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

 

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 21:29–38 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught the disciples, "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 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 speaks a vow here that is as solemn as it gets:  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  He is absolutely assuring His audience of disciples that this will come to pass, and that they must pay attention to the signs around them.  My study bible comments that this generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the Church, and not merely to those alive at the time of Christ.  Certain His warnings about Jerusalem and the coming siege and destruction were meant for His listeners who would still be alive at that time; but the rest of the warnings about the fullness of time and His second coming are meant for all of us.

 "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.  Jesus warns of the time of His return in "power and great glory" (see yesterday's reading above).  He says, in another vivid image given to us, that this Day will come unexpectedly.  In fact, it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  A "snare" is a trap, one made typically for catching animals unaware.  It usually consists of a type of noose which is triggered by the animal's footsteps, and hidden in bushes or other ground cover.  It is designed to catch while the animal is unaware and going about its normal business, so to speak.  And so Jesus depicts the Day of His second coming as the same for us, if we have forgotten about what we are to be about.  This is a warning to His disciples about mindfulness, about living their faith and the gospel message.  He gives a profound warning about judgment, implying that we are to be mindful through prayer if we are to escape the "snares" of this world and their threat t our faith before His return, and also to stand before Him afterward.

It strikes me as interesting that the last few lines of today's reading speak broadly of the people.  Jesus says that His Return will come "as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth."   With His words, He then "picks out," so to speak, those who may be counted worthy to escape that snare, those who will escape all these things that will come to pass, and worthy to stand before the Son of Man.  "All these things that will come to pass" must surely mean the calamities of the world, the frightful things He has described, and as such He implies that they are the things that will try to snatch us away from our faith, from remembering who we are, from being those who will find occasion to give testimony in persecution (see Saturday's reading), and endure all the things that would derail us from our faith in whatever time we live, including wars and other disasters of this world.  But then the Gospel goes back again to words about the people.  We're told, "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."  It's a kind of poetic irony, because even as He's warning that His return will come as a snare to all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth, He is with those people in His own earthly life and just at that moment.  He goes and stays on Mt. Olivet, together with the rest of the pilgrims who come to Jerusalem and have no other place to stay for the Passover.  And then all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him as He teaches in the daytime in the temple.  Even as He warns of the snare to come upon all the people of the world, as Teacher and Son of Man He is with the people and they are with Him.  He is not hidden somewhere with elites or out of the way, but rather is not simply openly with the people, but by His own preference He remains with the pilgrims and the common people who all wish to hear Him.  What we might infer by all of this is that while in this world, Christ's work is to call and to approach those who might be the ones counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.  It is a reminder of the parable of the Sower, in which Christ is the Sower who scatters the seed of His word, of His gospel, to all the world.  In that parable (see this reading), Jesus gives images of seed that falls by the wayside, and then was trampled down.  Of seed devoured by the birds of the air, and seed falling on rock which springs up but withers away without moisture.  Then there is seed that falls among thorns, and when a crop springs up so do those thorns, and they choke the seed.  Yet there are still other seeds that fall on good ground, spring up, and yield a crop a hundredfold.  When Jesus speaks of the things of this world that will come to pass, and that we must pray to remain alert in our faith, and to be counted worthy to escape all of these things and to stand before Him, He is reminding us of this parable of the Sower and His warnings about all the things of this world that seek to make our faith impossible, that will fight the fruitfulness of that seed every step of the way.  In the telling of the parable, He explains His teaching as indicating those by the wayside are the ones who hear -- just like those who come to hear Him in the temple.  But the devil will come to some and take away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  The ones on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it; but without root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Those who fall among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out but are "choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life" and they therefore bring no fruit to maturity.  These things are the snares of life in this world, the things which keep us from rootedness in our faith.   But in the parable, Jesus says,  "The ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  His teachings about end times remind us that the calamities, difficulties, persecutions, wars, natural disasters, and all manner of problems of the age in which we live are those things we are to endure.  They are those things about which He has warned us.  He preaches to all the people, He stays with the pilgrims.  He is with us and among us, as is His Kingdom presently with us and among us.  But at some point it remains up to us to guard our faith in our hearts, to take care and nurture the seeds He planted, to make sure they have proper moisture, and that their meager and small beginnings of fruitfulness are not choked by the cares of the world, overburdened or focused on riches, nor lost in the pursuit of the pleasures of life.  For those of us caught up in modern life, we might add specifically the false lure of "fame" in image on social media, and the delusion of seeking to keep up with what we think we see.  Let us be those among all the people to whom He scatters and sows His seeds who may endure to be counted worthy of escaping all the things which will come to pass and to stand before Him.  But we can't do it without being aware that His return will surely come, that there will be an end to the things we know, and that there is truly a great thing to be cherished in being one who may stand before Him.  All the rest of our lives may conspire for us to forget that and to lose ourselves in the life of this world -- either too weighed down by it to remember what is important, or lost in finding ways to simply forget our troubles.  We can see such alternatives and the wreckage they leave behind all around us.  Let us instead find refuge in Him and His grace, the life He offers, the peace "without understanding" He gives, the grace and love and tender mercies of His Kingdom.  For they are real and they call to us, His seed awaits our good faith, and His hand is out in offer of His grace and communion instead.  Jesus stays with the people in humility, and it is there our most potent weapon lies for remembering who we truly are and where our home is -- with the One who loves us best and in whom we may place our trust.