If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!

 

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 

-  Luke 19:41-48

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus told the parable of the Minas to His disciples, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 

  Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  My study Bible explains that the name Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  It's only faith in Christ that brings true peace.  This is a truth hidden from a city that will soon rebel against its Savior.  My study Bible further explains that there are two kinds of peace.  One is a false or shallow peace; harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth or from a repressive coercion.  Genuine peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  The destruction of Jerusalem, here predicted by Jesus, would occur in AD 70.  My study Bible says that this also describes the spiritual end of every person who lacks faith. 

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals which were to be used for sacrifices.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), it's also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters. 

 

It's important to observe that the text presents us with the various layers of social conflict around Jesus.  While Jesus is teaching daily in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him.  The elites at the top, those who administer and regulate the faith and hold positions of high authority, are seeking to destroy Him at the time of the Passover, in this final week of Christ's earthly life.  At the same time, this coalition of the powerful were unable to do anything, because all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  It's interesting to note the power of the people in this presentation.  It is "all the people" who wish to listen to Jesus and hear what He has to teach.  Presumably, we can read into this statement that the people seek to know truth, regardless of the concerted effort from the powerful entities above who wish to control how people worship and how they practice their faith.  Clearly, the cleansing of the temple by Jesus points to practices He finds to be objectionable and corrupt, especially the practices involved in the collection of money and the ways that the things necessary for sacrifice become used to gather wealth and profit.  In the other Gospels we read vivid descriptions of Christ driving out the money changers.  These are people who exchanged Roman coins for Jewish coins to be used in the temple, as Roman coins bore the image of Caesar and so were considered to be defiling in the temple. But no doubt this exchange opened the door for profiteering from pilgrims who come for the Passover.  The texts also speak specifically of Christ chastising and targeting those who sold doves in the temple (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, John 2:14-16).  Doves were the least expensive and therefore affordable sacrifice for the poor; to profit off the poor is an insult to Christ and to traditional Jewish spiritual sensibility, in the understanding that God loves the poor.  As Messiah, Jesus' great act of cleansing the temple is the first He undertakes as He's made His Triumphal Entry into the city.  It's the first great act of authority He makes, and the one vivid action of force we see Him expressing in the Gospels.  He will certainly be immediately questioned regarding His authority to do so by the religious leaders.  But nonetheless, as the Gospels tell the story, none of their power can completely avail them of the ability to suppress the gospel message and the ministry of Christ.  There is expressed in the story of Christ the deep, almost organic tie between an unstoppable truth and the faith of the people that draws them to that truth in Christ.  They long to hear Him, and the religious authorities must fear that deep desire on the part of the people, for the Roman authorities will look askance at any instability among the people under their rule.   Christ speaks truth directly to the hearts of people who are receptive to it, who will respond with faith, with trust (the root meaning of the word for "faith" in the Gospels).  The rigid control of the authorities, and their corrupt practices, cannot long withstand that truth -- and this is the dynamic at work which will culminate in Christ's prophesied destruction of Jerusalem.  It is the unseen world of the Kingdom, of the holiness which Christ brings into the world, that challenges the structures of manipulation, the materialist power of "mammon," and the people whose hearts are open to it, and deeply desire it, will respond.  The religious leaders can already see that, but they cannot foresee its power and lasting impact remaining in the world to come.  Christ reveals to us the reality of the Kingdom, and may we continue to live and dwell within that reality, despite those who might wish to deny it today.   That is, those for whom these things remain hidden from their eyes.  For we still need to recognize the time of our visitation, and the things that make for our peace.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"   And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  all these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

In our recent reading, Jesus has been delivering His final public sermon, which was a scathing and multi-pronged criticism of the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to the religious leaders that they must "fill up the measure of your fathers' guilt," indicating they are the spiritual children of those who murdered the prophets before them.  He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."  The destruction of Jerusalem, which was exceedingly fierce and totally decimated the city and the temple, came some forty years after Christ spoke His words, giving an entire generation time to repent.  Christ's words were literally true that not one stone was left upon another.  Only one retaining wall remained of the temple, in modern times called the Wailing Wall, or the Western Wall. 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  The chapter we begin today entails a description of the "end times" as given by Jesus Christ.  It is interwoven with a prophecy of catastrophic and terrifying events that would happen within the lifetimes of many of those hearing Him.  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways -- so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  Christ's emphasis, my study Bible notes, is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue rather than constructing timetables of things that have not yet happened.  It's important to note that the great tribulation which Christ will describe toward the end of the chapter includes the whole of the Christian era, and isn't simply limited to the final years before Christ's return.  

