Be Ready (Mark 13:9-23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Art by Mark Keathley

“As for yourselves, beware, for they will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. 

“When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit. 

“Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down or enter to take anything from the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. 

“For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. 

“And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’—do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything. (New Revised Standard Version)

The genuineness and strength of one’s faith is demonstrated through the testing of it. A believer’s faith must and will be tried. How will that faith hold up when the world is angry and pours out its hate against them?

Jesus teaching in the Temple, by Willem van Herp (1614-1677)

The follower of Jesus will undergo afflictions and be oppressed by others. They will suffer.

Since that is true, the Christian must ensure that whatever suffering they endure is not because they have been obnoxious and unhelpful to people in this world; but that they are suffering because of their commitment to the words and ways of Jesus, because of their humility, gentleness, righteousness, purity, mercy, and peace.

Christians are meant to bear the cross, so that they may be conformed to the image of their Lord Jesus. There will be times when believers are the brunt of ungodly rage and fury, gossip and slander, opposition and injustice.

Jesus was warning his disciples that they needed to be prepared for endurance, to persevere over the long haul for their faith in him. Otherwise, they might be overwhelmed by temptation.

Christ followers are to remain steady in their purpose of living into the words of Jesus, and living out his ways in a world that prizes the opposite of Christian values.

The godly person values humility. The ungodly persons values pride.

The godly grieve and mourn over injustice in the world. The ungodly celebrate getting ahead by any means possible in this world.

The godly are meek. The ungodly are mean.

The godly seek right relationships with God and others. The ungodly leverage relationships to get what they want.

The godly prize mercy. The ungodly champion being merciless.

The godly are pure in heart. The ungodly have spiders in their heart, and garlic in their soul.

The godly engage in peacemaking. The ungodly engage in warmongering.

The godly end are persecuted for embracing the virtues of Jesus. The ungodly are the persecutors of good people.

The godly will be comforted, inherit the earth, receive mercy, see God, and belong to the kingdom of heaven. The ungodly will be judged, inherit the wind, receive condemnation, see nothing, and belong to the kingdom of darkness.

Sermon on the Mount, by Jorge Cocco Santángelo

The Lord wants us relieved of anxiety, and cheerfully living life with our burdens laid upon Jesus, for he gently and ably carries them. We can cast all our cares on him, because he cares for us. (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7)

Whenever we are in the position of being afflicted by others, wisdom shall be granted to the godly who follow in the way of Christ.

The grace of God exists for those who seek to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. But there is nothing for the proud and arrogant, who believe they themselves are sufficient – because they refuse to receive any gift of God being offered to them.

All sorts of false prophets come along to try and deceive the godly into listening and following them. They make empty promises and blame others for unwanted situations. Know that whatever they say about others, is actually true of themselves.

So, when they accuse another of lying, cheating, stealing, murdering, etc. you can be sure that this is precisely what they themselves do to get ahead and get what they want in this life. Therefore, don’t be tempted by any rhetoric which demeans others.

Love of God and humanity is to be kindled hot, and not cooled through ingratitude and treachery. For whenever courage is weakened, a flood of violent speech and behavior follows.

We must strive against anything which harms the whole of humanity, and puts God at a distance. Instead, good news needs to be proclaimed.

The end will eventually come. Yet, we need not wander around in darkness, as if we don’t know what to do or where to go. We will indeed go through testing and many trials to our faith.

The desolating sacrilege, the abomination of desolation, will appear – which will be the sign that the time is short. An abomination, or desolation, means to profane something, to make it unclean or impure, to treat a holy thing as if it were simply not significant nor important.

In other words, whenever and wherever corruption is rife, and people (and God) are treated as disposable, then you know destruction is at hand. Thus, you must flee, because there is danger.

In such a situation, the rule of law will not help you. Services which were once helpful will be abolished and thrown away like garbage. And it could all happen rather quickly. So, don’t run back and try to save pieces of that previous life and existence; it isn’t worth it. You life is on the line.

Malicious motives and meanness of heart have no intention for the common good of all persons on this earth. A few people want what they want, and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process.

None of this awful behavior will go on forever. God’s judgment can and will deal with it. Yet, no one knows the time or date when that judgment will be rendered. For the sake of the godly, those days will be shortened.

Jesus was not attempting scare his disciples, but to exhort and arouse them to beware of the ungodly; and to keep watch, so that they would not fall into temptation and have their faith weakened.

As believers, we may experience troubles, but we need not be troubled.

