{"id":9605,"date":"2003-11-07T19:49:50","date_gmt":"2003-11-07T18:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=9605"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:59:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T07:59:38","slug":"mark-131-8-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/mark-131-8-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark 13:1-8"},"content":{"rendered":"

23rd Sunday after Pentecost | 16. November 2003 |<\/span>\u00a0Mark 13:1-8 | Samuel Zumwalt |<\/span><\/h3>\n

What do the Tower of Babel, Herod\u2019s Temple, and the World Trade Center have in common? The last (but not the first) word is hubris \u2013 pride. Created in the image of God, humans are driven by inner angels to create larger works of beauty and skill. These speak volumes about both our great gifts and our lofty ambitions. Yet fallen from original grace, humans inevitably are driven by inner demons to believe in our own godlike capabilities. We begin to believe too many of our own press releases. Of course, we are begging for others to join in the childhood game \u201cKing of the Mountain.\u201d And if we build it, they will surely come \u2013 to knock it down. So it was with Babel, the Temple, and the World Trade Center. Requiescant in pace!<\/p>\n

At least one of Jesus\u2019 disciples seems overawed by the magnificence of Herod\u2019s Temple. Was this observer from some tiny village? Was he fresh off the farm? Was he like the first-time visitor to any of the world\u2019s great cities \u2013 gaping with mouth wide open? Later when Jesus was hanging on his lonely cross, did that one ask the others, \u201cWhat made us think we could stand in opposition to the Temple\u2019s leaders?\u201d Did that same one live long enough to see the Romans destroying the Temple? Did he remember Jesus\u2019 prophetic words then? (v. 2b, \u201cNot one stone will be left here upon another.\u201d)<\/p>\n

One biblical scholar has pointed out that from the first verse of his gospel Mark is out to seduce the reader for the kingdom of God (See Robert Fowler\u2019s Let the Reader Understand, Fortress Press). What then is the point of this little glimpse of the end of things? We are meant to understand that no matter how high we stack our building blocks someone else is going to come along and knock them down. So\u2026we better not put our trust in human ingenuity. Of course, it gets worse than that before it gets better.<\/p>\n

So\u2026if we do not put our trust in human ingenuity and instead put our trust in Jesus Christ where will that lead? Is it not to his lonely cross in the garbage dump? And when he is raised from the dead, is it any wonder then that the women cannot find their tongues to proclaim, \u201cChrist is risen?\u201d They are still locked in disbelief that dead is a possible adjective for God. Despite wandering with the Son of God for at least a year the disciples then (and now) have a hard time with the cost of discipleship.<\/p>\n

So\u2026if we go with Jesus, if we are indeed seduced for the kingdom of God, what can we expect? Has not Jesus already told us: \u201cTruly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age \u2013 houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions \u2013 and in the age to come eternal life\u201d (Mark 10:29-30 NRSV).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like the old joke about the rich man\u2019s lawyer. When he was asked how much his client left, his answer was: \u201cHe left everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discipleship is about gaining and losing, dying and rising. Luther called it the happy exchange (\u201cfroehliche Wechsel\u201d). Christ takes our sin and death and gives us his life and righteousness as a free gift. That\u2019s the ultimate good news. It\u2019s also the news that is so hard to trust when hell breaks loose in the here and the now.<\/p>\n

When Jesus\u2019 awestruck disciple was staring at the visible signs of human power in Jerusalem, he was suddenly aware of what he was up against. Suddenly the Lord Jesus seemed less powerful. Imagine what that disciple thought when he saw Jesus hanging dead on his lonely cross in the garbage dump? Had Jesus somehow charmed them with an incantation or hypnosis? Seeing him dead, how could anyone have ever trusted Jesus?<\/p>\n

Before his own dying ever took place, Jesus warned his disciples that human might and human charisma would continue to be seductive. Big buildings look invincible until you see them as smoking ruins. This world\u2019s charmers sound godlike until you see their lifeless flesh. The old things are passing away. But they are not passing away without trying to draw more and more to destruction. Hell doesn\u2019t ever quietly fade away.<\/p>\n

Disciples of the Lord Jesus know the promise of baptism. We sign ourselves with the cross saying with Luther, \u201cBut I am baptized!\u201d We have been seduced for the kingdom of God and have joined Christ on the journey homeward.<\/p>\n

But the counter seductions of the demonic do not go away simply because we have said \u201cI believe\u201d or because our parents have promised to guide us in the way of trust in Christ. The outward appearances of hell\u2019s weaponry may seem to grow more sophisticated with the ages but the intent is still the same — to draw us from truth to lies, from hope to despair, from trust to betrayal.<\/p>\n

Hell\u2019s seductive voice says, \u201cSee what your trust in God has gotten you?\u201d It is that taunting voice spoken with a smirk. It is the voice that whispers in your ears in the middle of those sleepless nights when your faithful discipleship seems to have gotten you nothing but heartache and derision. It is that charming voice that draws the would-be- faithful disciple away to a bitter place where it can nurse resentments and fan the embers of jealousy.<\/p>\n

Hell\u2019s seductive voice knows no patient waiting upon the Lord. It leads not merely into temptation but into self-destruction. So many vulnerable disciples have been seduced by the attractive quick fix and then left to deal with shame and self-loathing. Then hell\u2019s seductive voice repeats endlessly, \u201cYou are worthless. You should give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a palpable difference between being seduced for the kingdom of God and seduced by the kingdom of hell. The difference is Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, crucified and raised, bearing the marks of death on his hands and feet and side. All of hell\u2019s victories are pyrrhic. As Luther put it so beautifully in A Mighty Fortress, \u201cThey cannot win the day\u201d (\u201csie haben\u2019s kein\u2019 Gewinn\u201d).<\/p>\n

A retired priest, a dear friend of mine, confessed that he often despairs now having been stripped long ago of a na\u00efve faith. Too many years of reading forensic pathologists of the Bible have deprived him of comfort. Too many years of watching hell\u2019s seductive forces at work in God, Incorporated have left him cynical and despondent. To him I said, \u201cMy prescription would be that you receive the Sacrament of the Altar every week and join the community in the hearing of the Word and the saying of the prayers. I trust the Risen Lord will envelop you in his love and mercy forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 15:19, \u201cIf for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.\u201d Hell won\u2019t quit trying to seduce us away from God\u2019s kingdom. So when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.<\/p>\n

When hell breaks loose, listen not to the voices of despair. Put your trust in the Risen Lord who has promised you eternal life! He keeps his promises!<\/p>\n

\n

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Zumwalt
\nSt. Martin\u2019s Lutheran Church, Austin TX (USA)
\nszumwalt@saintmartins.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

23rd Sunday after Pentecost | 16. November 2003 |\u00a0Mark 13:1-8 | Samuel Zumwalt | What do the Tower of Babel, Herod\u2019s Temple, and the World Trade Center have in common? The last (but not the first) word is hubris \u2013 pride. Created in the image of God, humans are driven by inner angels to create […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1143,727,157,853,108,110,279,349,3,109,160],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-9605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-markus","category-22-so-n-trinitatis","category-archiv","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-13-chapter-13-markus","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten","category-samuel-david-zumwalt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9605"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23841,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9605\/revisions\/23841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9605"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=9605"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=9605"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=9605"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=9605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}