Mark 13:1-8
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 rumours 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
Do you realise what good value Gospel readings are? Good value, because each reading can in fact yield not just one story or message, but several different ones, yet all based on the same words. And this gospel reading from Mark does just that.
You may be familiar with the most common interpretation of the verses from Mark’s gospel about stones and the temple. It’s a prophecy about the end of days and a warning to us to be on our guard.
But I believe there’s a whole other story, hiding in plain sight, yet right under our eyes if we care to look. A human story, a mini drama.
Have you clocked the very first sentence? Maybe not, because it seems not too significant, just a lead in to what Jesus says. So let’s remind ourselves.
“As Jesus, came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Think on that, because we’ll be back to it shortly.
Now a Jewish Temple and a Christian Church have less in common than you might think. In fact after 70.AD when the temple in question was destroyed, the Jews more or less gave up on the entire concept. But up until then, and at the time of this
Gospel story, they believed that God resided in the Temple, in a special room, the Holy of Holies in the centre. God lived there.
And we Christians, we believe that Jesus is here, in our Church. Not in the same way the Jews believed. We believe that in the form of the Trinity, God is everywhere. But Church is special, not least because it’s where we encounter God in the Eucharist. So both Jewish Temples and Christian Churches are places where believers can focus on God and come close to him.
Places of worship, and even more so ACTS of worship should move us. Whether it’s the Liturgy, the beautifully sung music, the joy of seeing our children praising God, the sharing of the bread and wine, the readings, whatever; but the company of our brothers and sisters in Christ and the presence of our God – IT SHOULD LEAVE US MOVED.
When the Blessing and the final hymn are over and we move to the back for a drink, or we go out of the door to go home, we should be moved, affected. If all we can do as we leave is say “Oh the stonework looks nice” “Good bit of pointing there” “Decent Mortar”… is that good?
Honestly, if you leave this place more impressed with the masonry than the God that inhabits it, then we in Ministry, we’re doing it wrong.
Yet that’s what the disciple in that first line is doing. He’s been in THE Temple, with Jesus, and he comes out commenting on stonework. Jesus must despair. Do you wonder that Jesus is provoked, and I think he is provoked, into forewarning of the trials to come? Do you wonder that he decides to make clear the portents of the day of judgement?
Don’t get me wrong, we should all be proud of our Church buildings; but it’s what the people within them do that really matters. So love this place, look after it, but don’t be like the un-named disciple and forget what we’re actually here for. It’s about people and what they do, not stones.
Now, historically, Churches have had another role. As a place of safety. And yes, in times gone by, the thick stone walls were a part of that. Because in more primitive and dangerous ages, the Church might have been the only building in the town where those in fear of attack from armies and marauding bands could find safe refuge.
But alongside that, going back centuries, Churches have offered a safe place for those seeking sanctuary, for those fleeing violence or persecution, for those who live in fear.
There’s an organisation called Church of Sanctuary, which bases it’s teachings on these words from Matthew 25:
“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me.”
Jesus holds those words up as the right way for his followers to act.
Translated by Church of Sanctuary into an action plan for the 21st Century, this is what it sounds like…..
“Make your place of worship a sanctuary where all are treated with warm welcome, generous hospitality and protection from harm. And the Eucharist is a revelation of the world as it’s meant to be, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, where all are welcome and valued equally, and where no one is excluded or made to feel like an outsider.”
We don’t live any more in a world where we can protect ourselves with thick stone walls. Life’s not so simple as it was. There have always been good guys and bad guys, but it gets harder and harder to spot the bad guys.
Jesus tells his disciples, “Beware no-one leads you astray.” That’s good advice for all of us. But it’s not so easy sometimes to avoid being led astray, especially for the vulnerable.
Keeping people safe is our Christian duty, and yes, we’ll increasingly have more and more requirements to satisfy as a result of that.
But the rule on which all the others hang, is another of Jesus’ instructions – “Love your Neighbour as you Love yourself”.
Loving each other and looking out for each other offers us more protection than any stone wall can; they all fall down eventually!
But true, genuine and sincere love never fails us. So at the end of the service, when we are bid to go in peace and love the Lord, let the talk not be of throwing down stones, but of building up people.
St Peter's Church 