The Good Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, is watching over us so that we don’t need to become distressed and discouraged.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  (John 10:27-29, NRSV)

The permanence of our deliverance from guilt, shame, sin, death, and hell does not depend on any of us. It is relies firmly upon the grace of God in Christ. And none who have been given to God shall perish. (John 17:12)

Be encouraged. But also be ready.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.

Telling a Story of Faith (Deuteronomy 26:5-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
A 13th century artwork depicting the Apostles writing the Creed

Then, standing there in front of the place of worship, you must pray:

My ancestor was homeless,
an Aramean who went to live
    in Egypt.
There were only a few
    in his family then,
but they became great
and powerful,
    a nation of many people.

The Egyptians were cruel
    and had no pity on us.
They mistreated our people
    and forced us into slavery.
We called out for help
to you, the Lord God
    of our ancestors.
You heard our cries;
you knew we were in trouble
    and abused.
Then you terrified the Egyptians
with your mighty miracles
    and rescued us from Egypt.
You brought us here
and gave us this land
    rich with milk and honey.
Now, Lord, I bring to you
the best of the crops
    that you have given me.

After you say these things, place the basket in front of the Lord’s altar and bow down to worship him. (Contemporary English Version)

Forty years of wandering throughout the desert, in the backside of the wilderness. Having been delivered out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God, the Israelites were on a very circuitous journey to the Promised Land.

The Book of Deuteronomy is a restatement of the people’s history and God’s law for the generation about to enter the land of Canaan. Moses told the people that when they enter the land and have their first harvest of crops, they are to remember and give thanks for all their blessings.

People need to be reminded of important things. Sometimes, in the middle of success and good fortune, we can forget to savor the moment, neglect to appreciate what it took to get to this place, and fail to celebrate with others the God who has made good things happen.

Interestingly, in appreciation for the abundance of a harvest, Moses did not tell the people to give thanks for the weather or the crops themselves. Rather, they were exhorted to recall and retell the story of Israel and their ancestors.

Through historical narrative, the Israelites tethered themselves to their present reality. They located themselves in the past, as contemporary links in a holy chain that stretched generations, all the way back to the patriarch Jacob.

This sort of relational and generational gratitude is in stark contrast to what current cultural appreciation and thanksgiving is, for cars, homes, jobs, resources, and stuff. Although thankfulness is appropriate and necessary for those things, none of it is lasting and sustainable.

Beneath all of the purchased things and electronic devices is a longing for connection, a desire to know who we are, where we came from, and what our true roots are.

Greater emotional health comes from knowing where we came from. Our connections to family, friends, church, and community are a vital and essential piece of living a good life with satisfaction and contentment.

Healthy roots enable us to respond well to the challenges of life with strength and resilience.

One way to recall and remember is to recite a creed. Sadly, many churches today recoil at reciting creeds and confessions, as if this were a bad thing. But there is significance and power to a group of people who stand and recite an ancient creed together.

The Christian ecumenical church creeds, including the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed, capture the settled convictions of early believers in Jesus as they struggled to express their faith in the church and the world.

Those creeds are a part of us, and of our collective spiritual history as the people of God. There are yet other kinds of creeds, as well. We have an even more ancient creed expressed in today’s Old Testament lesson – the sort of creed that tells a story.

Moses gave the Israelites some parting instructions to follow for their future worship in the Promised Land. When they enter the land a bring in their harvest, they were to bring the first-fruits of their crops to the priest, and then profess a creed, which is really a story, a historical narrative of God’s people.

Every Jewish farmer and worshiper who brought their crop to the priest would recite the creed about their ancestors suffering in Egypt and being redeemed by God through a great deliverance. God granted them the gift of land, a promised place to call their own.

We as the people of God must discern the importance of embracing the story of redemption, of crying out and being delivered from the shackles of sin, death, and hell. We receive this salvation with thanksgiving and joy.

Christians tell their story of deliverance not only through the ancient ecumenical creeds, but also through the sacramental means of communion. The Table proclaims the life and death of Christ, given for us, and for our salvation. It is a story with deep roots in the life of Israel.

Believers in Jesus are invited to participate is something bigger than themselves. The Christian’s story begins not at Pentecost in the New Testament, but in the promise to Abraham way back in the Old Testament.

The blessing given to Abraham was a blessing for all nations, not just Israel (Genesis 12:1-3). Knowing the roots of our spiritual life and Christian faith helps inform us how we are to live out that faith and life in this present time.

