If you were to read both the readings from today’s Daily
Office and Lectionary for Advent 1, you will have read in the Gospel sections
most of Luke 21. If you have read Luke
21, you should be disturbed. In the
midst of the holiday season; the sales, the noise, the peppermint coffees,
sweets, and desperate struggles to achieve happiness during this time of year,
the Church’s assigned Scriptures are about the Apocalypse, or the Great
Revealing. We know that the Gospel of
Luke was the last of the synoptic gospels written, and that by the time it was
written Luke 21:5-19 (Daily Office Reading) had already occurred and was occurring. The Temple had already been destroyed by the
Romans and the Church was facing persecution from Rome and the Jews. The Gospel writer/s are giving comfort to the
Church by explaining why these things have taken place and are taking
place. Did Jesus really predict the
destruction of the Temple? Maybe he did,
maybe he didn’t; but he was not stupid, I am sure he could see the writing on
the wall, and knew that it was only a matter of time before Rome had had enough
of rebellious Israel. I believe he said
something similar to this to give comfort to his disciples and followers
knowing that tribulations and testing lie ahead for them; the Gospel writer/s
were conveying this message. I think it
is important to realize the purpose of these warnings are for comfort and
encouragement, not for fear-mongering or guilt-smacking.
What I think is important to draw out of these reading are
the virtues of endurance, patience and wisdom.
Wisdom and patience in not giving into whims or "fads" of fear-mongering by people
saying “The End is Near,” or “Jesus is coming on this day.” Patience and wisdom in being able to wait; to be
inspired to action and resolve by our common hope in Christ, not from fear
of destruction. In these Scriptures we
read of the persecution that will be a part of this journey for the
Church. We are blessed to live in a
place and time where real persecution of Christians does not occur, however,
the body is still persecuted elsewhere in time and space. It is important to remember that Our Lord is
saying that persecution, suffering and shame are just as much a part of our common journey as joy, hope, love and glory; we are to be in it for the long-haul, just
like God. In all our lives as disciples
and followers of Jesus we are to have endurance and by this endurance we “will gain our souls.”
The reading from the Lectionary (Luke 21:26-36) has a
wonderful line of irony in this holiday season: “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the
world,” (Happy Holidays!). Ironically, I think the message we are to get
here is hope. When we read the whole
Scripture, we read of awful things happening and then we read:, “Now when these things begin to take place,
stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” I
think it is important to pause and reflect on how Jesus is describing us in the
midst of the Apocalypse. Jesus is
painting a picture of events that will cause others to be paralyzed and driven
mad with fear, but not us…we are different, we will meet this standing with
heads held high. Jesus is describing
a people without fear; Jesus is describing a people of hope, which in the end
the world will not break. The Apocalypse,
the Second Coming is for us a hope, a consummation of our faith and the faith
of our people throughout the generations, and it is something to embrace not
fear.
So I leave you with these thoughts: The writings and
warnings of the Apocalypse are not meant to frighten us, but to give us hope and
encouragement. We are informed Jesus
knows this suffering will take place, just as he knows that God’s Glory and
Kingdom will take place. Also, we read
that endurance, patience, wisdom and hope are how we are to approach all our
trials and one day the Apocalypse. In
Christ we can and we will face all things together; and that is much more real
and life-affirming than a bargain on the Internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment