Author: jgarrison

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Fourth Sunday of Advent, “Keep Awake”

Title slide with photos of two churches where the sermon was preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
Mark 13:28-37
December 22, 2024

Sermon recorded at Mayberry Church on Friday, December 20, 2024


At the beginning of worship:

Sarah and her thirteen-year-old sister have been fighting a lot this year. This happens when you combine a headstrong two-year-old, who’s sure she’s always right, with a young adolescent, who knows she’s right. Sarah’s parents, taking advantage of her newfound interest in Santa Claus, reminded the two-year-old Santa watches and doesn’t like it when children fight. At first it had no impact.
 

“I’ll just have to tell Santa about your misbehavior,” her mother said at her latest outburst. She picked up her phone and tapped in the numbers. Sarah’s eyes grew big as her mother asked “Mrs. Claus” (really Sarah’s aunt) “could you put Santa on the line.” Sarah’s mouth dropped as her mom described to Santa (really Sarah’s uncle) the two-year-old’s behavior. When Mom said that Santa wanted to talk to her, the toddler reluctantly took the phone.
 

Santa, in a deepened voice, explained to her how there would be no presents Christmas morning for children who fought with their sisters. He would be watching, and he expected things to be better from now on. Sarah, her eyes even wider, solemnly nodded and then silently gave her mother the phone back. After hanging up, Mom (who held back laughter at being so clever) asked, “What did Santa say?”
 

In almost a whisper, Sarah, sadly, but matter-of-factly stated, “Santa said he won’t be bringing toys to my sister this year.”[1]

We’re a lot like Sarah. We like to read into situations that we are in the right and they (whoever they are, a sister, an opponent, or even a group of people different from us) are wrong. But Scripture reminds us that there is a problem in the world (called sin) and we (as sinners) are a part of the problem which is why we need a Savior. We must be careful at making ourselves out as righteous and others as being in the wrong.

Before reading the Scripture:

Today, we are looking at the ending of the 13th Chapter of Mark’s gospel. This chapter has an apocalyptic feel. On December 1, we looked at the opening where Jesus warned about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He continues discussing the tribulations his followers would face during this time of the temple’s destruction. They want to know when it’s all going to happen, but Jesus doesn’t let the disciples pin him down on a date.

Then he moves to discussing how things will get even worse, as we saw last week. Only afterwards, does the Son of Man return at the end of history. Still, Jesus doesn’t give any clear understanding as to when it will happen, only that we are called to be ready and that the elect will be saved.[2]

Today, Jesus once again uses a fig tree as a lesson, which he did in the eleventh chapter.[3] While Jesus has been emphasizing our need to be ready throughout the 13th chapter, he hits a home run on this topic in the last nine verses. 

By the way, and for some of you this may be good news, this will be my last sermon on Mark for two months. God willing, I’ll come back to the book in late February. Hopefully, if all goes as scheduled, we’ll finish the book by Easter.

Read Mark 13:28-37.

Keep awake…  That was so hard when I was a child. Sermons were bad as my eyelids became heavy. It was the same in school, especially in a warm classroom without air conditioning or overheating from steam radiators. 

Keeping awake was hard, except for on Christmas Eve, when you were told to go to sleep. The difficulty of sleep on Christmas Eve topped even those nights with a tooth planted under my pillow… Something magical was happening. Anticipation arose, keeping sleep at bay. I’d roll and roll and when my parents looked in, pretend to be asleep. The clock kept ticking away.  

Keep awake, you don’t know when this is all going to happen and when the Son of Man might appear. It’s been almost 2000 years since Christ left. We’re weary of waiting. It’s not something we’re good at. We fret when we are in the doctor’s office for too long. If we get behind a slow tractor heading down the two-lane sections of Highway 58, we stew. We brood if a waitress forgets or is slow with the coffee pot. 

Waiting makes us feel out of control, unimportant, unwanted, and helpless. Yet, we wait all the time. Children wait for Christmas morning. Parents wait on children to go to sleep. And the more we wait, the more our blood pressure rises. When is it going to all happen? 

And then, Advent rolls around in the church calendar.  A period of waiting. It’s counter-cultural, for we are a society of people who want instant gratification. However, most people probably don’t mind waiting for Christ’s return. After all, we can put off the important things in life for another time. But that’s risky, Jesus says. That’s a gamble we shouldn’t take. Stay awake.

Mark provides us with a gloomily picture in this chapter. As I pointed out in my first sermon, much of it refers to the destruction of the temple which occurred in 70 AD. It was a period of false Messiahs and great upheaval. But in verse 24, Jesus moves to discussing his return. One way of looking at this passage is how, with the temple gone, the focus is on the Messiah, the risen Christ. 

The Jesus who lives in our heart and is present in the church, which represents him in our world today. So yes, Jesus is here with us now in Spirit, but he’s also coming back in person…  

In a commentary on this passage, Scott Hoezee, a friend, emphasizes tying together the two sides of Advent: 

“If the first advent of Christ has any meaning whatsoever, it is only because he is coming back to judge the living and the dead. If he is not coming back, then there is nothing to celebrate at Christmas….  If ditties along the lines of ‘Have a holly jolly Christmas’ could cure what ails us in this life, then there never would have been any need for God’s Son to go through the bloody trouble of coming here in person.”[4]

As I said earlier, there is a problem in the world. As sinners, we’re a part of that problem and Christ is the solution. We need Christ not just to atone for our sins, but to give us hope for the future. 

Our passage for today begins just after Jesus speaks about his return as the Son of Man. Jesus now returns to a familiar them for the entire chapter, our need to be ready. He uses a fig tree as a lesson. Just a day or two beforehand, Jesus cursed a fig tree for not providing fruit, and the tree shriveled up and died.[5] The fig tree was often used by the Prophets as a symbol of Israel.[6] Now, instead of a fig tree withering, he speaks of when it blooms, which is later that most trees. When it blooms, you know summers is at hand. 

Remember, this whole chapter builds upon the question from a handful of disciples concerning the temple’s destruction.[7] With the temple gone, God will not be seen in relationship to the temple. Instead, God will be seen through his Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. The fig tree which appeared dead in winter, puts forth new sprouts and is alive. Christ, who was dead, is resurrected.

Jesus doesn’t give an exact time for this to happen, instead he points to what will happen. The resurrection will happen soon. While the disciples are clueless, we know it’s at hand as we’re in the last week of Jesus’ life. Of course, his return will occur at a much later date. 

But instead of focusing on his return, in verse 31, Jesus speaks of his eternal nature. Heaven and earth can pass away, but his words will not pass away. God is eternal, all else is temporal. Here, Jesus hints at his divinity. 

Then we move to the final section of this paragraph. Jesus begins, in verse 32, with a problematic passage which has been debated since the second century. Jesus (at least the earthly/human Jesus) doesn’t know when it’s going to happen. Only the Father knows. We should understand how Mark depicts Jesus as following the Father’s plan.[8] Furthermore, maybe this is Jesus’ way to tell the disciples not to ask for specifics about his return. Like a parent telling a kid, they don’t know, it’s up to the other parent, Jesus deflects further questions. 

This section, however, is primarily about our need for watchfulness. Are we doing what we should be doing. Of course, “Keeping awaken,” doesn’t mean skipping sleep. Then we’d be less watchful for we’d be exhausted. Instead, we’re to be ready. The chapter ends with the imperative, “Keep awake.” Or as The Messagetranslates the ending verse, “Stay at your post. Keep watch.”  

One commentator on this passage writes, “vigilance, not calculation, is required.”[9] We’re not to be trying to figure out when Jesus returns. Instead, we’re to be ready. 

The use of the story about the slaves or servants waiting on the master implies that they have assignments to do. The same is true for us. Jesus has given us marching orders, things we’re to do while the Master is away. Interestingly, with this final section in Mark 13, there are no signs given. The slaves don’t know when to expect their Master, so they must continue with their tasks… Likewise, those who follow Christ are given tasks. Are we doing them?

Christ has come, Christ will come again. But until he does, we’re his hands and feet in the world, taking care of one another while telling his story so that others will catch a glimpse of the hope the world has in our Savior. In this way, we’re being ready. 

Oh yeah, and we should show patience, especially during this season. There’s a lot of stressed folks out there. Let’s show them a better way of being. Amen. 

[1] http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/xmasjokes.htm

[2] Some scholars suggest that this passage is primarily focused on Jesus’ resurrected glory.  See N. T. Wright, Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues (New York: HarperCollins, 2014), 97.