 

 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  My study Bible notes for us here that the warnings against deception are given the most emphasis by Jesus.  Of particular importance is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again in verses 11, 23-27.  

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  These wars, according to my study Bible, refer first of all to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.  However, subsequent wars are also included.  Wars, it notes, are not a sign of the imminent end, but of its opposite:  that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  all these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and clearly, persecutions against the Church have often increased the number of souls being converted.  It notes commentary by St. John Chrysostom, who marveled that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews who were unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

As this chapter opens, we can just imagine Jesus' Galilean disciples marveling at the great temple, as it had been expanded and refurbished under Herod the Great, who was also known as Herod the Builder.  Indeed its expanse and beauty rendered it one of the architectural wonders of the world at the time.   But that awe at the great skill, art and power that could create such an architectural marvel and its beauty is perhaps the perfect backdrop to Christ's prediction that "not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."   For the message here in Christ's prophecy to the disciples regarding the end of the age is clearly one that states that human expectations are not sufficient to imagine the scope of the ramifications to spiritual events of this world.  Christ stands in the center of these prophecies, the pivot point of history, and indeed He remains so.  No matter how many times it's been said or written that the Christian era has come to an end, either through new political philosophy or religious (or anti-religious) beliefs and actions, Christ continues to be an inspiring religious figure across the world, and faith continues to expand even in new places.  But Christ Himself predicts great tribulation spanning the whole of the Christian era -- that is, the whole of the time between His Incarnation and His return.  So, as my study Bible says, we should never be dissuaded by the great upheavals and terrifying events we might witness or hear about.  Jesus tells the disciples, "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  Certainly all of these things would come to pass in the lifetimes of these disciples, but the warning applies to all times that we know, and to the present.  If we see false prophets speak in the name of Christ, or  dissension and betrayal, even hate, among the faithful, neither should this dissuade us from playing our part in faithful living.  The apostles counted themselves joyful that they were worthy to suffer shame for Christ's name (Acts 5:40-41), and so we should do the same if it happens that we suffer similarly.  There is a powerful spiritual reality that is at work in such circumstances, which we can't necessarily see as immediately evident.  But we do witness types of lawlessness, and a strangeness to the love of many seeming to grow cold.  While we could view all of these things as consistent with the work of spiritual forces that oppose Christ, we need to keep in mind that He has told us all of these things beforehand -- and their resurfacing in one form or another throughout the history we know since the beginning of the Church is what we should even expect if we take Him at His word.  However, here is the important teaching:  "But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  This doesn't seem to mean the "last man standing" in some traditional military sense, or any other kind of contest or struggle we might consider.  It is directed at our faith, at living our faith, which encompasses at least as much of an internal struggle as an external struggle in any case.  This is not about running out and finding ways to become martyred or persecuted, but rather living a prayerful life, and following where our faith leads us.  To strengthen our faith and to continue in worship despite persecution and difficulty is to fight this spiritual battle that we are called to wage.  We encourage one another, we worship and pray, we read what is edifying to us, the things that teach us, we can seek out the saints of the past who left us with wise council we can read or hear -- there are many resources available to us and many ways in which we can strengthen our communion with our brothers and sisters in faith.  But even in isolation, it is remarkable what strength there is in prayer and its powerful exertion of influence over our subsequent lives and our own capacity for resilience, imagination, and overcoming difficulty.  The struggle for faith is truly one that takes place within us and among us, for His kingdom is always there awaiting our participation (Luke 17:21).  While we might be dismayed with what we see, Christ encourages us to endure to the end.  But we endure in our faith and the practice of our faith, in a prayerful life, and in doing what He has taught.  Let's note in these terms that Christ teaches us a number of times in this chapter on "end times" that we must be vigilant in terms of watching for false prophets.  We are meant to be alert and aware; we educate ourselves about our faith.  We are meant to be intelligent faithful, not blind at all but awake.  So let us understand the importance of our struggle to be the ones He has asked us to be, to know our own flaws and weaknesses, and to be aware of those who would exploit them.  Let us do the work He asks!

