September 3, 2024: Tuesday Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark 13:9-13
Blessings and peace in this first week of September.
Up north where my brother lives, today's high will be on in the mid-70s, and it won't be more than two weeks and the color tours will begin throughout the state with a focus on Traverse City, Michigan. I know, here in the desert I am still watching the navel orange tree next to the dining room window. The oranges are still green and will need to be watered through October unless we get good rain between now and then. I am certainly looking forward to a break in the daily temperatures when we can see 90 degrees for just an hour or two each day. But, whether we are hot in the desert, or leaf peeping in the upper mid-West, or on the east coast of the country seeing Vermont with wonder at the beauty of the LORD'S creation, we will know that will soon move into another season of the church year, and all that each of the coming seasons will bring musically, or homiletically (that's in my preaching), and the anticipation and honor of celebrating our Lord's birth filled with the awe and wonder of God's love for every one of us. At the end of September, on the last Sunday, I will begin a study of Ruth that is a great opportunity for us to gather during the 9am education hour to explore this powerful little four chapter book, where we will find a beginning that is filled with honor and blessing, and God's call on a very unusual individual, who might otherwise be considered an outsider. That will be at 9AM in the parish hall. We will name that day rally day, and we will have games, and fun, and food. Sign up at church to bring fruit and veggie and sweet treats as we begin our journey with Ruth.
Today we move into another part of chapter 13 of Mark. In these verses Jesus makes it very clear what the disciples should expect when He is no longer in their midst. There is no softening for them because of their faithfulness, no escape using the shrewdness of their sin, and they will truly be faced with the anger and frustration of their fellow Jews who have the power and authority to judge everyone who they feel is heretical and a danger to their power and wealth and work with the Roman Empire. The Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had the authority to bring them to their knees through imprisonment, turning them over to the Roman Government as Zealots and troublemakers. But it wasn't only the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, each community had its own Sanhedrin with the right and authority to do the same thing. After the rising of Christ, the disciples, after another 40 days or so, found a new zeal for the work to which Christ had called them. They were emboldened to share the Good News of God's abundant Love for all of His children. The disciple's reality was that there were always plenty of people, perhaps even within their own families, who were anxious to curry favor with both Jewish and Roman authorities for the benefits that such informant information could bring to them. The world was not going to be an easy place for the followers of Jesus to live and answer His call on their lives. However, the strength of the faith of these men and women was powerful in their lives. They were strong in their teaching, preaching, and praying, AND in their suffering and dying at the hands of their enemies. These betrayals were on of the vivid signs of the end of days according to Jewish history and heritage. I guess that you and I are still living in these times, and though the Church has not been persecuted in recent years, the time of that kind of persecution always is a possibility for those of the True Faith. How will you and I stand up for Christ's Love when others come for us, sometimes in His Name, or in the name of the persecutors who still look for power, upbuilding of egos, and wealth? Will we all be able to stand firm to carry Christ's Love in our lives and for all people, or will we be the ones who give others up to assure that we are safe? I pray that each of us will engage in the battle of faith for the sake of all of creation, and that we come to endure for the sake of our Lord, knowing that if the end comes at the hands of Christ's enemies, it will mean that our lives will begin anew with Christ.
God bless you all.
In the Name, and by the Power of Christ's Love, Pastor Kim
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