Monday 25 April 2022

Psalm 148

Background

Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives looking across the very small valley at the massive Temple. He’s perhaps having a breather after a long day around the Temple debating with various groups of scholars and sharing with his disciples. When the crowds have gone his inner circle of disciples ask him about when the end times might come.

Jesus’ reply is quite jarring. It's far from comfortable reading as it's full of apocalyptic language and warning. It's not the sort of passage some of us would choose to turn to, but one of the values of following a lectionary is that we will read verses that we struggle with.

We can’t fully understand the detail of Jesus’ teaching here. There is a broad warning given to the disciples and to us. Mark lived this warning in his own life and by tradition Mark was arrested in AD68, imprisoned, tortured and martyred. Today is St Mark's Day and we rightly remember the author of the gospel who lived out what he wrote about Jesus.

In the midst of the warnings there is a clear challenge to us: "But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (v.  13) This is the challenge before us. No matter what our circumstances, no matter what we are going through, Christians are called to remain true to our faith and Saviour. There are countless examples of this through history, and in the present. In some parts of the world this is a much more sharply lived experience than in others. But wherever Christians are, the challenge is to both keep the faith, and pass on the faith.

To Ponder:

• How do we read the ‘signs of the times’ today? Can we ever predict the end times?
• "Everyone will hate you because of me" – have you had any experiences like this?

Prayer

Gracious God, help me to put you first in my life, no matter what the consequences may be.