[3] Mark 11:20-25. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/24/what-does-jesus-have-against-fig-trees/

[4] Scott Hoezee, Elizabeth Steele Halstead, Carrie Steenwyk, “Living in Advent: Worship Ideas from the Gospel of Mark” Reformed Worship 89 (September 2008), 9. 

[5] Mark 11:12-14, 20-21.  Morna D. Hooker, Black’s New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to Saint Mark (London: A. C. Black Limited, 1991), 320. 

[6] See Jeremiah 8:13, Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:7, Micah 7:1.  See footnotes for Mark 11:12-14 in The New Interpreters Study Bible (Abingdon Press, 2003). 

[7] See Mark 13:3-4. 

[8] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 407.

[9] William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark: The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 482.

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A Brief History of the Love Feast: A Christmas Tradition

title slide with photo of punched tin Morvarian Star

Entrance to our home on Crazy Possum during Christmas 2015. Christmas was often warm down south, so leaving the door open wasn’t a problem when expecting company.

The Love Feast is a worship service consisting of song, scripture, and prayer. During the service, the dieners (German for servers), provide the congregation a light meal which usually consists of a hot cross bun and a mug of sweetened coffee, tea, or some other warm drink. The feast has its roots in the Agape Meals of the early church. In the Book of Acts, the New Testament Church is described as a community that not only worshipped together but also made every meal a joyous celebration as they praised God. 

Over time, the church moved away from the love feasts and emphasized communion, a meal in which the elements are more symbolic. Communion, also known as the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, is a sacrament celebrated only by those who are a part of a Christian community. The Love Feast, as it is known today, is not a sacrament; it can be celebrated by everyone and is appropriate for ecumenical and interfaith gatherings. It is a time of joy the hosts share with their guests. 

The modern Love Feast originated with the Moravians. This small Protestant sect traces their roots back to the Czech reformer, John Hus. Hus was burned at the stake in Prague in 1415, more than a hundred years before Martin Luther began to reform the church in Germany. In 1457, some who followed Hus formed the Unitas Fratrum—the Unity of Brethren—which is still the official name of the church. In Europe, at the time, many of its members were persecuted.

Early in the 18th Century, the remnants of the sect found sanctuary on the estate of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf in the Saxony region of Germany. Zinzendorf had food from his manor brought to the starving refugees, who ate while praying and singing. Such meals grew into frequent celebrations known as Love Feasts, a distinguishing feature within Moravian worship. 

In 1735, Moravians joined General James Oglethorpe’s colony in Georgia, celebrating their first Love Feast in the New World in Savannah. The church, always open to cooperate with other faiths, shared the festas with everyone, not just members of the Moravian Church. John Wesley, who was an Anglican priest in Savannah and would later found the Methodist movement, participated in a Love Feast while in Savannah. Moved by the service, he later suggested its observance to his followers. Through the 19th century, Love Feasts were regularly celebrated in Methodist churches. 

For many reasons, the Moravian colony failed in Georgia. Chief among them was the church’s pacifistic stance at a time when Georgia was fearful of a Spanish attack. Other reasons included the sect’s desire to evangelize Native Americans,  their work with slaves in South Carolina, internal disputes, and problems with other denominations. In 1745, the Moravian remnant in Savannah moved to Pennsylvania (where they established Bethlehem). At approximately the same time, another group of Moravians settled in North Carolina forming several towns including Salem (now Winston Salem). 

Moravian Star at our home in Hastings, MI following a snow storm and very cold weather. No doors were left open for this photo!

Moravians were particularly enthusiastic observers of the Christmas holiday from their early days in America. Moravian musicians have crafted memorable Christmas music and named their adopted city in Pennsylvania after the birthplace of Christ. Bethlehem has come to be known “the Christmas City.” Love Feasts can be celebrated anytime.. The Christmas season Love Feasts are a highlight of the year.

The multi-pointed stars seen hanging on porches throughout the holiday originated within he church during the 19th century.  These Moravian Stars, burning bright during the dark season of the year, signals the coming of the Messiah. 

The highlight of the Candlelight Love Feast is the closing, when with joyous singing, the congregation raises candles in praise and celebration of Christ’s birth. 

Ray Burke, a Moravian pastor from Clemmons, NC, describes the service as a celebration designed to engage all our senses. “We hear the marvelous music and familiar words of scripture that tell of God’s coming. We smell the warm, rich coffee and beeswax candles. We taste the coffee and semi-sweet buns. We touch the cups, the buns, the candles, and the hands of our brothers and sisters in Christ as we greet each other in worship. We see the joy, the excitement. But there is more… even beyond the engagement of all our senses, lies that mysterious communion of our spirits with the very spirit of God.” 

Bluemont Presbyterian Church will hold a Christmas Candlelight Love Feast on Sunday, December 22, 2024 at 5 PM. Everyone is invited. Bluemont is located along the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of Willis Gap Road and mile marker #192. This post originally appeared in a December 2015 issue of The Skinnie, in a slightly different format.

Bluemont Presbyterian Church at night during the Advent/Christmas season.
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You Try to be Cheerful

Title slide with photos of churches in winter

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
Mark 13:14-27
December 15, 2024

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, December 13, 2024

At the beginning of worship:

I recently read American Ramble by Neil King. Jack Betts, who attends Mayberry, lent me a copy of this book. An editor for the Wall Street Journal, King battled cancer and Lyme disease. Then came COVID. Then he sets out to walk from his home in Washington, DC to New York. It’s not a long walk, when compared to the the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trail. But it’s long enough for him to meet some interesting people and to reflect on our nation’s history, the glorious and the infamous. 

After making the walk, he returned to visit some of the folks he met along with way. One was Neal Weaver, an Amish man with a large family, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  As they watched his children playing, Weaver said. “Humanity at its core hasn’t changed really since the Roman Empire, or whatever empire you choose. We’re facing the same challenges they faced. And in response you try to be cheerful. You try to be a good neighbor. You try to be loving.”[1]

That’s good advice for Christians. While at times the world seems to be descending into hell, we do our best to help and encourage one another. During the Christmas season, people become generous and gracious. Let’s make sure we’re that way for the rest of the year. 

Before reading the Scripture:

We’re continuing our Advent exploration of Mark’s “Little Apocalypse,” from the 13th chapter. As I’ve tried to emphasize in my first Advent Sermon, the season in which we prepare for Christmas is also a season to be reminded of our Savior’s return. We’ll hear about this in today’s scripture reading. 

The first third of this chapter began with the disciples’ awe of the temple and Jesus’ raining on their excitement by informing them of the temple’s demise. Then, four of the disciples (Peter, James, John and Andrew) corner Jesus to ask him when these things will take place. Jesus foretells all kinds of troubles: from wars to earthquakes to famines. 

But instead of saying he’ll return then; Jesus says it’s just the beginning. Wars, earthquakes, and famines are illusions to general calamities which have faced humanity since the beginning of time. Much of the purpose of the opening of this chapter is to encourage the disciples to remain faithful and not lose hope. 

Jesus, who has three times in Mark’s gospel foretold his own betrayal, suffering, and death, then informs the disciples of how they’ll experience their own betrayals and suffering. But Jesus suggests this is a positive thing for the disciples will be able to share the gospel even into the highest halls of government. We might recall Paul’s story of taking the gospel all the way to Rome and perhaps even to Caesar himself.[2]

While the troubles in the opening part of this chapter are more general and describe things experienced throughout history, in today’s passage we see a more specific example. Things look bad. After the opening of this chapter, we could almost wonder if they could get worse, and the answer is yes. But even here, there’s hope, as we’ll see. 

Read Mark 13:14-27

Evil in the gospels is personalized.[3] The battle Jesus engages in on the earth, as we see from his temptation right after his baptism, is Satan.[4] Satan hides through much of the gospel, with his minions doing his bidding.[5] But here, in the 13th Chapter, Jesus foretells of him making a grand entrance, through another surrogate. It’s a sign for believers to take cover. 

As I mentioned in my last sermon, on the first 13 verses of this passage, Jesus insists his followers not use the troubles in the world—whether war, earthquakes, or famine—as a sign of his return.[6] They’re just birth pangs. But this changes in verse 14. Evil appears where it shouldn’t be. 

I’m sure that the disciples listening to Jesus assumed this to be in the temple. There was a precented for this. In the 2nd Century BC, a Syrian king placed his own idols in the temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar, a very offensive act against the Jews. It riled up the Jews so much which led to the Maccabean rebellion which cast off the Syrian occupation. This was also mentioned in the book of Daniel[7] and is also from where the Jewish holiday Hannukah comes.[8]

While Jesus says, “Let the readers understand,” the interpretation of this passage isn’t so easy. After all, that sacrilege of the temple occurred nearly 200 years earlier. So, what it be?  

