A conflict with culture!

Studies in Mark

15 November 2009

Mark 13:1-8

Welcome to the Wesley Theatre, as we turn to one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament. We have looked at hypocrisy – and I commented that it was a popular theme for many people. Tonight I turn to Mark 13, which deals with the signs of the end of the world – or time as we know it. Such a theme is prone to be attractive to the most eccentric of people, who often have the most unusual ideas on the subject.

I am sure we have all heard stories which tell of the end of the world; how folks have gathered on mountain tops and waited for the world to end.

There are two approaches to this, which we need to reject: one is to ignore the fact that these issues are important; and the other is to become so obsessed with them that they take over our lives in an unhealthy way.

The first danger is exemplified in the story of a bus stop sited close to a church with a regular wayside pulpit on which a bold question was written: ‘Where will you be on judgement day?’ Underneath someone had written, ‘Still waiting for a No. 125 bus!’

The second has many examples: James Cox tells of how some folk in Seattle were sure the end of the world was going to come in the Year 2000. They believed earthquakes, floods, wars and tornados would devastate the earth by the end of that year. They built an airship so they could escape … where they would go to, nobody knew!

I am not proposing to concentrate on what the end of the world might look like, but I do want to consider this passage, which has much to say to us about living life now.

The chapter has often been referred to as ‘The Little Apocalypse’, referring to the end of history – and similar in style to what you would find in Daniel in the Old Testament and in the Revelation of St John at the end of the New Testament.

It may well have been written as a warning of the impending fall of Jerusalem, which did indeed take place in AD70. We might ask ourselves why such a passage became incorporated into Mark’s gospel. Some might ask, ‘Why not omit such jarring predictions?’ One writer put it, ‘In truth, most of us do not care to be troubled about catastrophes over which we have little power.’

Our lives can be turned upside down so very quickly. Looking back over my ministry, I recall moments when people’s lives have been dramatically changed – and often for the worst:-

A young teenager getting off a school bus to return home … she is hit by a car and spends the next year in a coma before she dies.
Four young men who took out a boat to have fun and never returned.
An architect who was successful and finds out one afternoon that his partner has been abusing the relationship and had stolen an enormous amount of money. He had to declare himself bankrupt.

So the stories could go on … and the really important issue is ‘How do you survive when facing such unexpected trauma?’

Jesus deals with signs of the end of the age and we notice that the context is as he observes the beauty and grandeur of the Temple. This building was significant and no doubt the wealth of the city and the people was being poured into such a building. It had far more meaning, however, than that of economic value. Huge numbers of people would have assisted in its construction and artists had sweated long on its development, but Jesus says this single entity will quickly become a pile of rubble … in point of fact it would burn down!

In such a context the disciples ask what the signs of the end will be. The dialogue produces one of the most extended discourses of Jesus’ ministry. I believe it is important to note the setting was not a public context, but with a small, select band of four disciples … the only occasion that Andrew joins the inner-group of three.

For my text I want to use one verse that somehow captures the meaning of the whole passage which, in its extended form, runs across the chapter to verse 37.

Mark 13:13 –
Everyone will hate you because of me, but those who stand firm to the end will be saved.

All the signs that point to the end seem to have to do with conflict. It’s a difficult theme, but I suppose what it really says is that the power of God is in conflict with so many of those powers that dominate the world. We read in the chapter how such conflict might be expressed –

Christians are brought to court – v.11.
Family members betray each other – v.12.
True worship is destroyed by profanity – v.14.

The conflict between Christ and culture is real

The expectation of strife and natural disaster falls into a classic apocalyptic pattern. This is further expounded in verses 24-25. I do not set out to dissect the details, but see it as a description of the fact that life is not going to be easy for the Christian, nor for the Christian community.

In ‘apocalyptic thinking’ the expectation of strife and disasters is quite common. Salvation – or God’s help – comes at the darkest moment. You can see why, in Mark 13:1-8, the conclusion is wrapped up in the concept of childbirth. Things get progressively worse until they reach a point when, suddenly, they are over.

A child does not usually make his or her appearance in the world without a mother passing through times of sickness and pain. However, when a child is born, invariably the experience of joy becomes the dominant emotion.

We should not be surprised that such conflict exists

It is appropriate to recognise the normality of conflict. The values of the kingdom of God are not the values that prevail in our modern culture, nor in first century Jerusalem.

