Holden
Village
11.18.12
Mark
13:1-8
December
21,
2012
– this
is
the
date
the
world
will
end,
again.
Just
in
case
you
haven’t
heard
the
Mayan
calendar
ends
on
December
21,
2012
with
the
winter
solstice,
so
much
of
the
world
has
come
to
the
natural
conclusion
that
the
world
will
cease
to
exist
when
this
calendar
reaches
its
end.
The
tourism
of
Guatalmaa
is
taking
hold
of
this
so-called
doomsday
and
turning
quite
a
profit
by
selling
tickets
to
see
the
ruins
and
offering
D-day
survival
kits.
Of
course
this
is
not
the
first,
or
second
or
even
hundredth
time
the
world
has
been
predicted
to
be
at
its
end.
And
somehow
here
we
are
still
kicking
and
the
earth
keeps
revolving
and
life
as
we
know
it
continues
on.
There
is
plenty
of
biblical
literature
that
encourages
these
kind
of
end
times
speculation.
All
of
our
readings
tonight
point
us
in
the
direction
of
the
great
unknown
and
all
that
will
lead
up
to
it.
And
so,
by
human
nature
we
are
prone
to
want
the
details,
we
want
to
know
when,
where,
how
and
who
will
be
there
on
the
other
side
of
it
all.
“When
will
this
be
and
what
will
be
the
sign
that
all
these
things
are
about
to
be
accomplished?”
The
disciples
threw
this
question
back
at
Jesus
– just
like
us,
they
want
to
know
when
and
how.
Of
course,
those
details
are
slow
in
coming,
we've
been
waiting
around
for
thousands
of
years
since
these
words
were
written
and
while
we
wait
there
are
guesses
made,
assumptions
jumped
to
and
we
try
to
fit
the
end
times
into
a
frame
we
can
see
clearly
– we
try
to
package
the
apocalypse
nice
and
neat
and
stick
a
date
on
it,
December
21,
2012.
Done.
When
we
cannot
control
we
grab
harder
to
reigns
that
are
flying
out
of
our
hands.
When
we
are
afraid
we
cling
to
notions
and
ideas
that
bring
a
false
sense
of
security
until
we
feel
brave
again.
When
we
do
not
have
the
knowledge
we
answer
anyways
with
facts
and
hopes
that
are
grabbed
out
of
the
sky.
And
there
is
nothing
like
the
end
of
something
to
bring
out
our
control
issues,
our
fear,
our
questions.
The
end
of
a
job,
the
end
of
a
relationship,
the
end
of
dream,
the
end
of
a
life,
the
end
of
our
world
as
we
live
in
it
today
– cue
the
control,
the
fear,
the
questions
that
assail
us.
Maybe
it
is
human
nature,
maybe
it
is
the
biblical
literature,
maybe
its
just
such
a
frightening
and
compelling
notion
we
cannot
help
but
play
with
it.
Whatever
the
motivation
our
culture
as
quite
a
fascination
with
end
times
– Apocalypse
Now,
Armageddon,
WALL-E,
The
Left
Behind
Series
or
Late
Great
Planet
Earth
and
this
barely
scratches
the
surface
of
all
the
words,
images
and
stories
that
have
been
created
to
capture
one
idea
of
the
apocalypse
or
another.
Many
a
producer
has
profited
off
our
fascination
with
all
we
do
not
know.
We
do
not
have
the
thrill
of
Hollywood
tonight
and
a
sci-fi
author
I
am
not.
What
we
do
have
are
these
challenging
texts
and
a
brave
community
of
faith
where
we
can
wrestle
with
these
words
together
– we
will
not
end
with
neat
and
tidy
answers,
but
maybe
rely
on
our
faith
which
is
strong
together
than
alone.
After
yesterday's
bible
and
brew
I
was
asked
the
question,
“Do
you
really
believe
in
the
apocalypse?”
I
have
no
grand
theological
response
to
such
a
question,
but
I
have
some
statements
of
faith
instead.
I
believe
that
this
world
as
we
know
it
falls
short,
very
very
short
of
all
the
dreams
God
has
for
it.
I
believe
that
we
as
people,
that
I
as
a
daughter
of
God
fall
short
of
all
the
dreams
God
has
for
me
and
my
life,
too.
