WATCHWORD:
24 “At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. 28 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. 32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! 34 “The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” Mark 13:24-37
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20
Meditation:
Never Ending Story
This past Sunday I was in California and tuned in to one of my church’s streaming service. They had a new Associate Pastor and this was his first Sunday service since installation. The Gospel lesson was the Mark 13 passage, which has themes of the end of the world, fear and being on guard. I have been told that this passage is one of the more difficult portions of the Bible to preach on, so I was curious how this pastor would approach this in his sermon.
He represented the text very well, drawing a parallel with “The Never-Ending Story,” a children’s fantasy where a young boy is both the reader of the story and, in the end, emerges as the hero of the story. A story which portrays fear as nothing in the face of faith and belief. The parallel worked very well, illustrating the message of the Gospel. I was impressed with how the pastor presented the lesson, and so later in the day I watched the 1984 film “The Never-Ending Story” and found myself the hero of the story!
We are human, we experience fear in some form or another. Sometimes fear serves us for our safety, and sometimes the fear is of the unknown, or comes out of our worry about the future. We hear plenty of scripture passages that say to us do not fear, and to not worry about tomorrow, letting tomorrow’s worry will take care of itself. Yet, often we find that, while we can feel fear, we discover that the reason for fear has no substance, something we discover on the other side, when fear is overcome.
We humans are just a little cautious. Steve Brown tells us we all follow the first law of wing-walking: Never let go of one thing until you have hold of something else! We have a very hard time risking, anything. Then we get hit by that other platitude, ‘Let go and let God!” and then our mind screams, HOW?
In the story, the force that everyone fears, the power they believe will destroy the planet, carries the apt name “Nothing.” In confronting and defeating Nothing, the people realize that through their faith and resolve, they solve the “How?” question and the threat is gone.
The lesson for us? The fears we face are “Nothing” with God. Amen.
Motto for Life:
“Proceed as if success in inevitable.”
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord,
You know that we live in a crazy and chaotic world. You also know my struggles in my daily life. When life gets to be too much, please help me come to you. Calm my thoughts and emotions and open my heart to your peace, comfort, and wisdom. Help me not to live in fear. Please reduce the feelings of fear and anxiety that plague me. Help me rest in You and trust You as I navigate through this broken world. In Your name I pray, Jesus. Amen.