Here at Wesley Mission, we have been on a journey, which has led us to explore ‘organisational culture’ … and issues like –

What is our organisational culture?
How does one shape such culture?
Is it possible to deal with conflict within the culture?

For the first three hundred years of Christianity, the church lived in a hostile environment, both intellectually and politically. It was also a pluralistic environment.

We recall Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 dealing with the gospel and the cross … and how this becomes ‘foolishness to Greeks’ and ‘a stumbling block to Jews’. The conversion of the Emperor Constantine appeared to change things fundamentally, ushering in a time which might be called ‘Christendom’.

The dominant culture molded and formed much of European life and, subsequently, that in other parts of the world. The gothic cathedral and the cross at the centre of the village square both speak clearly of such domination.

We may now consider ourselves to have entered a new period. The old influence has gone and, in many ways, is now barely an echo … we have returned to a context when we come up against our culture. Therefore, we should not be surprised when there is conflict between Christ and culture.

We cannot avoid such conflict if we are serious about faith

It is dangerous to attempt to avoid conflict at all costs. That is not to suggest that we should live with it permanently. In the position that I hold, I find myself regularly seeing the fruit of conflict; individuals caught up in such conflict invariably want to avoid the pain.

Some Christians have reduced their understanding of faith to fit the prevailing plausibility structure of the wider community. They construct ways of living which fit too comfortably with the society in which they are set.

I once heard it put like this: ‘The very things we should have adapted – our style – we haven’t … and the very things we shouldn’t have adapted – the substance of the gospel – we have!’

The key to dealing with conflict is a God-shaped question – and is answered in affirming God’s purposes. On a personal level, it requires on all sides a willingness to face up to the challenge and to acknowledge our part in the hurt.

In the Lausanne Covenant we read, ‘Because man is God’s creature, some of his culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because he is fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.’ This one single point remains critical to the way we understand the world in which we live. You cannot dispense with the ‘fallenness’ of humanity in articulating Christian thought.

We must ensure that we are not the cause of the conflict

Not all conflict is bad – and we even talk about ‘creative or positive conflict’. I made note of the words of a clinical professor in psychiatry: ‘To observe people in conflict is a necessary part of a child’s education. It helps him or her to understand and accept their own occasional hostilities and to realise that differing opinions need not imply an absence of love.’

This is found in personal development and holds true for the way in which we understand our Christian relationships. The most important issue is that we as individuals and as a community are not the cause of the conflict. Clearly there are times when we will hold firm to what we know to be true, but that must not become offensive or rude … so destroying entirely the point being made.

This calls for us to be -

a people of peace.
a people who take initiatives in reconciliation.
people creating a context in which pain can be handled.

I think of Vivian Malone, a young Black woman who enrolled as a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1963. Federal troops helped to ensure her entrance into the school, but Governor George Wallace tried to block her way. When he failed, she became the first African-American student to ever graduate from the University of Alabama.

Years later, Governor Wallace was taken in his wheelchair to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, where he asked Black people to forgive him for his racism and bigotry … and, specifically, for his ill-treatment of Vivian Malone. He asked her for forgiveness. She said she had forgiven the Governor many years before.

When asked why she had done this, she said, ‘I am a Christian and I grew up in the church. I was taught that we are all equal in the eyes of God. I was also taught that you forgive people, no matter what. And that’s why I had to do it. I didn’t feel as if I had a choice.’

The truth is – she did have a choice – and she chose the better way.

Many Christians don't engage in the struggle

Conflict occurs at a place – ie Jerusalem – and, for the disciples, this would be the place from which they will be ejected, facing some of their greatest challenges.

Some ignore the issue and live with ambivalence

There is, of course, no issue for the person who is in league with the world. We can choose to ignore the differences that exist between the way of Jesus Christ and those we come up against. We can do this by:-

Rationalising our own actions.
Redesigning the world to fit our viewpoint.
Restructuring truth to fit our perspective.

Susan Shaughnessy, in Walking with Alligators, writes, ‘Cultures are always dancing with denial. Writers tap us on the shoulder and say, “May I cut in?”’

You cannot permanently ignore the fact that one day God will cut in and challenge the very basis of the way we live.

Some avoid the battle and refuse to enter the challenge

Conflict with culture for Jesus would eventually mean the cross. For those who follow him, the cost is also great. We cannot put off our involvement in the conflict with culture. This simple ditty outlines the problem and we refuse to challenge our culture:-
Procrastination is my sin.
It brings me naught but sorrow.
I know that I should stop it.
In fact, I will – tomorrow!

