Luke 21:5–19
5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down. 7They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" 8And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. 9When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately. 10Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 12But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Ahhh, here we go again, into the end time texts. We wind down to the end of a church year...the end of the calendar year...the countdown is on for the sopping days that are left before.....We all hold a view of the future. We can’t be unmindful of the future. Thinking of it prompts us to plan. Last year, I went to a pre-retirement seminar because I was wondering about my (Kaye’s) future. Will I have enough $ to retire on…to bring me/us a sense of security. The texts for Pentecost 25 C talk about “the day” the future. The disciples were curious, and they asked questions about the future that Jesus told them will come. I’m sure they were at least anxious, no, fearful about his description of the future. We, too, might be anxious or fearful about this kind of future. About our future. Maybe, we might just be complacent ? After all we have witnessed many of these signs that he prophesies will and are taking place. (ie. wars, earthquakes, natural disasters.) But Jesus offers us a different view of the future. He says we are not to worry about this life. (Matthew 6) He has given us the promise of a future and a hope. In our liturgy, Great Thanksgiving , we respond: “Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” Because we confess and believe this…we know the future is not something we have to live in fear of. Yes, there will be struggles…and fears..real and imagined. There will be hatred, betrayal, and persecution for those who are followers of Jesus. But even amidst that – we, too, have opportunities to witness and the promise of Jesus’ presence, his words to speak, and his wisdom…and that“not a hair of our heads will perish,” until that day comes…when he comes again.
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3 comments:
I wonder at how we see the future.
As threat?
As opportunity?
As a chance to buy something really nice?
Does the Gospel invite us to speak of the future in terms of promise - calling us to a vision that is somehow different than how we tend to look at (as well as "look to") the future?
In the late 70's the Jehovah's Witnesses thought the end would happen on a specific date. What did they do? Many max-ed out their credit cards buying stuff with the assurance that they wouldn't have to pay off the debt.
I think that our talking about the apocalytpic needs to move us to ethical living. Because not a hair on our head will perish we can live self-lessly for the neighbor.
But really, I do not like preaching on these end of the year and Advent texts.
Semper ubi sububi in caput tuum
As we look at this text - does the life death and resurrection of Jesus mirror the apocalyptic foretelling of these words of woe?
I think of a poem I read - speaking of God making a claim on us, and how we had to get rid of him. It concludes. "Here he is again."
Is the return of the Lord, finally, a return for vindication? or forgiveness?
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