Within Christianity, our history and story is much bigger than Europe and Western civilization. The earliest church began in the Middle East. Ancient Christian traditions and churches still exist, and worship today in places like Egypt and Ethiopia. There are presently large numbers of Christians in every part of the world, especially in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Essentially, we are the lost, the last, the forgotten, the outsiders who cried out to God. And the Lord rescued us, blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ, and gave us the privilege of being ambassadors for Christ in the world.

We belong to God. Along with believers throughout the ages, and across the world, we declare:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

With God In the Dark (Psalm 3)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
By Unknown Artist

Lord, I have so many enemies!
    So many are standing against me.
So many are talking about me:
    “Even God won’t help him.”
But you, Lord, are my shield!
    You are my glory!
    You are the one who restores me.
I cry out loud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down, sleep, and wake up
    because the Lord helps me.
I won’t be afraid of thousands of people
    surrounding me on all sides.

Stand up, Lord!
    Save me, my God!
In fact, hit all my enemies on the jaw;
    shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Rescue comes from the Lord!
    May your blessing be on your people! (Common English Bible)

I don’t like cockeye arrogant people. It irks me when a person believes that their way is the only way. Such persons within the church tend to think God is always on their side. Their pride leads them to believe that God won’t help anyone who differs from them.

That sort of arrogance causes the proud person to become a self-appointed judge of all things. So, they have no problem believing that they are God’s instrument of judgment toward those who don’t agree with them.

Ironically, in their delusion, enemies of God actually believe they are on God’s side.

These were the sort of persons that opposed the psalmist, King David. They thought they knew better about how to reign over a kingdom than David did. So, David prayed with a lot of flavor for God to disprove the arrogant assertions of his enemies.

David rightly asserted that trust has its foundation in God, and not in the beliefs of humans. He discerned that God is his shield and protection against the foe. David believed that the power of God can repel any attack, as well as restore anyone to any position, as God sees fit.

The contrast in the psalm is between humble David and his proud enemies. David was the sort of person who called on God when he was in trouble. David’s enemies were the kind of people who first formed their own opinions and laid their own plans, then told God to bless what they came up with.

That’s not only the difference between humility and pride; it is also the difference between wisdom and foolishness, intelligence and stupidity.

Whatever David’s opponents would do is no match for the protective encircling presence of God around him. Although proud enemies are like wild animals with powerful jaws, God can snatch anyone out of their teeth.

Even though David’s enemies advanced against him with arrogant self-confidence, God can rescue anyone from any army. No plan formed against the godly person shall succeed. The Lord can deliver one from any and every situation.

With God, one’s fear is mitigated by faith; and sleep eventually comes with a relaxing trust in the Lord. The faithful Christian arises with a prayer in their heart saying:

Almighty God, everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do today, direct me to the fulfillment of Your purposes, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

The godly understand that the Lord never slumbers nor sleeps. God is ever-present with needed watch-care. And so, we declare along with the psalmist:

I look to the hills!
    Where will I find help?
It will come from the Lord,
    who created heaven and earth.

The Lord is your protector,
and he won’t go to sleep
    or let you stumble.
The protector of Israel
doesn’t doze
    or ever get drowsy.

The Lord is your protector,
there at your right side
    to shade you from the sun.
You won’t be harmed
by the sun during the day
    or by the moon at night.

The Lord will protect you
and keep you safe
    from all dangers.
The Lord will protect you
now and always
    wherever you go. (Psalm 121, CEV)

Even though the believer may become burdened with distress and adversity, without any sign of relief, they never cease to cry out and call upon God. They trust in God’s promises. They support themselves with their knowledge of God. They endure and persevere through all things.

In the end, the faithful will realize blessing and goodness. The unfaithful and arrogant won’t.

Perhaps you have been tossing and turning every night. If you sleep at all, your dreams are nightmares. During the day you might have the wherewithal to resist doubt and distress. But at night, your defenses are down, and waves of anxiety come upon you like a bunch of unwanted thugs.

In your disquieted state, make your repose to God. There is no shame in discouragement and defeat, for all the godly will suffer in some way. You shall ultimately prove victorious over all your fears, because of your reliance upon the Lord.

Whereas the ungodly puffed up person relies upon themselves, they shall be overcome by the smallest of perils. They do not realize that the routines of prayer, mindfulness, self-awareness, and the singing of hymns regulate and regimen the mind, even when unwanted situations persist for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time.

The unfaithful don’t understand that consistent rhythms of faithfulness done day after day, despite one’s circumstances, leads to a good life.

