November 15, 2015
Dan 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14, 18; Mk 13:24-32
Brookdale
“The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky.” Biblical literalists must find this passage challenging. Science tells us that yes, someday the sun will be darkened, but by that time the earth will have long since been burnt to a crisp. Will the falling stars be meteorites, or will the North star actually hit the earth, even though it’s 430 light-years away?
This passage has often been understood to predict the end of the world, when the souls of the just will all be swept up into heaven. But that is not what Jesus is talking about. This passage is a clear reference to the Day of the Lord in the Hebrew Scriptures, the time when God will save his people and make all things right. In times of desperation, the scriptures use this kind of language, which we call apocalyptic language, to describe the Day of the Lord. The book of Revelation, written in a time of persecution, is a prime example of apocalyptic writing.
Here is how the prophet Isaiah describes the day of the Lord against the Babylonians: “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked [that’s the Babylonians] for their iniquity.” (Is 13:10) Ezekiel uses the same language about Egypt, another enemy power: “I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights of the heavens I will darken above you, and put darkness on your land, says the Lord God.” (Ez 32:7) The prophet Amos turns this apocalyptic language against Israel itself in his condemnation of the rich and the powerful who “trample on the needy.” (Am 8:4) There are many other examples of this language, which would have been very familiar to first-century hearers of this Gospel.
Apocalyptic images paint a picture of cleansing destruction, which makes way for the new order. The important point is not the destruction but that God has all the power necessary to establish a new order characterized by justice and peace. It might seem that change is impossible: the Babylonians and Egyptians will always be superpowers; the slaves will always be slaves; the poor will never have a chance. But in fact, everything we tend to think of as fixed and permanent is more fragile and more vulnerable that we imagine. In fact, God rules.
So Jesus is talking about the time when God will put things right, establish justice, and come to the aid of his people in distress. Specifically, the book of Daniel, from which the first reading is taken, foresees “one like a Son of Man,” who will be sent by God to realize his will on earth “in those days.” “The Son of Man coming in clouds” is a quote from the book of Daniel (Dan 7:13-14). Early Christians believed that Jesus was the promised Son of Man, who had finally come to put things right. They believed that his death and resurrection inaugurated the Day of the Lord. But they were only the beginning. The kingdom is both already and not yet. It has already begun, but it is not yet fully established. But God is working on it. The challenge for the just is to endure the time of transition and persevere until the victory of God.
The message is the same for us. We’re not oppressed or starving (although I’ve heard complaints about the food here at Sterling House), and nobody is shooting at us. But whenever we read the paper or watch the news, we can’t help but be aware of all the troubles in our world. We long for a time when there is no war, when the good guys win and the bad guys don’t. God is working on it. We can do our little bit in kindness to help, and trust that God will prevail.