November 14, 2021 St Andrew Day
First Lesson: Psalm 16
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.
4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Second Lesson: Mark 13:1-8
As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 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 birth pangs.
Eggs, donuts, zodiac signs, steps in AA, tribes of Israel, disciples. All of these things come in sets of twelve. Movie buffs might include the Dirty Dozen. Twelve is a number that has meaning and feels complete. A bit more than ten, on which our numerical system is based, but not so much more as to be distracting. Jesus chose twelve men to follow him, to be his apostles. Three are the favorites: Peter, James and John. Now you might argue that, but they are the ones that have the largest place in the telling of the good news. Many have only been recorded upon their calling: Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, and the other James and Simon. We know a bit more about Philip, Matthew and Thomas. Of course, Judas made a name for himself. But that leaves Andrew.
Andrew is mentioned in the New Testament twelve times. Isn’t that curious. He is one of twelve and is mentioned twelve times. At times he plays a major role like when he introduces his brother Simon Peter to Jesus (John 1:42) or when Andrew brings the young boy to Jesus in the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:8). I was surprised that one of those twelve times Andrew is mentioned was in our lectionary passage for today. Why was Andrew added to the three favorites? So even though it does not feel like a St. Andrew Day text, I felt it was a lesson for the day.
An unnamed disciple notes the magnitude of the stones of the temple. A place Jesus has frequented often. But then Jesus declares its destruction. Some wonder if this is about the physical destruction of the Temple in 70 AD or wondering about the end of times. A bit of geography helps. Jesus just came from the Temple which was part of the Old City. Across the Kidron Valley to the east is the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives. King David prays on the Mount of Olives. The prophets Zechariah and Ezekiel prophesied from here. Jesus visits the mount three times in his final week. First riding on a donkey before entering Jerusalem, here when discussing the end of times with four disciples and on his last night he prayed there before his betrayal. Acts also tells us that the Mount of Olives is the place to which Jesus will return (1:11).
It makes sense Jesus would have the conversation about the end of times with these four disciples here. Addressing their fears about how everything feels like it is changing. Mark’s gospel was written around the time of the war between the Jews and Romans from 66 to 70. It would feel like the end of times, “telos,” when all that destruction is occurring. Chapter 13 has apocalyptic themes. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.” One commentator writes, “While our context is radically different from first-century Palestine, our realities have been rapidly changing, from increasing wealth disparity, climate change reaching the “red zone,” and the rise of COVID-19 cases when many expected them to be falling. It is increasingly challenging to find a foothold in how to respond, what to do, and what will save us… These crises inspire big questions of who and how we are in the world; they likewise inspire big questions of in whom we believe and the shape that belief takes in practice.” (Working Preacher, Amanda Brobst-Renaud).
Jesus is our Savior and Lord. Jesus is the one to follow and believe. But when the world feels crazy, we can lose sight of that. With the fires, earthquakes, famines, pandemics, and wars, some have interpreted this passage as saying sure bring it on, because it means the end of times and Jesus will be coming. But that is not the message. Jesus warns the disciples to not be led astray. To not follow the religious leaders or rich and powerful men who make the claim “I am he!” (12:38-41). Yes, things are bad and are going to get worse, Jesus is about to be crucified. But following false prophets or powerful people is not the answer.
We celebrate St. Andrew Day because Andrew was able to follow Jesus; to invite and encourage people in Greece, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia to do the same. Andrew was the first apostle of Jesus. The first to follow once John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus, the Lamb of God. Scotland and Russia have claimed Andrew as their patron saint and hence our tradition of St. Andrew Day. We have claimed the traditions of tartans, the same way Scotland claimed Andrew as their saint. But let us never forget, it is Jesus that we follow. It is Jesus who points the way to the future. It is Jesus who is our hope.
Andrew, his brother Peter, James and John asked Jesus about signs of destruction. Jesus does not answer them here, but does a bit later, stating “About the day or hour no one know, neither angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (13:32). We will never know the time, but we do know the orchestrator. None of us knows the future, but God does. This is our chief source of comfort and strength. God knows.
“Professor and author Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He is best known for his book Night, a memoir of his family’s suffering in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Elie was just fifteen years old when his family was deported from Romania to Auschwitz. His mother, father and younger sister were murdered in the camps.
You would think that suffering a tragedy this great would make him deeply pessimistic about the future. Instead, Elie Wiesel encouraged people to live with courage and hope, to choose their attitude toward the future. In one of his works, he writes, ‘One must wager on the future. To save the life of a single child, no effort is superfluous. To make a tired old man smile is to perform an essential task. To defeat injustice and misfortune, if only for one instant, for a single victim, is to invent a new reason to hope.’
Realizing that God knows the future gives us a new reason to hope. If we know God’s character, then we trust God’s purposes. In spite of uncertainty, in spite of suffering, in spite of circumstances, we can trust the future to God and give our best to the present moment. Rather than wallowing in speculation or fear, we can focus on doing good works and sharing God’s love right now in our present circumstances. And in this way, we can invent new reasons to hope” Sermons.com, King Duncan).
Our Psalmist declares a similar hope in the future. After tremendous hardship, they conclude, Lord, “you show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures evermore” (11). So if the cares of the world feel heavy, remember that there is joy in the presence of God, hope in what lies ahead. Because even if we do not know when, we know who is in charge. God is working on behalf of humanity. God moves in ways we cannot see. God is always about the business of making new futures possible.
We also see hope in the final verse. All these things will happen, wars, earthquakes and famine, but these are only birthing pains. All of us know and many of us have experienced the travails of giving birth, but they are only short lived and usually followed by the blessing of a newborn infant. A promise for the future and a hope in what lies ahead. Even if we don’t know the future, we don’t have to live in fear. Rather we can live tenderly, we can live with love. We only have to trust His promise that God knows the future, and our time is safe in God’s hands. Amen.