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.

I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist

 

 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He 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."

 

- Luke 21:5–19 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the people and religious leaders in the temple, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

 

 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He 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."   Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  It was rumored that there was gold between the stones of the temple, and quite literally there was not one stone . . . left upon another.  All that remained was one retaining wall, now called the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall).  The temple had been the most important building project of Herod the Great, also known as Herod the Builder.  It was understood as one of the wonders of the world for its splendor and beauty.  Both physically and spiritually, such a prophecy must have been inconceivable to the disciples to whom Christ spoke. 

 

 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."   My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7-12; Mark 13;  Matthew 24:3-31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, and the Book of Revelation).   As we can see from this particular passage, Christ's emphasis is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue rather than on the construction of timetables to predict things that haven't yet happened.  His warnings against deception are given the most emphasis.  Jesus particularly stresses the warning against following a false Christ.

"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."  My study Bible comments that the wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but also include subsequent wars.  Wars are not a sign of the imminent end, it says, but of the opposite -- that 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."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel; it notes that persecutions against the Church frequently increase the number of souls being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything but the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Again, the emphasis here is on patience, endurance, forbearance, and reliance upon God.  All is even an occasion for testimony.

Jesus makes several promises here.  He first of all prophecies the destruction of the temple.  This is an event that is in some sense synonymous with an unthinkable spiritual destruction.  In the Gospels,  Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the temple and the war in Jerusalem is entirely tied together with end times prophecies.  Spiritually, the two are deeply linked from the Jewish spiritual tradition, and also in the received understanding of Christian orientation.   Indeed, they are presented as if they are inseparable.  For this reason, we understand the "end times" not to be a time in the future -- contrary to some popular portrayals -- but rather, to have begun with the Incarnation of Christ.  Effectively, we have been living in "end times" since then.  So when we read Jesus' warnings of wars and calamities, we understand that they apply both to the generation of people who are immediately addressed in His presence, and to the rest of the period of the Christian era.  (In tomorrow's lectionary reading, we will read Jesus' explicit warnings about enemies who will surround Jerusalem.)   But here He also prophecies persecutions to come for His followers, and indeed they did come.  Not only does He promise that "they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons" and  "you will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake."   But He also tells them that these will turn out as an occasion for testimony.  They are to be fully reliant upon God:  "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."  This is a promise of the help of the Holy Spirit to come, a deliverance of wisdom, and the articulate speech characteristic of Christ Himself.  It is a promise about sharing His own attributes with His followers.  He then prophecies even more personal persecutions:  "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 finally we read another promise, giving us an orientation to the full picture of life in His understanding and embrace:  "But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls."  We are to understand the fullness of destiny, beyond the destruction and fearful things He prophesies, beyond persecution, beyond even the end of the world as they know it in Jerusalem and as we know it today.  There is a deeper, greater mission in which we participate, and our lives are lived as His followers for a reason and purpose beyond an immediate sense.  All of this simply adds to the reality of the lives we live, giving us bigger purpose and meaning to what we experience.  All of these things I read as promises in some sense -- both the calamities and the gift of testimony, the occasion to serve as one who speaks His gospel in the world.  He also hints here of the promise of the Holy Spirit, and a role for each of us to play within His own vision of what will come to pass in the world.  In tomorrow's reading, we will continue with Christ's prophesy of what is to come in Jerusalem, and the end times in a larger sense, including His promise of return.  But for today let us deeply consider His teachings and promises, and those who listen to Him in this scene in Jerusalem.  For they are our forbears, and we continue in their labors and testimony. 

 

But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

- Luke 19:41-48

Yesterday we read that, after giving to His followers the parable of the Minas, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  Bu He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." 

