Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Luke 21:5-28


Dear Luke,
What a unique account!  I wonder how often I even bother to notice widows in today’s world, so caught up am I in my own life and business, let alone notice their sacrificial giving.  It’s certainly true that a widow wouldn’t have any money to spare, so any gift poured into the treasury is a risky venture that may cost her a meal.  I could put in many times more and still not feel a modicum of risk, and yet Jesus is elevating her giving far above the material amount!  What a complex and wonderful man this is.
From here, Luke, we move from the wonderfully sublime to the intensely complex.  Jesus moves from this lesson about widows and giving into an extended conversation about Jerusalem’s destruction and the second coming.  I will do my best to explain it, but I cannot promise that this will be clear or easy.  Many of these teachings have fueled great speculation about what is still to come, and while you are welcome to join that intense debate, I’d invite you to remain focused on the entirety of Jesus’ witness, the love in action as well as the wisdom in debate.  Please, don’t get too caught up in this.
While they were still in Jerusalem, some of the disciples began expressing their admiration for the physical beauty of the temple & its adornments.  Rather than join in this litany of praise, however, Jesus tells them that there will be a day when there are not two stones left stacked upon one another, for the entire temple will be prone upon the ground.
The disciples, surely shocked to hear such a pronouncement, had the same questions you or I might have.  They wanted to know when it will be, and they wanted to know what signs would be present to indicate that such events are about to take place. 
However, Jesus doesn’t answer their question directly.  He instead offers a warning to the disciples to stay faithful to his teachings.  He warns them that many others will come along and claim to be the second coming of Christ, claiming that the time is near when these things will take place, but that the disciples are not to follow them, for they are false.
Jesus could have concluded with this warning against false Messiahs, but he goes on to give a chilling prediction about the times to come.  He tells the disciples of coming wars and insurrections that are necessary, but even these do not lead directly to the end.  He assures the disciples that they need not fear in the face of such events, but that is a task easier said than done!  Jesus goes on to describe further wars between nations and kingdoms as well as natural terrors, such as earthquakes, famines and plagues, all of which will be joined by signs from heaven.  Such a future seems like a dreadful vision, and yet Jesus says that such things must take place.
The disciples, however, were then given far more pressing and chilling things to worry about.  Jesus tells them that their own arrests and persecutions will predate such unrest in the world.  Synagogues and prisons will hold them, and kings and governors will interview them, all because of the name of Jesus Christ, who paints this as an opportunity for the disciples, rather than a fate from which to flee.  This is a chance, he says, to tell the story of Jesus, to witness to the truth of the Savior.  Curiously, he also tells them not to prepare their case ahead of time, but rather to rely upon God’s wisdom and the words that will come as a gift, all of which will make a case before which the opposition of the hearers will crumble.  This triumph, though, will not be easy for the disciples.  People they know and trust, family and friends, will betray them, some of them to the point of death.  They will endure hatred because they are disciples of Jesus Christ, he warns. 
It is a dire case, he paints, and yet one with brilliant points within it.  It is hardly hopeless, and yet there is not a path to easy victory painted within it.  Jesus finishes this section with a moment of hope that has handles onto which the disciples must hold in the midst of the storms that await:  he tells them that not a mote of their being, not a hair on their heads, will perish at any point of this trial.  By remaining faithful in the face of adversity and not giving in to the temptation to flee, Jesus teaches, the disciples will gain their souls.
We wouldn’t expect hope that to exist in the midst of such a dreary scene, but we have to remember that Jesus didn’t come just to win minor victories on earth—he has come to conquer all the world, and surely the forces that oppose him will not go quietly or easily.  I find it fascinating that Jesus chooses to use the disciples, to invite humanity to play a role in this quest, even though the disciples are imperfect and broken.  There is still a place for each of us within this grand narrative, Luke, if we wish to play our part.
From here, Luke, I wish I could move to cheerful, uplifting words that promise more hope in the face of despair.  Instead, the going only gets tougher.
Jesus instructs the disciples that Jerusalem will, at some point, be surrounded by enemy forces, and that means the destruction of this city has drawn near.  At that time, it is not wise to rush into the city but rather to flee from it.  Anyone in Judea would be wise to find sanctuary in the mountains, and those outside of the city best not seek shelter within its walls, for even those within Jerusalem should leave the city behind, for the prophetic words that spoke of vengeance falling upon the city will be fulfilled.  Jesus goes on to detail how difficult this time will be, predicting woe for those women with newly born infants or children on the brink of entering such a world—for trouble and tribulation will be the rule of the day, and the sword shall be the end of many people, while others find new homes in captivity.  Jerusalem shall be overrun by the Gentiles, who will have their own day. 
In these tough times, the sun, moon and stars shall all be filled with signs while the people on the earth try to make sense of the ocean’s turbulence.  The halls of the heavens will be quaking, and on earth the fear of what is to come will cause people to faint. 
Only then, Jesus says, will people see the Son of Man arriving, descending in the midst of a cloud that highlights his power and glory.  When all of these things have begun to happen, he instructs, the disciples need to stand tall and be a witness, for redemption has come near.
Luke, there is much within this that the community has labored to understand.  Many have tried to match these descriptions to certain events, and I am at a loss to capture all of it succinctly for you.  To admit that I do not have all the answers is easy in this case, and while it might be easy to choose the route of despair, I rather opt for hope.  Jesus highlights many terrible things that take place—even the birth of a child is a source of woe, rather than hope—but these is still hope, for even in the midst of such turbulence and chaos, God will still come as Messiah to redeem the world.  There is still hope for his followers, even though it may appear that the battle is lost, and all we need for that hope is a firm faith in Jesus.  In all of this, Jesus doesn’t tell us that we need to go out and win the war or be handy with a sword—he simply tells us to stay faithful to him and be ready to witness, to tell the story of Jesus and proclaim the truth.  Our role is not to conquer the world’s chaos—it’s to join with him and play our small part. 
For this believer, that part feels especially small, but I take heart that the work of redemption is the work of Christ, not my own.  The hope that I have rests not within my mortal heart, but within my everlasting God, and this shall tide me over any trial that comes my way. 
Sincerely,
Theophilus 

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