Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today we enter that section of the Gospel of Mark which is often referred to as the "Little Apocalypse." Widely contested is whether it is a true apocalypse like the Book of Revelation., Today we read the beginning of Chapter 13. It is concerned with the Temple. Last week we heard the story of Jesus in the temple watching the people give their offerings. The message seemed to be that Jesus commended the generosity of the poor widow. He condemned the institution to which she was contributing. It was behavior like this that ultimately got Jesus in trouble.

You don't challenge or question public symbols of ethnic, religious or political pride. Or if you do, you can expect trouble. Examples, of this abound. Think about the British who in 1814 went through Washington, D.C. burning government buildings including the White House. They did not burn private buildings. But they saw the power in the devastation of these important buildings. We are aware of the ongoing threats to the symbolic strength of American power. On September 11, 2001, the planes highjacked by the terrorists were flown into buildings that greatly symbolized the potency of the United States: the Twin Towers were destroyed, the Pentagon was severely damaged. The White House was once again was a target, but survived because the attack plane was taken down not by the terrorists, but by the passengers.

September 11 touched off a wave of apocalyptic announcements from the fundamentalists and devotees of the biblical prophecy movement. These people are always looking for predictions embedded in the Bible that they claim are true. Usually this tactic is used as a demonstration that the Bible is literally true. But it misses the spirit of the biblical prophets who are concerned with justice-or the lack thereof-and the incessant turning to violence and bloodshed which ancient Israel itself utilized to maintain or gain power.

In today's reading, Jesus prophecies against the Temple. It's not his prediction that is important so much as his prophecy against an institution which exploits the poor and enriches the powerful, all in the name of religious faith.

Still, the center of Jewish life in Jesus' time was the Jerusalem Temple. Jesus was critical of the Temple and seems to have acted prophetically against it.

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." (Mark 13:1-2)

The disciples are shocked at this prophetic announcement. Now they know they are in trouble. They are associating with someone who could easily be confused with a rebel, an insurgent, or an enemy of the people. What is more, they associate the destruction of the Temple with the end of the world - the end of time.

We can say that today's reading is not about predicting the future but it is about prophesying the will of God which does not call for violence, but rather for mercy and justice and the courageous belief that it is God who will establish God's kingdom. Luther reminds us of this teaching when he interprets the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come."

What is this? Answer:
In fact, God's kingdom comes on its own without our prayer,
but we ask in this prayer
that it may also come to us.

After all, Jesus was preaching the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God. Implied in such a message is the end of this world's powers, especially Rome. When Jesus speaks against the Temple, he simply adds to the list of those who are threatened by his preaching.

What is most significant for us, is that Jesus does not associate the destruction of the Temple with the end of the world.

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. (Mark 13:7)

For Jesus, the Temple can be destroyed as a judgement from God. That does not mean that for Jesus the end has come.

Dear congregation, we live in dangerous and often confusing times but we have plenty of examples from others who have lived through such times. A prominent example comes to us from those who lived in East Germany through the time of the Communist dictatorship, sponsored by the Soviet Union.

In this case it was not the destruction of a great building, but the erection of a great wall that was proclaimed would endure for a hundred years. This was the pronouncement of Erich Honecker, the head of state of the German Democratic Republic from 1976 until 1989. This wall could have signaled the end, especially for the church. The dictatorship turned its full force against the church and almost succeeded in eliminating it from the East German social fabric.

But there were those who remained in the church. They did not see the Wall as the end. Nor were they weakened in the faith when great church buildings were demolished to make way for Stalinist architecture. Many remained in the church because they refused to associate the destruction of their social, political, and economic life with the end. They preferred to keep their hopes pinned on the God of Jesus Christ, whom they trusted would prevail.

The wall did not last 100 years. It did not last thirty years before it came down under the pressure of the people, who went to the streets peacefully. They cried out against the destruction of their environment by the crass manufacture of chemicals. The open burning of brown coal was poisoning of the land and killing the rivers. The East Germans demonstrated for peace when the threat of nuclear war was at a feverish pitch.

What was it that sustained them? It was the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This Christ had become real to them from one who struggled against the previous crisis of the Nazi dictatorship, He lost the battle but won the spiritual war-Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer conspired actively against the Nazi regime. His only resort to violence was the decision to support the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was arrested as a conspirator in the assassination attempt and executed just days before the Allies liberated Germany. Still Bonhoeffer left a legacy for the next generation of German Christians in the poem, "Von guten Mächten treu und still umgeben,"

By gracious pow'rs so wonderfully sheltered,
and confidently waiting come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning,
and never fails to greet us each new day.

Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation,
for which, O Lord, you taught us to prepare.

And when this cup you give is filled to brimming
with bitter suff'ring, hard to understand,
we take it thankfully and without trembling
out of so good and so beloved a hand.

Yet when again in this same world you give us
the joy we had, the brightness of your sun,
we shall remember all the days we lived through
and our whole life shall then be yours alone.

By gracious pow'rs so faithfully protected,
so quietly, so wonderfully near,
we live each day in hope, with you beside us,
and go with you through ev'ry coming year.

Amen.