Don’t Be Led Astray

In the Gospel of Mark we are told that Jesus came out of the temple.  He had been in the temple teaching and as we heard last week he told the story about a poor widow who gave everything she had to the temple treasury.

In our reading today as Jesus emerged from the temple one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”  The temple was very large and most impressive.  As Katherine Grieb, professor of biblical interpretation and New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary tells us, “The Jerusalem temple newly reconstructed by Herod the Great at great expense, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  The project began about 20 years before the birth of Jesus, and the inner sanctuary was completed quickly,” although completion of the entire temple required many years. “The huge retaining walls that supported the temple were composed of great white stones as long as 40 feet, some of which still stand as part of the Western Wall.” 

The disciple must have been amazed when Jesus then asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."  What did Jesus mean by this?  Was he predicting the destruction of the temple as it happened many years later in 70 AD? 

Mark then tells us that Jesus moved across the way from the temple and was sitting on the Mount of Olives when the first four disciples he had called, “Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’"

In replying to their question Jesus said they were to “beware that no one leads you astray.”  They could expect false prophets, hear about political conflicts, “wars and rumors of wars,” and natural disasters, earthquakes and famines.  Then he added, “This is the beginning of the birth pangs."  Or as another translation states, it is the beginning of their sorrows

Jesus, in effect, told his disciples and he is telling us that God does not abide in buildings.  Temples, churches and mosques are important and matter to us as holy places, but what is really significant is that God is alive within the human community. 

God also opposes the forces of exploitation and injustice.  Earthquakes and famine happen but what results afterwards is hope for our human future, the realization of the kingdom of God and the new life that evolves.

Think about this for a moment.  We all know about disasters, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, violent attacks, wars and other forms of devastation.  Following a tragedy there is grief and the slow and difficult process of cleaning the rubble and healing.  How true this is when we see what happened in Paris on Friday.  Finally, over time there is a new day when all things are made whole and new once more.

Mark’s continues his account beyond our reading today with words of warning.  Jesus referred to the coming crisis as a “desolating sacrilege.”  The temple was under the control of the Jewish authorities and it was being used for political purposes.  Jesus’ concern was the impending end of the political world that had been organized around the temple.

Jesus then said, “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants.  Pray that it may not be in winter [because] there will be suffering such as there has never been.”  He was speaking to those who were oppressed and persecuted.  The implied judgment was about liberation, relief from oppression, and the importance of human dignity.

What all this means for you and me today is that, when we are feeling anxious, stressed out, or living in a state of fear, we must be wary of those who claim they can rescue us from our distress.  They just might be the “false messiahs and false prophets who appear and produce signs and omens to lead us astray.”  Jesus warned his disciples, and he warns us, that we should not be fooled by false prophets and promises.  Instead, we should spread the good news of his love and the inclusion of all people in God’s heavenly kingdom.  May God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.