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Sermon on Mk 13:1 - 8

SERMON for Nov 15/09 When good ideas come to me, which is not very often, I’ve learned that it’s a good idea to pay attention to them. And a good idea came to me two weeks ago in the form of a certain song to sing for Peace Sunday, which was last Sunday. But I didn’t want to sing it alone so I thought of asking Bev Kirkpatrick if she would sing with me. (I had to cancel choir practice here in Emerson. Otherwise I would have asked the choir to sing it). So when I stopped off at Bev’s house to talk about other things I handed her the song and asked her if she would sing it with me on Sunday. “Now this is not just any song”, I said to her. It was a special song of peace that a person named Ched Myers gave to me a few years ago in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan when I took a course from him on God and Justice. And I told her that when he handed me the CD with the song on it he told me how much he hoped that I wouldn’t just put in on a shelf to gather dust, but to use it. That was seven years ago, so for seven years I had been looking for opportunities to use this song in some way. Last Sunday, being the closest Sunday to Remembrance Day fit like a glove to the words of the song. And not to forget that the tune was one of the most beautiful church tunes ever—Finlandia. Because the tune was familiar, we practiced it just a little. And Bev liked the song right away. She said she would go over the song with Bernice. I put the song right after the sermon because it fit what I was preaching on about peace. So far so good. After the sermon Bev and I stood beside the piano and Bernice played a beautiful intro and we started to sing the beautiful words of peace. I was singing the high part, with Bev singing the alto. We sang two verses, which seemed to go rather well (if I don’t say so myself), and then we came to the ending. I went way up and Bernice went way down. · But I kept on singing even though I wasn’t singing what the pianist was playing. But I kept on. · Then Bev stopped singing. · Then Bernice stopped playing · Then I stopped singing · Then we started singing the last lines again and the same thing happened: o I was singing somewhere up in the clouds, singing away. o Bernice was somewhere down in the basement, playing away. o Bev stopped singing o So Bernice stopped playing o And I stopped singing · We started this Song of Peace up for the third time and the same thing happened. Bev finally said, “I think I just better sit down.” And she did. And so I went back to where I came from. After I gave the benediction at the end of the service Bernice stood up and said, “I just want people to know that this was all my fault. Bev stood up and said, “No it was my fault.” And I said, “No it was my fault.” We were all feeling pretty much failures in competence at that point. Later on when everyone had gone home, Bev said, “That’s what’s called a crash and burn ending!” And there’s nothing else to call it. With the best intentions to do well, there are times in our lives when our competences come crashing down and we can do nothing about it. It happens to all of us at some time or another in our lives. As hard as we try our best, sometimes we crash and burn. And that is where the disciples are heading. Their attention is captured by the amazing architecture of the Temple—the massive stones, the competence of artistic creations on the finished edges in gold, silver and precious woods. And Jesus just dismisses it all by saying some day this thing you are so impressed with will be a heap of rubble, so don’t get too impressed with it. Basically Jesus says Watch out! Pay Attention! And he keeps saying it, at least 5 times in this scripture. There’s a good reason why he’s really pushing this message hard. Jesus was talking to Jews who worshipped in this very Temple that’s going to fall down and be a heap of rubble someday. God wasn’t supposed to ever let that happen. But 40 years after Jesus died Jerusalem and the Temple fell into a heap of rubble. This is what Jesus is referring to. The Temple will be gone and the disciple’s world will look like it is coming to an end—and it will look like their God will fall right along with them. And people will try to get their attention and tell them that they have no religion and no God and that that it’s the end of the world—But it’s not the end, says Jesus. Pay attention! Watch out! Now, I know my little example of my song coming crashing down is a far, far cry from a whole world coming crashing down. It might even be a silly example, but I wonder... Aren’t all those little things that happen in our daily lives, (those very things that we learn how to deal with life as it comes our way), teach us and form the habits and practices we develop? If we develop the practice of paying attention to God in our daily lives then when real trouble comes along we know where to look for help. Sometimes we think we can draw circles around ourselves and think that nothing bad will ever happen to us and we’ll have no close calls. But it isn’t true. Everyone of us and all of us together, will walk through times of ease and times of trouble. This is the nature of life. Life happens! Those who are able to wade through the difficulties and sail through the good times, have something don’t they? They have God. And God is there for us always. Pay attention! says Jesus and put first things first, and everything will fall into place, come what may. I left out a bit of what happened last Sunday. As Bev was walking back to her seat, I said to the congregation, “Somewhere in this song there is a message of peace.” And do you know what the congregation did? They clapped! It was an applause that seemed to erupt out of nowhere. God had sent the congregation to us to tell us that the end is not the end. It’s really just a crack, and it’s that crack that lets God’s light in. Maren came up to us after the service and said, “I’m glad that happened because now it gives all of us permission to make mistakes, and to not need be perfect. And maybe more of us will be willing to do things we think we can’t do, but really can.” Maren was really saying that we need each other because there are limits to our competence. We all know this, but sometimes it takes real trouble to bring it out, when our competence is exhausted and we’re at our wits end. When those times come to me, when I am at my wits end, I am going to try to remember as much as is in my power to remember that congregation last week who clapped after the crash and burn ending, because some day I will lose sight of the fact that I am God’s precious child (all of us are too and also every person God creates). And I will try to remember as much as is in my power to remember Maren’s reminder that we all need each other, in more ways that we know or want to know. Pay attention to that! Says Jesus. If someone gives you a smile today pay attention. If someone gives you a hug pay attention. If you are a witness to an act of kindness pay attention. If you notice a beautiful sunrise pay attention. If you are impressed with an act of justice pay attention. Pay attention! Because when you are paying attention to that no matter how big or small your troubles are you will stay grounded and centred in a God who is faithful and will be there to act without hindrance, come what may. Take care and watch out! Says Jesus.