Luke 21:25-28

Luke 21:25-28

English Standard Version 

  Do you remember the old videos that showed the atom bomb exploding just outside the schoolroom window?  What were the children inside supposed to do in such an event?  Duck and cover.  That will fix everything.

  Jesus tells us to do the opposite.  When there is distress throughout the cosmos, to the extent that the sun, moon, and stars are disrupted by events, and there is distress of nations along with the roaring of sea and waves, as people faint with fear, what are we to do?  

  Duck and cover?

  Absolutely not.  

  Jesus tells us that cosmic disruption isn't a reason to fear.  In the midst of chaos, Jesus is still on the throne.  Christ is still King.  You need not fear -- despite what may be churning outside, God is alive and on the move, so be bold and proclaim your eternal hope in Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who will walk through the valley of the shadow of death along with us, and through him, we will endure!

Luke 21:20–24

Luke 21:20-24

English Standard Version 

  For many years, I have set hopes in the Cincinnati Reds to win another World Series.  To be honest, I'd be happy with a victory in a playoff series, which has not happened since 1995 (the longest playoff victory drought in professional sports).  Unfortunately, the Reds leadership is not very serious about winning, and so that drought will continue for the foreseeable future.  To set my hopes in them is to set myself up for disappointment.

  Jesus is warning us about where we set our hopes.  The thought of Jerusalem under siege was heartbreaking to all, including Jesus (remember that he wept over the city).  No one wants to see destruction, but Jesus is warning that it will come, and in 70 AD, the Romans proved him correct.  

  If our ultimate hopes are in mortal things, whether it is money or power or beauty or youth or sports teams or other people, we will end up disappointment.  Destruction can come for all of it - while sin and death were defeated at the cross, they have not yet been fully vanquished, and will not be until Christ comes in fullness.  

  Our ultimate hope should be in something that is worthy of ultimate things, and is strong enough to bear that hope.  Only Christ and his Kingdom can make that claim, and only Christ and his Kingdom have the strength, power, and wisdom to support that.

  Choose wisely where you focus your thoughts and your loves, and order your life appropriately.

Luke 21:16-19

Luke 21:16-19

English Standard Version 

  This feels a little different than the promises some of those TV preachers make about you ending up rich if you send in $50 at the right time, doesn't it?

  Jesus is clear to his followers -- it will not be easy to remain faithful.  There will be division and difficulty and suffering at the hands of those who oppose Christ and his church. Some of his followers will be put to death.

  Can we all admit that if we were listening to this, we'd be wondering if following Jesus was really the best plan?  I don't know many people that get excited to be hated.  

  And then you'd hear Jesus telling you that not a hair on your head will perish, right after he said that some of the people will perish.  Death sounds perishing.  

  So many of the teachings of Jesus are trying to help us refocus, to lift our eyes from the immediate world around us and teach us to focus on the eternal Kingdom of God.  When we think about investing our money and time and energy and love -- do we think first about the Kingdom?  When we think about legacy, do we think about God's Kingdom?  We get very, very focused on the here and now, and Jesus isn't saying this is bad -- but he wants us to know there is more than what we see, and that our ultimate legacy and security is in God's Kingdom, which transcends this one.

  So setbacks in this world are not eternal.  Even death has been defeated.

  Hold on to hope.  Jesus wins.

Luke 21:10–15

Luke 21:10-15 

English Standard Version 

  Christianity isn't always setting up for the most positive publicity.  The prosperity Gospel always amuses me -- preachers proclaim that being a Christian will set you up for success and fame and wealth, and then I read the Gospels... and it seems to offer a different kind of world vision, one that recognizes the reality of suffering and pain and struggles.  Jesus doesn't shrink from any of this.  It's part of a broken world.  What Jesus does assure us is that when we are caught up in the midst of it, the Holy Spirit will give us the words to proclaim the Truth in the midst of it all.  He tells us not to get caught up in planning ahead of time, but rather to trust that God will be near.

  When there is strife in the world, Jesus has not abandoned us, or the world.  I don't claim to understand the plan, but I trust in God, and so may we faithfully follow Christ through whatever is next, taking life one step at a time, trusting God to give us what we need for today, for this moment.