Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near

 

 "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."

 

- Luke 21:20–28 

 

Yesterday we read that, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, Jesus said, "These things which you see -- the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."  So they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be?  And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"  And He said:  "Take heed that you not be deceived.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.'  Therefore do not go after them.  But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately."  Then He said to them, "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.  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.  You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.  Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.  You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."

 

  "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."  Here is a direct warning about what is to come in the lifetimes of the people who hear Christ.  The desolation of Jerusalem (and particularly of the temple; see yesterday's reading, above) was fulfilled in AD 70.  The prophecy of Daniel ("all things which are written") was occurred during the Siege of Jerusalem, when the Roman general Titus entered the Most Holy Place and had a statue of himself erected in the temple before having the temple destroyed.  My study Bible comments that the phrase when you see indicates that many of the disciples would still be alive at that time.  Those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies would be unable to flee quickly in a time of desperation.  In chapter 23, Jesus, on His way to Golgotha, will say to the women who weep for Him, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’  Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’  For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" (see Luke 23:28-31).

"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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's return will be unmistakable to the whole world.  In other words, if there is any question or doubt, that alone is evidence that He has not returned.  

What could the end of the world possibly mean in our understanding and imagination?  How could we picture it?  Despite speculation, despite the stuff of fantasy and films, I don't think we can imagine it.  There are hints we're given in the Gospels about life in the resurrection, the future to come that is beyond the world as we know it, such as Jesus discusses in response to the question in the temple from the Sadducees (see this reading).  But this is the reality of an age beyond time.  Jesus' prophecy in today's reading, in which He tells us that the powers of the heavens will be shaken, is an indication that the very foundations of the cosmos as we understand it will be shaken.  This is a transition to a different reality, a different life, and indicates a change beyond our capacity to predict.  In a comment on the passage giving us Christ's answers to the Sadducees about the resurrection, my study Bible tells us, "It is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection."  All indications are that this ultimate resurrection, the ultimate end, is a time of tremendous transfiguration of life -- a shift of everything that we know as life itself, likely including our experience of time and space.  So Christ's Incarnation has initiated into being the "end times," which is this Christian era in which we now live and await His return.  The signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars are those things which will herald a complete new age, a shift in the firmament of creation itself, a new heaven and a new earth, as the Revelation says (Revelation 21:1).  This doesn't just signal a physical transformation, but also a spiritual transformation in what constitutes the cosmos; it's a new age not for the earth alone, but for God's creation.  To behold the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory signals a shift in the ground of existence, a new kind of perception, and an unmistakable change -- and this is the end of the age to which Christ points, which is linked in all of His speech regarding this end time with the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple.  The details themselves are intermingled, signaling at the very least that a new age of "end times" have begun through which we await His return.  What this information should do is simply give us pause to understand that all that we take for granted rests upon a foundation that is in a process of change, and that this change signals something far greater beyond us than we can perceive.  It should give us a perspective on our own lives -- and, in particular, in the lives of we who call ourselves the faithful -- that we participate in something deeper, greater, grander than our day to day experience can show.  Everything we do that speaks to our faith, each choice we make in the light of Christ's life and teachings, every little prayer or sacramental act, becomes something that roots us in the participation of the fullness of life to which Christ points.  We become those in whom He's invested His faith and teachings so that we can carry this kingdom of God into the world, linking the here and now to what is so greatly beyond us, even to a transfigured reality of time.  In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes, "For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?" (Romans 8:22-24).  Two millennia later we still look to these words that teach us about hope, and that even in the midst of tribulation our understanding is one of hope.  We participate in that which is much greater and grander in dimension than we are; our faith ties us to this hope and to this future.  It is the life of the Spirit to which we turn, in which we are assured, and continue in that ground of that hope -- for it is with us always.