This Is Just The Beginning

Pr. Jasmine Waring

November 14, 2021

The War of the Worlds, Planet of the Apes, Mad Max, The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day…these are just a few popular apocalyptic films many of us have seen over the years. These films portray future dystopian societies where society has devolved into tribal factions, scarce resources, and for some reason the women wear less clothes. Whether there are zombies, disease, droughts, or alien robot take overs, people find creative ways to adapt and combat the evil forces around them, including within themselves. Whenever I watch a movie in this genre I always end up imagining and discussing what I would do if I were in a post-apocalyptic dystopian society. I would hope to be a hero, or be a crafty inventor creating water filtration systems out of bamboo and lost gym socks. It turns out, surviving an apocalypse looks more like wearing sweat pants all day, making bread, and sitting on zoom calls. And that is what the past almost two years have been for all of us…an apocalypse. Yet, here we are, still standing. The truth is, apocalypse in ancient Greek does not mean an ending, but rather an unveiling. It’s like peeling back the rug we’ve been sweeping stuff under because we don’t want to deal with it, or let others see it, only for it to be exposed for all to see. Our reading in the lectionary today is often called “the little apocalypse” where Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and a time of persecution ahead. As his disciples were admiring the big beautiful stones of the Temple, Jesus says that not one stone will be on top of another. I don’t think we can ever understand the magnitude and shock factor this statement evoked to Jews in the first century. You see, when God delivered Israel from Egypt, God lived among them in the Tabernacle which was set up and torn down as they traveled in the wilderness. Eventually the first temple was built by King Solomon, who fulfilled the dream of his father, David. Finally, after all of these years, God had a permanent home with Israel, and they lived in peace. However, after King Solomon passed, the kings who succeeded him lost the plot and Israel went astray. Prophets tried to warn them over and over again that if they do not love God and their neighbor, they are going to lose it all. Then the Babylonians came through and destroyed the Temple, and took them as prisoners. The great Babylonian exile was the end of the world to Israel…an apocalypse. Their sin was revealed and they had to deal with the consequences of it. All the while, the prophets kept encouraging them, saying that one day they will be restored. Years later, the Persian empire came through and allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. Although they were still occupied by a foreign empire, their hope retuned as they set the stones and pillars of the Temple that one day, many years later, Jesus’ disciples would marvel over. So when Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed again, he was evoking centuries of trauma and disruption. That which was so precious to them, the Temple of God where YHWH dwelled among them, would be gone. Then Jesus says something interesting. After the Temple is destroyed and persecution comes just like their ancestors before them, Jesus says, “This is the beginning of the birth pangs”. After sifting through the rubble of another apocalypse, guess what happens next? Birth pain! For those of you who have undergone giving birth to a child, how excited would you feel to get this kind of news? I imagine it would be hard to hear. Child birth (I hear) is painful, exhausting, and messy. Yet we know that on the other side of all that, new life emerges. It is so absurd for someone to look around and see the world falling apart and then say, “Yes! This is the perfect time to bring vulnerable new life into the world”. And yet, humans have been doing this for millennia, and God has been doing this for eternity. Life goes on—life always finds a way. It’s interesting that after all of the suffering caused by the sin of this world has the ability to transfer into a type of suffering where we can find new life and meaning. It is a suffering that leads to hope and joy and love. We see in verse twenty-six that Jesus returns with power and glory, gathering the saints from the four winds. There is a sense of unity here, and restoration. This is just the beginning folks! We are currently sifting through the rubble of an apocalypse. We have only just begun dealing with the issues we have been sweeping under the rug as a society and as individuals. The Temple has crumbled around us and we may feel like God has left us in exile. Yet our calling as the Church of Jesus Christ is to give birth to something new in the midst of it all through the power of the Holy Spirit. God never left us, God is our midwife aiding us as we give birth to hope, peace, forgiveness, justice, and love. This is just the beginning. Apocalypses have happened before, and they will happen again. When they do, may you have eyes to see what is being exposed, and have the wisdom to deal with it. When you look around at the rubble surrounding you, may you see it as the grounds for you to give birth to something wonderful and new. And may the Cosmic Midwife be your help and comfort every step of the way.