Mark 13:1-4

As Jesus left the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!”

Jesus responded, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.”

Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show that all these things are about to come to an end?”

Mark 13:1-4, Common English Bible (c) 2011

As I read this chapter of Mark, I tend to picture a white-haired, long-bearded guy carrying a sign that reads “THE END IS NEAR.”

The end is always near.  We do not know from one day to the next how things in our lives will change.  An accident, an illness, a promotion, an encounter with a stranger, a song, a death, a conversation with a friend or hundreds of other things might totally derail our best laid plans, abruptly stop us in our tracks, or simply cause us to pause if only for a moment.

Would we each live differently, I wonder, if we really believed the end was near?

-Teressa Clark, 2012, 2019

Lenten Reflections 2019:  Following Jesus from the Mount of Olives to the Tomb ~ Day 15