Birth
Lectionary Readings:
Daniel 12.1-3
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10.11-25
Mark 13.1-8
The temple in Jerusalem was supposed to be unshakable, unmovable, unending. As the disciples marveled at its sheer size, its strength, and its might, they were awestruck. Surely Jesus felt the same way. After all, Jesus had just commended a widow for giving all she had to support the life of this great temple. Jesus had to know this was the heart of Jewish worship, and nothing could shake, rattle, or roll it away.
And then Jesus opens his mouth and removes all doubt about how he felt about the temple system. It was coming to an end. These large stones, these large buildings, these unshakable, unending things were going to be toppled and destroyed utterly. It's not that Jesus despised the temple – when he was twelve, he identified this very temple as the place where his Father's business was going on. Jesus just knew something about what was going on. He could read the signs.
Jesus could tell which way the wind was blowing, where history was heading. Perhaps it was some divine knowledge that revealed this to him. Maybe it was a hunch. Or maybe he knew what God would do to an unfaithful people and system. Whatever the reason, Jesus read the signs in the air and predicted – rightly, I might add – that these great stones and buildings would all be laid to waste.
I don't know what kind of apocalypse the disciples anticipated, but they had to be disturbed. Here it was, their religious system, their political center, the very place they worshiped God, was going to be torn down. Peter, James, John, and Andrew come to Jesus and flat out ask him when this was going to happen? Were they going to live through this? Is this in their future?
Instead of Jesus giving them a date and time, Jesus begins to warn them that they don't let anyone lead them astray. Many will come claiming to be the messiah, claiming to lead people to salvation. Many will come claiming they are the savior we're looking for, whether that be political or spiritual. These saviors are going to fight, pitting a nation against itself and notions against other nations. But all these ward and rumors of war are nothing more than the beginning of the birth pangs.
The beginning of birth pangs is a weird time. I say this as someone who has been there for all of the birth of both of my sons. At first, my wife wasn't sure if the contractions were there or if they were Braxton-Higgs (a kind of counterfeit contraction). She was uncomfortable and cautious, but we weren't worried, panicked, or rushed. The beginnings of the birth pangs were a time to wait and see how things went down. No water had broken, no major contractions, just cautious anticipation.
It is in this context that the temple is going to be laid waste. When Jerusalem is in the siege, and the people of Israel are exiled, when everything is deconstructed and taken away, this is the beginning, the time for cautious anticipation.
So, where in your life are the large stones that you rely on, the grand buildings you are sure will last? Is it politics? Is it religion? Family? Your job? What is it that you are sure isn't going to be lost no matter what happens? The truth is, whatever it is, it is finite. It can be knocked down. And when the temples of our lives are knocked down, we begin looking for saviors. And there are plenty saying, "I am he!" There is no shortage of people and things, systems, and structures, offering us their brand of salvation. But they can't all be true. So, they will fight for you, for your life, your attention, your heart. This feels apocalyptic in our hearts, but it's just the beginning of the birth pangs.
The better question isn't how to survive the destruction of the temples in our lives or which savior to put our trust in. the better question is what is going to be birthed?
The underlying truth of Jesus' apocalyptic words is that the kingdom of God is being born amid all this turmoil. Here is where we love our neighbor, in the middle of wars and rumors and false messiahs; here is where we give out of the nothing we hold, in the turmoil, the devastation, the hurt. In the middle of these beginnings of the birth pangs, this is where we look forward to the kingdom that is being birthed, that we become doula's of, that we want to invite everyone to look forward to, to keep hope in, and not to lose themselves chasing false messiahs and scrambling to keep the temples of their lives from collapsing.
Resurrection is coming. The new birth is on the way. We're just not there yet.