What do the Tower of Babel, Herod’s Temple, and the World Trade Center have in common? The last (but not the first) word is hubris – pride. Created in the image of God, humans are driven by inner angels to create larger works of beauty and skill. These speak volumes about both our great gifts and our lofty ambitions. Yet fallen from original grace, humans inevitably are driven by inner demons to believe in our own godlike capabilities. We begin to believe too many of our own press releases. Of course, we are begging for others to join in the childhood game “King of the Mountain.” And if we build it, they will surely come – to knock it down. So it was with Babel, the Temple, and the World Trade Center. Requiescant in pace!

At least one of Jesus’ disciples seems overawed by the magnificence of Herod’s Temple. Was this observer from some tiny village? Was he fresh off the farm? Was he like the first-time visitor to any of the world’s great cities – gaping with mouth wide open? Later when Jesus was hanging on his lonely cross, did that one ask the others, “What made us think we could stand in opposition to the Temple’s leaders?” Did that same one live long enough to see the Romans destroying the Temple? Did he remember Jesus’ prophetic words then? (v. 2b, “Not one stone will be left here upon another.”)

One biblical scholar has pointed out that from the first verse of his gospel Mark is out to seduce the reader for the kingdom of God (See Robert Fowler’s Let the Reader Understand, Fortress Press). What then is the point of this little glimpse of the end of things? We are meant to understand that no matter how high we stack our building blocks someone else is going to come along and knock them down. So…we better not put our trust in human ingenuity. Of course, it gets worse than that before it gets better.

So…if we do not put our trust in human ingenuity and instead put our trust in Jesus Christ where will that lead? Is it not to his lonely cross in the garbage dump? And when he is raised from the dead, is it any wonder then that the women cannot find their tongues to proclaim, “Christ is risen?” They are still locked in disbelief that dead is a possible adjective for God. Despite wandering with the Son of God for at least a year the disciples then (and now) have a hard time with the cost of discipleship.

So…if we go with Jesus, if we are indeed seduced for the kingdom of God, what can we expect? Has not Jesus already told us: “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30 NRSV).

It’s like the old joke about the rich man’s lawyer. When he was asked how much his client left, his answer was: “He left everything.”

Discipleship is about gaining and losing, dying and rising. Luther called it the happy exchange (“froehliche Wechsel”). Christ takes our sin and death and gives us his life and righteousness as a free gift. That’s the ultimate good news. It’s also the news that is so hard to trust when hell breaks loose in the here and the now.

When Jesus’ awestruck disciple was staring at the visible signs of human power in Jerusalem, he was suddenly aware of what he was up against. Suddenly the Lord Jesus seemed less powerful. Imagine what that disciple thought when he saw Jesus hanging dead on his lonely cross in the garbage dump? Had Jesus somehow charmed them with an incantation or hypnosis? Seeing him dead, how could anyone have ever trusted Jesus?

Before his own dying ever took place, Jesus warned his disciples that human might and human charisma would continue to be seductive. Big buildings look invincible until you see them as smoking ruins. This world’s charmers sound godlike until you see their lifeless flesh. The old things are passing away. But they are not passing away without trying to draw more and more to destruction. Hell doesn’t ever quietly fade away.

Disciples of the Lord Jesus know the promise of baptism. We sign ourselves with the cross saying with Luther, “But I am baptized!” We have been seduced for the kingdom of God and have joined Christ on the journey homeward.

But the counter seductions of the demonic do not go away simply because we have said “I believe” or because our parents have promised to guide us in the way of trust in Christ. The outward appearances of hell’s weaponry may seem to grow more sophisticated with the ages but the intent is still the same -- to draw us from truth to lies, from hope to despair, from trust to betrayal.

Hell’s seductive voice says, “See what your trust in God has gotten you?” It is that taunting voice spoken with a smirk. It is the voice that whispers in your ears in the middle of those sleepless nights when your faithful discipleship seems to have gotten you nothing but heartache and derision. It is that charming voice that draws the would-be- faithful disciple away to a bitter place where it can nurse resentments and fan the embers of jealousy.

Hell’s seductive voice knows no patient waiting upon the Lord. It leads not merely into temptation but into self-destruction. So many vulnerable disciples have been seduced by the attractive quick fix and then left to deal with shame and self-loathing. Then hell’s seductive voice repeats endlessly, “You are worthless. You should give up.”

There is a palpable difference between being seduced for the kingdom of God and seduced by the kingdom of hell. The difference is Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, crucified and raised, bearing the marks of death on his hands and feet and side. All of hell’s victories are pyrrhic. As Luther put it so beautifully in A Mighty Fortress, “They cannot win the day” (“sie haben’s kein’ Gewinn”).

A retired priest, a dear friend of mine, confessed that he often despairs now having been stripped long ago of a naïve faith. Too many years of reading forensic pathologists of the Bible have deprived him of comfort. Too many years of watching hell’s seductive forces at work in God, Incorporated have left him cynical and despondent. To him I said, “My prescription would be that you receive the Sacrament of the Altar every week and join the community in the hearing of the Word and the saying of the prayers. I trust the Risen Lord will envelop you in his love and mercy forever.”

Paul says it best in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Hell won’t quit trying to seduce us away from God’s kingdom. So when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.

When hell breaks loose, listen not to the voices of despair. Put your trust in the Risen Lord who has promised you eternal life! He keeps his promises!

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Zumwalt
St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, Austin TX (USA)
szumwalt@saintmartins.org