This liturgy of life in communing with God perhaps happens best at night.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night. (Psalm 63:6, NIV)

In the night, Lord, I remember your name,
    that I may keep your law. (Psalm 119:55, NIV)

If you are a night owl, then use the time after everyone is in bed to take advantage of the quiet time with God. Your faith can be and is being forged in those dark hours after sunset. Allow yourself to fall asleep in God’s protective hands.

If you are a morning person, arise before the dawn and let the unhindered time when everyone else is sleeping bring you close to God in prayer and devotion. Let the coming of the day be shaped by the consistent discipline of scripture reading and contemplative prayer.

I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word. (Psalm 119:147, NIV)

May the dark hours be to you blessing and honor. May the glory and power of God be seen, even in the night. For God sees you, and is with you, now and forever. Amen.

Beware of Your Fear (Mark 13:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, 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?” 

Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 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. (New Revised Standard Version)

In my undergraduate college days, decades ago, springtime brought a regular staple of sidewalk preachers calling for people to repent, because the end of the world is imminent.

That was in the days of the Cold War; the specter of a nuclear holocaust was a real fear among many. The outdoor preachers got a serious hearing with some.

Although religious end times preaching gets little attention anymore, the idea of a cataclysmic apocalypse is still very much a part of the culture. Dystopian novels are widely read; and stockpiling for a zombie apocalypse is a real thing.

End of the world stuff is, at the least, interesting and/or fascinating to many; and, at the most, there are folks fully prepared for an apocalypse of the world to happen in their lifetime.

Christ’s disciples asked him a question. And Jesus went directly to talking apocalypse.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus takes on demons and all sorts of other-worldly opposition. Christ is certainly presented by Mark as one who discerns there is much more going on – and will go on – in this world than what it may seem on the surface of things.

Jerusalem and Herod’s Temple, by James Tissot, c.1890

The disciples saw large and wonderful stones which were part of the temple. They marveled at what their physical eyes perceived. But Jesus saw further, into the future, and was not at all impressed; he saw a time of apocalypse. All of those stones in a heap. No one marveling over the temple.

Christ’s disciples wanted to know when such a time would happen. As was often the case with Jesus, he didn’t answer their question, at least not directly. He used it as an opportunity to teach about things to come.

The gist of Christ’s words to his disciples was to communicate that things are going to get worse than what they already are. The Roman occupation they were experiencing is nothing compared to what’s coming.

The apocalyptic language had been around in ancient Judea for a long time. There had been centuries of people talking about the world’s end.

Apocalyptic stuff is nothing new to contemporary folk, as well. Just mention the Book of Revelation and heads pop up, eyebrows raise, and imagination goes to seed.

We as biblical readers, however, need to observe that Jesus didn’t answer the question of his disciples. Which is perhaps something we must become more alert to.

Nobody knows when the end of the world will come. Not even Jesus. But that doesn’t seem to stop folks from asking anyway. Perhaps we need to ask a different question. Instead of asking “When will these things happen?” maybe we ought to ask, “What must I watch out for?”

The change of question orients us in a different way. Rather than end times speculation, we begin watching for things which are dangerous to humanity, things that bring upheaval to our world.

We start valuing awareness and observance, listening and contemplating. We learn to place our energies wisely into the things we believe truly matter in this life for the common good of all.

God is up to all sorts of kingdom business that is beyond our purview, and frankly, even beyond our ability to perceive or understand.

When we accept the exhortation of Jesus to “beware,” then we watch and look for things that are already here among us, and not get lost in a future we cannot predict. That type of future orientation only produces the kind of worry and anxiety that leads to fear.

And when fear takes root, it spawns the evils of hate and injustice. We become vulnerable to selfish incompetent leaders who make promises to take our fears away. We end up doing terrible acts against others, like imprisoning political opponents, denaturalizing and deporting citizens we don’t like, and creating fascist states that oppress others.

Fallen stones from the destruction of the Temple

But if we will wake up, hear the call of Jesus to beware, and awaken to our true commitment to the kingdom of God, we will then forsake fear-based tactics, and courageously help others in both body and soul.

It also means that, at times, we are off somewhere in centering and contemplative prayer, just like our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that the real source of power and authority is outside of us.

A true biblical view of the end times is about God working out divine purpose on behalf of all humanity. It isn’t about us and all of our fears and anxieties getting worked out in harmful ways.

The realization of a coming apocalypse must lead us toward faith and trust in the God who holds justice, righteousness, and mercy in good divine hands.

God has no limitations because of our questions. God will be God. God is who God is. Our task is to watch, remain faithful, and persevere until Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

May it be so, to the glory of God.