And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations

 

 "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 

 

On Saturday 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."  While we've been reading Jesus' discourse on the whole of what is called "end times," indicating that it's meant to reference the whole of the Christian era to the present day, here Christ once again becomes very specific regarding what is to come in Jerusalem.  My study Bible comments that the phrase when you see is a clear indication that many of those disciples listening to Him speak at that moment would still be alive at the time of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  The Siege of Jerusalem took place in 70 AD, at which time the temple was destroyed, and in accordance with Christ's prophecy, "not one stone" was "left upon another" that was not "thrown down" (see Saturday's reading, above).  Only one retaining wall remained standing, known in modern times as the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall.  Jesus speaks directly of His concern for those 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.  In Luke 23:29, Jesus will warn again, as He is on His way to the Crucifixion, "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!'"

 

 "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."  Here Christ's narrative shifts from the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem (which would come within a generation), to the time of His return and the judgment.  Let us pay close attention to the fearful events He describes, and the emotions stirred in the hearts of people:  fear, and distress, and from expectations of those things which are coming on the earth -- for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

 There are many who seem to have a conscious idea of the world somehow becoming better and better, a sort of progress of virtue of one kind or another.  This may be due to scientific or material progress in terms of modern technologies and advances, or advances in science and education, even innovations in new sorts of time-saving or powerful capacities for the use of energies, and all manner of modern infrastructure.  But at the same time, we need to take a look at the world and ask ourselves what innovation has not also brought uses which are surely not for the better of the world or of mankind, as modern wars have been so destructive, technologies within the twentieth century bringing us massive displacement of populations and even genocides.  Today's modern warfare gives us a no man's land where a society once had an infrastructure that served people for transportation, hospitals, universities, and even attempts at a universal constitutional concept of rights for all citizens.  Human beings may create with intelligence and industry many capacities, but those capacities also become used to bring us fearsome sights indeed, as the past century has easily witnessed and continues to witness.  In this vein, let us consider what is the difference between material innovation and the spiritual understanding of the blessings of our faith.  We certainly have experience of distress of nations, and men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Matthew 24:29).  St. Ambrose comments on today's passage in Luke, clearly seeing both physical and spiritual prophecy.  Not only will a  hostile army trample visible Jerusalem, as did the Romans, even emptying Jerusalem of its Jewish population.  But, he writes, "All Judea will be put to the spiritual sword, the two-edged sword, by the nations that will believe. There will be different signs in the sun, moon and the stars. When very many fall away from religion, a cloud of unbelief will darken bright faith, because for me that heavenly Sun is either diminished or increased by my faith. If very many gaze on the rays of the worldly sun, the sun seems bright or pale in proportion to the capacity of the viewer, so the spiritual light is imparted to each according to the devotion of the believer. In its monthly courses, the moon, opposite the earth, wanes when it is in the sun’s quarter. When the vices of the flesh obstruct the heavenly Light, the holy church also cannot borrow the brightness of the divine Light from the rays of Christ. In the persecutions, love of this life alone certainly very often shuts out the light of God."  So, therefore, St. Ambrose sees in this prophecy the pattern observed elsewhere in Scripture, that as faith is diminished, so the world becomes "darkened," a sense in which Christ the true Light is harder to see and to perceive.  Effectively, these prophecies become teachings on the importance of enduring in our faith and the practices of our faith.  For the light that we truly need is the spiritual light, and the truth we surely need to live by is the spiritual truth which Christ brings us.  The progress we make in material terms can be diminished with so much darkness that we can no longer see our path correctly without this light.  Let us not be taken in when things appear to be progress, but human suffering and the diminishing of life and of faith continue to our detriment.  At the same time, Christ asks us not to be deceived, and to persist in our faith, to watch.  As we in the developed world consider a wide array of material goods with which we may celebrate holidays, let us keep in mind our spiritual reality, and not be so dazzled that we don't keep our eyes on the true light.   There are many in the world who suffer for our faith, for Christianity, today.  Let us keep our eyes on His reality, and the teaching of the poor widow who sacrificed all she had for the love of God, for there are those who have kept and are keeping their faith in the face of violence and the swords of those hostile to Christ.  Let us keep in mind the great sacrifices as gifts to God some are willing to make and have made -- even of their very lives and security -- as we celebrate the holidays with gifts of a commercial kind.   Remember our brothers and sisters across the world in your prayers.