Apocalypse
/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 birthpangs. -Mark 13:8
We’re approaching the end of another church year. Just this Sunday and the next separate us from a new year and a new season of Advent, and you can tell Advent is near when the readings turn all apocalyptic. They mark both the end of the year and the beginning of the year for us a Christians. They remind us that something must end before something new can begin.
Many of us are uncomfortable with apocalyptic passages in the bible. They feel dark, frightening, ominous. But at the same time, few of us have not gone through various endings in our own lives that have been dark, frightening and ominous.
I’m reading a novel right now set in the WWII era and being reminded of the apocalypse that is war and genocide. Lynchings, serial killers, abuse, oppression and mass shootings are all things we know exist throughout the world. Much of our entertainment centers on apocalyptic themes. Apocolypse is much more a daily part of our lives and our world than we might want to admit.
As we explore the first apocalyptic literature of the season this Sunday, perhaps we’ll be able to find some good news in how Scripture does not shy away from the hardest parts of being human.
