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Maryann Amor

On your mark, get set...



Gospel

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO MARK

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumours 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. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs."

MARK 13:1-8


Sermon: Lay Reader, Mike O'Connor

The primary source of this sermon is Billy D. Straymore's sermon, "On your mark, get set..." The original text of this sermon, which was modified for preaching at Christ Church, is pasted below. Source: https://sermons.com/sermon/on-your-mark-get-set/1443990?illustrationsPage=1


On Your Mark, Get Set . . .

Mark 13:1-8, 32-33

Sermon

by Billy D. Strayhorn

There's an old story about the passengers on a commercial flight who were settling in for a comfortable flight when a voice came over the loudspeaker welcoming them and announcing that the aircraft had finally reached its cruising altitude. The passengers could now unfasten their seat belts. The voice continued by announcing that this was a state-of-the art fully automated aircraft. The passengers listened carefully as the voice explained:


"This aircraft is the pride of our fleet; we no longer require pilots, co-pilots, or navigators. We have eliminated the possibility of human error and we no longer have them on board. So please, sit back and relax; everything is under control; the cabin pressure, the altitude, the speed, the direction, everything is now controlled by our onboard computer. We are proud to announce that we are the first to provide you with this upgraded level of service. So just sit back, relax and remember, nothing can possibly go wrong, . . go wrong, . .go wrong, . . go wrong... (1)


Can you imagine the anxiety, anticipation and apprehension that suddenly filled that plane? There's a similar sense of anticipation and apprehension in today's passage from Mark.


Mark 13:1-8 (NRSV)

[1] 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!' 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.

[32] "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

[33] Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.


This passage is one that deals with the Return of Christ or the End Times as some people call it. And that causes a lot of anticipation and apprehension for some. As we look at the passage I think it tells us to "GET ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, STAY READY."


I. Get On Your Mark


A. Use the clip "Good To Go" from Lumicon to set up this point.


Do you remember the beginning of the space age? Some of you are old enough to remember the first launches and the first walk in space. I was in the fifth or sixth grade when it all became very real to me. The whole nation was filled with excitement, anticipation and apprehension about the flights. These weren't just routine shuttle take launches reported briefly on the evening news. Every early flight was a national event.


They were all televised. Regular programming ceased to be. The newscasters took over. Regular classes at school were forgotten. The teachers gathered all the students in front of a black-and-white television to watch the rocket launch and listen to the commentary.


This was Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Commander Cody come to life on the very screen before us. This wasn't a serialized story with actors, this was the real thing. This was history.


And there was real excitement and anticipation. Would John Glenn really circle the earth and return safely? Would the first walk in space be successful? Would we really reach the moon? Would they make it back? Would a human being really walk on the surface of the moon?


We didn't know, but we kept our fingers crossed and our eyes glued to the TV. We listened eagerly for each progress report. Our teachers assured us we were watching history being made right before our very eyes. and they were right.


It was a time of suspense and anticipation. We know what that feels like don't we as we wait for the Fellowship Complex to be finished. It's a familiar feeling because we felt it all last year at this very same time, as we waited and waited for this building to be finished.


That suspense of the almost but not yet, the anticipation, excitement, and a reminder from the Teacher are all part of the scene from today's Gospel reading. Mark tells us that Jesus left the Temple for the final time. He wouldn't teach in the Temple again.


From the Temple Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Temple from higher ground. There they could see the entire city. And that's when the questions started.


B. Which Disciple was it who made the odd remark, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Obviously a country boy because he was overwhelmed by the size of the city and the size of the Temple. But his awe struck comments were met by a very strange prophetic utterance from Jesus: "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."


The Disciples were on their Mark now. He'd gotten their attention. They knew something good was coming. Of course, the Disciples wanted to know when this was going to happen. But Jesus didn't tell them the date or time. Instead he looks at them standing there, "ON THEIR MARK," and He simply says: "GET SET."


II. Get Set


Actually what Jesus says is "Beware that no one leads you astray." And "Keep alert." And then Jesus lists all those events that we keep looking for, that history seems to keep repeating. Wars and rumors of war. Earthquakes and famines.


