"Buildings and Building Relationships"

Twenty-fourth Sunday of Pentecost

Sunday November 15, 2009

A Sermon by Stephen Mutavdzija

1 Samuel 1:4-20; 2:1-20

Psalm:  The Canticle of Hannah

Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25

As many of you already know, the Royal Ontario Museum has now on display the famous ancient manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of biblical and extra-biblical manuscripts that include much of the Old Testament, which date from before the time of Christ.  Two weeks ago I went to see the scrolls and as I entered the exhibit I saw all kinds of ancient artifacts on display that had been excavated from many areas of modern day Israel.  There were ossuaries, pottery, clothing and coins. 

As impressive as all of these artifacts were, the one that captured my attention the most was a piece of stone with the Hebrew words inscribed on it, “to the trumpet place.”  This stone, excavated at the southern foot of the present day Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is believed to be a part of the Temple that existed at the time of Jesus.  The caption beside the stone said that, by this particular piece, at the beginning of the Sabbath a trumpeter would stand on the upper level of the temple, and sound the trumpet, to let all the people know that Sabbath had begun.  Moreover, the caption also said that Jesus, himself, had probably walked underneath this stone many times as he went to and from the temple. 

In today’s gospel lesson, we learn about Jesus’ thoughts on this temple and are given ear into a conversation between Jesus and his disciples.  This conversation took place after Jesus had several confrontations with various religious leaders.  If you recall in last week lesson, we read the story of Jesus at the treasury, criticizing the ostentatious display of false piety put on by the Scribes in the temple, as well as, the sincere sacrificial offering of the poor widow.  When we get to today’s lesson, Jesus shifts his attention from talking about people to talking about buildings.

As he departed from the temple, one of his disciples commented on the beauty of its architecture.  Jesus’ response to this innocent comment is quite surprising, as he tells of its future destruction.  “Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”  This probably wasn’t the reaction that the disciple was expecting.  Why would anyone ever want say something like that about the Temple?  After all, wasn’t the Temple the House of the Lord?  Why did Jesus respond so harshly?  I believe that Jesus wanted his disciples to hear that he was more concerned with the condition of human heart than he was with building aesthetics. 

After his announcement, Jesus took a seat on the Mount of Olives, located opposite the Temple.  This was not merely a great hang out spot with a nice view.  It was intended, by the gospel writer Mark, to hold great theological significance.  To move this idea into our own North American context, one scholar suggested that Jesus sitting opposite the Temple was like Martin Luther King Jr. positioning himself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, before delivering his speech “I Have a Dream.”  Both Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. knew something about the powers in society that opposed God’s unstoppable mission in the world. 

The Temple in Jerusalem, represented for many, God’s dwelling place on earth, but the authorities that sat in “the seat of Moses,” in charge of its function did not use the power given to them to fulfill the purposes of God.  Instead of taking care of the widows and the poor in the community, they used the power that came from the institution for personal gain.  This is what upset Jesus the most.  The Bible clearly teaches that all power given to us comes from above, but the way we use it is of our choosing.  We can use it to bring about good for the sake of the Kingdom of God or we can do just the opposite and use it selfishly to bring about more suffering into the world.  However we choose to use our liberties, we need to keep in mind that in the end we will all be held accountable for our actions.

Such warnings about the coming judgment of God were nothing new within Israelite history.  Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament we read numerous accounts of foretold warnings and judgments that were pronounced on the people of Israel by the prophets of Yahweh.  The warnings usually came through the revealing of signs.  Similar to the prophets, Jesus also revealed signs of the judgment to come. 

The first of these signs were the appearances of false Messiahs.  Jesus warned his disciples not to be fooled by these impostors.  He told them that many would come in his name and would lead people astray.  Throughout history we have seen the likes of people who have claimed to be the coming Messiah.  In our own era we have had people such as David Koresh, who was born Vernon Wayne Howell, a man whose name is derived from two messianic figures in Israelite history.  His first name, obvious enough, is taken from King David, one deemed by many to be the greatest liberator of Israel.  The last name, Koresh, is a transliteration of the Hebrew name for Cyrus, who was the Persian king that allowed the Jews who had been dispersed throughout Babylonia by Nebuchadnezzar, to return to their homelands.  Many Jewish people saw Cyrus as being one sent from God even though he himself was not a Jew.

