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

 

 Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you will 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 Jesus' continuation of His prophecy on end times and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple:  "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 will 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 gives the image of a fig tree, and all the trees, as a metaphor for how we are to look at our world.  When we see things beginning to bud, we know that summer -- meaning the time of fruit -- is near.  So when we observe these things about our world, we are to know that the kingdom of God is near.  The words this generation make it clear that those among His disciples would see the terrible destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in their lifetimes, and the things He describes as end times would begin soon after His Ascension, including, conflict and persecution.  That heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away is a solemn assertion of His promise.  St. Cyprian of Carthage, in the 3rd century, noting the wars, natural disasters, and increasing adversity already evident in his time, wrote, "Since the things that were foretold are happening, whatever he promises will also follow. The Lord himself promises, 'When you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.' The kingdom of God, beloved brothers and sisters, has drawn near. The reward of life, the joy of eternal salvation, the perpetual happiness and the possession of paradise once lost are now coming as the world passes 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."  Finally, we're given a warning.  It's quite similar to the parable of the Sower, in that He teaches us we can be so distracted by the things of the world that we're unprepared for His return, that Day.  In the parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-15), Jesus taught that some seed (meaning the word of God) "fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it."  He later explained to the disciples that "the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity."  This is what He warns us of when He speaks about the surprise of that Day coming as a snare.  Our own forgetfulness in pleasures, evasion of life, and immersion by the cares of this life can keep us from remembering His word and keeping it, and producing the spiritual fruits He asks of us.

It's so interesting to consider Jesus' repeated metaphors about gardening or agriculture, the natural world of growth and produce.  They produce so many images for us to consider about how we live our lives.  In today's reading, He speaks of the fig tree as an image through which we might view the world.  If we look at the natural world and how things grow, that they first produce flowers, and then later the fruits of summer, we may contemplate Christ's words about the buds on the fig tree.  That is, the tiny beginnings of flowers, indicating the hints about the things He describes about the end times:  persecutions, strife, adversity, conflict, plagues, and natural disasters of many kinds.  These are the "buds" that should remind us of what comes with the full fruits, and then in particular, at the harvest.  The harvest to come we may easily see as the final judgment that will accompany His return, "the Day" as He phrases it.  In Jesus' teaching here, it is those "buds" that are meant to remind us of the harvest, of what is coming, so that we are prepared for it for ourselves.  How do we do that preparation?  What is it that the buds are meant to remind us to be about?  What work is it that we're supposed to be doing, instead of being occupied with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life?  Jesus indicates here that being one of His followers is not something we decide one day and then forget about while we get on with life.  He suggests that it is, in fact, the cares of life, and our ways of avoiding them in one form or another, that can stand in the way of living the life He asks us to.  We can become forgetful of what it is that He asks us to be doing instead, how we are to live our lives.  If each "bud" of the things He describes should remind us of what we are to be about, what might be the best way to bring back true mindfulness that He asks of us?  As we observed in yesterday's reading and commentary, St. Paul seems to address such issues in his Letter to the Thessalonians.   He refers to the Day that comes like a snare; or as Jesus has described His return elsewhere, like a thief in the night.  He speaks of remembrance and watchfulness, telling them, "You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation."   In what is perhaps the best advice for what we can do to practice mindfulness, he writes, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (see 1 Thessalonians 5).  There are so many ways to forget who we are as followers of Christ, to lose ourselves in the world, in drunkenness or other forms of intoxication, or being overwhelmed with the cares of life, or simply avoiding life in a figurative sleep of forgetfulness.  But we're meant to be awake to the reality of the truth that informs and inspires, alert to the reality of the world Jesus opens to our eyes, and also to the ways in which we can follow and practice His teachings.  Let us remember St. Paul's advice for coming to remembrance, and know that the kingdom of God is near.