Not one stone

The disciples were like tourists when they finally got to Jerusalem. One can almost imagine them taking selfies, buying postcards, and snacking on food from street vendors as they marveled at the grandeur of Jerusalem and the temple that was that heart of the city.

“Look at all these magnificent stones! Look at these beautiful buildings!” the disciples exclaimed.

But Jesus, ever the party pooper, said, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

Wait… what? When? How?

Jesus says that there will come a time when the great city will be wracked by violence and terror. At the same time, he also says, don’t fret, don’t give in to fear, and don’t be bamboozled… this is not the end! It is only a birth pang, Braxton-Hicks on the way to birthing the reign of God… but it is not the end!

When Mark’s Gospel was written, in the late 60’s AD/CE…about thirty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection…the Jewish community (or a major part of it) in occupied Palestine was in rebellion against their Roman occupiers. Full scale war had not yet broken out, but it was on the horizon! And when, a few years later, Jewish rebels attacked Romans. Roman soldiers cracked down…hard!

Mark’s Gospel remembers Jesus’ words at a time when Christians were being tempted to pick up arms, join with the radical Jewish rebels and nationalists, and fight against the Romans. Mark’s Gospel reminds this early Christian community that violence will not bring about God’s kingdom; but, at the same time, God’s reign will not be born without pain, pain akin to childbirth.

The challenges facing Mark’s church are not unlike those we know today. We live in angry times. People have retreated to their silos of certainty, and we taunt each other and egg each other on like that lone soldier in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, who insults King Arthur from his castle tower. Today, we see people fly flags and offer obscene jokes at the those they disagree with, reinforced by the cackles and yuks of their buddies, egged on by their favorite talking head on their favorite cable news channel, radio show, or podcast. We are coming to terms with the consequences that angry mobs have gathered in our streets and civil shrines protesting, brawling in the name of their cause. As I said, these are angry times. Everyone wants “our side” to “win…!” …. whatever that means.

A few years ago, after terrorist attacks… coordinated acts of war…against civilians took place in Beirut and then in Paris, Bishop Pierre Whalon, the Episcopal Bishop of Europe, asked a question that must have dogged the early Christians of Mark’s Church: “Do we have to love our enemy?” (To which Jesus might say "Well, uhm, yeah!") Here is what Bishop Whalon said:

“Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” Doesn’t that just 'enable' them?

Here is where our baptismal promise to “follow and obey Jesus as Lord” cuts into our lives. We should do good to those who hate us, because Jesus has told us to. So how can we?

First, I think we need to see that loving the enemy who can do such things to us is not just vapid idealism. The whole point of the Christian story is summed up thus: “While we were yet his enemies, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 6-10) In other words, God shows love for us precisely by putting off the divine power that we crave. The day after this heinous attack, we may wish for God to come down and wipe out our enemies. Instead, Christ on the cross, completely powerless at the last, shows us that it is only love that can overcome hatred, evil and even death.

Jesus asks us to follow his way, as love is the only power in this world that can literally and figuratively save us. He certainly did not “enable” his enemies. In the short term, we need the police and the military, and we should be grateful [for]… the firefighters and emergency medical teams [who] need our prayers and deserve our support. Not to mention the wounded and dead, and their families and friends.

But the question of their assassins concerns not only us here and now, but the whole human race. What word do we have for these people? Our first instincts are to demonize them. . . to label them as “Islamic fundamentalists” or some such, and cheer as the [military] carry out a massive campaign in retaliation. But this is too simple. It is not what Jesus would have us do. What he wants is harder.

When we baptize or confirm people, Episcopalians always repeat the promise to “strive for justice and peace among all people”… We need therefore to chart a way to make peace. Peace, not appeasement or total war. In order to be able to do that, we first need to turn back to Jesus and ask for help.

When the going gets tough, we are tempted to circle the wagons, to build our own little forts or silos; or, as often happens in many churches, start doing what we’ve always done with even greater fervor hoping for a different result! We may be tempted to huddle even closer with the people we are the most comfy with, in whatever little safe rooms we’ve constructed in our hearts and sanctuaries.

But, as Jesus said, not one stone will be left standing.

What Jesus taught, what Mark’s Gospel community learned, perhaps the hard way, was what Christians have learned time and again: that silos, echo chambers, and safe rooms don’t protect us. They never have. And whenever we try to run and hide from the world, the world has a way of finding us! The Church, and all the baptized people and faithful communities where the Church lives, are called to step out from behind the walls, go into the heart of where people live… and just love them. Care for the sick. Comfort the frightened and anxious. Imagine God’s reign, live out God’s love, and act with God’s power… to practically and usefully communicate God’s grace and love to the people God has given to us!

When Jesus points to the massive stones of the Temple, he tells his disciples that a storm is coming but for the Church, while Rule #7 applies, sheltering in place is not an option! That may be fine for hurricanes, but never for Christ’s people in community, the Church!

It may feel as if the world is falling apart…even ending. We are tempted to give into the merchants of terror and treat each other the way they treat and provoke us. But we don’t have to live in those structures. We can tear down the temples of false nostalgia and become people of hope… people whose faith looks forward! As we learn and do the work of Jesus, God shows us over and over again, that the church is built up not with stones or bricks or the powers of the marketplace or world, but through an ever-widening community of love.

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Here is the link to today's Bulletin at St. John's, Clearwater, Florida

Here is the link to today's liturgy.

Here is the link to a video of today's sermon.