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another; because you did not know the time of your visitation."  My study bible points out to us that Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  It notes that only faith in Christ brings true peace.  In Him are all things reconciled at all depths.  This truth, however, is hidden from a city that will soon reject this Savior.  The destruction of Jerusalem prophesied by Jesus took place in AD 70.   But Christ's description can also be a spiritual one, describing the fate of the soul which suffers from a lack of faith, and rejection of spiritual truth.

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.' "  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  Luke does not dwell much on the cleansing of the temple.  Those who bought and sold in it are the ones who trade in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  Once again, there is a spiritual parallel to the individual soul and what it cherishes in its aims and goals and loves.  As Jesus made clear elsewhere, we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24)  We must choose what we put first, what we worship -- and the alternatives here image the soul that is either a house of prayer or a den of thieves.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

The last lines of today's reading tell us that Jesus was teaching daily in the temple, that the religious leaders want to destroy Him, but cannot -- for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  This phrase, very attentive, is a rather mild translation into modern English.  The words in Greek indicate more that they were hanging onto Christ's every word, captivated, spellbound, suspended in rapt attention.  This is a picture of a people who usually can't get what He's offering, a people who hunger and thirst for every single word.  It reminds us of Jesus' words to the people on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, as reported by John: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37).  These words are possibly inspired by the promise of Isaiah, "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" (Isaiah 55:1), but they are a clear invitation, in Christ's words, to the feast of the Holy Spirit which He will give (see John 7:37-39).  Those who are in the temple for the Passover Feast, Jews from everywhere in Israel and those from throughout the Diaspora, including proselytes from other nations, hunger and thirst for Christ's words.  His words are the living words of spirit (John 6:63), and they are the words of eternal life (John  6:68).   His are the liberating words of salvation, and as the people sense in their deep passion to hear Him, they are words for each human being, for everyone, to which all are invited.  The words of Christ are not to be shut up and put away, couched only behind a curtain for the privileged few.  They are meant for each one of us, and the Gospel teaches us that the people all respond in their eagerness to hear -- for each one is a creature of God, and thereby the God-man has come into the world for each of us, all of us, for the life of the world (John 6:51).  This is the liberating, freeing truth of the God who loves us so much that He came into this world and will die on the Cross for us.  He will go even into hell for His word to reach us before His Ascension.  This is the power of His word:  it is not a commodity to be stored up and hidden away, to be kept as a treasure locked up somewhere without its light shining for us.  The early fourth century Fathers of the Church were among the most gifted and brilliant scholars the world has known, but their understanding of His word is for all of us, for each of us -- and here in Luke's Gospel, Christ Himself rejoiced that things that were hidden from the wise and prudent were revealed to babes (10:21).  Turning to His disciples on that occasion, He told them, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it" (see 10:21-24).  This is the liberating reality of the words of salvation.  His house is not a den of thieves, who store away and steal treasure in the sense of purely material good without the benefit of spirit, but it is a house of prayer -- a treasure that reaches to all and is for all, that has no limits in its applications and its capacity to be shared and expanded, and to go anywhere and everywhere.  What He offers can heal the hurts of the past and set us on a course for the future; it simply has no barriers to it because He made sure there are no barriers to where His salvation would go.  Even death cannot form a boundary on these potentials -- as even His death on the Cross will not stop His word but merely serve to expand it and to break down the barrier of death for everyone.  This is the impulse we see in the people who hunger and thirst for and hang onto each of His words.  Don't let the power and message of the Gospel be taken away from you, for He is here for you, He suffered and died for you and for each one of us.  Peace is in our grasp if we but seize and use it and find it for ourselves, for it is in Him.   But can we follow Him where He will lead us?  We are reminded again that His word is for deliverance, salvation, true freedom; He does not compel us as slaves but calls us as friend.  Don't let anything or anyone keep you from this beautiful gift He offers.

