A writer tells of visiting a refugee camp in war-torn Sri Lanka. In the midst of the overcrowding, heat, humidity, and dusty conditions, she noticed a sign on a door, rather crudely printed, but the words, "Life is a gift from God." She wrote that it reminded her of something she saw written on another wall, a wall at the Nazi death camp at Dachau: "I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in the stars even when I see them not. I believe in God even when God is silent" (quoted in Insights, 11-16-97).

If people such as these have hope in their dismal and appalling conditions, can we do any less when our lives seem chaotic, uncertain, disrupted, even sometimes terrifying? Jesus in today’s Gospel warns us about tribulation – from the impending destruction of the temple to the threat of wars, earthquakes, and famines. He encourages us to WATCH THE SIGNS, but the challenge of our faith is in deciding which signs.

Most of today’s Gospel lesson is a conversation directed to Peter, James, John, and Andrew. We might ask, Why these four? They were the first four called to be "fishers of men" (John 1:35-42). They were the first called to go out with the message of life in Jesus. But already now as Mark’s gospel is written, they and the early Church face a problem: an out-of-control interest in the signs of the end. Call it fanaticism. Call it loss of focus. Call it what you want. The result was energy drained away from the primary task of "fishing for men." This is the same issue when Jesus says to the four, "Beware that no one leads you astray." Don’t lose focus. Don’t be led astray from your primary task of "fishing for men."

The stress here is on alertness. Warnings like beware, be alert, keep awake are found no less than six times in this one chapter of St. Mark. It’s easy to let our focus as Christians or as a congregation be diverted to all sorts of things. Think about all the things that call for your attention at home, as a family, at work or school. Think of all the things that call for our attention as a congregation, from finances to dripping faucets. None of those things are wrong in themselves. We have to take care of shopping lists and taking the trash out, the church’s roof and loan payment. But problems develop if we allow those things to dominate our thinking so that we lose sight of what we’re supposed to be doing as the Church of Christ. Several years ago a jetliner crashed into the Everglades in Florida because the entire cockpit crew became focused on one indicator light that wasn’t working properly. They were so focused on that one light that no one noticed that the jetliner was losing altitude until it was too late. Be alert, Jesus says. Or, as some wit put it, "Anybody who has trouble keeping his head above water probably isn’t on his toes" (Grit, 8-19-73). Maybe he would say to many congregations, If you’re having trouble keeping your head above water, maybe you’re not on your spiritual toes… maybe you’ve lost your focus on your task of proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

So Jesus warns us to watch the signs. One sign was the temple in Jerusalem. The disciples were very impressed with its beautiful buildings, and rightly so. The first century historian Josephus tells us the stones were gleaming white, some as big as 37 feet long and 12 feet high. But Jesus points ahead to a time when it all would be "thrown down," a prediction fulfilled when the Romans completely destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. I suppose it’s tempting to make a comparison to the World Trade Centers and their complete destruction. But the point is that if the "signs" we watch in life are signs of our own grandeur and success – whether that’s the stock market or our homes or our church buildings – then beware. If those are the signs of our success and security, then we may well be in line for the days of tribulation such as what today’s First Reading (Daniel 12:1-3) warns about.

Jesus says don’t focus on that. Don’t focus on all the signs that "the end" is about to be "accomplished," as the disciples put it. Focus instead on the kingdom of God and your preparations for that kingdom. Imagine a couple putting all their focus on the "signs" of pregnancy – counting the weeks and trimesters, the labor pains, but making no plans for a nursery at home, putting no thought into their new roles as mother and father. Of course, we don’t dare ignore those various signs, just as we don’t dare ignore the various concerns of family and congregation. But don’t let them consume so much of your time and energy that we forget what our life is all about as the redeemed in Christ, the children of God. Don’t fall into the trap one wit described when he finally asked himself, "Am I missing the burning bush while trying to keep the lawn cut?" (Rev magazine, 11-12/01, p. 55)

So we watch the signs, but we also make sure we’re watching the right signs. We focus on the "sign of Christ." We focus on Jesus who, as today’s Second Reading (Hebrews 10:11-15) proclaims made that "single sacrifice for sins" and now is risen and seated at the right hand of the Father. We focus on Jesus in whom we have forgive-ness, through whom we can approach our heavenly Father in prayer "in full assurance of faith." We focus on the signs of God’s grace in Holy Baptism, the water and the Word of forgiveness and life. We focus on that sign of grace as we renew our baptism in repeated repentance and faith. We focus on the signs of God's grace in Holy Communion, the bread and wine bringing us the true body and blood of Jesus for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. We watch for signs that alert us to opportunities to be "fishers of men" like these four disciples. Maybe one of those signs is our Friendship Sunday, alerting you to the opportunity to invite someone to worship at Hope. Maybe one of those signs is our Little Angels and Roots & Wings, alerting you to the opportunity to share the good word about these children’s ministries. And we also watch for other very important signs – the signs of the Spirit of God at work among us. Don’t be led astray, keep alert for signs that God’s Spirit is at work among us, working peace where there was conflict, equipping us for ministry when we thought the task was way beyond us, restoring to us the joy of our salvation where there had been discouragement and heartache.

Will there be tribulations and troubles? Jesus doesn’t try to soft-peddle the difficulty of our task as his redeemed and as his Church. Yes, there will be tribulation. But don’t be misled by the hucksters who would have us abandon our mission and ministry for an annotated calendar of the "last days." I love the way one writer put it, that we can find much more comfort, more encouragement, and more motivation in knowing that God is present with us than in wondering if the end is near (Proclamation, Pentecost 3B, p. 44).

Watch the signs – the signs of Word and Sacrament, the signs of mission and ministry.