            But Messiahs do not always come in the form of cultic leaders.  Though most of us here would not follow or believe that someone like David Koresh is the Messiah, some of us might easily be led to view systematic ideologies or political figures as Messiah-like figures that make great promises for the future but in the end, leave us disappointed.  Let us always be mindful to place our faith and trust in the true Messiah, whose promises are always “yes and amen”

Jesus’ second sign was a listing off of a series of calamities that were sure to arise in the time to come.  These calamities included wars and rumors of wars.  Wars are nothing new in history.  In fact some ancient philosophers thought of war as a constant that could not be avoided.  Although Jesus said that these things “must take place,” we should not interpret this passage to mean that war is part of God’s divine will for humankind, any more than human greed and pride is, since these things certainly led people to war more often than a supposed divine decree. 

Third, Jesus predicts the coming of earthquakes and famines.  Although famines are often caused by the ravages of war, they may also be due to drought and other natural causes.  Yet these natural disasters can prove every bit as deadly as war.  According to Jesus, events like these signal the beginning of “birth pangs,” suggesting that the wars and disasters we experience are signs that something new is about to happen.

In our Old Testament lesson, we read about a new happening in the life of Hannah.  We learned that Hannah was a true servant of the Lord and that she and her husband Elkanah were faithful to the proper worship of Yahweh.  But being a servant of the Lord does not entail a painless existence here on earth.  For some time, Hannah’s life was full of the pain due to her inability to bear children. 

In our present day context, many couples choose not to have children for various reasons and the inability to have children is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.  However in Hannah’s day things were different.  In Hannah’s context, children were very important economically.  Children contributed to the wealth of a family through their work, and so, in an age where social service nets were non-existent, children were responsible for the care of their parents in their later years.  To not have children meant hardship for the future.

Hannah’s persistence in seeking the Lord through prayer can teach us much about the workings of God.  The text tells us that in her prayer she vowed that, if she was given a child, she would set him before the Lord for his purposes. 

           This morning in our midst we witnessed the beautiful baptism of Charlie.  She has now been entrusted into the hands of Michael and Slavka so that they can raise her in the ways of faith, hope, and love, both in their home and in the community of believers.  It is our prayer that God will use Charlie for his purposes just as he did Samuel.

            Infants have a mysterious, magnetic way of drawing our attention.  The reason for this might be because they’re simply adorable but it also might be because there is so much potential in a new born baby; there are so many ways God could use a new life.  God used Samuel in a mighty way to bring reformation to the nation of Israel. 

What was wrong with Israel in Samuel’s day that needed reforming?  Although we have not gotten there yet, in the following chapters of 1 Samuel we will discover the unrighteous priestly activity of the Sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, as they engaged themselves in corrupt and immoral practices. 

            Believers from all eras have been challenged with reformation.  The reason for this is that we are broken people who are ongoingly dependent on God.  This is why we need to constantly acknowledge our weakness before him and ask for his wisdom and guidance in our day-to-day prayers.  And so, this is why Hannah’s story is so important and meaningful for us today. 

            In order to bring about the changes in society that are desired by God, we need to be people of prayer, people that live upright lives in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the public.  And we need not be afraid of the taunts of others that oppose God’s mission in the world, for in the end God’s will, will be done.  However, there is a cost to being a Christian that requires us to be active in our faith, in order for our character and desposition to be transformed into that of Christ’s. 

True Christian activity is authentic and comes from clean hands and a pure heart.  It cannot be fabricated because its origin and prompting comes from God.  It can be seen in the small things of life as well as in the big things.  It can take place in beautiful buildings and outside them aswell.  Through programs such as the Out-of-the-cold-program and many others like it, we see God doing wonderful and powerful things in our community through lives that are open to his call.  We see lives being effected in positive ways, not only in those who come for a meal, but also in those who come to volunteer.  There are indescribable blessings that come from God when we are active in doing his work in our community.  Let us continue to walk with God in this way.

In 70 A.D. Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple came to fulfillment when Roman legions attack its underlying supports so that the entire structure collapsed and many of the stones were crushed.  Though buildings and structures may crumble and fade, let us continually be reminded of God’s faithful presence with us, as we celebrate and serve him today in our communities.

Amen