A Poem a Sunday

Pentecost 25 / Lectionary 33

November 15, 2015

St. Mark 13:1-8

Commentary:  This ‘Little Apocalypse’ puts Jesus in the long tradition of the Hebrew prophets.  God never wanted to be domesticated in a temple or replaced by a king.  This happened anyway to the chagrin of God’s messengers.  The Prophets cried out against the ‘edifice complex’ in which institutions become an end in themselves and God’s people lose their sense of mission.  There can only be rebirth when institutions are in constant reform and our edifices fall and are rebuilt.  This is the beginning of the birth pangs.  Prophets are still dreamin’.

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

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

³ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’^[a] and they will lead many astray. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. ⁸ 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.

Footnotes:  [a] Mark 13:6 Gk I am

Prophets Are Still Dreamin’

All the leaves are brown

and the sky is grey.

Churches in decline

having lost their way.

Make no graven images

is the foremost Law.

Yet, we create our own God

secure behind our walls.

Build no golden Temple

for the tabernacle God.

God is in the flesh,

made known in the sod.

We have domesticated the Divine,

leaving absolutely no doubt

with systems so sublime

that mystery is left out.

Troubadours sing:

“If I had my way

 in this wicked world,

if I had my way,

I would tear this building down.”

            [Blind Willie Johnson – 1897-1945]

Poets announce:

“And the Son of Man was not crucified once for all,

The blood of the Martyrs not shed once for all,

The lives of the Saints not given once for all:

But the Son of Man is crucified always,

And there shall be Martyrs and Saints.

And if the blood of the Martyrs is to flow on the steps

We must first build the steps:

And if the Temple is to be cast down

We must first build the Temple.

            [T.S. Eliot – Choruses From the Rock, Section VI]

Prophets are still dreamin’,

the Spirit is still scheming

while in our pews we ponder

oblivious of all wonder.

Prophets are still dreamin’,

Temple walls are tumbling,

eve of destruction revealing,

a new dawn full of healing.

A Poem a Sunday – November 10, 2015 – Kenn Storck