Date: November 17, 2024
Scripture: Mark 13:1-9
Sermon Title: “Are You Ready?”
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bob Jon
On August 28, 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear device in Kazakhstan. In the 1950s, schools across the country were teaching students how to protect themselves in case there was an atomic attack. So, here is a video made by the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1951 for children. Let’s take a look.
I do not know how you respond to this video. Some may find it comical and ridiculous. Some may find it terrifying at the idea of a nuclear attack. Historians say that the idea of this video was to warn the children about the signs of imminent attacks, not necessarily to frighten them. Some say that “Duck and Cover” could have worked as the Soviets did not have advanced bombs in the early 50s.[1]
Even after 70 years, our children are trained to watch out for signs of danger and be ready. Sometimes, my children come home and tell me that they had the ALICE drill. If you do not know what it is, it is a training program for active shooters who walk into the school. ALICE stands for 1) Alert: Get the word out that there is a threat, 2) Lockdown: Secure a place to stay and buy time, 3) Inform: Share real-time information throughout the building using all kinds of technology, 4) Counter: when it is impossible to escape, counter the danger by creating a distraction, and 5) Evacuate: Move students out of the danger zone. Time changes.[2] But we teach our children to watch out for signs and get ready.
In our reading today, Jesus also told his disciples to watch out for signs. After he came out of the temple, his disciples looked at the temple and felt awed by its grandeur and majesty. So, they said, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” This was not the original temple built by King Solomon, as the original temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Later, endorsed by the Roman Empire, King Herod wanted to build a temple that was bigger than the first one to show his power as the ruler of Jerusalem. Recently, my family visited Princeton University Chapel, which can seat 2000 people, second in size only to the chapel at King’s College, Cambridge University.
So, imagine you are standing in front of the gigantic and beautiful temple that is supposed to reflect the glory of God and the legacy of the Israelites. And yet, Jesus says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” At first, his disciples became speechless. Maybe they thought that Jesus was joking. They were offended at the thought the most beautiful and secure thing would be destroyed. My first church was a big, stoned building that was old and cost a fortune to heat up the building. I suggested to the leaders that we would need to sell the building and move to another location. You can guess how they responded.
The disciples did not respond to the devastating prediction of Jesus immediately. When they went to the Mount of Olives, sitting opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew finally asked him. “Tell us, when will this be and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Maybe they wanted to find the exact day of the impending doom and prepare themselves by “Duck and cover.” Jesus said to them, “These are the signs. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” There will be wars, nations rising against nations, kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines.”
There are some Christians who argue that we are going through the end of the world. The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for almost three years now. The attack by Israel rampaging throughout Palestine and other countries. We hear about natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding sweeping across the coast and towns. The news tells us that Christmas tree farmers across the Northeast are struggling to keep their trees alive due to a weeks-long drought. A farmer in Mendon, MA, says, “This year has been too dry. They are all yellow on the inside, the needles are falling off.” And climate change, droughts, and flooding all have been affecting our food supply, leading to famine and disaster.
These are indeed some terrifying signs that arouse fear and anxiety among people. No wonder popular culture and entertainment feed on these raw emotions of people as an apocalyptic genre. Countless movies about zombies these days, movies about the end of the world caused by climate change, nuclear war, gigantic asteroids, earthquakes or pandemics like the recent one. Some pastors exploit the fear and anxiety of people by giving a long list of disasters as the fulfilled prophecies and the exact date of when Jesus might return. David Garland, an NT commentator, says, “Not once such preachers mention what the viewer was supposed to do except to send in money to receive more prophecies.”[3]
“Tell us when will all this take place? What are the signs?” In his response, Jesus does not give the exact date to his disciples. Instead, he assured them that some people would come in his name and say that they were the Messiah. There would be wars to tear their countries apart, earthquakes, and famines to devastate their community. However, through all these, Jesus encourages them not to be alarmed because he will be with them. Therefore, Rodger Nishioka, a Presbyterian pastor, comments, “Our focus must not be on the signs themselves, but rather on the one who is to come—the one who enables us to look up after such devastation and claim the certainty of blessing.
Some years ago, I got the news that my former parishioner was very sick and at the Mass General Hospital in Boston. His name was Martin. Martin used to be a Catholic until he met his wife, April. He used to say, “The Catholic Church had too many rules like, ‘You shall do this. You shall not do this.’ So, I am happy to be a Methodist because Methodists do not have that many rules.” I smiled and told him, “Martin, have you heard about the Book of Discipline?” Martin and his wife had two young daughters. He loved his family and adored his daughters. He loved the Red Sox and coached his daughter’s baseball team on Saturdays.
Later, he suffered a certain heart condition, which led him to be carried in a helicopter to Mass General Hospital for urgent surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery was not successful due to some complications. When I saw April coveting prayers for Martin, I went to be with her and their family. The doctors came in and explained to us in a simple way, “Martin’s mind is far away in an unknown place. We did the best we could but we cannot locate where his mind was and bring him back. I am sorry. You need to get ready.” All the signs indicated that everything was failing. Martin was dying. He could not breathe on his own or wake up from the coma. The doctors told the family to be ready.
That afternoon, Martin’s two daughters came to see him. I had not seen them for about 5 years. I could not believe how much they had grown from small girls. They came excitedly, thinking that their father was getting better after the surgery, ready to welcome them. April brought them to the family room and sat them on chairs. “You know how much your father loves you very much. But he is very very sick…And today he is going to meet Jesus.” At those words, their smile turned to shock, and with tears. Their aunts came in and hugged them tight, saying how much they loved them. What I remember at that moment was while all the signs seemed to indicate the end of the world for this family, she was saying, “We look to Jesus who tells us this is not the end.”
War, false teachers, famine, and earthquakes. They have been part of the human history. In times such as these, the words of Jesus awaken in us, and God calls us to look toward the future, never to be satisfied with the present. With Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, the kingdom of God has already broken into this world. When we forgive one another, when we feed the hungry and clothe the naked, when we welcome the least of the society, the kingdom of God is already among us. But it is not fully realized yet. It still awaits the return of the Messiah, who would come and fully restore what God has already started through Christ. And we live our lives today ready as people redeemed by the love of God.
There is the obituary for Rabbi Hugo Gryn, one of Great Britain’s most respected rabbis. When he was a boy, he and his family were imprisoned at Auschwitz. They were Orthodox Jews. Although it meant even greater danger to them, Hugo’s father insisted they observe the Sabbath and the festivals. Until the day he died, Hugo remembered how his father observed the Sabbath even in the concentration camp. His father took a piece of string and put it in a bit of butter and lit it to make a Shabbat candle. Hugo was furious and protested, “Father, that is all the butter we have!” His father said, “Without food, we can live for weeks. But we cannot live for a minute without hope.”
Amen.
[1] Sarah Pruitt, “How ‘Duck-and-Cover’ Drills Channeled America’s Cold War Anxiety”, (https://www.history.com/news/duck-cover-drills-cold-war-arms-race, Accessed on November 15, 2024)
[2] ALICE: A Solution of Navigate 360. (https://www.alicetraining.com/our-program/alice-training. Accessed on November 13, 2024)
[3] David Garland, The NIV Application Commentary: Mark, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 509.
RAIN OF GRACE 