REFUGE IN A TEMPLE NOT MADE OF STONE
Mark 13:1-8
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Lectionary 33), Year B
Analysis by Lori A. Cornell
1As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” 5Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of the birth pangs.
“Christ’s death and resurrection mark the beginning of something new: hope for today and tomorrow.”
DIAGNOSIS: No Refuge
Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): Buildings Made of Stone
The Jewish temple was only one of many temples spread around the Mediterranean. And at the time that the disciples saw it, Herod was still constructing it. An impoverished widow, seeking to be faithful, had given her last coins to the cause, which Jesus regarded as a more selfless act than any offering from the wealthy (12:41-44). No doubt the rest of the crowd thinks less of her: Why even bother to come inside the temple with such a meager offering? It was hardly worthy of notice. Besides, so many powerful, wealthy people stood within those walls.
Brushing shoulders with the rich and powerful was and remains a thrill; we remember when it happens. We are impressed by big buildings, wealth, and power, and want to enjoy them.
Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem: Outside Looking in
The disciples are so impressed by the buildings that they want Jesus to notice it’s grandeur. But Jesus dismisses their comments. After all, he just saw a defenseless widow taken advantage of. Instead, he anticipates that the temple will fall soon enough and won’t be rebuilt. What a killjoy! Moreover, he declares that nations will totter, wars will scar many lands, and what isn’t destroyed by human hands will be subject to earthquakes and famine.
Jesus implies that there is nothing we consider sacred that can’t topple in a moment. The disciples and we are left to admit that we are out of control; on the outside looking in on institutions that won’t last. But in our lack of faith we’re more worried about these temples made of stone and their inevitable ruin than in seeking a shelter that is more reliable.
Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Ultimate Problem): Everything Is Temporary
Buildings and institutions don’t last, but we depend on them still. Without them, where do we turn? Is there anyone or anything we can trust? We throw our hands up in despair. God is silent.
PROGNOSIS: Christ Gives Us Refuge
Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Ultimate Solution): Jesus Comes for Outsiders
Outside the city gates a man hangs from a cross flanked on either side by two criminals. He is an outsider to the temple, and subject to the religious and civil authorities. He, too, experiences the same silence. He doesn’t fight his own destruction because his body is the temple that, despite death and the grave, will rise again. He comes to make an everlasting shelter of forgiveness and grace for other outsiders, because they realize that Christ’s death and resurrection mark the beginning of something new: hope for today and tomorrow.
Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): We Have an “in” with Jesus
Knowing this crucified and risen Lord, changes how we followers see the world. Christ claims us so we may know refuge even as the world and its authorities change and decay, and as we face illness, loneliness, grief, and death. He meets us in our endings and makes new beginnings. We confess our faith in his reliable dwelling, places himself in our hands, and we are made new.
Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution): We Remember Other Outsiders
Not only do we find refuge in Jesus, but we also want that refuge for others. We visit the sick, the grieving, the lost, to pray and recall Christ’s promises – consoling, and reminding each other that we are beloved and Christ is our refuge.
