:8) And it’s also true that when the things, or traditions, or people we thought were eternal and perfect turn out to be withering grass and fading flowers, we don’t know how to respond.

What does Jesus mean when he tells Christians to “beware” and yet “not be alarmed?” What do we do when the things we thought we could count on are falling down around us? What do we do if the world as we know it is going to end?

There are many examples and illustrations from the great theologians attempting to answer this question. The most famous, for Lutherans at least, is the oft-quoted motto from Martin Luther himself, who purportedly said, “If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.”

And there’s this one, perhaps more familiar to our Catholic sisters and brothers: One day, Saint Thomas Aquinas, the great teacher and philosopher, and his Dominican brothers were gathered for their hour of recreation. They were all talking, laughing, and enjoying one another's company before going back to their work, prayer, and study. Someone asked Saint Thomas, "If the world were to end in fifteen minutes, what would you do?" He replied, "I would continue doing exactly what I am doing right now…(with faith, hope, and love.)”

And then, there’s this quote, from a lesser-known theologian—Queen Latifah—from the movie “Last Holiday”:  “Next time, we’ll laugh more, we’ll love more, and we just won’t be so afraid.”

Now, I would apologize for including Queen Latifah in a list with Luther and Aquinas, but it just so happens that I was watching this movie last night as I edited this sermon. And it also happens that Queen Latifah, in this silly Christmas movie, more closely echoes Jesus than either Luther or Aquinas.

In case you haven’t seen this movie, you should know that Queen Latifah’s character, Georgia Byrd, has been told she has only three weeks to live. Her whole life she has lived conservatively, even fearfully, never spending a dime, never taking a risk, and never allowing herself to love. Instead, she has kept magazine clippings of things she wished she could do in her “Book of Possibilities.”

But with the news that her world was about to end, Georgia Byrd cashed in all her savings and set out to make all her possibilities into reality, in whatever time she had left.

She flew to Czechoslovakia to stay at her dream hotel. She went skiing and base jumping. She ate butter—tons of butter!—and most importantly, she started to speak her mind, and to love the people around her.
In other words: she stopped living in fear. “Next time,” she said to herself, “we just won’t be so afraid.”

Jesus has said that a time or two himself.

“‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32
“Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.” Luke 8:50
“Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7
“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” Luke 5:10
"Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." Matthew 28:10

And…in Mark chapter 13 (the Message Version):
“When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic! This is routine history, and no sign of the end.”

I admit, I won’t lose any sleep over the demise of the Twinkie, and I couldn’t care less about the Mayan calendar. But I am more than concerned at what’s happening in Israel and Palestine. I’m horrified when I hear of children going hungry—in Crystal Lake, in Chicago, or anywhere in the world. It’s hard not to be alarmed at the violence all around us, not to mention the hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods that seem to come with increased force and frequency.

And yet, as a follower of Jesus and a person of faith in God, I know these events are no invitation to begin doomsday prepping. This is no time to hoard food, to countdown days, to preach catastrophe, or to live in fear. “This is no sign of the end.” said Jesus. “This is just the beginning of labor.”

Sisters and brothers, it’s no accident that we hear these apocalyptic verses of Scripture just before Advent. Today is a reminder that what we are waiting for during Advent is not just the baby Jesus. The birth of Jesus, our crucified and risen Savior, turned the whole world upside down, but this is not the end of the story. We are preparing, as people of faith, for what God is going to give birth to next. We are preparing for the day when mourning and crying and pain will be no more, when all the hungry will be fed, when the lion and the lamb will lie down together, and when peace will reign over all the earth---in our hearts, in our families, in our communities, and even in the land of Jesus’ birth.

Therefore, let us go forth with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that God’s hand is leading us and God’s love is supporting us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Be not afraid! Amen.