“Toppled”
Original sermon given November 17, 2024, written and delivered by Pastor Jeff Leininger at First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Watch the sermon live.
“Toppled”
Mark 13
Mark 13
In the name of the Living God and his risen Christ. Amen.
Pharisees, and otherwise doing the work of God in Jerusalem. Now it was time for a little sightseeing. I can say this now that I officially “work downtown”: you can spot the tourists, can’t you? With their mouths wide upon, their eyes staring up, gawking at the big blocks and buildings, stones and structures of our great city. Staring at their phones walking into traffic. It’s all rather annoying, right?
They had a little touristy moment here. The magnificent monuments for these hicks from Galilee would have been the impressive temple mount and the incredible buildings assembled upon it. For some, it may have been the first time they had ever seen such a thing — huge stone buildings — much different than their small village homes or humble synagogue back in Galilee. The temple mount and buildings were regarded as one of the most impressive architectural sights in the world at this time. Towering hundreds of feet above the Kidron valley, constructed of huge individual stones, each one over 25 feet long, 8 feet high, and 12 feet wide. Ornately decorated with colonnades, the whole temple structure took up about one sixth of the entire old city.
They want Jesus to be all impressed, but he turns it all over on them. The Lord plays a bit of the spoiler here, doesn’t he? A kind of divine Debbie Downer. “Take a good look at all these great buildings, not even one stone will be left upon another.” He challenges them and confronts their attitudes about what is important by predicting here the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. In sobering prophetic fulfillment, we know these very words of Jesus to have come true. When the Roman General Titus sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD, he gave specific orders that not one stone remain on top of the other — so much for those impressive buildings.
It's hard for us to fully understand how devastating these words of Jesus were — and the reality which followed them. This temple was the religious, political, and cultural center of the nation. Yahweh’s divine presence embodied its precincts. Surely, this messiah Jesus would be “wowed” by this temple, maybe make it bigger, take it over, and bring in a new administration to run things. But no, Jesus instead upends, topples over their expectations of what the kingdom of God is, how it will be established, and through whom it will be spread.
What is the kingdom of God? It is no earthly power, or place, or political party, or army, or government, or ideology, or agenda, or structure. Rather, it is the rule and reign of God in Christ Jesus.
How is it established? Through the love and sacrifice of its king on the cross. Forgiveness and grace are poured out from the cross upon all people, and all people are then welcomed into its embrace.
Through whom is it extended? His new people, baptized in his name, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, enlivened by his spirit, saved, sanctified and sent throughout the world. Living stones. This is the building that will last forever: a building of bodies, pillars of people, mountains made of men.
As shocking and disconcerting as Jesus’ prophecy was to his disciples, we too must be equally challenged and confronted by his words. The Lord’s prediction of the end reminds us that the greatest structures which we erect in our lives will also all one day be overturned. The Washington Monument; the Sears/ Willis Tower; the great cathedrals of Europe all will one day be reduced to rubble and ruin — the ash heap of history, as they say. Sooner or later; by sudden violent destruction or slow neglect and decay, no awe-inspiring manmade wonder will be left.
But these are the stones we have erected which we can readily and quite comfortably admit are temporary — some of them we might even not care much for (yeah, the Bean downtown for example, I could probably skip). But there are more difficult structures, more personal ones too, which must/will be overturned. It’s the things of the heart, we build the false gods of strength, or beauty, or talent, or piety, or prestige which we have stacked up one upon another which also will be toppled. Jesus calls them out too here because he calls us out.
Oh, the grand structures of a great social standing; or a built-up beautiful bod; or a full bank account; or piles of precious works done in his name; or cleverness shot-forth on Christ’s behalf as if he really, really needs you. We are warned not to be fooled, Christian friends. All these things too will fall as swiftly as a toppled tower or a bulldozed building. And when Christ does return how many of us will be left pathetically clutching these piles of overturned stones, these false gods which we built up and worshipped above the one true God?
Not one left upon another. Jesus said it. That’s where we’ll all get to eventually, by sudden violent destruction or slow neglect and decay. But the point of the end of the church year is in a way for us to get there — to go there — willingly and readily first by repentance, but then by faith. Repentance is best understood not just as turning around, but even better as “turning over.” Challenged and confronted by the Spirit through the Word, we are led to not leave one stone left upon the other of the false gods we’ve erected. To knock over all the things which distract us from Jesus alone and leave them at the cross in a pile of rubble — that’s our calling in these dark and later days. Faith is to cling then to Christ alone for forgiveness and grace. And to be rebuilt not by the stones of this world but by Christ’s own flesh and blood to be living, breathing, sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.
The one who endures to the end will be saved, Jesus said. To endure means to repentant and believe — believe that though “change and decay in all around I see, on thou who changes not abide with me,” as the famous hymn says. To believe that though every temple and steeple will fall, he has built us to be a house of living stones in which he dwells, as our sermon hymn sings. He abides with us through his death and resurrection which are our only hope; his righteousness bestowed as a gift through his holy word and sacraments, which are all we have, ultimately, to be built up in; through his very body the church, the living stones he has placed in our lives to both challenge and comfort us.
My friends, all which we build will one day be toppled. All that He builds endures forever. Build then upon Christ, the Rock.