Apocalypse

During the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry this episode took place between he and his disciples.

“As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down." As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?" Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. " (Mark 13:1-8)

Mark 13 is probably composed of sayings of Jesus, which the Evangelist is addressing to his own community either just before or after 70 A.D., the time of the destruction of the temple and the siege of Jerusalem. The context of the discourse--immediately after Jesus and his disciples leave the temple-- in conjunction with Jesus’ prediction of its destruction, offers a strong clue for understanding how Mark’s readers would have interpreted the passage.

This morning’s collect gives us a reason for paying attention to this dire piece of news from the Gospel of Mark.

“Blessed LORD, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, pg.236)

This particular collect gives us insight into the purpose of the Holy Scriptures and the purposes of the publisher. It reveals to us that all Holy Scriptures have been written for us that we may learn the intent of Almighty God for us and our relationship to Him. The portion of the Old Testament scriptures we heard read this morning is a portion of scriptures that is called APOCALYPTIC. When I first heard the word apocalypse it was in the context of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" from the 6th chapter of the Book of the Revelation. They were associated with War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. I also recall that the movie about the Vietnam War called "Apocalypse, Now" was a high-tech flashback of someone's worst nightmare about the War. The word definitely had a bad connotation as far as I was concerned. But, in the study of scripture, I was to learn that the Greek word Apokalupsis means "disclosure" or "revelation". So, the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is really the Book of the Apokalupsis of Jesus Christ. The opposite of Apocalypse is Apocrypha, which means, "hidden". That portion of the scripture that originated in the period between the Old Testament and the New Testament is called the Books of the Apocrypha. They were hidden and not recognized as canonical by the Hebrew scholars and as a result by the Protestant theologians of the Reformation. The book of Daniel also comes from the same period of history but was one the last books to be recognized by the Hebrew scholars and thus be included in the Canon of Hebrew scriptures. Some scholars believe the Book of Daniel was written during a period of persecution of the people of Jerusalem and Judah by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Antiochus was determined to make all the people of his kingdom follow his way of worship. Of particular interest was the Israelites in Jerusalem who seemed equally determined to maintain their brand of worship. Antiochus stripped the temple in Jerusalem of all its silver and gold, set up a heathen altar in the temple, sacrificed pigs on it, burned all the scriptures he found, killed anyone found with the scriptures, forbid the customs of circumcision and killed any Jews who disobeyed. This book like the Book of the Revelation, which was also written during a period of persecution, was written in cryptic signs and symbols to encourage those that were enduring the persecution. Their purpose was and is to encourage all those who were and are being persecuted for their beliefs. As it says in the traditional version of this morning's collect: By patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. The words are written to reveal [Apokalupto] the love that God has for those who love him, obey him and trust in him. But above all it is a message of HOPE to endure persecution. Let me paraphrase the Psalmist as he sets the theme of the message:

“Set the LORD always before you for He is at your right hand, and you shall not fall.

Let your heart, therefore, be glad and let your spirit rejoice, for your body shall rest

in HOPE.” (Psalm 16: 8-9)

The message of Faith, Hope and Love is the backbone of the 13th Chapter of St Paul's letter to the Corinthians, which is known as the Love Chapter in the Bible. But that only covers a third of the trilogy that Paul speaks about in most of his letters. Besides Love there is Faith and Hope. Our lessons this morning talk about the Hope that is needed when enduring suffering and persecution. We also have to understand that the Hope we desire comes only through the Faith and Love we have for God, as we trust in Him. The Psalmist continues:

“You will show us the path of life, for in His presence there is fullness of joy,

and in His right hand are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Isn't that great!! Can you imagine the joy to be in the presence of the Most High God? When every tear shall be wiped away from every eye forever? When every trial and tribulation shall be eliminated? That day is quite a way off, just how far we cannot be sure because as Jesus said later in the discourse we heard from Mark's gospel:

“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13: 32)

DOCTRINAL POINTS

1. THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY MUST UNDERGO THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PRESENT AGE IN ORDER TO HAVE GLORY IN THE FUTURE. Despite the destruction of the temple and constant distress [war, famine and persecution] in the present, the end of the world is not at hand. Just as Jesus had to undergo suffering and death before entering into glory so must the Christian church endure the same.

2. WHILE NONE CAN PREDICT THE END, NONE WILL MISS IT EITHER. The end of history is associated with the glorious coming of the Son of Man. Cosmic signs will precede this, which will be unmistakable. When this will occur, no one knows but the one who is in charge of history, the Father. Clever calculations and misguided frenzy are a waste.

