A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark. 
Jesus said to his disciples, "In those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky." 
Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near at the gates. 
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows. Neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 
The Gospel of the Lord. 

Today we come to the end of our reading from the Gospel of Mark. Mark was likely written during the disastrous Jewish revolt against Roman imperial occupation in Palestine around the year 70 of the Common Era. Mark's world was shattered and shaken to its core, the Roman armies vanquished the rebellion and destroyed the Jewish temple, desecrating what for Jews was nothing less than the sacred center of their world. 
The message of Mark's Gospel is thus a message of hope, proclaimed in the midst of catastrophe, grace, in the midst of violence and ruin. 
Last week Jesus was in the temple sitting opposite the treasury. Now Jesus is sitting opposite the temple mount on the Mount of Olives. The prophet Zechariah declared that the last days will begin at the Mount of Olives. Mark's Gospel began with Jesus announcing the dawn of a new era, the kingdom of God has come near. And now, as we near the end of the Gospel, on the eve of his journey to the cross, Jesus takes his place on the mountain long foretold to be where that new day will begin in earnest. 
While we are focused on the temple and contemplating its collapse, Jesus is inviting us to look away and to see something else. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 
He will repeat this same phrase standing before the high priest who demanded, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus said, "I am." And then continued, "You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven." 
Then, in the scene of the crucifixion, even though it was midday, the whole sky was darkened, the raised Son of Man coming on clouds. And immediately after Jesus expires, that is, he hands over his spirit. There begins the process of the angels who seek out the chosen ones from the four winds. It was a Roman centurion who said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." 
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he saw a fig tree that bore no fruit, and he cursed the tree, which withered. The fig tree stands for the temple which is not giving life. Now, in this moment of vulnerability, as he moves toward the cross, Jesus points to the fig tree as a sign of new life. Tender buds are appearing, so we know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very gates. 
In his passion and resurrection, Jesus is completing creation, not destroying it. Teardeshardan said that God is continuing creation not from the past, but from the future. Christ is the Omega Point drawing all creation into the God Self. 
God is doing something new, but we can't see it yet. We are caught in the moment when the Trapeze artist has let go of one bar and has not yet grabbed the next bar. 
Apocalyptic writing captures this sense of already but not yet. As the writer of the book of Daniel announces, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever." 
What had seemed like the end is a discovery of something we didn't know before. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever. 
In the words of Dante, "This world was summoned into existence by the love that moves the sun and other stars." 
Just a few weeks ago, Jesus answered, describes, question, "Teacher, which commandment is the first of all?" The answer came, "Love God, and love your neighbor with the same love that loves you." 
In Luke's telling, the lawyer follows up with another question, and "Who is my neighbor?" He's really asking, "Who is my enemy? Who can I hate?" Jesus responds with the parable of the Samaritan, the hated enemy who comes to the aid of a Jew in need. 
Amy Jill Levine is a Jewish New Testament scholar. Let me repeat that. Amy Jill Levine is a Jewish New Testament scholar. 
She points out something rather startling in this question. In biblical Hebrew, only the consonants are written. The vowels are suggested with punctuation marks. You have to read the context to make sure you have the right word. 
In Hebrew, the word "neighbor" and the word "enemy" share the same two consonants. Both words are written identically. We have to decide whether the text means "enemy" or "neighbor." 
Amy Jill Levine wonders if Jesus isn't asking the lawyer, "Are you able to see in your Torah that your enemy is also your neighbor?" 
Here is the paradox of the Gospel. If you can learn to love your enemy, can they still be your enemy? 
We find ourselves in an unsettled moment not so different from Mark's community. Mark is giving us new eyes to recognize the signs of God's presence hidden beneath the surface. 
Jesus is facing his death. The last enemy to be conquered is death, but the Christ conquers death, not with death, but with life. 
At the moment of the crucifixion, what they actually saw was someone being put to death with the darkness. In the light of Easter dawn, what had looked like powerlessness and defeat was in fact the moment of the coming of God with great power and glory. 
Barbara Brown Taylor writes, "During the day, it's hard to remember that all the stars in the sky are out there all the time, even when I am too blinded by the sun to see them." 
The poet Joni Mitchell invites us back to the beginning. 
We are stardust, billion-year-old carbon. 
We are golden.