Spiritual values are nurtured in a meaningful relationship with God … without this, we are marooned on an island of insularity.

A child was told by his father during a concert, ‘Listen for the flutes in this song. Don’t they sound beautiful?’ The child looked up at his father with a puzzled look, ‘What are flutes, Dad?’

Firstly, a child needs to learn what flutes sound like on their own, separate from the whole orchestra, before he can hear them in a symphony. Unless we take the time to hear his voice in the quiet moments of life, we will not be able to hear him in the symphony of life.

We will not avoid the battle if we have learnt to listen to his voice.

Some take their stand on other than Christ

This is a difficult point, but so true … that people so often major on the minors, focus on the wrong issues and perhaps regularly fight battles and take stands on issues that are not the ones to focus upon. In the light of the end times, when conflict is an inevitable part of life, we should focus on the kingdom way as revealed in Jesus Christ.

In January 2006, Australian scientists made discoveries in relation to the disease that kills thousands of Tasmanian devils on Tasmania. The scientists initially believed the deaths were caused by a virus; however, their research ultimately uncovered a rare, fatal cancer. They named it Devil Facial Tumour Disease, or DFTD.

According to scientist Anne-Marie Pearse, the abnormalities in the chromosomes of the cancer cells were the same in every tumour. The disease began in the mouth of a single sick animal, which facilitated the spread of DFTD by biting its neighbours when squabbling for food, which, according to Pearse, is a natural behaviour of Tasmanian devils. ‘Devils jaw-wrestle and bite each other a lot, usually in the face and around the mouth, and bits of tumour break off one devil and stick in the wounds of another.’

Infected devils continued to inflict deadly wounds with their mouths. Consequently, DFTD spread at an alarming rate, ultimately wiping out over 40 per cent of the population.

A similar fate threatens the Christian community, if its members persist in wounding with our mouths … and so our words and ways must be directed by Jesus himself.

God calls us to take our stand on the matters that really count

There are many things that could be said on this issue. I want to pick out three which I believe are interwoven in this passage.

The importance of family life increasingly will matter

The picture of a family turned against itself is dramatic (v.12). The breakdown of family life is a painful reality and one that we see presented to us every day. Family life is deeply affected by its environment. At Wesley Mission we are very conscious that –

We are presented with the cost of breakdown each and every day.
Children continue to need male and female role models on which to build their lives.
We see the pattern of the family being undermined on many different fronts.

This has been and will remain a matter of priority for us.

A story is told of a family with teenage children. They decided that as part of their seeking to make Sunday special, they would not criticise each other on that one day of the week.

As the months went by, they realised more and more of their children’s friends were coming over on Sundays just to hang around. No-one in the family had talked to them about their commitment to withhold criticism, but somehow teenagers knew this was a good place to be.

The essential freedom of people to worship

There appears to be a clear historical background to Mark 13 in ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ (Mark 13:14). It is the same reference used in Daniel and alludes to an event that occurred in the second century BC, when a pagan altar was set up in the Temple precincts.

Worship certainly does matter and the freedom of people to express their worship is a God-given platform on which we must stand.

It is a freedom that has been taken from people throughout history.
It is a freedom that has been bought at great sacrifice.
It is a freedom for all people, persuasions and religions.

The centrality of Jesus Christ in Christian witness

At the core of our discipleship is the call of Jesus Christ. We cannot allow our faith to be watered down so that he loses his rightful place. We may have confidence that to maintain such a focus is absolutely right.

Cecil B DeMille produced the great biblical epic Ben Hur and, when they began working on the movie, they discussed the all-important chariot race. In conversation with Charlton Heston, it was decided that 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 was not easy. After extensive work and much practice, Heston returned to the set and declared, ‘I think I can drive the chariot alright, Cecil, but I’m not 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.’

God reminds us all at a time of tumultuous change or conflict: ‘Just stay in the race – I’ll look after the winning.’ With Jesus Christ at the centre of our witness, that’s all we must do.

Throughout the Christian era, men and women have looked with alarm at the turbulent conditions of their day and found them to be signs of the end of the world. Many Christians are convinced that they are living in the last times … whether that’s so or not, it is important that we remind ourselves of our text – ‘… but those who stand firm to the end, will be saved.’ (Mark 13:13)

When asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow, Martin Luther replied, ‘I would still plant my apple tree.’ That’s a good a piece of advice in the realm of conflict.

Christian Life