Wars. Rumors of Wars. Wildfires. Climate Change. Shootings. Deeply divided political lines. An election year fraught with hatred and mistrust. Artificial Intelligence changing the playing field.

These are the things flooding the headlines moment by moment.

Does it seem overwhelming?

It may seem like it is the end of the world.

Where is God in this? Is this a punishment? Is God on vacation? Why is this happening?

These are good, important, and natural questions to ask.

Our text for this week, from the Narrative Lectionary, is very timely (Mark 13:1-37). Jesus predicts the “End of the Age.” Everything in his disciples’ lives was about to change.

We can learn some things from this passage for this moment in our own story.

Jesus had just completed his cleansing of the temple and his debates with the religious leaders (see here, here, and here). All of these events took place inside the temple.

Now, in Mark 13, Jesus leaves the temple and his disciples echo the nationalistic sentiment of the day. “Look how beautiful and amazing our Temple is!”

It seems the disciples had not got the point of the last three pages. They were still focused on the wrong thing.

QUESTION:

Did the author of Mark know the Temple had been destroyed (meaning the Gospel was written after 70), or is Jesus predicting the destruction?

This is a cautionary tale for every generation. It is the human tendency to create something beautiful and then think that the created object is what matters most.

Yes, we are called to create beautiful things. Our creativity is a reflection of the creator of all things and is our part in co-creating a good, just, and beautiful world.

However, the creation is not the end goal.

One of Leonardo DaVinci’s Seven Principles is sfumato. It is an Italian word that means “up in smoke.” At the surface level it was simply a painting technique. At the philosophical level it was a life principle.

DaVinci believed that we should do everything we do like it was the most important thing we could be doing at that moment. Then, at the same time, hold everything we do with open hands, knowing that it will eventually go POOF! up in smoke.

Life is full of ambiguity and uncertainty, and that’s OK (read this post for more on that).

Could this be what Jesus is trying to communicate to us?

Yes, the temple is beautiful. But, eventually POOF! it will go up in smoke.

All that matters is the Kingdom of God, which is the way of love, justice, and mercy in the world.

In a moment when all the things that once made your world seem safe and stable seem to be crumbling around you, may you hear these words of Jesus. May these circumstances help to shift the focus of your trust and security.

May you know that God is with you, even in our uncertainty. God walks in it and through it with us.

This post was an excerpt from A Cartoonist’s Guide to Mark 13.