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

In our current readings in Luke, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  Yesterday, we read that as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He 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 or 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."  Jesus speaks of the immediate threats in the near future (within a generation) directly to Jerusalem.  Because of His warnings, the early church escaped the destruction of Jerusalem.  This prophesy was manifest in 70 AD, during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem.   We remember that this conversation began with the great admiration and wonder at the astonishing building of the temple, built by Herod the Great, also known as Herod the Builder -- known for his harshness as ruler and also for his ambitious building projects.  The temple was one of the wonders of the world, but Jesus' prediction that "not one stone would be left upon another" would come true, as soldiers believed there was gold between the stones.  Only one retaining wall would remain standing, today known as the "Wailing Wall" or "Western Wall."   Jesus' warning is extremely vivid, giving them a clear picture of when to flee the city and how urgent the time will be.

"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, the narrative shifts to the time of His Return, the end of the age which has begun with His mission into the world to save it, to turn us to the things of God.   These are the signs He gives for that time, just as He gave His disciples the signs of the time to leave Jerusalem.

What we can observe in today's reading is the tribulation or difficulties Christ predicts for His flock.  He's not leaving them in a world that is all fixed and perfect, far from it.  He's leaving them in a world that has all kinds of problems in it, with the Spirit to guide them into all truth, to teach testimony, to teach prayer.  We're not to expect a perfect world and a perfect life, but rather we enter into His work in a troubled world.  As we look at the world today, we can see loads of "trouble" everywhere:  persecutions, shootings in a Church, and none of it looks like it's waning.  We find ourselves in the midst of tribulations, wars, violence.  But what that means, according to His word, is that He's calling to us in all the midst of it to be His disciples.  Our faith needs to be stronger when we realize how badly the world needs the gospel message, our testimony, and the things that make for His peace.  In such times and when we see things that make us fear, we need to be even more firmly rooted and centered in His place of the heart, where the gospel speaks to us, the Spirit directs us, His life lives in us and teaches us what we are to be about.  We take root in God's love for us, and strengthen ourselves and one another in that place.  Let us understand that He did not leave us promising that our lives as His followers were going to be perfect, but rather that we, His friends, are entered into His battle for salvation, by remaining rooted in His great love and mission to save.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings in the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

- Matthew 24:1-14

In yesterday's reading, Jesus completed His final sermon, given at the temple in Jerusalem.  This sermon began with Monday's reading (Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted), and Tuesday's (You pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith).  Yesterday, we read its conclusion:  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house  is left to you desolate; for  say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings in the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  My study bible says that "Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study bible has a long note on the passages to follow:  "The Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7-12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  The Lord's emphasis is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue rather than on constructing timetables of things that have not yet happened.  In Matthew's account here, the end is described as encompassing (1) the initial sorrows (vv. 4-14 [today's reading]), (2) the great tribulation (vv. 15-28), and (3) the coming of the Son of Man (vv. 29-31).  The period of the great tribulation includes the entire Christian era and is not limited to the final years before Christ's return."

And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  A note tells us here that Jesus' warnings against deception are what are given the most emphasis here.  "Of particular importance is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus stresses again in vv. 11, 23-27."

 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  My study bible says that the wars here refer "first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but certainly include subsequent wars.  Wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but of the opposite -- that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)."

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."   A note says, "All these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and indeed, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ."