Some point out that Caligula, one of the evilest of Rome’s emperors, who wanted to place his own statue in the temple roughly 10 years after Jesus uttered these words. But this never happened. His general in Palestine, knowing what would likely happen if he carried out the order, refused. Obviously, that general was one who understood history of the Maccabean revolt. Caligula was murdered before he could force his decree. 

Most likely, what Jesus refers to here is to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans. However, not everything jives with that account. Jesus doesn’t mention the temple itself, only that place where the evil one shouldn’t be. 

We have no record of Titus, the Roman general who re-conquered Jerusalem, appearing inside the holy of holies. Furthermore, when he conquered the city after having cut-off all escape routes, there was no way for people to flee. However, by this point, most of the Christians had already fled. And everyone remaining behind suffered, especially pregnant women.[9]

It’s also difficult to reconcile the false messiahs, whom Jesus speaks of, coming after the fall of Jerusalem, although there were a few such false messiahs, even then.[10] But most of the false messiahs came before the Jewish revolt of 66 A.D. and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 

But perhaps Jesus here, isn’t giving us a direct timetable as he insists no one will know when he comes. The whole purpose of the 13th chapter, which is reiterated in verse 23, is to be ready, to be alert, and not to be led astray by some charlatan. We’re to look for Jesus’ coming, no other.

In verse 24, Jesus moves to his own return. After all the troubles he recently mentioned, the trouble takes on a cosmic perspective. The sun no longer shines, which causes the moon to go dark as the stars fall from the sky. Of course, they had less knowledge of astronomy than us. The idea of falling stars as opposed to meteors being space debris, wasn’t fully understood. 

But the point Jesus makes, I think, has to do with darkness as in there being no hope. And against this darkness, Jesus returns. His brilliance, against the dark sky, will be impossible to miss. Jesus second coming is different than his first in that all will see and understand. And the purpose of his coming is to save the elect, those whom God has chosen. 

While there appears much to be concerned with this text, we’re given two bits of hope. First, God isn’t going to let the troubles of the world continue for too long. Second, in the end, Christ returns. 

Of course, without the sun providing our planet with warmth and light, the world wouldn’t last very long. But then, as the faithful, we know that without God’s light, whom Jesus brought into the world,[11] we’d be hopeless. So, we wait, knowing that in the end, God will make all things right. 

Interestingly, while the sacrilege in the opening of our passage could also be interpreted as the antichrist and antichrists spoken of in the Epistles of John,[12] Mark doesn’t go into his judgment of this person. 

Mark concerns himself with the faithful, God’s elect. Mark informs and proclaims Jesus’ gospel in a way that those of us who listen, may believe and follow. That’s what’s important. Do we accept what God through Jesus Christ, has done for us? If so, we should not be tempted to run after others who make great promises. Instead, we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, especially in times of trouble. And, as Mr. Weaver suggested, we try to be cheerful, a good neighbor, and loving. Amen.

[1] Neil King, Jr., American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal (New York: Mariner Books, 2023), 344. 

[2] Upon Paul’s arrest, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar, which resulted in his trip to Rome (described in Acts 21-28.  At the end, we’re told that Paul spent two years in Rome, but we’re not told of him having an audience with Caesar. 

[3] “In the New Testament, the devil is a leading character.” Fleming Rutledge, “Something Evil The Way Comes,” in Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Jesus Christ,  (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018 ), 63.

[4] Mark 1:13. 

[5] Consider the accounts of the demons who recognized Jesus.  See Mark 1:21-24 and 5:1-20

[6] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/12/01/well-always-have-troubles/

[7] Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. To see my sermons on these sections of Daniel: https://fromarockyhillside.com/2022/02/20/5529/and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2022/02/27/the-conclusion-of-daniel-promised-rest/

[8] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

[9] For the background of these possibilities, see James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 396-397. 

[10] Simon Bar Kokhba was claimed to be the Messiah. He led the revolt against Rome from 132-135 A.D.

[11] See John 1:1-5, 3:19-21. 

[12] 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; and 2 John 1:7. 

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Cape Lookout 2024

Photos of sunset off Harker's Island and of Cape Lookout Lighthouse
my father on Masonboro Island after a good day of catching flounders, 1980s
A good day of catching flounders off Masonboro Island (sometime in the 1970s or 1980s)

My dad, who died this past May, loved fishing. I have fond memories from shortly after the time we moved to the Wilmington area in 1966, of riding with him in a jon boat over to Masonboro Island. We’d camp and fish. It was an annual fall ritual, generally done in October, once the weather cooled. 

During the daylight, we’d roam the surf with light tackle, looking for holes. Finding one, we’d cast a minnow, hoping to feel the bump of a flounder biting. We’d let the fish take it for a minute before setting the hook and reeling it in.

After dark, we’d sit in lawn chairs on the beach, with a lantern for light, and fish using cut bait. We’d stay on the beach late into the evening. With the sound of the surf filling the air, I’d watch the winter constellations or the moon rise. The moon always sent its rays glistening across the water straight at me. We’d catch a short night of sleep and be back on the beach before sunrise, fishing again as the birds took to flight as the sun peaked over the horizon.  Breakfast might be a bluefish grilled on coals. In time, Dad started to spend more time on the deserted island fishing so that by the time I was in high school, he’d spend a whole week there, coming back every day or so to clean and freeze fish and take a shower. 

Sadly, by the time I was in high school and working, it was hard for me to spend much time on the island fishing. But I still made it over occasionally, sometimes paddling a canoe or kayak over. Then I moved away and started my ramble around the country. 

Cape Lookout Lighthouse has stood guard since 1859

Back in the 1980s, when I living in Nevada, my father started taking a weekly trip every year, right after Thanksgiving, to Cape Lookout. While he would have never called it “global warming,” the weather had changed enough so that the blues and trout wouldn’t be running in October. For the next twenty-five or so years, he made the trip to Cape Lookout. His brother, my uncle, along with my brothers and their kids and a few friends, would make the trip. Occasionally, my sister and I were able to join him for a few days, as we were both living in other parts of the country. After my mother became ill, a couple of times we took off a week and split out time between staying on the island and staying with our mom. 

Heading out in my brother’s boat

I’m not sure how many times I’ve been to Lookout, but probably a dozen or so. Sometimes it was for a night, other times for several nights. I’ve been over on the island when it was warm and the mosquitoes were horrible. And I’ve been when it was frigid, and the wind chill made it bone cold. But I loved those nights camping on Lookout. Sometimes we’d fish in the surf like we did on Masonboro Island, other times we’d fish from the boat in the marsh or out on the jetty south of the Cape. 

Six or seven years ago, they stopped camping on Lookout. It just became too big of a problem to haul everything over on the island. Instead, they rented a house on Harker’s Island and would ride over in a boat each day to fish.  My dad’s last time on the island was in 2020, shortly after my mother’s death. That year, my sister and I split the week so that my dad would have someone in his boat.  After 2020, my uncle kept up the tradition.

Now that my father’s no longer with us, one of my brothers and my sister joined my uncle and his brother-in-law for a week on the island. My youngest brother couldn’t make it as he’s currently living overseas. It was good to be together, but cold. I’ve even been over on a solo kayaking trip.

This year, we only had one decent day of fishing at the jetty. We all caught our limit on gray trout, but that’s nothing to write home about because the limit is one per person. But it was enough for a good fish fry on Wednesday night.

Thursday’s wind from the east end of Harker’s Island

The wind blew like crazy on Thursday, with gust over 50 mph. No one had a large enough boat to go out that day as there were large waves in the sound. Instead, I spent time in the Core Sound Museum. I’d been there before, but it was rebuilt after it lost its rough to a hurricane a few years ago. They were getting ready for their duck decoy festival and Christmas. While I never duck hunted in these waters, duck hunting is just about as big as fishing in the Core Sound area. Our last day on the island it was bitterly cold. We stayed inland and fished for nearly five hours. I only had two bites, but no fish were caught. 

Fishing on Friday with Larry and Dale

Despite the weather, it was good to be on the water and to spent time with my siblings and uncle as we fished and prepared banquets at night while watching college football. 

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We’ll Always have Troubles

Title slide with winter photos of the two churches

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
December 1, 2024
Mark 13:1-13

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, November 29, 2024. It was late in the day and the setting sun in some places was intense, whiting out parts of the pulpit.

Comments at the beginning of worship:

Advent always seems to pop up unexpectedly when it immediately follows Thanksgiving. We don’t have a buffer between giving thanks and focusing on the coming of Jesus. It’s as if the dining room table hasn’t even been cleaned as the Christmas music begins. 

