Believe, Even When

Mark 13:24-27 (First Sunday of Advent)

24 “But in those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Rev Michael Vanacore | Fort Washington Collegiate Church | 11/29/2020

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. And in this Advent season, we are focusing on the theme: “we believe, even when.” As the beautiful song by Mark Miller goes, “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.” And in this precarious time of transition, it is especially crucial that we continue to find ways to believe.

Advent is a time of waiting, and of preparation. Waiting for the birth of the babe Jesus, and waiting for Jesus’s triumphant return. In the first instance, we place ourselves inside the story of the Gospel. We put ourselves in the shoes of Mary and Joseph, of Elizabeth and the Magi, of Herod even, and of Caesar.

In this case, the period of Advent might offer us an opportunity to reflect upon those momentous occasions that break into our lives and transform our worlds forever. The birth of a child. Moving to a new home in a new city, or even a new country, to start a new life. Embarking on a new career, a new vocation, a totally new direction in your life.

In the latter case, we are left to ponder the ever-widening gap between the new world of peace and justice that Jesus promised with his return, and the world as it is today. How can we announce the Second Coming of Jesus and God’s reign of justice, when it is taking so long to arrive?

In this famous thirteenth chapter of the book of Mark, Jesus addresses this very dilemma. He begins with a prediction of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. This event, historians say, took place in 70CE, and it was the pinnacle of the siege of Jerusalem. With this act, the Romans sought to crush once and for all any spirit of resistance from the Jewish people. How, Jesus’s disciples reading the Book of Mark wanted to know, could they continue to believe that Jesus would return as king, when for all intents and purposes, the Roman Empire had extended its authority so completely over all?

But Jesus urges his followers to endure, saying, ““Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 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.”

But ultimately, Jesus predicts, as we have heard read so beautifully this morning, if his disciples hold fast to what they believe, the harsh winter of their tribulation will pass, and Son of Man will return triumphant!

Friends, we too have been living through a period of tribulation and trial. Hundreds upon thousands of our fellow children of God have perished unnecessarily from this dreadful pandemic. Thousands of poor and working families have been devastated economically and abandoned by their government. And our nation has been brought, it would seem, to the brink of a civil war. How do we continue to believe in the midst of such chaos?

The writer and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi wrote of his time in Auschwitz,

“Not only during the crucial moments of the aerial bombings but also in the grind of everyday life, the believers lived better...It was completely unimportant what their religious or political faith might be. Catholic or Reformed priests, rabbis of the various orthodoxies, militant Zionists, naive or sophisticated Marxists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses--all held in common the saving force of their faith.”

Friends, in the midst of this dark night of our nation and the dark night of our soul, it is crucial that we remember that we have a reason to believe. That we articulate and then hold on to the saving force of our faith. For it is our belief--whatever it might be--that will get us through.

But unlike Jesus, I will not extend to you the same reassurance of a Second Coming. For me personally, it is not my faith in Jesus’s return that gives me hope. Instead, it is my belief that Jesus has already returned. He returned on the day that he sent to his disciples the Holy Spirit. He is here with us now, today, in our hearts and minds and hands and feet. He is here with us in our conviction that the Kingdom of Heaven is not coming tomorrow, not just around the bend, but that it is already here.

And this is not just my personal conviction. It is my most faithful understanding of our Sacred Scripture. José Porfirio Miranda, probably one of the most researched and sophisticated interpreters of the New Testament, argues convincingly that it is unfaithful to the Word to project Jesus’s return into some undefined future. He writes, “The expression 'after that tribulation' (Mark 13:24) and the Matthean equivalent 'immediately after the tribulation of those days' (Matt. 24:29) compel us to consider the Paraousia (the Second Coming) and the establishment of the kingdom...as events immediately subsequent to the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem.”

In other words, if we read the Bible faithfully, we will have to grapple with the uncomfortable possibility that Jesus already returned, and that God’s reign of justice has already begun. But how do we do that in a world that is so clearly different from what we imagined it to be?

The key is in how we understand the Kingdom of God and the contents of our belief. My faith leads me to believe that the Kingdom of God means the total transformation of the world to God’s justice and love. And my conviction leads me to believe that it is my task and within my power, together with all people of faith and conscience, to make that transformation come true.

Friends, we should not feel daunted or inadequate to this task. Jesus himself promised us that we would be able to accomplish all these things and more: "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). Ultimately, the responsibility for realizing the Second Coming lies in our hands. But we will not do it alone. For Jesus will be working with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so, in this period of massive upheaval and uncertainty, let us sing together the beautiful words to the song: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.” But how do we believe in the sun when it seems like it will never shine again? We remember that it is not ultimately the sun that brings light into the world, but God, through us. And no amount of night can take that power away.