Earlier this week at my clergy text study and New Joy’s Wednesday Bible Study I had my First Look at Sunday’s Scripture. After some study, prayer, reflection and conversation, here’s my Second Take.

 

Our readings for Sunday are:

Daniel 12:1-3

The deliverance of God’s people at the end

Psalm 16

My heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body shall rest in hope. (Ps. 16:9)

Hebrews 10:11-14 [15-18] 19-25

The way to God opened through Christ’s death

Mark 13:1-13

The end and the coming of the Son

 

Toward the end of the church year every November, and at the beginning of a new church year each Advent, we read Scripture that looks ahead through difficult times toward God’s renewal of all things - an event variously described as the “second coming” of Christ, the “Day of Judgment,” or the establishment of a “new heaven and a new earth.”

 

Some parts of Christianity, particularly some sects of American protestant Christianity since the 19th century, have clung enthusiastically to these “apocalyptic” verses. They try to parse and interpret them so as to determine with confidence when the “end times” are coming, to anticipate the cosmic conflict between God and the forces of evil, and sometimes even to provoke such end times through their own violent deeds.

 

Christianity is a forward-looking, hope-filled faith that seeks God’s reign of justice for all humanity. We do not eagerly anticipate some sort of annihilating doomsday that will destroy the many only to save the few. Such is the unfortunate religious fantasy some Christians have broadcast into our culture.

 

These “end times” readings - such as those we have assigned to us this week - are words of hope written amidst times of great sorrow and struggle for God’s people. From the prophet Daniel this week we read of “a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence.” Jesus, speaking with his disciples in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, tells his disciples that “Not one stone [of the grand temple buildings] will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” War, conflict, violence is coming.

 

These Scripture passages do not relish the conflicts they anticipate. They do not cheer for violence, as if widespread human suffering would initiate God’s heroic intervention. Nor do they look ahead with any specificity to the year 2024 foretelling from ancient Babylon and Judah what would be happening today in North America. No. That’s not how Biblical prophecy works.

 

These passages describe real conflicts that real people faced in the times and places these Scripture were written. In Daniel’s time the people were returning to Jerusalem after 40 years in exile, only to face continued conquest and war from larger nations. In Jesus’ time Roman-occupied Judah was a tinderbox of political and social tension, ready to spark and ignite in flames at any moment. That’s exactly what would happen in the year 70 when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and burned the Jewish temple to the ground.

 

And in the midst of such tension, conflict, and anticipated warfare, God’s message is clear: God will deliver his people. War and suffering are not the end of the story. God is with us amidst our trials and tribulations. God will lead us through.

 

So have hope, beloved of Christ. In whatever challenges you face in this season of life, whatever worries you have about the world or your own household, you are not alone. The hardships of the world do not define us. The sorrows we see are not all that there is.

 

Instead, Sunday’s Scripture are full of hope and promise:

• Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit aids and comforts his followers
• Daniel tells us that “those who lead the many to righteousness [will shine] like the stars forever and ever”
• The letter to the Hebrews encourages us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful”
• Psalm 16 praises God, singing, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy”

 

Beloved, let us face the sorrows of the world with a sober mind and a heart of hope, trusting in God’s promises. Come, Holy Spirit!