I often read a book about Advent or Christmas during this season. This year it will be a book on Ukrainian Christmas celebrations-if it arrives on time. In 2022, it was Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ.[1]I still go back to that book. It’s a collection of sermons and lectures given by an Episcopal priest whose theology is steeped in the Reformed Tradition. I like her title. 

Yes, we remember as we prepare for Christmas during Advent that the Jews waited for years for the Messiah. Jesus came and we celebrate his birth every year.  But the other part of Advent is also important. Jesus will come again. During Advent, we hold these two themes in tension—the coming and the return of Christ.  It’s not just about celebrating the past; it’s about being ready for the future.

Before reading the Scripture:

We will still be in Mark during Advent. But I’m skipping over the 12th chapter, in which Jesus teaches through a parable and some encounters around the temple. I’ll pick up those stories during Lent of 2025. In the 13th chapter, Jesus speaks about the end of history and the things which must happen before his return. These are Advent themes: the first coming of Christ and his triumphant return. 

This chapter begins by focusing on the temple in Jerusalem, which we first saw in the 11th chapter.[2] Jesus, who in Mark only spends a few days in the temple, leaves its walls for the final time.[3] The disciples, country-bumpkins from Galilee, are in awe. They’re kind of like us, walking around New York City and looking up at the buildings in amazement. But Jesus has some bad news. 

Afterwards, he and the disciples make their way to the Mount of Olives, which stands about 300 feet higher than Jerusalem.[4]There, with a perfect view of the temple below, four of the disciples ask Jesus about the prediction he made when they were leaving.

While this chapter contains some disturbing themes, it also has an important message for followers of Jesus. Things may get worse, but we hold on to hope and continue to proclaim Jesus as Lord.  


Read Mark 13:1-13

When I was in the sixth grade, finishing up my last year at Bradley Creek Elementary School, I was sad walking down the halls and stairs and out the front door for the last time. I boarded the oversized orange snub-nosed Bus 6, which waited to take us home for the summer. I realized when taking those steps that I may never walk those halls again. 

Ever since that early June day in 1969, I have had similar feelings as I obtained diplomas or said goodbyes to places of employment, along with apartments and houses around the country. There is something nostalgic knowing it’s your last time at a particular place. As for Bradley Creek, where I spent grades 4 to 6, I never did go back. The next year, I started Junior High. Because of redistricting, my brother and sister who were a year and two years behind me, moved to Winter Park Elementary. So, I didn’t even have a chance to go back and see them. 

And later, after we all moved on, an arsonist burned the school to the ground. I was glad for those years between being a student and the flames because, like most 12-year-old boys, I’d fantasized about the school going up in smoke. I didn’t want to be a suspect. 

Do you ever have nostalgia knowing you’re moving on and won’t ever have an opportunity to relive the past? 

But I’m not sure Jesus had such feelings when he left the temple for the final time in our passage this morning. Jesus wants the disciples to focus and trust him, but they are in awe of the temple. After all, the massive 35-acre structure had been built using huge stones. The retaining wall on the east side incorporated chiseled out stones which were up to 45 cubits or 67 feet long.[5] When the disciples attempt to get Jesus’ take on the magnificent temple, he pours on cold water. See these great buildings, they’ll be all torn down. 

After that, I imagine the walk down into the Kidron Valley and up to the Mount of Olives was a bit subdue. How can this be, they pondered. Once they arrive, with a majestic view of the temple before them, four of the disciples—Peter, James, John, and Andrew—corner Jesus. “Tell us,” they insist. “When will this happen?” 

As often is his manner, Jesus doesn’t directly answer their question. He doesn’t say, “well, in 70 AD, Rome with have had enough of the Zealots in Israel and a mighty army will put down a revolt and burn the temple. And afterwards, just to make sure it’s gone, they’ll break apart the stones and wipe away any evidence it ever existed.” 

Instead, Jesus uses this opportunity to teach them about what to expect. “Beware that no one leads you astray,” he begins. 

Jesus knows, and history proves, there were others who came after him claiming to be the Messiah.  After all, the type of Messiah Jesus turned out to be didn’t meet their criteria for David’s successor. Some would come, insisting on kicking out Rome, which scratched the itchy ears of the Jews who longed for revenge and to be made “great again.” And, in 66 AD, they did kick out the Romans, but it was a short-lived victory. 

While Jesus speaks of false Messiahs, he essentially speaks about religious insiders who lead the faithful astray. These could be those within the church, who mislead people for their own potential gain. They could be those espousing a Christian nationalist viewpoint… Or a David Koresh, Jim Jones, or those within the Heavens Gate movement wanting to catch a ride on the Hale-Bopp comet. We must be careful not to follow such and maintain our focus on Jesus.

After teaching about insiders who endanger believers, Jesus continues by looking at the international scene, things in which most individuals have no control over. Wars will continue. Human history has had few periods without a war somewhere. He encourages the disciples not to panic. 

As if troubling news on the international scene isn’t enough, Jesus also suggests there will be other problems. The world will shake and fail to feed… Earthquakes and famines. Even this isn’t the end. It’s important to understand, Jesus does not provide a timetable for the future here. It’s all just the beginning.

In verse 9, Jesus shifts and begins to discuss our responsibility as his followers. I can pictured Jesus humming Lynn Anderson’s song from when I was in Jr. High. Do you remember “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden?” Too often we think that once we accept Jesus, everything will be peachy. Scripture tells us otherwise. 

Jesus speaks of his followers being hauled before leaders and into courts. As frightening as this sounds, Jesus suggests it’s an opportunity.  We have an opportunity to give our testimony. We can tell Jesus’ story! And we shouldn’t worry about what to say. Instead, we depend on God’s Spirit. 

And then it gets worse as even family members betray us, even to death. Think of those living in the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany and the betrayals which occurred. Yet, we’re to endure, to stick to Jesus[6] to the end. If we do that, we’ll be saved. 

In some ways, the first events happening in this section of Mark 13 occurred in 70 AD, when the temple was destroyed, after a period of both famine and earthquakes in the region.[7] It was a time when people felt their world was ending. But there have been believers in almost every age who have gone through similar situations and the world continues. As bad as the first three centuries were for Christians, the 20th Century had more Christians martyrs than previous 19 Centuries combined.[8] While we in the United States, along with Canada and the United Kingdom have been spared from the worse persecutions, Christians in Europe, Asia, South and Latin America, and Africa all have faced great challenges. 

The disciples asked the wrong question. Instead of when will this occur, the right question has to do with how we respond. What do we need to do to ensure we remain faithful? Of course, there seems to be no way to prepare other than trusting. We trust God to give us the words when needed. This section of Mark 13 is all about God’s work being done and we’re not directors but actors on the world’s stage. Do we keep our eyes on Jesus or are we lured away by false prophets and fears?  

We should consider what we might do if we had to choose between Jesus, the truth of the gospel, and the lies of the world. Perhaps, if we find ourselves in such a situation, we should recall how Jesus taught us not to judge others.[9] We don’t know what others are going through.[10] Instead, we should focus on ourselves and our own salvation. Are we being true to the Jesus of Scripture?  Amen. 

[1] Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018). 

[2] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/24/what-does-jesus-have-against-fig-trees/

[3] At least the final time as a free man, if part of his trial that took place in the courtyard was on the temple. See Mark 14:53f. 

[4] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 389. 

[5] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark (1992 Hendrickson Publishers 1997), 304. 

[6] The Message translates “endure” as “stay with it.” 

[7] Edwards, 391-392 (see also notes 17 and 18).

[8] This was recently reported in a news article, but I was unable to locate it. 

[9] Matthew 7:1-2. 

[10] As an example of such focus, see John P. Burgess, Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017), 192. 

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Russia: Reviews and a Personal Memory

photo of the three books reviewed in my post

Kungur, Russia,  Late July 2011

Kurgur Russia Train Station
Train Station in Kungur

I arrived in Kungur early on Sunday afternoon, the day before, after traveling three days on the trans-Siberian from Ulan Ude, west of Lake Baikal.  That afternoon, I took a tour of the city and asked the guide about church services. At the Tikhvinskaya Church, she learned there would be services the next morning which would include baptisms. On Monday, I was there shortly after the doors opened.  This church had only recently resumed being a church. During the Soviet era, the government converted the church into a prison.

