Watch therefore, and pray always that you maybe counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man

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 maybe 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 yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His prophesy regarding the destruction of the temple during the devastation of Jerusalem, and also regarding end times:  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who hare 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 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 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."  Again, today's reading is a combination of prophesy regarding what is to pass in Jerusalem within a generation's time, and the end times of His return.  We know what happened in Jerusalem in year 70; but Christ's words apply to the entire era since His Resurrection.   My study bible suggests that this generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the Church.  There are ways in which His specific warnings (see the readings from Saturday and Monday) directly teach the specific destruction that will come to the temple and to the city.   But the warnings of wars, famines, and other natural disasters ring true for the entire era.

"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 maybe 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.  These words are given the greatest emphasis in patristic commentary.  My study bible says that Christ's purpose in this discourse isn't to make us experts on end-time prophecy.  Rather, He gives us this prophecy in order to make us aware of our need to watch, and to pray always.  In the original Greek text, this reads that we must watch at all seasons, and pray always that we may have the strength to escape these things that are coming to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

At the beginning of Jesus' discourse, right after His vivid prophecy of the images of the destruction of the temple, Jesus taught that "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."   Nearly all of these things are events with which we are familiar.  In some sense, we may even say most of them characterize our times.  They are things we hear about on news broadcasts.  So we may infer that the teachings Christ gives here warn not simply specifically about the terrible destruction that is to come in Jerusalem, but also that they apply to our own times.  The destructive power of war becomes ever more destructive.  Proxy battles between large powers rage, even without troops present from the countries supplying weapons to both sides.  Today extreme destruction is possible through remote telecommunications, as are assassinations and bombings via drone strike.  Violence and displacement of populations through warfare and related violence takes place in our world at a greater rate than ever before, with refugee crises involving far greater populations as a result.  We could safely say that in a time of such instability, even "fearful sights" have become something with which we have become all too familiar.  In Christian history, there have also been reported various signs from heaven, but these have been associated with revelation of God's help to Christian faithful (for example, Constantine's vision at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, which led to the end of Christian persecutions by the Roman Empire).   As our era has unfolded, which continues to include persecutions in various places, let us consider what this means for us.  When we see fearful sights, tremendous and growing violence, growing fears of natural disasters, let us consider that it is a time to remind ourselves of Christ's words.  His commands to us are simply to watch and to pray always.  We're not to be fearful, we're not to indulge in end-time speculations and fantasies.  We know what we are to be about; we have work to do as His good servants, as His disciples.  This word for "watch" in the Greek of the original text means being alert and awake, not sleeping.  It means to be vigilant, ready to act.  The emphasis here is on what we are to be doing, following His commands.  He gives us a proper work to do, and as His disciples we should take that seriously.  This is the opposite of fearful behavior; it is rather to live with full purpose, all the time.  Let us always keep this in mind, particularly when we see sights designed to simply make us afraid.