Mark 13;1-8 A Reflection on Church Buildings

Mark 13:2  “Do you see all these great buildings?”

Mark 13 is an apocalyptic discourse that includes a reference to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. This chapter, also, describes the return of Christ (v. 26) and the passing away of heaven and earth (v. 31). Concerning the end Jesus said that no one knows the time (v. 32). The best preparation, Jesus admonished his disciples, is to watch and pray (v. 34, KJV) and live each day as if it could be the end of days.

Jesus gave this teaching in response to his disciples’ expressed wonder at the grandeur of the temple. Jesus warned that this building—grand as it was—would not endure. Its destruction would be total (v. 2). This destruction of the temple occurred in 70 A.D. when the Romans put down a rebellion in Jerusalem with the destruction of the city.

Jesus described the razing of the temple as “birth pangs” (v. 8 NIV). The temple’s demise was necessary, in part, so that the grandeur of buildings could be replaced by a spiritual kingdom that would spread to all the earth (v. 10). The kingdom of God could not then and cannot now be contained in a building.

Now, as then, buildings can get in the way of kingdom work. Cathedrals are magnificent to visit, but they are too often empty of worshipers. Even more modest buildings can become a drain on resources and siphon attention away from the church’s mission. So, empty cathedrals and run-down church buildings of any size that are devouring resources remind us that the kingdom is made of people not stones; the church is Christ’s body, a spiritual building, not a material one.

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Grandchildren. Singer (my preferred nickname; his siblings call him Squeaker) is now fifteen weeks old and is awakening from his infancy to the world about him. He seems delighted with his discovery. Both Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy have been able to get him to smile for a long time. Gal and I have had some happy responses from him as well. Last night, however, in response to his mother’s smile he was giggling which made all the rest of us giggle, too. Another milestone, this weekend he turned over for the first time. He is growing!

Mark 12:28-34 Is Love the Answer?

Mark 12:34  "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

A teacher of the law asked Jesus to identify the most important commandment in the Bible. Jesus gave the standard, orthodox answer. Quoting from the Old Testament he responded: God is one; love God and secondly love your neighbor. The teacher was pleased with Jesus' answer. He repeated what Jesus said and added his own commentary saying that such love was "more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." (verse 33)

Perhaps, the teacher of the law was pleased with himself. He had gotten Jesus to say something that the teachers of the law would accept as orthodox. It was as if the teacher had asked a pupil a question and gotten the correct answer from his student. The teacher affirmed the pupil and gave a little commentary in addition. His added commentary was described by the Gospel writer as "wise." Then came the zinger. Jesus gave the last word and ended the encounter in such a way that this teacher and no one else "dared ask him any more questions." (verse 34)

Jesus said to the teacher who had answered wisely, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." To say that one is not far is to say that one has not reached. The teacher had elicited from Jesus the orthodox statement of the most important commandment in the Bible. What more could be said? If one knows and fulfills the law what could be left to do? The teacher apparently knew what was the most important commandment, but he was still short of the kingdom of God.

Earlier in this same chapter of Mark Jesus had stumped the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees as they attempted to catch him in an error of biblical interpretation. Later in the chapter we read the account of Jesus warning his disciples to beware of such teachers and leaders who make a show of wisdom and spirituality but are not to be trusted. They are predators who will receive God's severest punishment. Jesus taught them that a poor widow who gives a fraction of a penny honors God more than such religious leaders. (see 12:44)

Christians do not want to preach the "Great Commandment" as an achievement to attain. We do not want to make love of God a right answer in our list of orthodox beliefs. The Gospel brings us into a relationship with God through faith in Christ, This relationship cannot be reduced to law. We enter the kingdom of God when we receive the call of God in the grace which comes to us through proclamation of the cross and resurrection. We come to love God because God first loved us; we love others as ourselves when the Spirit produces a supernatural compassion within our hearts which we cannot produce in our own strength. To proclaim love as a law--even as the greatest law--will put us "not far from the kingdom."

Mark 4:26-34 "The Kingdom of God Grows by Grace"

Mark 4:26  “. . . what the kingdom of God is like . . .”

The kingdom of God is a phrase that signifies the rule of God in one’s life and the rule of God in the world. For each believer the kingdom of God has come and is present as we yield our hearts to Jesus; clearly, the rule of God is yet to come to the world as a whole. Every day we see the evidence of the self-destructive refusal to accept God’s grace; though God holds out his arms to his children they continue to turn from the fullness of life that his love freely offers.

Jesus explained to his disciples how the kingdom grows in the life of those who want to live according to God’s rule. First, the kingdom grows by grace. The believer cannot make the kingdom grow. It happens in ways that we do not control or understand (v. 27). We pray; we study; we give; we serve; we worship. We live out the disciplines of the Christian life, but we cannot tie those disciplines to the wonders of God’s bounty in our lives. All our disciplines are ways of expressing gratitude to God. They are not ways of earning God’s blessings. As the harvest of God’s grace comes to fruition in our lives we are often surprised. We know that we do not deserve God’s goodness, and we do not understand the harvest of grace we have received.

Second, the kingdom of God cannot be measured. It begins in ways that we do not see or in ways that seem so small that we count it as nothing (v.31). What starts as the smallest seed becomes a great bush or tree. We can see in this parable of the mustard seed the growth of the church. From almost nothing it has spread round the world to every ethnic group on every continent. All have been invited to the shade and shelter of the tree of life. Just as Jesus envisioned, the kingdom of God has grown from the smallest seed to a great tree. Of course, we cannot fully equate the church and the kingdom of God. The church has much of the rebellious world still in it. But, as Jesus promised, we are learning and growing. We are like the first disciples of whom it was written, Jesus “spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand” (v. 33) Mysteriously, wondrously, secretly and powerfully the kingdom of God grows in and through the church by the grace of God in ways that surprise us still.

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Grandchildren. We were outside with Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy at their house waiting for their father to come to the car. I slipped up behind Mr. Happy and put my hands over his ears and said, “Got ‘em; I got your ears.” He responded in his sternest three year old voice, “Give ‘em back!” Knowing that Mr. Happy is still in the “Magic Years,” and sometimes takes things literally, I pressed gently on his ears and said softly, “Ok, I put them back.” To which he exclaimed, “You put them on backwards!” I laughed out loud; I’d never heard that quip before. His mother had taught him this fun response. Our little exchange reminded me that youth--no matter how young--can delight us and teach us. It is not just the elders instructing the young. The learning goes two-ways, and it is wonderful.