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11/14/21 – Birth Pangs

BIRTH PANGS

November 14, 2021
25th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Sam. 4-20; Heb.10:11-14 (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

 

Many years ago, when I worked as an elementary school counselor, I sat across from a nine-year-old boy, who had been sent to the principal’s office for many times for disruptive behavior. While I was telling him about the effect his behavior had on his classmates and teachers, he looked at me with rapt attention. I need to mention that I was close to my due date with my third child. When I paused to ask him what he was thinking and feeling when he was being disruptive, he responded: “Miz Clark-Jones, when that thing comes out its really gonna hurt.” More perceptive than many children of that age, he was focused on what he considered the most imminent issue at hand. What’s a little misbehavior when there is this huge crisis in the near future!

In our Old Testament reading for today, the long hoped-for birth of a child is highlighted in the story of Hannah. Hannah longed to experience the birth pangs that would bring a new life from out of her barren womb. She yearned for the morning sickness, the heartburn, the swollen ankles, the excruciating labor pains, the stretch marks – all of it – if only she could have a son. She promised Eli, the priest, that if God would give her a son, she would dedicate his life to God. She would give up what was most precious to her, in service to God. That’s quite a stewardship model! Samuel was to be a Nazarite, in the mold of Samson and John the Baptist. More than having a son for her own fulfillment, Hannah wanted her son to be a godly man.

Samuel, the son God gave to Hannah, who she then gave back to God, would become the last judge of Israel, who ushered in the age of kings by anointing Saul and then David, from whose lineage came Jesus. Next week, we will celebrate Christ the King and begin to prepare, once again, for the birth of the baby who is our King forever. The one the author of Hebrews calls the “great priest over the house of God.” (:1)The Song of Hannah we sang in place of the usual psalter will be echoed by the Song of Mary, The Magnificat, from Luke’s gospel a month from now.

The historical background of 1 Samuel and Mark’s gospel describes a time of institutional corruption, fear and hopelessness. Unfortunately, because of when Advent begins this year, we miss the second part of 1 Samuel and Mark’s chapter 13 in our lectionary cycle, which provides a broader picture of the times. First Samuel depicts Israel as a nation declining under corrupt and unfaithful leaders. We are told that “the word of the Lord was not heard in those days (3:1); that Eli, the high priest, was losing his vision (3:2; cf. 4:15); and that the lamp of God will soon be extinguished (3:3). Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas are wicked and corrupt priests, who despise the offering of the Lord (2:12-17) With Samuel, God intervened to change the course of Israel’s history that was going in the wrong direction.

In our gospel reading, Jesus speaks of the “birth pangs,” which would precipitate a new world order, the Kingdom of God. Chapter 13 begins what is known as Mark’s Little Apocalypse. Prior to today’s setting, in chapter 12 Jesus was teaching inside the temple in Jerusalem. As a warning of his impending crucifixion Jesus told The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, in which he quoted Psalm 118:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
                                                       11this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”

He cautioned his disciples:

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be

greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and to have the best seats in

the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40They devour widows’

houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive

the greater condemnation.”

And he pointed out a poor widow who put all she had, two small coins, into the temple treasury (another favorite Stewardship illustration)

“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are

contributing to the treasury. 44For all of them have contributed out of their

abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she

had to live on.”

In our reading for today, Jesus has notably left the temple building and is outside looking in. He is doing what we might call in the church a “visioning” session with his elders. In response to the disciples’ awe of the temple building’s grand majesty, Jesus says some tough words: Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Jesus’ harsh judgment toward the Temple may be explained by considering the context of first-century Judea in which the Temple was a reflection not so much of the glory of God but of the glory of the Empire, supported by establishment religion. When Herod the Great became ruler of Judea, he undertook a massive building project to expand the temple. This project spanned the next 50 years under Herod’s heirs, up to the time of Jesus. This renovation of the Temple had nothing to do with honoring God but was a political maneuver to increase the prestige of Jerusalem and its elite leaders. Herod wanted Jerusalem to have a magnificent temple as did the other great cities of the Empire. The Judean elites included the Sadducees who benefitted from the temple economy and the Roman imperial system. The disciples were taking a page out of Herod’s own propaganda playbook when they gawked at the temple’s grandeur and put their trust in its permanence. The temple building project was literally built on the backs of the oppressed that Jesus came to free.

Jesus challenged his disciples, and us, to examine the illusions we believe. Jesus wanted to take his disciples out of their comfort zones of memories and traditions and send them out into the world to give comfort to those wounded by unjust systems. His disciples needed their faith to be strong enough to work for the Kingdom of God, even as worldly kingdoms fell into ruin.

There are many systems in our society that need to break apart to free people to live the full and abundant lives God intends for us all. It isn’t just some statues that need to come down. Systemic racism, sexism, economic inequity are examples of institutions that need to be torn down. The Church has its own taints of Empire-thinking that need to be wiped away — most particularly, the corruption of Christian faith with nationalistic aspirations. When Jesus announces that none of the Temple’s enormous stones will remain standing, he is denying that God’s power will ever be used to further the imperial aspirations of the elites. What took the Herods over 50 years to construct, God could tear down in an instant. God will not be contained by any human-designed structure or institution. Jesus cautions his disciples not to be led astray. Likewise, we too should not be led astray by those who invoke religion to undergird their own social, political, and economic power.

Mark’s chapter 13 is also known as “Mark’s Little Apocalypse.” The Greek word, apokálypsis, means unveiling, revealing or uncovering. To experience an apocalypse is to gain new insight with an accurate revelation. It was not until modern times that the word, apocalypse, came to mean the destruction of the world. Apocalyptic writing in biblical times was resistance literature. What Jesus’ followers needed to resist are the same things we need to resist today. Samuel Cruz, Associate Professor of Church and Society at Union Theological Seminary in New York explains:

“One of the challenges for us in the 21st century and living in one of the most affluent countries in the world is that we cannot truly relate to what Jesus is saying. Jesus is suggesting that there is “sin” in our world and that a complete apocalyptic transformation is therefore required. The challenge for us is that “sin” has become a non-contextual spiritual construction with no relevance to our real lives. However, for Jesus, “sin” is very contextual — it means oppression, exploitation, abuse of the widow, orphan, migrant, transgender people. Therefore, the system that has been built from evil must be destroyed and made anew.” (Commentary on Mark 13: 1-8. Working Preacher. Nov.18 2018. workingpreacher.org)

Jesus assures us that God stands with the hungry and the thirsty, the naked and the imprisoned, the sick and downtrodden. When we act in ways that hurt those to whom God is most concerned, we are walking away from God, going the other direction from where Jesus leads us. The bible tells us that on the day of the Lord’s coming, the oppressed will be lifted up and the mighty pulled down from their thrones. In a few weeks, we will hear Mary singing these words after she learns she will give birth to God’s Son. Pain accompanies birth, but it is necessary to bring new life into the world. What’s a few birth pangs when the Kingdom of God is near.

Amen. May it be so!

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2021, All Rights Reserved
Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1420 W. Moss Ave. | Peoria, Illinois 61606
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