Today’s Scripture

Psalm 16         Daniel 12:1-3  Hebrews 12:26-29       Mark 13:1-13

 

            Many know the picture of the Rock of Gibraltar.  The Prudential corporation uses it as their trademark and invites customers to “Own a piece of the rock.”  That rock  rises 1,400 feet above the seas around it, one of the most dominant landforms on this earth. It is not going to move and over the thousands of years, no one has been able to move it.  It also marks the straights by its name, that divide the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the quiet and much safer waters of the Mediterranean Sea.  Prudential wants to convey to you that its products give you security as the Rock of Prudential is secure, it isn’t going anywhere.

 

            The disciples in today’s Gospel were impressed by the massive stones used to construct the Temple in Jerusalem.  That building, in their estimation, was like the Rock of Gibraltar.  It wasn’t going anywhere.  But Jesus responded to them how vulnerable that building and the man-made practices connected with it were.  Not one stone would be left on another.  It must have shaken those disciples’ sense of security in that Temple.  Likewise, through the writer to the Hebrews, God reminds us of the difference between shakable and unshakable things. 

 

            Thinking of symbols such as the Rock of Gibraltar, what are your unmovable rocks of security?  Is it another person?  Is it your home or your job?  What are those things that help you feel secure in your life?

           

In the past few months we have seen the effects of many disasters and how those effect the stability of peoples’ lives.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, violent storms, ravaging fires in different buildings, and most recently the wildfires in Southern California.  We have seen man-made disasters including wars throughout the world, fires in buildings and homes, assaults and murders in virtually every community.  And the news casts bring us pictures and interviews with people whose lives and livelihoods have been shaken dramatically.

 

            It does not always take such outward disasters to shake someone.  Think over your life, what events have shaken you most severely?  Elvis sang a song, “I’m All Shook Up.”  His life was shaken by his love.  Unfortunately, the things that “shake us up” are not as welcome as Elvis’ verses were. 

 

            As we study Scripture, God shakes in many ways.  He definitely shook all things as he created everything from nothing, then took a chaotic mass and formed the earth and all things in the starry heavens.  Mt. Sinai shook when God came and spoke to his people through Moses.  It frightened the Israelites to know that one’s voice alone could cause such force to do that.  God shook the earth at Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  And, he will shake not just the earth, but all created things on the last day, a horrific and all destructive shaking.

 

            God’s creation cannot and will not survive that shaking.  All things as we know them will be destroyed.  Many look at God’s promises for a new Jerusalem, a new Zion, a new Israel as restoring those geographic and political entities as one once knew them.  That was the downfall of many at Jesus’ time, expecting him to restore an earthly kingdom.  But God’s promise is far greater than restoring something we once knew.  His promise is to bring forth a new gathering of his people, a new home for them that cannot and will not be shaken.

 

            God does shake things today, although not quite as vividly as at Mt. Sinai, Calvary, or the Garden Tomb.  But through the power of his word in and through his creation he shakes the earth with the dynamic changes in nature.  In fact, all of the universe is in constant flux and turmoil do to this constant shaking.  Jesus explains that these are the beginning of birth pains, reminding us daily that his coming again and his new creation are at hand any moment.

 

            God does shake individuals today, as his law shakes our hearts to realize our sinfulness.  His love in Jesus Christ calms this shaking, knowing that in God’s love through his own dear son, we are reconciled, made right with him again in Jesus’ blood.  And God will shake all of creation at the last day in such a force that no one who chooses to remain will be able to survive.

 

            What cannot be shaken?  God himself and his eternal kingdom are what cannot be shaken.  God is holy, perfect in every way, and in all goodness.  It is only evil, the works of Satan and his followers that destroy.  God’s word cannot be shaken.  His word is truth and the truth will always stand firm.  As much as men try to change that truth, God will keep it pure to his people.  God’s promises are unshakable.  He never turns back on his promises to his people.  He gives countless examples of that in the accounts of the Old Testament.  Those accounts confirm God’s faithfulness to his people.  It too is unshakable.  One of the most quoted passages from Scripture is, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”  God’s love is unshakable.  He never stops loving his dear children.  His gift of forgiveness of sins and everlasting life is constant.  He holds to that promise to a person’s dying breath.  The parable of the workers in the vineyard is testimony to that.

 

            In our earthly lives, we only understand what we can see and know.  And, all of those things can be shaken.  No matter how unshakable the Rock of Gibraltar appears, how vulnerable is it should a violent earthquake or volcano strike at its location?  All things we know in this creation are limited to the laws of nature as God established them. 

 

            God’s eternal realm and kingdom are outside of creation.  We do not know it as we know the earth he has given us.  We do know that as in the garden before sin, there is only knowledge of good, God’s perfect goodness.  And that goodness is unshakable and will never change.  God’s almighty power cuts through the laws and restrictions of nature.  We know that we, as mortal beings, will soon decay.  God will restore each believer into his likeness, one that will not decay. 

 

            God will remove from us all that can be shaken.  He does not want you to trust in things that cannot stand.  He does not want you to be confined to those things that have been contaminated and ruined by sin.  He wants you to have only the unshakable things, his love and his faithfulness forever.

 

            As we are receiving in his word and in his sacraments what cannot be shaken, let us be thankful for those unshakable gifts he gives:

§         His unshakable and almighty power that controls even the wind and waves by his word alone

§         His unshakable and unlimited grace that forgives all sins from the greatest to the slightest

§         His unshakable and unending love that seeks out and brings back all who believe in his son to be his dear children again

 

Amen.