Love in the Ruins
A Reflection on Mark 13:1-13 by Pastor Katherine Olson
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs…The one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:7-8, 13b)
A few days ago, actor Liam Hemsworth publicly shared this picture of his home in California, which was devastated by one of the recent wildfires. In the pile of ashes and rubble, a sign that once adorned his wall could still be read: “Love.” In a posting that accompanied the photo, Hemsworth went on to praise the firefighters, emergency workers, and volunteers who came together to help in the community’s time of crisis.
This photo reminded me that devastating things do happen in our world, but God’s love remains forever. God’s love for us cannot be defeated in any war, or be extinguished by any fire. For thousands of years, Christians have found comfort in Jesus’ words in Mark 13 as they have faced times of instability. It’s a comfort to hear of our Lord speak of such realities that plague our world and remind us that these things will not be the end of us. Instead, they are “birth pangs.” (v. 8) Out of such painful turmoil, God will deliver us into new life.
It is hard to understand why these realities exist in our world, but one clue comes to us in verse 10: “The good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.” God is working in this age (marked in part by sin and suffering) to bring people of every nation to repentance and faith through Jesus Christ.
As God continues to work in the midst of this uncertain age, we commit to remaining faithful, not being led astray (v. 5-6). We meet times of anxiety and uncertainty with confidence and courage, knowing that God’s Holy Spirit has been given to lead and guide us (v. 11). We commit ourselves to preaching the gospel and engaging in acts of service for the sake of our neighbor. We remember that God’s love comes to us even in the ashes, as it has come to us most especially in the cross of Christ.
See you in church,
Pastor Katherine
Forgotten Ways
“Forgotten Ways” (John 8:32)
On Halloween, October 31, in the year 1517, a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 propositions and questions to the castle church doors in Wittenberg, Germany. In his time, the church doors served as a kind of community bulletin board (as Facebook and Instagram were not quite on the scene in the 16th century). The reason for this posting was that Luther, a then 33-year-old professor of Biblical Studies, wanted his posted statements to inspire conversation about the church’s faith and life and work. He wanted the church to talk about FORGOTTEN WAYS.
Martin Luther knew the church is people, and we know it too—people who are called by Christ’s Spirit to gather around God’s holy Word and Sacrament. Yes, to live in union with Christ who is the true head of the Church. But…the ways that union touches us and affects us can so easily become FORGOTTEN WAYS. Remembrance is needed because we are forgetful.
Is that why our Lord commanded in the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me” so that when we eat and drink in Holy Communion we remember Jesus Christ? Is that why St. Paul said that it’s important to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2) so the church of his day—like the church of our day—would hold fast to the needs of the neighbor through ministry and missions? And is it why St. Paul also said to his young brother-in-Christ, Timothy: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you” (II Timothy 1:6) because Timothy, too, tended to forget God’s plan for his life and the power by which that plan could be carried out? We act on the basis of what we remember. In remembrance, faith springs into action.
On the other hand, faith falters when we forget. Moses challenged Israel with the word, “Take heed lest you forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11). And the Psalmist admonishes parents: “Father and mothers…teach your children, that the next generation might know…and not forget the works of God” (Psalm 78:8).
And so I look forward, together with your other family members and friends of First Lutheran Church, as we gather around God’s holy Word and Sacrament come this festive Reformation Sunday—with brass and choirs and hymns of thanksgiving God…in “remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
God’s grace and peace to you this day, and always…
John Christopherson
Senior Pastor
Graced, We Give: The Zebedee Brothers and Us
“Graced, We Give: The Zebedee Brothers and Us”
“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus, and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’” (Mark 10:35-37)
In these rather embarrassing, ballsy opening verses for our gospel text this weekend … the Zebedee brothers, James and John, seem to believe that “God’s kingdom come” will be set up just like the old one. You know, with all kinds of power and bling … only, with new leadership in place. The “swamp will be drained in Jerusalem” with Jesus in the number one position and the most loyal members of his campaign staff on either side of him. Once this change has been accomplished, then—finally! At last! The good people will commence to redeem the world from top to bottom—beginning from the top, of course. The ultimate trickle-down effect.
Jesus tells James and John, as well as us, that God’s kingdom come doesn’t work that way. The new world is not remotely like the old one (Mark 10:42-44). It’s rather turned upside-down. The number ones are not the powerful ones having their pictures taken at the head table; no, they’re the ones slipping in and out among the guests at St. Francis House or The Banquet, refilling water glasses or stirring the pots in the kitchen, testing the temperature of the soup. James and John want Jesus to hurry up and get to the head of the table. But Jesus has other things on his mind. “Has everyone been served? Is all the food on the table? Does anyone need anything?” “For the Son of Man came,” says Jesus, “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). That’s not only the last verse of our gospel text for this weekend, it’s the bottom line.
We’ve heard this teaching about servanthood and stewardship so many times before that it’s all but lost on us. It just sort of goes in one ear and out the other. As though we kind of hear it as some quaint metaphor. You know: “The end of the line is the best place to be. Or by losing your life you’ll gain it.” But it doesn’t really sink in because it’s so contrary to the world of power we live in. So, what is Christ’s Word that we need to hear again this weekend at worship … as a people who are so richly blessed, graced … those called to give for the sake of God’s kingdom come.
Now whether we can make sense of it all or not, this much is for sure: serving, being stewards of God’s grace-upon-grace, is how Jesus calls us to transform God’s world and creation. No. Not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. That’s the ultimate trickle-up effect. All leaders—all who are part of the body of Christ as his church, are called to lives of humble service: to listen and not always be jabbering, to give and not worry about reward, to look to the cross not a crown. Yes, to look to the needs of others, not one’s own agendas.
The power of grace that God has given us is the strongest stuff in the world: the power of salvation to serve, which is the power to turn the Zebedee brothers’ question and ours upside down: “Teacher, we want to do for YOU whatever YOU ask of us.”
“Graced, We Give.”
Pastor John Christopherson
Senior Pastor