It's the end of the world as we know it

Hey folks, and welcome to the countdown to the apocalypse.  Yes, it's true.  According to the Mayans, their calendar might possibly run out this year, in December.  This has ushered in a whole new realm of apocalyptical thinking, that we're on the road to disasters all over the place.  Yes, the Mayans, who couldn't forsee the coming of the conquistadors, are the authority now on when the world is going to end.

Of course, that's not fair.  You can see the signs all around you, can't you?  Earthquakes, rising sea levels.  Nation is rising against nation, bombs being dropped all over the world every day, it's a mess out there.  And is it just me, or does it seem to be getting worse?  Not one day goes by that we're not hearing about some new calamity or catastrophe. These may very well be the signs of the end times that Jesus was talking about in his discussion with his disciples.  He has all sorts of signs for them that the end of all things is about to happen.  Here, I'll let the man tell you in his own words:

²⁴ “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^[a]

²⁶ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it^[b] is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
          
                                          Mark 13:24-31

Jesus tells you that you should take the lesson from the fig tree.  That is, when you see the buds appearing on branches, even when there's snow on the ground, you know that spring can't be too far behind.  Likewise, as Canadians, you know a more pronounced sign:  You know those hot summer days when the cool beer in the backyard tastes as good as anything, and the burgers are sizzling on the grill?  You know the days when you just have to break out the wading pool because it's a million degrees, and the summer feels like it'll last forever?  You don't even know where your extension cord is, because you'd be prepared to swear you won't need it from now until doomsday.  You know those days?  Well, as you're sitting in the backyard, all of a sudden, a single, solitary leaf falls from your backyard apple tree.  Well, that could be anything, right?  And then the next day, you wake up, and the neighbor's tree is looking a little yellow in the leaves.  Once again, it could just be a sick tree.  Nothing to get too concerned about, right?  But then, two days later, you look out at your yard, and it's hard to see the grass beneath the dried out leaf carpet.

Those trees are smarter than you.  They know that winter's on its way.  They know it, and they drop their leaves accordingly.  You and I, we try to deny it for a while, but we know, deep down, that winter's coming.  

That isn't to say that winter's here yet though . That's the thing about Regina autumns.  The leaves can be all on the ground, the trees can be completely barren, but it can still hit plus thirty.  And then summer almost always gets a death row pardon before we hit autumn proper.  But when the leaves start falling, you know one thing:  That summer isn't going to last forever.  There will be an end to it.  It's not here yet, but it will be one day.  One day you'll wake up, and the world will be blanketed in snow like it's Edward Scissorhands.

Now, back to the Bible.  If you've read through the book of Revelation, you probably have an idea that you're living in the end times.  You might very well be.  But I'd advise you to not get too interested in trying to find too many parallels between that book and the world around us.  Yes, it may very well be that this is the end of everything, and that a planet will crash into Earth killing us all.  But it may not.  You remember all the fuss that there was about that guy who predicted the rapture earlier this year.  Oh, yes, that's right, he predicted the rapture twice, and he was wrong both times.  And after doing so, he lost all his credibility, not only with the press and the public, but likely amongst his own followers, too. Yes, we all had a good laugh, as we will after December comes and goes this year, and the apocalypse doesn't happen.  And we'll get lulled back into a not entirely deserved sense of security, thinking that this apocalypse thing is just a load of old bunk.

But the picture that Jesus paints is not of a world immune from apocalypse.  Just one in which you should be aware that time is running down overall.  He flat out tells you that it's useless to try to predict when the end of everything will be. 

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert^[e]! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

                               Mark 13:32-37

Jesus says that you're not going to know the day or the hour.  You won't know until it's happening.  You won't know the master is coming home until he's at the gates.  You won't get the advance warning that you'd want, so you can get your house in order before he comes.  But that's not the point of this story, to predict when the end will be.  The point is, rather, that you know THAT the end will be.

