Mark’s Little Apocalypse

Mark’s Little Apocalypse
Rev. Dr. Chris Hensley
November 17th, 2024
Daniel 12:1-3 & Mark 13:1-8

A part of the challenge of following the Lectionary is that, at times, you come across a collection of passages which do not sit well with you upon an initial reading. The Lectionary is a collection of passages which generally follow a theme. The passages, generally there are four of them, come from the Hebrew Bible, the Psalms, the Gospels, and from one of the letters within the Christian Testament. This week, the theme appears to be the eschaton which is Greek for “last,” as in the last things. This week also includes additional readings from Samuel, though I wanted to continue to follow Mark’s account and draw from the Daniel reading as well.

If we are not careful as we read of the eschaton within scripture, we might find ourselves falling into one of two camps on either extreme; either becoming totally dismissive of the passages or becoming so enamored with these passages that we adopt them as a part of our personality and we begin seeing signs of the end all over the place. This is why I wrestled with even following the Lectionary this week, and yet, here we are. I hope that we might read these passages with a healthy dose of prudence, bearing in mind the historical and cultural contexts from which these passages were birthed and a sense of practicality on how these passages might inform us in our own cultural and historical context.

The book of Daniel, found within the Hebrew Bible, follows the titular character as he is living with his fellow Israelites in Babylon, modern day Iraq, during the Babylonian exile. The book of Daniel partly reveals the narrative of the titular character as he rises to prominence within the foreign courts and serves as an advisor to those in power; the book also holds themes which fall into the genre of apocalyptic writings. Our reading for this morning falls into the latter category. Desmond Ford, in his commentary on Daniel, points out that one overarching theme for this book is that God is judge; a theme revealed in the very title of the book as the name Daniel means, God is judge. In the case of our reading for this morning, God is judge at some great end time, an apocalypse. A fitting discussion for a people living in exile. From a historical and theological standpoint, it is during this period of exile when the Israelites encounter a religious tradition known as Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism has roots in ancient Iran and is one of the world’s oldest religions. Two major ideas from Zoroastrianism include monotheism, not unlike the Judaism as practiced within ancient Israel prior to its exilic period; and a major focus on the battle between good and evil, an idea which was not as prevalent within ancient Judaism prior to the exilic period. Specifically, this ongoing battle involves both divine and infernal beings as well as human beings whose freewill leads them to a life reflecting one side or the other which then leads to an eternity of either paradise or damnation.

Interesting enough, this is likely where the idea of the concepts known as heaven and hell emerged and, subsequently influenced ancient Judaism as well as, eventually, Christianity. Prior to this period there is little discussion of an afterlife within the Hebrew Bible except to state that there is a place for all dead known as Sheol. Sheol, as described in the book of Job which is one of the earliest stories within ancient Judaism and the Hebrew Bible, describes Sheol as the place where all dead go, regardless of their faith, righteousness, or other metrics associated with the concepts of heaven and hell which have dominated the collective Western minds, at least since Dante’s Divine Comedy.

I share this with you, not to dismiss the writings found within the book of Daniel or other apocalyptic writings within Christian scriptures, but to help us understand where this is coming from within the larger historical, cultural, and religious contexts which inform the writings. Themes found in Daniel are repeated in Mark’s little apocalypse beginning in our Christian Testament text for this morning. This is, interestingly enough, Jesus’ longest uninterrupted discourse in all of Mark, as if to say that there is some nugget of wisdom worth mentioning here and something to which we ought pay attention. Our reading, though, is limited to the first several verses of this passage this morning and focuses on Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, a troubling thought for faithful Jews during this period who likely remember the tradition of the destruction of the first Temple which paralleled the exile which influenced the book of Daniel.
Interestingly enough, the four named disciples – Peter, James, John, and Andrew – were the first four called and commanded to “follow.” Now they receive the command of “watch.” They ask Jesus when this will occur. What follows is Jesus’ actual discourse on the matter of the end of things Lamar Williamson points out that the may be divided in half with our reading serving as the opening of the first half of the larger teaching. Our reading concludes with a list of deceptive signs of the end; deceivers, wars, and natural upheavals.

Regardless of how one wrestles with apocalyptic writings found throughout the Christian scriptures, we may understand them to be written in a specific place and time within history. There is a larger context for these writings. In our case for this morning the contexts were during a period of exile and during the occupation of a foreign army which brought with it the cruelty of the cross. Both contexts saw the people of God as playing the role of the minority in terms of power and authority. Both contexts spoke to the hopelessness and helplessness which these marginalized peoples likely felt in their specific moments. During periods of marginalization, where there is a hopelessness within the here and now, people often will look forward to some distant future wherein lies a safe haven, or heaven.

The real challenge of apocalyptic writings is remembering their contexts and avoiding falling into one of the extremist camps which I mentioned a bit ago. How, then, do we respond to the feelings of hopelessness or helplessness within our own contexts which could lead to a longing for some distant realm flowing with milk and honey or paved with gold? Hopefully, we respond with an acknowledgement of the feelings which are evoked within our deepest being. We then seek help from others and seek to help others who suffer or may suffer in light of the context in which we find ourselves. May we find the encouragement to face the overwhelming situations in our lives, the confusion and the pain, and work to bring the heaven longed for into fruition in the here and now.