And
so
the
idea
that
a
great
new
day
could
be
promised
to
us,
a
day
when
death
is
no
more
and
tears
and
pain
and
crying
is
no
more…well
that
great
new
day
is
something
I
hold
on
to
to
continue
in
this
life.
I
cannot
and
will
not
justify
all
the
suffering
and
injustice
of
our
world
and
of
my
own
life
– but
if
apocalypse
could
mean
a
world
as
God
intended,
a
world
that
lives
up
to
all
the
potential
and
life
abundant
that
is
promised
through
Jesus
Christ
– then
yes,
I
believe.
And
still,
even
in
this
belief,
many
questions
remain
also.
The
disciples
wanted
details,
that
human
nature
kicking
in
and
demanding
to
know
the
when
and
the
how
of
the
end
times.
Jesus
does
not
answer
with
a
date
on
a
calendar,
instead
he
replies,
“Beware
that
no
one
leads
you
astray...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...”
Jesus
is
describing
the
time
the
disciples
are
living
in
with
the
conflict
between
Jews
and
Romans
and
Jesus
is
describing
the
time
which
follows
with
the
early
church
under
great
oppression
and
false
messiahs
popping
up
all
over
the
place.
Jesus
is
also
describing
most
eras
between
his
day
and
ours
– dishonest
rulers,
wars,
natural
disasters,
inexcusable
hunger
– he
could
be
reading
right
off
the
CNN
website.
The
suffering
of
the
end
times
were
happening
that
day
when
Jesus
spoke
those
words,
they
were
happening
that
day
when
the
gospel
of
Mark
was
written
and
they
have
been
happening
every
day
since.
We
could,
so
easily,
look
at
each
block
of
history
and
point
to
the
signs
of
doomsday.
Evil
is
so
blatant
it
is
easy
to
spot
– our
news
sources
have
become
fine
tune
machines
spotlighting
the
darkness
around
us
every
single
day.
We
could
look
for
the
death
and
destruction,
the
signs
and
the
clues
that
might
tip
us
off
to
God's
timing.
But
this
is
not
our
calling.
We
will
not
know
God's
timing
so
let's
not
be
distracted
by
it.
Jesus
says
“be
aware
and
do
not
fear”
– be
aware
of
where
God
is
at
work
giving
life
in
the
face
of
death,
bringing
peace
in
the
face
of
war.
Hope,
justice,
grace
–these
may
not
make
the
best
headlines
but
they
are
certainly
powerful
forces
gifted
to
us
by
God
and
present
in
the
middle
of
suffering
all
over
the
creation.
We
know this because we can look at each block of history and point to
life. We can look back and see that humanity has continued through
world wars and disease, we can look back and notice that the church
continues in its own clumsy way to proclaim the love of God through
Jesus and to point to the work of the Spirit among us. Now, to be
clear this is not an opportunity to be overly confident in our
ability to survive...rather it is an opportunity to witness to the
hand of God giving life and reconciliation in our apocalyptic world.
Also
during
our
Bible
and
Brew
conversation
the
people
present
started
naming
the
times
in
history
that
we
could
point
to
those
“end
days”.
One
women
commented
that
the
sixties
were
just
such
a
time.
Because
of
assassinations,
wars,
the
civil
rights
movement
and
so
many
other
reasons
that
decade
truly
felt
like
and
ending
to
life
as
it
was
known.
Yet,
there
were
people
here
in
this
country
who
were
aleart
– looking
for
the
hand
of
God
in
troubling
times,
listening
for
the
voice
of
God
in
a
time
when
voices
were
mostly
filled
with
anger
and
fear.
And
these
people
gently,
yet
persistently
pushed
for
greater
justice.
These
people
imagined
a
world
as
God
had
intended,
these
people
believed
in
the
urging
of
the
Spirit
and
demanded
peace
and
equality
for
all.
These
people,
the
unsung
heros
of
the
civil
rights
movement,
were
led
by
Martin
Luther
King
Jr
who
painted
his
own
apocalyptic
scene
with
these
words…
Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there.I would even go by the way that the man for whom I am named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church of Wittenberg. But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating President by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there.I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but "fear itself." But I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon. And I would watch them around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there.
Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy."
Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding.Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee -- the cry is always the same: "We want to be free."Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.
And I don't mind.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!
And so I'm happy, tonight.I'm not worried about anything.I'm not fearing any man!Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. (from Letter from Birmingham Jail)
No comments:
Post a Comment