Day 47, (No Old Testament reading today), Psalm 39, and Mark 13
Whew, we’ve made it through Leviticus! All those commandments we fight over and the ones we’ve never heard of before are behind us and for today, we’re taking a rest from the Old Testament. Tomorrow we’ll start taking up the Book of Numbers, but as Jesus told us back in Matthew, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Mat 6:34 NRS)
And today does indeed have enough trouble. Questions about the end of things come up for Jesus and his disciples. Like so many of us, the disciples start talking about the security of their world. Though I can’t imagine anyone saying these exact words, the sentiment is familiar. We do not have to worry, look at our might! We may be invaded, but look at our temple! We will win!
But Jesus says something else. Don’t put your faith in these temporal things, this building will soon be gone. That temple was in fact destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE (common era or AD).
But what about the rest of it? “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” (Mk 13:30) Does this just mean the temple or was it supposed to mean the whole thing? As far as I have been able to tell, every generation from the time of Jesus until today has had someone saying, “The end is near!” And yet, here we sit.
Perhaps the real message is this, we don’t know the time, so the time to be about the business of God is now! We may or may not have tomorrow. Or as Hush Puppy says in Beasts of the Southern Wild, "For the animals that didn't have a Dad to put 'em in the boat, the end of the world already happened."
Today is the day to be about the work of God!The Rev. Cori Olson, Priest in Charge, St. Luke the Physician, Miami, FL
The Rev. Cori Olson, Priest in Charge, St. Luke the Physician, Miami, FL
Whew, we’ve made it through Leviticus! All those commandments we fight over and the ones we’ve never heard of before are behind us and for today, we’re taking a rest from the Old Testament. Tomorrow we’ll start taking up the Book of Numbers, but as Jesus told us back in Matthew, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Mat 6:34 NRS)
And today does indeed have enough trouble. Questions about the end of things come up for Jesus and his disciples. Like so many of us, the disciples start talking about the security of their world. Though I can’t imagine anyone saying these exact words, the sentiment is familiar. We do not have to worry, look at our might! We may be invaded, but look at our temple! We will win!
But Jesus says something else. Don’t put your faith in these temporal things, this building will soon be gone. That temple was in fact destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE (common era or AD).
But what about the rest of it? “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” (Mk 13:30) Does this just mean the temple or was it supposed to mean the whole thing? As far as I have been able to tell, every generation from the time of Jesus until today has had someone saying, “The end is near!” And yet, here we sit.
Perhaps the real message is this, we don’t know the time, so the time to be about the business of God is now! We may or may not have tomorrow. Or as Hush Puppy says in Beasts of the Southern Wild, "For the animals that didn't have a Dad to put 'em in the boat, the end of the world already happened."
Today is the day to be about the work of God!The Rev. Cori Olson, Priest in Charge, St. Luke the Physician, Miami, FL
The Rev. Cori Olson, Priest in Charge, St. Luke the Physician, Miami, FL
RSS Feed