“The Mark of Love”

Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

NOvember 17, 2024

“The end is near.” “Actually, this is just the beginning.”

Daniel 12:1-3

Mark 13:1-8

Children’s Message:

“The Monster at the End of This Book”—That was a scary book! I wasn’t sure we were going to get to the end! But what was the good news at the end of the book?

In today’s gospel, Jesus told the disciples that the Temple—a great big building with stones as big as the choir loft—would be destroyed. And that scared them because they thought that something that big and important could never be torn down.

But Jesus knows that ultimately, it’s just a building. What it stands for—the presence of God—can’t be torn down. Can anyone stop God from being where God intends to go? No! So we put our faith in God, not buildings.

Let’s pray. Dear God, help us know you are with us, especially when we are scared. Amen.

Message:

A priest and a rabbi from local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up signs. The rabbi’s sign read, “The End is Near!” The priest, on the other side of the road, held up a sign which read, “Turn before it’s too late!” They held up their signs to each passing car.

“Get a job.” The first driver yelled. The second driver, immediately behind the first, yelled, “Leave us alone, you religious freaks"! Shortly, from around the curve, they heard screeching tires and a splash followed by more screeching tires and another splash.

The rabbi looked over at his companion and said, “Do you think we should try a different sign“? The priest responded, “Perhaps ‘Bridge Out’ might be better"?

It doesn’t take much imagination to sense the urgency and fear that the disciples felt as they heard Jesus’ prediction about the Temple. The destruction of the Temple would mean the destruction of the center of their faith. It would mean a new era filled with oppression, deceit, fear, and exile. And ultimately, the people would see it as yet another way in which God either abandoned God’s people or was punishing them for their unfaithfulness—again.

Either way, the loss of the Temple meant that people lost access to God. Because the Temple—particularly the Holy of Holies—was where God was. It was where God was supposed to be. And that would no longer be the case. What would they do then?

In the movie, “The Shack,” Mack and his family had gone camping, and in a moment when everyone was otherwise engaged, Mack’s young daughter Missy was kidnapped. After days of searching, her dress was found in a shack, covered in blood. She had been killed, and Mack was angry with God.

Then, he received an invitation to return to that shack. What he found wasn’t what he remembered. It wasn’t an abandoned, dark old building but a beautiful home surrounded by lush gardens. And inside was a black woman who introduced herself as God. What we’re about to watch is the moment Mack has been waiting for—the moment when he finally lets his anger out. It’s easy to miss, but pay attention to God’s wrist when she puts their hands together near the end.

 I’ve heard in the past weeks that people have lost faith in God because their prayers weren’t answered. I’ve heard people talk about God’s plan and how God must want to teach us something. But here’s the deal. God doesn’t work that way. God didn’t allow Missy to die in order to teach Mack a lesson. God didn’t shut out Mack’s prayers for a different outcome.

God is with us—in the pain, in the fear, in the darkness. God is with us when we feel abandoned. God doesn’t allow things to happen, and does God cause things to happen. God walks with us WHEN things happen. The reason things happen is because people make decisions. People make mistakes. People are fragile. People are broken. WE are broken. Sometimes, we get things wrong.

But God never abandons us. Any of us. What the disciples still hadn’t learned in front of the Temple that day is that God can’t be controlled. God can’t be restrained within the walls of a building. God can’t be manipulated through prayer. God won’t become a puppeteer for the faithful or the unfaithful. But God will walk with us. God will suffer with us. God HAS suffered FOR us. God will help us learn and grow and find the light where we were convinced there was none. And God will bear our wounds, just as God bore the wounds of Christ. Because that kind of love leaves a mark.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln NE