But notice what he says about these, they are, "but the beginning of the birth pangs." These things aren't the actual event. They are only the preparatory events. These are the false labor pains.


Throughout the years, ever since Jesus uttered these words, there have been people who have claimed to know "the when." And every time I read one of those claims I have to laugh. Because what they are saying, whether they realize it or not, is that they know more than Jesus.


How arrogant of us to step out of the starting lane and try to figure out what only God knows.


How arrogant of us to try to usurp God and to step into God's role by trying to figure out the so-called right time.


How arrogant of us to ever think we have the inside track.


Disciples asked Jesus "When?" And Jesus told them: "No one knows the hour or the day but the Father. Not the angels in heaven or even the Son of man."


When people start trying to figure out dates and times, these are ones Jesus told us to beware of.


If you think of it in terms of running, sprinters or long distance runners don't know when the starting pistol will go off, they just know that they are called to be ready.


Jesus says: "GET ON YOUR MARK, GET SET . . ."


III. Stay Ready


A. And then He says: "STAY READY." That's the hard part. [Show Noah clip. Stop the clip before the company logo.] (2)


It's not easy to STAY READY, but like the Noah clip shows us, nobody said it would be easy. But we are called to STAY READY.


And to do that we should take Isaiah 40:31 as our motto: "They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."


There are some lessons we can learn in this staying ready time. First, waiting on the Lord can be healing. Second, you're not just marking time while God does God's thing, every day we're making new discoveries about how much God loves us. And third, every day we're growing stronger in our confidence in God's promises.


If we take Isaiah 40:31 as our motto. Sometimes we do run and don't grow weary. Sometimes we do mount up with wings like eagles. And then, sometimes life throws us for a huge loop, it throws us a curve from which we don't think it's possible to recover. And we find that it is absolutely all we can do to just walk and not faint. But the good news is that God is always there. God always helps renew our strength. That's God's job. That's God's promise.


Our job is to "STAY READY." Not figure when so we can goof off until just the right time or harass others with what we know and they don't. But simply to "STAY READY."


B. Have you heard the story about man who lived in the Midwest. Right smack in the middle of tornado alley. After several tornados came near his home tearing up his neighbor's homes and barns, he decided to build a storm cellar.


He decided to go first-class and build a well-stocked cellar that would give him refuge in any storm. He spent an enormous amount of money.


But, as luck would have it, as soon as he spent the money for the shelter, tornados stopped coming in his direction. Oh, sometimes a warning would be posted on the news and he would go down into his cellar, but invariably it would be a false alarm. He began to wonder if he had spent his money for nothing. Finally, there came a major storm that roared through his property and flattened his barn. When he came out of the storm cellar, he looked at all the damage and then he looked up at the sky and said, "Now that is more like it." (3)


That man was ready. And he stayed ready. He didn't know WHEN the storm was going to come, he just knew it was going to come. So, he was ready. We don't know WHEN Jesus is coming back, He didn't tell his disciples, He didn't even know the time Himself, that was in the Father's hands. He did his part in getting us ready. Now it's up to us to "STAY READY."


Conclusion


There's a story told by Mary Hollingsworth about the noted director, Cecil B. DeMille. When they began working on the movie Ben Hur, DeMille talked to Charlton Heston, the star of the movie, about the all important chariot race at the end. He decided Heston should actually learn to drive the chariot himself, rather than just using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take chariot-driving lessons to make the movie as authentic as possible.


Learning to drive a chariot with horses four abreast, however, was no small matter. After extensive work and days of practice, Heston returned to the movie set and reported to DeMille.


Heston said, "I think I can drive the chariot all right, Cecil, but I'm not at all sure I can actually win the race."


Smiling slightly, DeMille said, "Heston, you just stay in the race, and I'll make sure you win." (4)


Those are the words of God to everyone us: "You just stay in the race, you Stay Ready, and I'll make sure you win."


ON YOUR MARK, GET SET . . . STAY READY.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn

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