Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and 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

 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 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 21:29-36

On Saturday, we read Jesus' continuing discourse about the events to come in Jerusalem, and His second coming:   "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."  While it is quite literally true that the generation of those to whom He was directly addressing would see the destruction of Jerusalem, His discourse includes events of His return, or second coming.  Therefore this generation actually refers to all believers at all times; that is, the generation of the Church, and not merely those alive at the time of Christ.  Furthermore, the age initiated continues, and will end only upon His return.  Therefore, all events discussed are tied to one another.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and 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 is one assurance Jesus gives us:  that when He does return, that Day will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  That is, only those truly watchful and wakeful will be expecting it at all.  But total involvement with the worldly weighs us down, we forget our spiritual senses, a life of prayer.   He warns of hearts weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and care of this life, giving us a picture of the things we do to divert ourselves, and the overwhelming concerns possible when we forget to make space for God in our daily life, a healthy detachment that puts life into a wider perspective than what the world offers to us.

For Jesus to say that His second coming will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth is quite an astounding statement indeed.  It implies that the world is full of things that will distract us from our purpose, and our own true good in life.  As Jesus puts it, there are things in life that may burden our hearts, weigh them down, to the point that we are no longer alert and awake to the things He teaches us about, to the reality we are to always keep in mind.  A snare is a trap, something that catches an animal unawares when it is being hunted (particularly used for birds).  The implication here is that by ignoring the things He calls us to be aware of, we may lose our true liberty, our freedom -- becoming subject to that which enslaves and captures.  How does this happen?  His implications of that are clear too:  the cares of the world, and the things that we chase as diversion or immediate pleasures, whatever it is that may serve to distract us from true purpose, and in particular a life of prayer so that we are awake to the things He would have us be mindful of in life.  A snare set for a bird gives us a sense that God calls us to a kind of watchfulness we need for our own good, for our survival, for the assurance of our own independence and liberty.  It gives us a picture of evil or sin as that which robs us of something -- a trick that offers what sounds good but has as its end a denial of our greatest good, our true place.  In this context, the one thing necessary becomes a focus on the place where all that is good comes from, the love of God from which every perfect gift comes.  It is in that love that we wish to abide and have our lives, so that we are aware of who we are and what we need to be about, and we can live a life of true health -- that which is truly good for us.  We are vulnerable human beings, and we live in a state where it is easy to lose sight of the fact of our limitations, our need for direction and guidance, a constant sustenance in the face of that which is adverse to us -- even to be aware that there is a type of adversity which may catch us unaware.  This is where we acknowledge our dependence on God, our true need for humility as a way to stay focused and real.  But it is also where we acknowledge our deep need for love, in a world that doesn't always give what it seems to be offering.