Statue of Lenin and an old style water tower near the Kungur Railroad Station
Statue of Lenin and an old water tower across from train station

When I arrived, only a handful of people were in the church. Mostly, the congregation was made up of older women, but I did notice one man who was about my age and who seemed as clueless as me when it came to Orthodox traditions. As is custom, we all stood. However, around the edge of the massive sanctuary, there were a few benches and at times, some of the women would go sit down for a break. Much of the service consisted of alternating chanting from the balcony (done by a man and a woman) and from behind the icons (done by a priest).   The entire service, except for a few readings, was sung without accompaniment. Not speaking the language, I was mostly clueless as to what was happening. But the building and the voices were beautiful, and I just took it all in. 

Tikhvinskaya Church, photo taken from the main dome above the church

 I had been there about an hour when a man entered the sanctuary and approached me, speaking in Russia.  At first, I wondered if he was a beggar, looking for money, but he was too well dressed for that. He got into my face, and I smelled alcohol. He seemed distraught.  I shrugged my shoulders and whisper that I don’t speak Russian. After a few minutes, he left and walked over to a window where there were numerous candles. He lighted a candle and stood for a few minutes. Then he turned around and headed over to me and in perfect English said, “I’m sorry, my father died this morning.” Caught off guard, I expressed my condolences and asked if I could pray for him. “Yes,” he said. I placed by hand on his shoulder and prayed. “Thank you,” he said, as he turned and left the sanctuary. I never saw him again.  

A little later in the service, the priest opens the door through the icons and prepares communion.  I debated taking communion, if offered. A few people went over to receive the bread, but most did not, so I remained where I was at.  Then, an older mousy woman who’d been helping with things brought me a piece of the bread and offered it to me. I wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant, but I decided that communion is at best a mystery and the polite thing to do was to be gracious. Humbly bowing my head, I accepted the bread from the woman, held it for a moment while I prayed for her and for the congregation who welcomed me, a stranger.  

After communion, a man and woman with an infant that looked to be maybe 6 or 9 months old, walked up to the priest and presented the child. From a distance, it appears the priest gave the child a piece of bread soaked in the wine.  I couldn’t really see the baptism. Then there were prayers said over the child and each parent lighted a candle, then left.  After some more chanting in Russia, the service ended. It was nearly 11 AM and I ran back down the hill to the hotel and checked out and headed to the train station for my next leg of the journey.

Kruger River and city
A view of the city with the Kruger River flowing through it.

John P. Burgess, Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia 

(New Haven, CT: Yale, 2017), 264 pages including index and notes. Some photographs. 

Burgess, a theology professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, spent several sabbaticals in Russia learning about the Russian Orthodox Church.  He worshiped in Orthodox Churches, attended Bible Studies, befriended members and priests. While Burgess roots are in Reformed Tradition, his inquisitive and open mind provides a unique insight into the Orthodox tradition. 

While Burgess goal is not to give the reader a history of the Orthodox tradition in Russia, he does provide a history of the church in the 20th Century,. Much of this decade, the church lived under a dictatorial communist regime who sought to exterminate religion in Russia. The church struggled to survived as the government converted the church’s property into museums, theaters, and even prisons. The early years were the worse. The church strove to survive by supporting the government as they followed the Apostle’s Paul’s commands. During World War II, even Stalin saw the church as useful in the defense of the nation and the worse persecutions waned. But it wasn’t until the 90s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, that the church was free to openly participate in society. Much of the book explains the rising role of the church during this era.

Holy Rus is a vague concept that see’s the Russian Church link to the nation for the purpose of the advancement of the gospel. While the idea was established during the age of the Czars, it has found its way back into the mainstream. Putin has embraced such ideology as he attempts to place Russia, and not the West, as carrying on the gospel traditions.  While Burgess doesn’t say so, Holy Rus to me seems to be a Russian version of Christian Nationalism.

While this book attempts to explain the role of the church in modern Russia, it also part travelogue. Burgess takes us along with him as he travels Russia and meets with leaders and priests and laypeople within the church. This is a valuable book for those looking to understand the Orthodox Church’s role in modern Russia, but because of the expanded war in Ukraine, I sensed that the book was a little dated. 

I picked up this book at the Theology Matter’s Conference I attended last month in Hilton Head. Burgess was one of the presenters. I have previous reviewed his book,  After Baptism: The Shaping of the Christian Life. 

Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History

 (2003,  audible published in  2004), 27 hours and 41 minutes). 

This Pulitzer Prize winning book has been on my TBR list for several years. I have previously read two of her books: Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine and Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism. Both books seemed more important to understanding the world we live in than old Soviet history. However, a few weeks after I finished this book, Mike Davis, of Trump’s lawyers mused about building Gulags for liberal white women. Sadly, I realized it might be a good thing I have some knowledge of what he was talking about. Gulags aren’t necessarily tied to communism. They’re tools totalitarians use to create fear within society to keep people in line. In the old Soviet Union, any minor infraction could end you in a Gulag, which helped maintain control over the masses. 

 I started listening to his book in early October, knowing I had long road trips ahead in which I could listen to large sections of the book (I drove to Hilton Head, SC, then to Wilmington, NC, and then home). With over 15 hours in the car, and my regular walks, I was able to finish the book in less than two weeks. 

Applebaum begins discussing how the Gulag took shape from the beginning under Lenin and on through the 70s and 80s. Over the course of the decades, the Gulag changed. Lenin used the prison system to put away “enemies” who had different ideas about government. This included many communists who saw things differently. One of the interesting things about the Gulag is that many of the prisoners remained loyal to the Soviet ideals.  Early on, the Gulag was seen as a way for economic gain. Attempts to profit from prison labor included building the White Sea Canal and lumbering in the north and mining in the vastness of Siberia. 

Stalin took the Gulag into more extremes and in the late 30s, during his purges, the most horrific atrocities occurred (both within the Gulag system and general executions). During World War 2, the Gulags in the east had to be moved to avoid capture by the Germans. Some prisoners, unable to be moved, were summarily executed. Applebaum spends some time discussing the differences between the Soviet Gulags and the Nazi Concentration Camps. As bad as the Gulags were, at least the Soviets weren’t attempting genocide against a particular race of people. 

After the war, life improved slowly in the Gulags and things never returned to how bad it was in the late 1930s. However, many captured Soviet soldiers found themselves, upon being released from German POW camps, in the Gulag.  Upon Stalin’s death and Khrushchev obtaining power, things slowly improved. But still, the camps continued to the fall of the Soviet Union. 

One of the surprising things about the Gulags were the corruption, both by the camp leadership and the prisoners. Gangs often ruled the prisoners, especially those prisoners who were in the system due to criminal (as opposed to political or religion) crimes. These gangs terrorized other prisoners and sometimes even the guards. 

The Gulags were also a training ground for those who would eventually lead to the breakdown of the Soviet system.  The non-Russians often created their own gangs and many of those within the prison system learned leadership skills they would use to help throw off the communist governments in Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Georgia. In this way, the abuses of the Gulag created a time-bomb which helped undo the Soviet Union. 

This is a long book, but worthwhile. Hopefully we won’t see any Gulags in our country. But Applebaum’s book serves as a warning. 

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Cover of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

 (1962, Audible 2013), 5 hours and 5 minutes. 

This short novel is set in a Gulag during the early 1950s. The prisoner wakes in his bed and begins to plan his day (or how to get out of work). It’s cold but not cold enough for them to call off work.  Soon, they are all awake and begin their morning routine. He wraps his feet for warmth and worries if he will be discovered with extra cloth. They are not to hoard, but everyone does. This morning, he visits the infirmary hoping to be sick enough to avoid work. With his temperature only slightly elevated, he must work. He eats breakfast, where he’s given bread for lunch. Does it eat it all or save it and hope it isn’t stolen before lunch? Then everyone assembles for the morning count before marching off to their various jobs. Denisovich is a mason. He finds where he has hidden his trowel. He has a favorite one and is supposed to turn in the tools at the end of a shift, but he doesn’t. Laying block with the weather being well below zero means they must melt snow and warm the sand and mortar. At least it requires a fire. They work through the day. In the late afternoon, they march back for an assembled count. Standing in the cold, he hopes everyone is present and there would be no need for a recount. Then there is dinner and bed. 

The story is grim. I felt the cold, the hunger, and the foreboding existence within the Gulag. There, the prisoners are not called comrades. Inside the prison camp there are those who faithful to the Soviet Union and others, like Ukrainians, who are not. There’s the Baptist who hides his New Testament and who has a different hope. But most people exist without hope. The day ends, the light in the barrack goes out, and the reader is left to understand that the next day will be the same. 

