Mark 13:1-8 (also in Matthew 24)
We all know the saying, “Red sky at night, …………”. We may not realise how old a saying it is – even Jesus repeated it, in Matthew 16:2. Meteorologists will explain it to us – something to do with the amount of moisture and dust in the atmosphere, and the prevailing winds. But it is quite a good guide to us – we know if there is a beautiful red sunset that the next day is likely to be fine. We can read the signs.
But Jesus told his followers that there are other signs we need to recognise, to do with understanding what God is doing in the world. And I want us to think about that today. Do we recognise the signs of God at work?
In our reading, the disciples looked at the Temple, that enormous building at the heart of their worship, constructed of massive stones, with walls soaring high above their heads – just as we may marvel at an English cathedral with its vaulting and intricate carvings. When I go to Lichfield, for example, I can only gaze up in admiration for those earlier craftsmen who laboured to create such a beautiful place of worship. If you said to me that next week, or next year, it would be pulled down, I would scoff – it would take some major tragedy to bring that to the ground, it has stood for so long.
Yet Jesus told his followers that the Temple would soon be destroyed, razed to the ground. They couldn’t believe it – it seemed so permanent, so solid. But within their lifetimes it happened. The thing they had counted on standing firm disappeared.
I don’t know about you, but I would find it hard to believe it could happen – just like the shock of the High School going up in flames in August last year. It seems incredible that something we had expected to continue indefinitely has been destroyed. It brings with it a sense of terrible loss and uncertainty. What can we rely on, in a world which can change overnight?
The times when Jesus spoke to his disciples were also times of great uncertainty. They were under the rule of an invading force. Anything could happen, and it wasn’t likely to be good. But Jesus told his followers that they had to get used to reading the signs, to understanding what was happening in the world around them, to see what was important and what was only transitory. And we need to hear the same message today.
You see, we may have got used to looking at the world around us with blinkers on. We see only what we expect to see. But, to quote the old hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform”. Do we recognise the signs of God at work, in us and in the world?
Over the last year, I have been aware of God speaking to me in ways and about things I wouldn’t have expected. I have seen my teaching work at Great Wyrley High School be rewarded by recognition of me as a good teacher, then my contract ended. I find myself training for local ministry and doing things I would never have anticipated. How do I know that it is God at work rather than just co-incidence? How can I tell whether God is speaking to me or it’s my own thoughts? How do I read the signs?
Last Sunday evening, Dave Barnsley spoke to us about the events leading up to the birth of Christ. He made us think about things we often just read and take for granted, like angels appearing to Elizabeth and Mary. But what would we think if it happened to us? Would we recognise what God was doing in our lives?
Maybe you can think of times when God has done something very unexpected - perhaps in your own life, perhaps in the life of the church. It might be something which changes the whole direction of your life, or possibly just a moment of sudden understanding. You may even have had a startling revelation, out of the blue, which gives you a totally different perspective on the problem you are facing. Whatever it is, it’s a sign that God is still at work in your life. Such signs are a welcome reminder to us that God is interested in every part of our life, He wants us to be involved in His purposes for the world.
But sometimes we resent these signs, or even reject them. They may show us a change we don’t want to face up to, or a realisation that our understanding has been faulty and must turn around. It could be that we love the sin we have been harbouring too much to let it go, even though God has shown us how he feels about it. The sign that God places in our path may be as instantly earth-shattering as the angel appearing to Mary, or it could be a warning to consider how we are viewing the world around us, like the disciples being told that the Temple would be destroyed.
We need to see what is important and what is only transitory.
Think for a moment about the problems facing the Anglican church at this time, in connection with the appointment of a practising homosexual bishop by the church in America. Do we see this as a sign of the forces of evil at work in the world, or do we see it as an opportunity for Christians to consider what is really important to them as regards unity in the church? Do we look at the situation and see cracks appearing in the church, or do we understand that God may be shaking the church to see what is really solid and can withstand the shaking? You see, God doesn’t always work in the ways we expect him to. He uses situations in ways we wouldn’t necessarily expect, in order to make us think and re-think. We may feel there is hypocrisy in some parts of the church – but do we see the plank of wood in our own eye when we are trying to get the splinter out of our brother’s? What is important in God’s eyes and what is transitory?
And if we come here at 6.30 pm on a Sunday, and see a crowd of youngsters come in and sit in the back corner and chatter during the service, is our reaction to want them out of here because they are disturbing our service, or to welcome them as young people who are seeking God in some way? How do we read the signs?
Our Bible reading talked about the things that will happen before the world as we know it ends. Jesus said there will be wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes and famines. It is certain that some of the things Jesus said would happen are actually going on in the world today. During the last century, there has been famine – but that’s nothing new, even in this country there have been times of famine. I had to cover a History lesson for a teacher who was away from school last week, and it was all about the times of Mary in the 17th century and the famine caused by drought in England. We know how many wars there have been since the time of Jesus. So does that mean the end of the world is at hand?
Not necessarily! Jesus told us not to be deceived. These are only signs of what is to come, not the thing itself, like labour pains before the birth of a child. We could get so caught up in trying to work out when these things will happen and how long it will be until the world ends that we miss the most important part – God has promised that Jesus will return to judge the world, and our task is to do whatever we have been given to do, while we are waiting for his return – including to go into the whole world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything God has said.
So how do we read the signs? What is important and what is transitory? Is our stewardship of the world such that we are damaging God’s creation? Is the rise in New Age and “spirituality” a sign that people are searching for God? Are we looking for evidence that God is causing people to think about their relationship with Him? Do we see young people seeking to make sense of the world in which they live? Is the church being challenged to reconsider what is really important in our lives together? Should we in fact be looking for more evidence, more signs of God at work?
Well, Jesus warned his followers not to spend time trying to work out too much about the future, because God is more concerned with the now. What is God speaking to you about at this time? Are there things in your life that God is trying to help you understand and take action about now? It is relatively easy to look at the world and see evidence that backs up what Jesus said. But our task is to look at the world with eyes that see beyond the externals to understand what God is doing, in us and in his church as well as the wider world. What is important and what is transitory?
How do we read the signs?