Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away

 Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

- Luke 21:29-38

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is Passion Week.  He has been teaching in the temple, and confronted by various groups of the religious leadership.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus' responded to those who marveled at the wonder and beauty of the temple by teaching that the day will come when not one stone is left upon another.  He taught His followers that they will face persecution, and began to speak also of end times.  In yesterday's reading, He continued:  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

 Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  Jesus has been speaking of end times.  In yesterday's reading, above, He taught that "when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."  The redemption He spoke of is His Second Coming.  This generation, in that context, means the entire "generation" of all believers, at all times, which is the generation of the Church, and not only those alive at the time of Christ.  However, in the context of His entire talk to His disciples, included here in His prophecy is the destruction of the temple and the Siege of Jerusalem, which would take place within a generation and be witnessed by many of those listening to Him.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Here are His words to all of us, and they teach us about our own orientation as His followers.  Our minds are to be aware of the potential of His return at any time.  We're not to let our hearts be weighed down with worldly distractions nor by the cares of this life.  That Day will come as a snare to everyone:  it will be sudden and unexpected.  This is His promise.  To watch and pray is His word for our lives.  To escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man is to truly possess our souls (v. 19).  Jesus stays on Mt. Olivet, as a pilgrim, but teaches in the temple by day, as all come to listen to Him.

We have the irony of contradiction sprinkled throughout this talk on end times and the time of His Return.  Jesus began this discourse in response to those with Him who marvel at all the sights of the splendid temple, a masterpiece of imperial architecture and stunning beauty.  He tells them that not one stone will be left upon another that won't be thrown down.  He begins to speak of the destruction of the city, warns them to be ready for the time when they will see Jerusalem surrounded by armies.  This warning helped save much of the early Church.  But what He teaches is much more than that; He speaks of end times, this period of the age that begins with His Incarnation and ministry in the world.  It's a time of nation rising against nation, wars and commotions, natural disasters -- things that terrify and create fearful expectation.  There will be a time of persecution.  They are not to believe any rumors that He has returned, or those who claim to be messiah.  When He returns, it will be unmistakable to all, and will come as a snare upon all the people who dwell the world.  His prophecy was certainly fulfilled regarding the beautiful temple, and we can easily say that looking at history there has been the warfare, violence and persecution He spoke about.  He says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  The disciples are asked to believe the unbelievable, and given Christ's absolute promise of the truth of His word.  Standing in the temple, one of the seven wonders of the world in its time, we may think of them listening to His words.  He promises He will be the One they will stand before when all things fall away, but they are to have patience, whatever is to come.  And this Man, who has been welcomed as Messiah, is in confrontation with the leadership who plot to kill Him.  He stays as pilgrim on Mt. Olivet and teaches daily for the people to hear.  There is a deeply complex order of reality and facts, and they are asked and expected to understand His truth through it all.  He's a poor pilgrim, not a conquering warrior, and yet He asks for their faith through all things, and for ours.   He places Himself as absolute Judge.  His most important teaching here is about holding on to what we know to be true, watching and praying, not being immersed nor hearts weighed down, as He puts it, by the cares and distractions of worldly life.  Let us notice the focus on the heart, the Scriptural term for the center of the person, the fullness with which we apprehend and negotiate our lives.  The struggle for faith is not merely an intellectual choice, but one that involves everything we've got, all that we are.  We are in the world but not of it, just as He is, and this is what He reminds us to hold in our hearts, this truth of layers of seeming contradiction, of irony, of the not-so-simple reality we live.  He doesn't want us to be fooled by appearances, by false Christs, by our fears, by the things that will terrify so that men will lose heart.  He wants us to see through all of it, to hold onto what is ultimate, deepest truth -- His word that will not pass away, though all else does.  Persecution becomes opportunity for testimony, which we're not to think about before hand, but which He will give to us at the time.  We persist, by patience, in our faith.   It is by this kind of patience that we possess our souls.   An extraordinary order He's giving, nearly incredible commands of faith -- and yet this is His word and the Church He establishes, and that to which He calls us.   The disciples have been warned about what is to come, His Passion and death and Resurrection.  But they can't really comprehend that either.  We know what has been revealed and what has come to pass.  Are we up for the challenge of our "generation" of faithful?