It's a lot like the life of the individual human.  You're cruising along, perfectly fine for about 40, 45 years, then all of a sudden you wake up one morning, and your back seizes up completely.  No warning, nothing.  So you go to the doctor, and the doctor informs you that you have a bad back now.  That's it.  Take some aleve, and try to relax about it.  Louis CK will tell you all about it, though he has some blue language.  It's not like things were when you were younger, in which you'd throw your back out, then ice it, then be fine the next day.  No, now when you throw your back out, it's out.  When you hurt your shoulder, it never quite goes back to being fine again.  Always some slight twinges in it.  Nothing too terrible, nothing you can't live with, but it's a long way away from feeling normal.  But as these aches and pains coem up, they tell you something: You're not dying.  You're not suffering from imminent death syndrome.  But you know that you're not going to last forever. Up to a certain point, you may feel as though you're invincible; but then things start to change.

All of creation is like that too.  Is the world going to end in December of 2012?  Who knows?  Not us, certainly, and your guess is as good as mine.  But the point is not about predicting the end of the world, but it's about reading the signs that are there.  Just like you read the falling leaves in summer, and the buds on the trees in the winter, you can tell when the seasons are thinking about changing.  That season won't be here forever. So too, whenever disasters and calamities strike, when nations rise against nations, when all of creation groans, instead of thinking about this as just one more disaster to be averted then things are fine, remember that this world is winding down, and will one day stop.  When will that be?  Who cares!  Jesus tells us to be constantly ready, to be eternally vigilant.  He tells us that creation is winding down, but we will not know when that will be until it's too late, so be always on your guard.  Be constantly aware.  Know the signs, and know them for what they are.  A sign that this world will pass away, but the world of God will never pass away.  When we do finally get to the end of all things, don't worry, you won't mistake it for anything else.  

But if the world is stopping, and we're all going to die, if the sun is going to burn out one day, and there will be an eventual heat death to the whole universe, then what's the point of anything?  Is there any purpose or meaning to life?  Well, yes, there is, I'm happy to say.  According to the fight club rules of meaning: "On a long enough timeline, everyone's life expectancy drops to zero."  Yes, that's true.  However, what we Christians believe is that human beings go on.  That we don't cease to be when we die.  We believe that even though the world may end, civilizations (like the Mayans) may come and go, kingdoms may rise and fall, but people are forever.  That means that yes, the world will collapse one day, but how we treat one another is of cosmic importance.  What we do in the here and now, the small things, the little individual things that make up a day, an hour, a lifetime, all that stuff really really matters.  So, where do we find meaning in our lives?  What are we to do with a creation that is collapsing?

1 - "God blessed them, and said to them 'be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.  Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" -Genesis 1:28.  We are supposed to have and be in families, to make relationships.  We are supposed to be husbands, wives, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers and friends.  We are also supposed to take care of the world that we've been given, whether it's falling apart or not, it is ours to manage.

2 - "Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him; for it is his heritage." - Ecclesiastes 5:18.  We're told that we are supposed to work, to be busy, but to enjoy the work.  We are never supposed to be idle, but working towards something worthwhile, that we may enjoy the fruits of our labor, and hopefully the purpose of the labor itself.

3 - "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:2. We are intended to look after each other.  Though this world may be spinning towards destruction, and everyone in it is for sure going to die someday, people are eternal.  We are supposed to work with each other, support each other, and care for each other.

4 - "Follow me" - John 21:19.  In the face of everything else, follow Christ.  Worship the Lord your God, and serve him.  Then all these things will be added unto you.  Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all.  

Seems like a pretty straightforward plan, doesn't it?  But you're going to botch it, just like I do.  And that's okay.  Because the big punchline at the heart of Christianity is that it's never been about you doing it all the right way.  It's about what do you believe in when you fail?  Not in being perfect, but in being made perfect.  We do what we can while creation is broken and groaning, and we believe in the one who renews, who makes all things new, who draws all of creation to himself.  It's a curious thing, that even as all of creation spins towards collapse, we have one foot in permanence.  We know all things here will end, that creation will melt away like wax, but that there is a much deeper, greater reality that we are drawn to, through the curtain of the flesh of Christ, who opened up eternity to the temporal, and who brings us the impossible.  Forever and ever.  Amen.

PJ.