The novel takes place in the early 1950s at a time when Stalin was still alive. Interesting, Khrushchev as Premier, read a copy and allowed it to be published. At the time, he attempted to move the Soviet Union away from Stalinism. The book publication occurred just before the “Neo-Stalinists” booted Khrushchev and replaced him with Brezhnev. 

I was amazed the way this book highlights the quotidian events in the life of a prisoner in the Gulag. The writing (or translation) is stark and amazing. I started listening to this book immediately after finishing Anne Applebaum’s Gulag.  I highly recommend reading it and wish I had read it earlier. The book will go back on my TBR pile as it is as worthy of rereading as Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea. 

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What does Jesus have against fig trees?

title slide with photo of two churches

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
November 24, 2024
Mark 11:12-25

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, November 22, 2024. I changed the ending, as shown below in the text.

Comments at the beginning of worship:    

“Be as strict as possible with yourself but as generous as possible with others,” an Orthodox priest taught.[1] Good advice and Jesus shows us an example of this in today’s text. Jesus could be harsh and strict with the faithful (or so called faithful as they were mostly hypocrites), while encouraging his often-clueless followers to forgive and be generous. We should learn from his example.

Before the Scripture reading: 

As we continue to work our way through Mark, we find ourselves on the day after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. If you remember from last week, Jesus came into the city late in the day, looked around a bit, then headed to Bethany for the evening. Our reading today begins with them going back to the Jerusalem on the next day. 

Mark tells this story slightly different that Matthew and Luke. The other two synoptic gospels have Jesus cleansing the temple immediately after entering Jerusalem.[2] Instead, in Mark, Jesus has a night to sleep on things before he acts. Also, in Mark, on the way to the temple, Jesus has an encounter with a fig tree. 

In this text we see one of Mark’s familiar types of construction: the sandwich, which were popular earlier in the gospel.[3] Mark starts with one topic, then moves to another, before going back to complete the discussion of the first topic. In our passage today, the fig tree serves as the bread for the sandwich with the cleansing of the temple in the middle.

Unlike some of the other sandwich constructions in Mark, this one comes with a pickle on the side, a proverb which focuses on prayer and forgiveness. That proverbial ending, we’ll see, shifts the meaning, from judgment to the power of God and our role as disciples.[4]

The fig tree story, an enacted parable, is also miraculous. In fact, it’s the only negative miracle in the gospels. Other miracles bring about healing and life, positive things. But here we end up with a dead tree.[5]  Some criticized Jesus for being vindicative, but I’m not sure that’s the point.[6] Let’s look at the text. 

Read Mark 11:12-25

It may be hard for us to comprehend the size of the temple. This was no little church in the wildwoods surrounded by a graveyard and with an adjacent picnic pavilion. The third temple, which Herod the Great had begun constructing in 20 BC, was massive. The temple consisted of four sections. Three of the sections excluded all but the faithful. The Court of the Women was for Jewish women and the Court of Israel was for circumcised Jewish men. And the innermost section of the temple, “the holy of holies,” was reserved for the high priest to make atonement for the people’s sins. 

But around the temple was the massive Court of the Gentiles. It was 500 yards long and 325 yards deep, roughly 35 acres. Here, anyone could come, including gentiles. This area was also where the faithful Jews, who had traveled long distances and wanted to make a sacrifice, could purchase a spotless animal to be offered to God. Sacrifice was a big business. According to Josephus, an ancient Jewish author, in 66 AD, the year the temple was completed, a quarter million lambs were sacrificed during Passover! In a way, the Court of the Gentiles was a stockyard. 

In addition to unblemished animals for sacrifice, proper coinage had to be used in the temple. Coins could have no graven images on them and were to be pure metal. Roman coins with Ceasar’s head had to be exchanged for more appropriate coins to use inside the temple. Moneychangers lined up to do a brisk business, making a profit as they collected the more valuable Roman coins and issued those approved for temple use.[7]

Now, because of the sheer size of the temple and Mark’s wording, it seems unlikely Jesus cleared the entire 35 acres of moneychangers and livestock brokers. Mark says that “Jesus began to drive out those selling and buying,” not that he drove them all out. Furthermore, Mark only mentions those who sold doves, just one of the animals offered as a sacrifice within the temple, and one generally used by the poorest of pilgrims. 

If Jesus had cleared this entire 35-acre court, he would have likely drawn attention to the Roman garrison stationed just to the north of the temple at Antonia Fortress. These soldiers would have intervened to keep the peace.[8]


While Jesus didn’t appear to draw Roman attention at this point, he did catch the attention of the chief priests and scribes. They sense danger at his display of anger. After all, they made a profit from this activity. They could have wondered if Jesus was the Messiah, as he was cleansing the temple. But Jesus isn’t driving away the gentiles (although he drove out some who were sellers as well as some Jewish buyers). But what he expresses is for the temple to be a safe place for all people to come and pray. Instead of excluding the gentiles, Jesus expresses a desire to open the temple to them.[9]

The story of Jesus cleansing the temple is merged between the two halves of the story of the fig tree. On their way to the temple, we’re told Jesus was hungry and he hoped there will be some fruit left of a fig tree. Our text makes us wonder why Jesus would have even looked since it was not the season for figs. And why is the tree punished? 

The fig harvest was normally from mid-August to mid-October. However, after the harvest trees often sprouted buds, calledpaggim in Hebrew, which remained undeveloped throughout the winter. These were eatable and probably was what Jesus looked to find and eat as a snack. The death of the tree reminds us of God’s judgment coming to the temple and to Israel. Five of the prophets speak of fig trees in relationship to judgment.[10] Jesus himself speaks of the destruction of unproductive fruit trees, torn down and burned, as a sign of judgment.[11]

After the encounter in the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus and the disciples again leave the city for Bethany, where the spend the night. Then, on the second day, as they return to the city, Peter sees the cursed tree and points it out to Jesus. Jesus uses this as a lesson for the disciples about faith, prayer and the need to forgive others. The tree isn’t just about judgment, but also encourages them to have faith in God.

The idea of having enough faith to move a mountain into the sea may have come from Herod having built a fortress south of Jerusalem, but within eyesight. He had removed a hill and used it as earth to circle his fortress on the mountain with a large wall.[12]Herod could remove a hill, but the disciples could do even greater things, Jesus suggests. 

Jesus realizes the temple’s days are numbered. Judgment is coming. But he wants his disciples to place their faith, not in a structure like a temple or a church building but in God. And as we know, Jesus reveals God to us. We’re to have faith in Jesus. We’re to follow him regardless of what danger exists. Faith is our source of strength. 


Then Jesus adds what I’ve referred to as a pickle as a side to his sandwich. Perhaps he was afraid of the disciples only wanting to obtain things through prayer and missing an important part of following Jesus. While Mark’s gospel doesn’t include the Lord’s Prayer, that’s found in Matthew and Luke,[13] he does remind us of the importance of forgiving others. As Jesus does in the Lord’s prayer, here he reminds the disciples of the link between our willingness to forgive and God forgiving us. 

What does this passage mean for us? Certainly, we need to protect the worship of God so that it focuses on the Almighty and is not used to human benefit. But with that understanding, we should understand that Mark focuses less on Jesus’ anger in the temple than the other gospels.[14] By the end of the passage, Jesus encourages the disciples to have faith. Our faith in Jesus goes hand in hand with our willingness to forgive as he has forgiven us. Amen. 

[1] This quote was from Ioann Krest’iankin, a Russian Orthodox Priest and the quote found in John P. Burgess, Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017), 191. 

[2] Matthew 21:12f and Luke 19:45f.  The synoptic gospels place Jesus’ adult visit to Jerusalem during this last week, John’s gospel has Jesus in and out of Jerusalem several times. His cleansing of the temple story comes earlier in Jesus’ ministry. See John 2:13-22. 

[3] For examples, see Mark 3:20-34 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/07/the-unpardonable-sin-baseball-doing-the-will-of-god/; Mark 4:1-20 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/28/the-parable-of-the-sower/; Mark 5:21-42 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/09/7247/ ;  Mark 6:1-44 or https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/30/a-grand-picnic-and-a-call-to-feed-the-hungry/ and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/06/30/a-grand-picnic-and-a-call-to-feed-the-hungry/.

[4] Douglas R. A. Hare, Westminster Bible Commentary: Mark (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1997), 144-145. 

[5] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark (1991, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 261. 

[6] Bernard Russell was one to criticize Jesus for being vindictive here. See James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 339. 

[7] For the size and layout of the temple and information about animals and coins, see Edwards, 340-342. 

[8] Hare, 143. 

[9] Edwards, 343. For the expectation the Messiah would open the temple of gentiles, see the Psalms of Solomon, 17:22-30. 

