The Gospels are the foundational texts of Christianity. They are, for us, the stories of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the One who is meant to inspire our faith. But there were no cell phones, video cameras, or tape recorders that could document word for word what was being said and done at the time. There were no scribes taking notes every moment of every day. What is remembered was passed down through word of mouth by the communities. Of course, this was the norm. This had been happening for generations, for millennia really. This is how we have the stories of the Hebrew testament. They weren’t necessarily written down in the moment. They were remembered and told over time and then eventually written down by priests and scribes.
Likewise, the Gospel stories were eventually written down. Our best guess is that the earliest Gospel, the Gospel according to Mark, was likely written around 70 ad, decades after Jesus had died. The Gospel of Luke, whom we read from today can be dated from as early as 80 ad to as late as 120 ad.
Are we concerned about this delay? Should it matter when the Gospels were written? Why?
Accuracy could be questioned – how much do people remember? That really depends on what is important, what are the priorities and messages people want to convey. We know there are certain themes and concepts that thread through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that are core to our faith and are illustrated in the Gospel stories, themes like how we are called to love one another. This is why it is OK to have four different versions of the trial, death, and resurrection of Jesus, with four different details about the events, because it is the themes, the message of Jesus’ triumphant love that is important to our faith.
With stories, there is a storyteller and a listener. The latter matters too and can influence the story. Thus, the other question might be: Who are the authors writing to and how does this affect the message? This question has relevance to our passage today!
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
Guess what happened in 70 ad, as in, before this Gospel version was written: The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome – not one stone was left upon another, all were thrown down. In fact, everything in this particular passage was happening to the early Christians at or before the time the Gospel was being written. It is as though Jesus predicted what was actually happening to them! How do we think this community would feel hearing Jesus say all these things and seeing the connections with what they were experiencing?
Can the same passage have a similar impact for us today?
When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven...You will be betrayed…You will be hated…By your endurance you will gain your souls."
Why does it matter if the Gospels connect to lived experience? How can this help us in the choices we make about how we embody our faith? May we be perpetually reminded that God walks alongside us in the challenges and changes of life and that God working in and through us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine as God has done from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 551 Beautiful Things