Apocalyptic Spirituality

I recently began reading through the New Testament - again – for the umpteenth time – one chapter a day during my morning devotions. Today I came to the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, known to scholars as the Little Apocalypse, also known as the Olivet Discourse, which has parallels in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

It is one of several places in scripture – the most famous being the Book of Revelation - that speak of the end of the world as we know it. The Kingdom of God breaks into history with cataclysmic events, ushered in by a heavenly figure known as the Son of Man, which Christians later came to identify as the Second Coming of Christ.

It says in part: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (13:24-31)

There is a lot more to it, and I encourage you to read the whole chapter, but this is the most dramatic part. When this teaching is read in the context of Jesus’ primary message about the coming of the Kingdom of God (“Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!), it has led many scholars to think that Jesus was, first and foremost, an apocalyptic prophet.

Some say Jesus was a failed apocalyptic prophet because the eschatological events he predicted (in particular, a visible coming of the Son of Man in the clouds) did not happen within that generation. According to the parallel passage in Matthew, he made it clear that all these events would happen within the lifetime of his hearers. “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)

If Jesus got this wrong, that would make him a false prophet according to biblical standards: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, … that same prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ — when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

That would put a whole new perspective on Jesus’ execution. The idea that Jesus’ prophecy was erroneous is unthinkable for Christians. So for two thousand years, Christians have employed clever hermeneutics to explain the apparent failure of Jesus’ prediction.  But today as I read this passage again, it made sense to me. What Jesus said was true.

I have witnessed what Jesus describes. Not literally, of course. I am not prone to revelatory visions, angelic sightings or hallucinations. History seems to go on as it always has. Yet Jesus’ words - when they are reads as symbolic - ring true of my experience. There has been a dramatic shift in seeing. The world (as people normally understand it) is no more. The apocalypse (which means “unveiling”) is a reality now. The unveiling began in Jesus’ day and has been happening for many of his disciples ever since.

When eyes are opened to the One behind this shadow play of time and space, the universe as we know it dissolves. It is more accurate to say that the universe is shown to be all there is. (The word “universe’ breaks down into the Latin words uni=one + versus=turned; universe means “turned into one.”) The universe is seen as a seamless whole because that is what it has always been. Distinctions vanish.

The heavens and the earth pass away. The facade of the universe is rolled back to reveal Reality. The Son of Man appears, and we are one with Him. What Jesus was describing in this dramatic apocalyptic passage is not a cataclysmic end of history or the physical dissolution of the cosmos. Jesus is describing a spiritual awakening to the true nature of the universe.

Jesus was not an apocalyptic prophet so much as a visionary and mystic who could see what others do not see. And he invites us to share his vision. That is why he ends his Little Apocalypse by repeatedly saying, “Awake!” and “Stay awake!” (The Greek verb used in Mark 13:35-37 can mean both.) So let’s do what he says. “Wake up! The Kingdom of God is at hand!”

Unpreachable

As a preacher the most frustrating thing about Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God is that it is unpreachable. It cannot be directly communicated. It can only be hinted at obliquely. That is why Jesus didn’t preach sermons. He told stories – a unique type of stories called parables.

The word parable means literally “that which is thrown alongside.” It is something set alongside something else to shed light on it. Like a lamp placed beside a book. Parables both elucidate and hide the truth of the Kingdom of God. Jesus explained it this way when he was asked about his teaching method:

The disciples came and said to Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:10-13)

In other words, if you see it, you see it. If you don’t, you don’t. There is not much that a preacher can do to help people see the Kingdom, which is already before their eyes, except to say: “Open your eyes!” That is the source of my frustration as a preacher. That is why the Christian Church very early abandoned the message of Jesus and substituted its own message. The gospel of Jesus became a gospel about Jesus.

Jesus’ original message about the Kingdom of God is just too hard to communicate. Sermons obfuscate rather than elucidate. As many sermons as I have preached in my lifetime, they all miss the point. That is why preachers have settled for talking about things like doctrines, ethics … and politics. Religion is so much easier to proclaim.

Sermons can’t communicate the Kingdom of God. Preachers can’t make people see the Kingdom of Heaven, which is all around us and within us. That takes grace. It is like trying to see your own eyes. You know they are there because you see everything else by them. But without a mirror, you can’t see them.

The only thing a preacher can do is hold up a mirror. But many people cringe at what they see in a mirror. It is too honest. So they turn away and search for some other teaching that is more palatable. And so all the various branches of Christianity are born. What is a preacher to do?

As I sit here on my back porch with God, the Presence of God is clear and unmistakable. As undeniable as the presence of my wife sitting in the wicker chair beside me. In fact God’s Presence is more certain, because my wife gets up and goes into the house to get a glass of iced tea, but the Lord is never absent. God is inescapable.

By the light of God I see everything else. Everything is an expression of God. Everything reflects God. Everything proclaims God. Genesis says that God spoke the cosmos into existence. That means that the cosmos is the Word of God – a Word much clearer and more direct than the Bible, where human words and ideas get in the way.

God is still speaking through this primordial Word. Yet people sit in the presence of this divine teaching and don’t hear it. They are surrounded by divine light and don’t see it. How does a preacher preach to help people see the obvious?

The only way is to teach like Jesus. By throwing down similes and metaphors that point to Truth, to shed light on that which is by nature Light. In the end all a preacher can really say is what Jesus said: “He who has eyes to see, let him see. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Tao of Meekness

I am a follower of Jesus who loves the Tao Te Ching, the ancient poetic classic written by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu five hundred years before Christ. I loved it before I became a Christian, and I have loved it ever since. It is no accident that the Chinese translation of the Gospel of John begins, "In the beginning was the Tao." It is a quote from the Tao Te Ching. Tao means "Way" in the sense of the eternal Way, echoed in Jesus' words, "I am the Way the Truth and the Life."

I am not engaging in religious syncretism that compromises the gospel of Christ. I am professing the teachings of the apostle Paul who wrote, "Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20). "God has not left himself without a witness" among all the nations. (Acts 14:17)

Theologians call it natural or general revelation. The apostle John was testifying to this when he wrote, "In the beginning was the Logos" (the Greek word for Word). When John chose that word, the concept of Logos already had a rich history in Greek philosophy, analogous to the role of Tao in Chinese philosophy. The apostle was connecting the general revelation of God available to all peoples to the specific revelation of God in Christ.

Truth is truth wherever it is found. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu understood the virtue of meekness. His words are a better commentary on the beatitudes than any Christian writer I have ever read. He knew what Jesus meant when he said, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5) Lao Tzu wrote:

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you. (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8)

He also wrote:

Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.  (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 78)

Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let  him hear." I say, "Are we meek enough to hear?"