The Desolating Sacrilege

Reflecting on the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Three Days after Sunday (Year B)

Scripture

Semi-continuous: Psalm 3; 1 Kings 8:22-30; Mark 13:9-23

Complementary: Psalm 13; Zechariah 12:1—13:1; Mark 13:9-23

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Prayer

Hear our prayers, God of power, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the tomb, that we may desire you as the fullness of life and proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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Reflection

“As for yourselves, beware, for they will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit. Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; the one on the housetop must not go down or enter to take anything from the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not be in winter. For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut short those days. And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’—do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be alert; I have already told you everything (Mark 13:9-23).

The “desolating sacrilege (or “abomination of desolation”) appears in Mark 13:14 (Matthew 24:15), where Jesus warns his disciples about a future event involving a horrifying desecration. Jesus says, “When you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains” (Mark 13:14). This phrase is thought to refer to a sacrilegious act or symbol placed in the temple or in Jerusalem, causing devastation or desecration.