[10]  Edwards, 339-340. See Isaiah 34:4, Jeremiah 29:17, Hosea 2:12, 9:10, Joel 1:7, and Micah 7:1.

[11] See Matthew 7:19 and Luke 13:6-9. John the Baptist also speaks of Jesus bringing such judgment. See Matthew 3:10f. 

[12] Edwards, 347. 

[13] Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:2-4.

[14] John depicts Jesus’ anger more than the other gospels, as Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives out not only those doing business but also the cattle and sheep. See John 2:15. 

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Last Month’s Travels

title slide with a photo inside Providence Presbyterian Church and a sunrise on Hilton Head

Recent travels:

Early last month, I spent four days on Hilton Head Island attending a Theology Matter’s Conference. It was good to be back in the land of good seafood. I saw several sunrises (the only day I missed was when we had tropical storm winds and rains). The only downside to the trip was missing a wonderful show of the Northern Lights. While I was able to see them faintly on Hilton Head (see photo), from what I heard and saw from friends’ photographs around home, things were amazing in the sky in the mountains. 

aurora over Hilton Head, October 10, 2024
Aurora over Hilton Head

Despite not seeing an amazing aurora, the lectures were stimulating, and it was good to meet up with old friends. I especially enjoyed after hours with Jeff Newlin and Steve Crocro at Hinchey’s Chicago Bar and Grill. (If you ever go there, be aware they serve a stiff drink and one an evening was more than enough.). It was also good to introduce Jeff and Steve, as I was the common contact. Jeff was our consultant for church building campaigns when I was in Hastings. While he’s now retired, I think our campaign remains the largest (membership/funds raised) campaign he conducted in his career. Steve started as the librarian the year I began seminary at Pittsburgh. He would go on to later serve as the theological librarian at Princeton and Yale as well as an interim librarian at the United States War College. 

Jim Miller lecturing inside Providence Presbyterian Church (where the conference was held).

In Wilmington

When the conference was over, I drove up to Wilmington, NC, where I stayed with my sister and preached at Cape Fear Presbyterian Church’s 80th Anniversary service. It was good to be away for a week and to see old friends both at the conference and in Wilmington and eat some good seafood along with Vietnamese and Indian food.  I also helped my sister by going through 1000s of photos from my parents (and we have yet to tackle the slides). I found a photo I thought was long lost, which I took of my grandparents on my mother’s side on Christmas Day 1966. This was the first photo taken on my first camera (Kodak 126) and probably the last taken on my grandfather, who died three weeks later. A few years ago, I wrote this poem about him and this photo!.

Copies of old photos from my parents

The anniversary service went well, and it was nice to see such a crowd in the church where I attended with my family from the fourth grade through college.  I got to spend some time out with my brother on his boat. And then, on Monday, before driving home, I had coffee with Wayne, a friend from High School, and dropped by to see my parent’s grave.

photos from Wilmington NC

Highlights of the conference:

Instead of giving a run-down of all the speakers and preachers, I am going to highlight three speakers and an idea they presented.

John Burgess, “For the Next Generation”

John is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (from which I graduated a decade before he arrived). In his first lecture, he combined two of his interest: Christian formation and the Russian Orthodox Church.  John has published books on both. I reviewed his book, After Baptism: Shaping the Christian Life  a few years ago and have just read his book Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia. You can look for a review in a few weeks when I review three recent books I’ve read about Russia. 

In his first lecture, John introduced us to Pabel Floresky, a Russian Orthodox priest and scientist killed during Stalin’s purges in the late-1930s. While he was in the Gulag, Floresky was interested in passing on to his family what he valued. These letters are available in a book (in Russian) titled; All My Thoughts are about You.  Floresky felt an obligation to three areas. 

  • His family’s unique heritage
  • To familiarize his children with important cultural achievements
  • And to encourage them to spend as much time as possible in creation. 

While he was deeply devoted to his faith, he knew writing about God would catch the eyes of the censors and his letter would never make it home, so he used coded words for God and faith. Interestingly, all five of his children became major scientists in Russia. 

John ended his lecture by asking what God has prepared us to pass on? What is our legacy?  

Han-Luen Kantzer Komline, “Augustinian Insights on the Law of Double Love”

Kantzer Komline is a professor at Western Theological Seminary in Holland Michigan. The Double Love Law comes from Jesus’ command to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40 and Mark 12:38-41). I particularly enjoyed her lecture having devoted much of the past summer to Augustine’s City of God. 

She speaks of Augustine as a man on the margins (in time, space, politics and the church) as he wrote during the collapse of the Western Roman world.  Love mattered for Augustine for three reasons: 

  • You are what you love
  • Love makes Christians, Christan 
  • All you need is love (with a nod to the Beatles)

Augustine believed that everyone loves, but sometimes our loves are misdirected. The question is the object of our love. Is it toward God or toward self? The later creates a destructive environment while the love of God allows us to properly love ourselves and our neighbors. Love makes us Christians, for if we do not love, how can we be a follower of Christ? And finally, although Augustine was a theologian and interested in knowledge, knowledge is not enough to make us Christian. We must show love and charity. 

Richard Burnett: “Learning to Say No for the Sake of God’s Yes”

The evening sessions at the conference were more sermon-like than the day sessions. Richard Burnett spoke on the second evening using Mark 2:13-17, the call of Levi” as his text.  As he worked through the text, Richard emphasized the need for parties when we say yes to Jesus (as did Levi). In these parties, we celebrate God’s love. But then Richard changed direction and spoke how saying Yes to Jesus means there are things to which we must also say no. Of course, saying no is never fun, but is necessary. Richard then began drawing upon the Barmen Declaration, a part of the Presbyterian Church USA confessions. 

The Barmen Declaration was made by a group of German Churches at the time of Hitler’s rise. It addresses the idolatry of nationalism (Christian nationalism), which attempted to place the allegiance to the state over the church’s allegiance to her Lord. Barmen is unique in that it not only professes what it believes (Jesus is Lord, etc.), it also has a series of negations. These deal with things we can’t accept because we accept the Lordship of Christ. While Richard focused on one an overture from the General Assembly being currently debated within the presbyteries of the denomination, I couldn’t help but think of the upcoming election and why I could never support one candidate for President.  “Our ‘No’ is only for the gospels and God’s yes,” he proclaimed, “not to be hateful or spiteful.”

Comet taken from home in October 2024
Once back home, I began watching the comet that was faint in the evening sky.
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Following Jesus

Title slide with photo of two rock churches where the sermon will be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
November 18, 2024
Mark 11:1-11

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, November 15, 2024.

At the beginning of worship: 

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

Some of you may be feeling that way today. Listen to the wise words of Gandalf. “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.”[1]

It’s been years, decades, almost a half century, since I read Tolkien. But this passage, which was shared widely by many on social media over the past few weeks, rings true. We don’t get to choose the time in which we live. But what’s important is how we live during the time we’re given. Do we follow Jesus? Do we live the virtues and values he espoused: loving others, protecting the vulnerable, caring for those in need, and speaking the truth? 

Or do we give in to the fleeting values and flashy ideas of the present age? There are always challenges to the gospel, but our calling as followers of Jesus is to the heavenly kingdom. 

Before the reading of scripture

One of the interesting things about working through a book of scripture, chapter by chapter, is that you have little control over what comes up when. We will see this today. This will be the first time I have preached on a passage normally reserved for Palm Sunday at another time during the year. I did the same thing a few months ago. Then, I preached on the transfiguration in summer and not as the lectionary would have it, the Sunday before Lent.[2]But that’s okay. We may be better able to understand the passage without the trappings of a Palm Sunday service. 

In a way, Mark’s story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is anticlimactic. About half of the story focuses on acquiring the beast, which in Mark is an unbroken colt.[3] Then there is the focus on getting ready for the parade from preparing the beast and dropping cloaks and branches along the roadway. Then they entered the city singing from the 118th Psalm. For Mark, this is the first time we hear of Jesus being in Jerusalem.[4] Then Jesus and the disciples then quickly leave the city and head over to Bethany for the night. Perhaps, like today, rooms were cheaper in the suburbs than in the city center. 

While we are not given the exact time, the entry into Jerusalem could have occurred on the same day as Jesus healing Blind Bartimaeus in Jericho. It seems to be late in the day when they enter the city, for they quickly leave as evening approaches. If this is the case, they’d had time to make the 15 mile walk earlier in the day.

