Second Before Advent (Year B)
Wakefield Cathedral, 18th November 2018
This Sunday is the penultimate Sunday of the church year. Next week, completes the year with our celebration of Christ the King, before moving on to Advent, when it all begins again, and the inexorable embrace of Christmas.
This always seems to be a busy time of year, as no doubt the staff of this Cathedral can bear witness.
Last week we remembered the fallen of our wars, with events, music, words and imagery. We may have been present at a memorial event or watched it on the telly. We may be dedicated advocates of a national collective remembrance, or we may find it to be a time of great challenge, perhaps even divisive.
It is right and proper that we remember, and it is imperative that we honour that memory of sacrifice; that it might have an enduring resonance in the here and now; the legacy of building a peaceful and caring world. If we don’t do this, then what was it all for?
This December marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. From out of the maelstrom and chaotic horror of war, the United Nations came into being and, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It set out, for the very first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
Here was a very real, hopeful and positive effort to address the ravages of war and forge durable relationships and build communities for a future that was still very uncertain and unknown, placing a value on human life and dignity, freedom and liberty, seemingly beyond national boundaries and laws.
Uncertainty prevails now, just as much as it did then. We have had more wars and bloodshed, and we struggle with peace. These days we might wonder if the next war will be the last. In our darker moments we may indeed fear the end of times and wonder what that will mean.
On this final “teaching” Sunday of the Church year we are treated to a selection of passages from scripture that might be perceived as confusing or obscure, in that they connect themes of apocalypse, the return of Jesus, and even the destruction of the Temple, that would in fact happen some 40 years later.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus and His friends are on the Mount of Olives looking out over the city. The rebuilt Temple is colossal, filling their view with magnificence and power; it’s very being an assurance of the eternal presence of God; despite the Roman Empire exercising their own awesome power and might in the neighbourhood.
Jesus has just told the disciples that it will all fall down and be completely destroyed…. and they want to know what that means. Surely such an event, if it happens at all, could only be at the end of the age. Is Jesus saying that the End is coming? What should we look for? How will we know? Does this mean that it will be Jesus himself who brings this change, and what will happen to us?
Jesus provides an answer but perhaps not the one they were expecting.
Seeking signs and wanting certainty will not help them. The normal world will continue – Roman oppression, corruption and inequality, uncertainty and war, and worse, for them – persecution and judgement for following Jesus – all that will come to pass…. And this must be so.
The birth pangs, or birth pains….. the expectancy….. God’s Kingdom will come – Jesus Himself is ushering it in – and there will be Judgement. Just not yet.
Jesus warns them not be distracted or subverted by those who claim to be speaking for Jesus – who will say that theirs is the righteous path.
He counsels against being alarmed – and this is not just a comfort – but a wake-up call to keep their eyes on the task ahead: proclaim the Good News and love one another as they are loved. Keep going!
For history is populated by personalities so attractive, compelling and strong that they seem to offer the solution; a way for us to feel justified in our fears, subverting our hopes and praying upon our vulnerabilities – and they are followed, by many….!
In Daniel chapter 12, a passage that resonates with our Gospel today, he speaks of a time of anguish and distress, a time of deliverance, when a prince-protector will come, surely to chastise our enemies and justify ourselves! Daniel says no – deliverance must be about wisdom and leading one another to righteousness.
And this is echoed in the passage from Hebrews. There is only one sacrifice for sin, one atonement – Jesus Christ. There are no assurances of wisdom and righteousness, or protection and isolation from disaster, only a hope in the faithfulness of God. Christian discipleship must be about encouraging one another in love and kindness, living in Christ.
So, what does this mean for us now? What can we do to honour the sacrifices made and be ready for the everyday anguish, and lack of certainty, we live through now?
Have faith.
That’s easy to say, isn’t it? Have faith. But is it easy to do?
As Christian disciples how do we encourage our friends and loved ones, or people we don’t yet know or maybe don’t even like? Do we suggest that they “have faith” and believe in a God that loves us, and wants us to love one another, as He loves us?
Rowan Williams says of discipleship, that it is a state of being: of expectant awareness, listening attentiveness, watching and waiting….. that being in a relationship with God, the disciple knows that something will happen…. an attentive stillness in the presence of Jesus that brings an active and transfiguring love to the place where He is, with the people He shares his company with.
For me, it’s about how we engage with the world and one another. There is only one way to encourage others and that is with the certainty that our humanity – in all its forms – is a blessing from God, and that all humanity represents hope.
We can lead by example: sit quietly in prayer; or we can embrace one another and support someone in need. Whatever we do, offer dignity and respect – not judgement or a presumption of our own rightness! We have been reassured that God’s faithfulness is forever.
As disciples we are charged with staying awake, with Jesus. It is He who is establishing the Kingdom, and we are His body. By our watching and waiting we can be ready for others in times of trial
During the early 1960’s Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International wisely voiced this proverb: “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”. He saw the tragedy of human rights being torn apart and he did something about it, beginning a campaign for social change that aimed to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights a reality for all people in all places.
Sadly, as we know, such an undertaking is for all time, and there is still much to be done, with respect for human dignity being diminished every day. Yet wanting to make a difference, the hope of making a difference, is always worthwhile.
Surely then, when we hear of wars and rumours of wars, as Christian disciples, we might hope to respond by loving more, praying more, being ready and not following in the wrong footsteps.
So. We remember.
We remember that there is still much to do.
We recall that our discipleship, and the ways in which we love our neighbour, can honour the sacrifices made by our forbears.
We remember that we are a part of the Kingdom – that we pray to come into being – yet it is not fully here – not yet.
We are not called to stand and wait, assuming we are righteous and ready, or casting our own judgements on others.
No, we are to be disciples who love, who lead our sisters and brothers to a closer relationship with God – lighting a candle in the darkness, and then taking them by the hand.
We pray,
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus,
who was wounded for our sins,
that you may bear in your life the joy,
peace and love which are the marks of Jesus in his disciples.
Amen.
Ⓒ Simon Beresford 2018
Bibliography
Williams, J. 2011 Lectionary Reflections: Years A, B & C, SPCK (126-127)
Bell, J.L. & Maule, G. 2002 Be On Your Guard in Present on Earth, Wild Goose Resources Group (170)
Wright, N.T. 1996 Jesus and the Victory of God, SPCK
Williams, R. 2016 Being Disciples, SPCK