Mark 13:1-8
Even if you take this at face value it is talking about what the end times are not. These times are not what it is going to be like. Nor do any of these things say anything about when it all comes to and end. All it says these things will be signposts on the way. You can't measure what Jesus is taliing about here, not by time and not by description.But then what kind of faith is it that rests on this kind of stuff, this gory glory that seems to be part of the language about second comings and end times and long spent dreams of an apocalyptic God. It says something about a persons personality if Mark 13 is high on their faith moments.
Alternatively there is something far deeper and more spiritual to be said that is full of promise and truth. And it is quite simple:
If you are going through hard times, keep going. Wasn't it Winston Churchill who said something like that: If you are goijng through hell, keep going. Maintain you witness to the truth of God and the justice of God's reign in difficult times. It is in these times the Gospel is more than at others times. In these times you have to rely on it more, and discover what is true about it.
So hang in in there, look forward in faith, which takes us onto the questions of what hymns to sing on Sunday? Anyone like to make some suggestions? And how would you read this passage in a congregation that helps them engage? And what about incidental music: popular or classical that might be used as a sound scape for this passage?
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