But another option suggested by some (and supported by the Gospel of John),[5] has Jesus in the city longer than just the week recorded in the Passion. This would allow him time to meet and get to know the owner of the animal he rode the day we’re reviewing. Furthermore, the cries of Hosanna and the recitation of Psalm 118 was more in line with the fall harvest festival than the Passover.[6] But that’s a tidbit that we can’t settle, so I’ll stick to Mark’s week timeline. 

Let’s listen to Mark’s report of this eventful day.

Read Mark 11:1-11

Something seems to be missing from this passage. We have Jesus, the disciples, a parade, and a crowd. But where are the authorities? Where are those in charge of crowd control? Where’s the chief priest wanting to know what’s up with this new fangle religious group?[7] Where are the Roman soldiers standing by to ensure things stay orderly? The other gospels, who tell this story, go into more detail. But Mark is sparse on details. 

We always image the day to be picture-perfect. The sun shines. Wind blows just enough to keep the bugs away and to cool those marching up to the city.  People pour into the Holy City for the upcoming holiday.

Jesus and his gang also come up to Jerusalem. When a few miles from town, Jesus sends his disciples into the next village to procure a colt. It sounds like Jesus had worked all this out in advance. He gives the unnamed disciples an address to find this unridden colt. And he lets them know that if challenged, they should just say, “Master needs the colt and will return it afterwards.”

The two disciples head off, find the beast, and as they are leading it back to Jesus, sure enough someone challenges them. It doesn’t sound like it’s the owner, but maybe a neighbor. And once they say, “The Master needs it,” they’re allowed to lead the animal back to the disciples’ camp. 

This whole procurement of the beast may have several meanings. Does Jesus know even trivial things about the future. Not only does he know about his upcoming death, but where to find a beast and what to say when challenged for taking it. In addition, the borrowing of a horse is a pejorative of a king… And having an unridden horse could be another subtle hint of Jesus’ royalty. King’s horses were generally off-limits for everyone else.[8]

When the two disciples get back to Jesus, they place some cloaks onto the beast to serve as a saddle. Others placed their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus, kind of like Walter Raleigh did for the Queen to earn the title Sir. Other’s place leafy branches on the ground in front of Jesus’ path. If you want to read about palms, check out John’s gospel.[9]

Jesus must have been one brave hombre, riding an animal that hasn’t been broken. But the beast seems tame. At least we’re not told of it rearing up like a bucking bronco in a rodeo. As he makes his way toward the gates of Jerusalem, the people sing the 118thPsalm, a revolutionary Psalm for it hails a new king coming on the scene. 


But then Jesus goes into the gates of the city, looks around for a bit and visits the temple before heading off to Bethany. Supposedly, the two disciples returned the colt to where they found it. 

Since the 8th Chapter, everything has played out with Jerusalem in the background.[10] Now they have arrived at the holy city. Jesus comes in, not as a warrior, but still honored. But the disciples, like us, have heard that Jesus isn’t going to sit on David’s throne. Instead, he’s come to the city to suffer and die. Knowing this, do we stick around with Jesus? Or would we be like the disciples and scatter when things go south while the rest of the crowd cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion? 

Real transformation takes place at the cross, not in the hype of a parade.[11] Perhaps this is why Mark plays down Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem, as compared to the other three gospels. For a religion which only stresses “feeling good” is a Palm Sunday religion and does not take seriously our human condition toward sin. Our faith must be grounded in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is about politics. In a way, Jesus mocks other politicians who entered the city with pomp and circumstance. As Jesus enters the city, at least two other significant political figures are either already in the city or will arrive shortly after Jesus. Pilate and Herod were both in the city during the Passover. While we don’t know, we could easily imagine there would have been a parade for the two of them. Such a parade would have involved fancy horses, chariots, soldiers with shinny brass, and perhaps a band. 

Pilate and Herod’s arrival displayed the powers of the kingdom. Jesus’ entry displays the power of a mysterious kingdom, one not of this world

Would we have been lured by Jesus riding bareback on a colt or by the fancy horses decked out for Rome?  

As we have worked through the gospel of Mark, seeing how Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem comes to nothing, perhaps we should recall the seeds which fell on rocky soil. The soil received the seed with joy, but it lasted just a short period of time before the challenges arose and without root, the plants wilted.[12]

Mark warns us. Our loyalty belongs to Jesus, not to anyone or anything else. He is the only one who can forgive our sin and heal our souls. But we must accept him on his terms, not to attempt to make him into the Messiah we want. We follow him, not the other way around. And remember, his entry into Jerusalem is but the calm before the storm. Amen. 

[1] J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Rings. This quote has been reposted many times on Facebook and Twitter over the past few weeks. 

[2] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/09/01/the-transfiguration/

[3] Matthew 21:2 speaks of a donkey and a colt. Luke 19:30, like Mark, speaks of an unridden colt.  John 12:14 and 14 speaks of a donkey and a donkey colt. 

[4] In Luke, we’re told of Jesus being at the temple on the 8th day after his birth and again when he was 12. Matthew, like Mark, only puts Jesus in Jerusalem at the end of his life. John has Jesus in Jerusalem many times before his “Triumphant Entry.” See John 2:13, 23, 4:45, and 5:1. 

[5] John 10:22, puts Jesus in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication (Fall festival) and then across the Jordan but still in Judea (John 10:40 and 11:54), before his entry into the city. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2002), 333.

[6] Edwards, 332.

[7] Matthew 21:10 speaks of the city being in turmoil after Jesus’ entry.  Luke 19:39-40 tells us the Pharisees asked Jesus to have his followers to quiet things down. John’s gospel (12:19) records Pharisees throwing up their hands in resignation with all who are following Jesus. 

[8] Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Mark: Black’s New Testament Commentaries (1991, Hendrickson’s Publishing, 1997), 258, and Edwards, 336.

[9] John 12:12. 

[10] The first of three predictions of Jesus going to Jerusalem to die was in Mark 8:31-33. 

[11] This quote comes from me, which I used in a sermon on this same passage. I preached the sermon at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Michigan on April 13, 2014. 

[12] Edwards, 338. See also Mark 4:6, 16-17.  See also https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/04/28/the-parable-of-the-sower/

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A Good Boy

Title slide with photo of Trisket and me in a canoe

I have been working on a post, but just didn’t have time to finish it. As I’m coming up this week on the 7th anniversary of Trisket’s death, I decided to pulled this post from an older blog and reposted it.

Trisket lying on the kitchen floor on the night before his death, November 2017.

Over the past year, I often watched you sleep.  At times, your legs twitched. I imagined you dreaming of when you were younger and ran with grace.  In your sleep, were you still circling the house at full speed, stopping only to chase squirrels back up into the trees? 

Over the past year, on our walks, I took the lead while you moped behind. As I slowed down to your speed, I wondered if you recalled dragging me as we headed into Hastings or up the canyon by Cedar Creek.

Over the past few months, I watched in sadness as you bumped into walls and furniture. Your cataract eyes glassed over, and I wondered if you remembered the hours we played in the kitchen. Your sharp eyes followed my hand as I tossed popcorn. You’d snap each kernel out of the air, seldom missing. And how, I could never make banana pudding without you being under my feet. While you never turned down a strip of steak, you loved banana pudding. I even tested you once, putting a dab of banana pudding on one plate and a strip of steak on another. When I let you go, you headed straight for the pudding, then the steak. Always go for dessert, first, you taught. And let’s not forget how much you loved pineapple!

When we moved to Skidaway, near Savannah, you struggled in the humidity and heat. I wondered if you recalled snow. Could you remember running through it as you scooped it up with your snout and tossed it in the air, snapping at the falling flakes as if it was popcorn.

I am thankful that to the end, when you stood beside me, pressing your neck on my lower thigh. You were atthe right height for my fingers to bury themselves in your beautiful mane. And I always loved how you stood in the wind. The tufts at the end of your ears flew back, as you sniffed and enjoyed the breeze.  Sadly, I miss our long walks around town, our hikes in the wood, and how you sat like General Washington in the middle of the canoe as we floated down river.  

You were so gentle with that little girl, the one who picked you out of the litter and named you for a cracker. You always looked out for her and for that reason alone, I am eternally grateful. The two of you grew up together, but you grew old much too fast. Seventeen years is a long time for a dog, they say, but not nearly long enough.  The house is way too big, lonely, and sad tonight. I keep listening for the sounds of your clanking tags and the tap of your toenails on the hardwood, but only hear the cold rain splattering on the deck out back. We’re all going to miss you, Trisket.  You were such a good boy, a pretty boy, a big furry fluffball!

My favorite photo of Trisket and me. On the Thornapple River in Michigan in 2007. He would have been around 7 years old at this time.