Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

Today’s gospel reading from Mark is guaranteed to raise one’s heart rate a bit as Jesus begins to tell the disciples about signs of the end of the age. This entire chapter in Mark's gospel is called the little apocalypse because it falls into the genre of apocalyptic writing. Apocalyptic literature was a special kind of writing that was very popular during Jesus’ lifetime and in the early church. What “apocalyptic” means is to pull back the veil, to reveal what one might call the underbelly of reality. It uses hyperbolic images like stars falling from the sky, the moon turning to blood, and violent future earthquakes. The closest comparable literature in contemporary 21st century writing would possibly be science fiction, where suddenly you’re placed in an utterly different world, where what you used to call “normal” doesn’t apply anymore. So, as you listen to today’s gospel reading you need to understand it is meant to shock. It is also very important to note, the purpose of apocalyptic literature is not to