3. THE FINAL UNFOLDING OF GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE IS REVEALED IN THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN. For the Christian Community God’s purposes will be greeted as the summer is eagerly awaited and greeted with joy, by school children.

So, when we are uncertain of when all these events will come to pass or when we are already enduring trials and troubles on account of our faith or beliefs we have no recourse except to trust in the words of St. Paul as he wrote to church at Rome;

“Therefore, since we are justified by FAITH, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this GRACE in which we stand, and we rejoice in our HOPE of sharing the GLORY of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces HOPE, and hope does not disappoint us, because god's LOVE has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-6)

There in a nutshell is a why and a wherefore for some of the suffering and persecution we encounter. It is not pleasant to go through suffering and anguish and pain. While we are in the midst of it, we can lose sight of the presence of God with us through it all. But He is with us. In all trials and troubles, he is Emmanuel- God with us! The writer to the Hebrews also reminds us that there is another purpose behind all this:

“For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)

Ultimately, we have to keep reminding ourselves that the purpose for our being is to GLORIFY GOD and to do His will. As long as we are WILLING to do that then what Paul wrote to the Romans will apply:

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

The times we live in today certainly don't qualify as days of persecution for Christians, unless you live in certain countries in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. But we are facing very uncertain times as relates to the future of the country, state, county or city and church for that matter. The COVID-19 Pandemic, the political discord, the rampant crime and mayhem in the streets, the strife on the border, the wild effects of climate change and impending economic potential disaster. There is a need for an anchor, a rock to be grounded upon, or a firm foundation. I have to turn to Paul who says to the church at Rome;

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have HOPE.”

(Romans 15:4)

We turn to Holy Scriptures for the revelation of God's purpose and will for us in our lives. When we seriously study scriptures and as the collect says inwardly digest them, we can come to know God's purpose for us and as a church. When we pray, we talk to God and when we study his scripture, we allow Him the opportunity to talk to us and reveal to us his plans and his ways. In these uncertain times do we have HOPE in the future of St. Augustine’s?

The Apokalupsis of Jesus Christ in the life of those here at St. Augustine’s has been through the relationships and the interactions of the many people who have been here and been a part of this community. The relationship we have with God cannot be attained or maintained without the relationships we have with each other.

Many years ago, at St. Alban’s, here in Augusta we had a Faith Alive Weekend. During that weekend we got a pamphlet with the materials titled The True Function of a Christian Church John Heuss of Trinity Parish in New York City wrote it. He studied the qualities of that first church in Jerusalem as outlined in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. He noted five of them:

1. It was a fellowship, which had a soul-shaking personal experience with Jesus Christ. Living, walking, working, talking, eating, and even arguing with them, Jesus had stamped Himself daily upon the disciple's minds.

2. It had a certain genuineness of its trust in God through Christ. It was a believing fellowship, and its belief was so powerful that it was willing to commit its ways, in Confidence, to God.

3. It knew itself to be a Spirit-filled community. The Holy Spirit had come. Nothing was now impossible. The task of the parish was to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

4. It had a glad awareness of the forgiveness of sins. Trust in God through faith in Christ brought with it a remarkable new sense of being free. The burdens of anxiety, dread, and guilt were lifted from the believer's heart.

5. It placed very little value on any organization or activity, which did not contribute directly to three important things. Those were Worship, Teaching, and the collection of alms for the needy brethren. Being a member of the fellowship did not mean committee work. It meant a changed relationship to God.

The same thing applies here; we are the body that comprises that portion of the Church here at St. Augustine’s. Do we exhibit the marks of a true church as outlined by John Heuss in his article? If not, then what can we do to make every effort to increase the meaningfulness of our worship and prayer life to empower us to become Christ-bearers and win our environment for Christ. As I said then I say again; When we gather as a community for corporate prayer and worship we should leave here "Pumped-up" to proclaim Jesus Christ. We should be holding fast to that blessed hope of everlasting life. We should also be asking ourselves the following questions:

1. What is the real mission and purpose of St. Augustine’s?

2. How can all that is done in this church advance that mission?

3. To what extent is everything we are doing changing the lives of the people involved?

4. How will know we are following Jesus? When we can see his back up in front of us.

As we look to the future, no matter how uncertain it may be, let us be steadfast in our desire to be an Apokalupsis of Jesus Christ as a church body and as individuals in our daily lives. So that when our Lord comes again in power and might, he will say to us at St. Augustine’s: "Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your LORD."