Everything Changes

Mark 13:24-37

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

            We spent most of 2023 listening to the Gospel of Matthew. It was Liturgical Year A. But today we say: “Happy New Liturgical Year! Welcome Year B – the Gospel of Mark.” We start each new year with the Season of Advent, preparing for the coming of the Messiah.

The lectionary committee may have wanted to play a prank on the church by suggesting we begin the year with one of the most difficult passages in the entire Gospel of Mark, what biblical scholars call “the little apocalypse.” Next week, we’ll hear an introduction to Mark’s Gospel, but for today let’s look at what an “apocalypse” is. Apocalypse means “disclosing” or “unveiling” – a mysterious revelation of something supernatural. Jesus is teaching at the Temple as opponents mount a final attack to arrest and execute him. Jesus is trying to prepare his followers for the worst and reveal to them that the worst leads right into God’s ultimate victory over the sinfulness of all of us, which means his little apocalypse is for us, too. The description is fairly terrifying. The sun goes dark; stars fall out of the sky. Even heavenly powers are disrupted. The whole world seems ready to disintegrate, but actually it is the Day of the Lord approaching. The One called Son of Man (Son of Humanity is a better translation) returns, gathering his beloved to himself. So when we hear Jesus’ teaching, the appropriate word for the day is Hope. After the suffering, the Son of Humanity will come in glorious power. We look toward that day with First Sunday of Advent Hope, because God’s ultimate victory throughout all creation is assured. Listen to this passage from Mark 13. 

“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

            Advent is a time of hope. Each year we celebrate Jesus’ being born among us again, even when we aren’t exactly sure what we mean when we say it. In the passage we hear Jesus teach his first followers (so we are being taught, too) to watch for the coming of God’s ultimate victory, when everything will change. We need to keep doing whatever God expects us to do. And we must keep awake. Advent is a time of keeping alert, preparing, and living in hope.

            So, people prepare for Christmas. Everyone seems to have some kind of tradition for getting ready for December 25th. These weeks before Christmas, lots of people pull out the boxes of Christmas decorations and begin hanging the outside lights, setting up the manger scene on the mantle, spreading the decorations around the house. Julie and Sam have a tradition of getting the tree out on Friday after Thanksgiving. It is quite a task, since their artificial tree is in three pieces, which have to be fit together and the electric cords for the lights have to be connected. One person holds the piece in place while the other goes crawling under the tree to plug things together. Then ornaments are unwrapped, which leads to sharing again the stories about where their favorite ones came from: past vacations or gifts from friends. And there is always lots of laughter. Putting up the tree is a tradition that takes quite a number of hours – then the first hot chocolate of the season is poured as they relax and admire their handiwork.

Christmas preparations for some other people might involve making shopping lists, getting certain presents purchased early so they can get in the mail by the Dec 16th deadline. A gift for the daughter-in-law who is easy to shop for and the son-in-law who is so difficult.

For Sandy, who doesn’t have family anymore and has never been interested in holiday decorations, the one tradition she is committed to is, getting to a really good performance of Handel’s Messiah every December. It seems like everyone has certain holiday traditions that must be observed. They eagerly set out to do what needs to be done every year. People can prepare for Christmas.

            Or you can prepare for Christ. Advent is the season to get ready to receive Christ into your lives again. You’ve seen the phrase is different places that says: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Advent allows you once again to make yourself ready for the coming of God’s Chosen One. This is not to say you shouldn’t hold your annual cookie-baking-with-the-grandkids day, but the Christmas events need to take a back seat to the Christ event. Focusing on Jesus can be the best preparation. After all, Jesus himself said only God knows when the master of the house, the Savior of the Universe, will show up again. The inhabitants of heaven don’t know; Jesus doesn’t know. Only God knows, who has promised the Son of Humanity will come.

So, what might you do as you prepare for Christ? How might you get ready to meet the baby Jesus anew? A good discipline could be to spend time with the Advent devotional this year, which by the way is called Glow, which is what happens to the shepherds’ faces when they find the baby. Spending time in devotion to God each day can keep you focused on what Advent is really about, to help you prepare for the re-arrival in your life of the One who would die for you, whose teachings you are willing to follow anew. As the time of Jesus approaches, you could try to stay light on your feet (light on your proverbial feet, I mean), so you can pivot to a different direction with ease if you realize where you were heading was taking you farther away from where Jesus is. In addition to staying light on your feet, Advent is a good time for anyone to humble their heart before God, to acknowledge that no matter how long you have been following Jesus, you still have more to learn. Being ready to receive Christ anew is best done standing with your eyes wide open and your face alert, asking Jesus to awaken life in you in some new way. Instead of just getting caught up in preparation for Christmas, during these weeks of Advent, you can prepare for Christ.

            But then, watch out. Recommit to Jesus and everything changes. The awkward thing about receiving Jesus again is, life will not stay the same. No matter if we were baptized 45 years ago (or more), if we reawaken our commitment to Jesus, we will find our lives altered. Renewed faith in Jesus manifests itself in ways we never expect. So let’s be warned.

In the first century, various theories existed about what it would be like when God’s Messiah arrived. Many people thought since he would be a descendant of King David, he would ascend the throne of Israel and raise up an army to throw off Roman occupation. But instead, they got a vulnerable baby born into a day-laborer’s family. Probably no one expected he would teach followers to love their enemies. They hated Romans. And no one could possibly believe that the Chosen One would be executed as a common criminal.

So, we can assume, any expectations we have are most probably mistaken. If Christ is born again among us (literally or spiritually), not only our expectations, but our lives may require dramatic change. Even if we just commit our lives to Christ anew, we have to be ready for anything. Because when we recognize the God of all creation has come in human flesh, just to let us know the greatest power in the universe loves us; would give anything for us – none of us should stay the same.

Some of us may remember hearing the old story of how after God created birds, they wandered around griping about their deformed arms, waddling because of their awkward weight, and complaining. Couldn’t God have done better by them? Until the day one of the birds fell off the side of a hill and in a panic as she fell, tried to catch onto anything to keep her from crashing into the ground. Imagine her surprise when a thermal caught her flapping wings and carried her into the sky.

Imagine if Christ is somehow discovered anew among us during Advent and opens us to amazing new possibilities with the very gifts and abilities we have been ignoring. Imagine the new heights to which we might fly.

Opening ourselves to Jesus anew will change our lives in ways we cannot possibly predict. 2 Corinthians 5 says, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Which means, look out. Everything changes!

            When Advent comes around, we need to keep awake. We need to watch for the plans Jesus is revealing for our future. Or we can just make plans for life as usual (or what we might call church as usual). Let’s take these 4 weeks to open ourselves to prepare to receive Christ anew, knowing God will come in ways we cannot predict. So, of course we need to keep our eyes open. Then look out! Because if we prepare for something holy, to receive God, to welcome Christ anew, we are promised our lives will change.