The challenge we so often face seems to be that of our own expectations, and what they set up for us to believe.  Who would have thought it was possible for this great temple -- let alone the entire city of Jerusalem -- to be destroyed, even unto leaving "not one stone" upon another?  One has to imagine the temple as it was, a great building project of Herod the Great who was, in fact, called "the Great Builder" because of his expansive projects.  Herod, ruling just prior to his son Antipas who was by this time the tetrarch of Galilee, expanded the Second  Temple to include immense ambitious building projects, such as porticoes and colonnades and all manner of beautiful, even magnificent, architecture.  But Jesus' prediction was quite literally true.  In the year AD 70, in what is known as the siege of Jerusalem, the Romans destroyed both the temple and the city.  There was a rumor that gold lay between the stones of the temple, and so "not one stone" was left upon another.  All that was left was a retaining wall, now known as the Western Wall, or the "Wailing Wall," as Jews have come through the centuries to mourn and pray at what was left of the temple.  It is something quite "awesome" to consider that these predictions made by Jesus would occur within the span of a generation, and also at the same time, despite so many calamities and persecutions, the gospel would go out to all the world, via twelve Jews, the Apostles of Christ.  In this upheaval, in a time in which the world of certainty is turned upside-down, it is faith that prevails.  Jesus' emphasis on faith, perseverance, watchfulness and virtue, and particularly endurance, becomes the hallmark of what we must always remember.  What good does it do us to construct some sort of timetable?  It is every moment of our lives that count, every challenge, every second of that "good fight" we wage in the struggle of prayer and even of love, that really are emphasized and important.  It's our watchfulness that counts here.  We hear of wars and rumors of wars constantly in our world today at this moment.  Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes can now be found anytime one opens a computer or listens to the news in our now-globalized world -- in an instant, we may know what is happening elsewhere at all times.  Through it all we are to be reminded that our job is to endure and to be watchful, to live as He has taught us to live, and to grow in our faith.  Let us remember, at all times, how we are blessed with this gospel, and how we are taught to live it.

When you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet

 "So when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not " (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."

- Mark 13:14-27

 On Saturday, we read that, as Jesus went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows.  But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

  "So when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not " (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter.  For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.  And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, He is there!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand."  Of these verses my study bible has an extensive note, which I will reproduce here:  "The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, culminating in the burning of the temple, appears to be the major focal point in these verses.  The Roman general Titus defiled the temple by first entering into it and standing where [he] ought not (i.e. in the Most Holy Place).  Heeding prophecies, the Church in Jerusalem fled before this great tribulation (v. 19) occurred (vv. 15-18).  This was a time of great suffering and consternation (vv. 19-22), vividly recounted by the Jewish historian Josephus, an eyewitness."    Another note tells us:  "Christians have suffered many great tribulations throughout the centuries -- in the twentieth century alone, many millions have been martyred -- and there will likely be great trials in the future."  It notes that "Orthodox Christians reject any teaching that (1) conveniently 'delivers' them from tribulation (Jesus teaches to prepare for tribulation) or (2) speaks of a secret Second Coming of Christ.  Christian consensus is, 'He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead' (Nicene Creed).  There is nothing secret here.  The Scriptures teach that many events spoken of in the Old Testament regarding the end will not be understood until they happen (v. 29).  'Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase' (Dan. 12:4).  Dazzling words claiming to set forth God's prophetic scenario for the end times are at best speculative, and at worst, heretical."

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."  Another note here in my study bible tells us:  "In those days refers to the end of time, when Christ will return bodily.  The Second Coming is neither secretive nor figurative."

As noted on Saturday, Jesus' discourse on the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem is combined with teachings about the end times.  Of course, He is answering questions posed by His disciples.  He's also warning them of what was to come in their lifetimes, within a generation from the time He is speaking.  As my study bible pointed out, the Church at Jerusalem was able to heed His warnings of what was to come, and fled Jerusalem.  On Saturday, we discussed in commentary the many things that seem to be happening in our world, changes occurring at this time through technology and other developments in our history.  But it's not for us to know, really, when the "end time" is here.  It is up to us to challenge ourselves to live as He has taught us to live.  Perhaps especially as we look around at our world, and we see our capability for destruction, for harm, for causing suffering, and the power of manipulation as well, it is very, very important to ask ourselves how exactly we may be contributing to the things that do not make for a world in which His teachings on love can be taught and lived.  This past Thursday, we read that Jesus was asked by a scribe, "Which is the first commandment of all?"   Jesus responded with both a first and a second:  "The first of all the commandments is 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."   We still have these commandments to live by, and if we look around in our world, we will see all kinds of ways in which what we may term "abominations of desolation" seem to be occurring.  Ancient churches are being sacked and destroyed by supposedly popular movements in parts of the world where Christianity first took hold.  Jesus' teachings, that we must endure suffering and tribulation, seem to come home to us yet again as we witness events that seem to show us images of the prophecies taught by Jesus.  "Shortened days" remind us of our sense of time; how, as we have more and more "time saving" technologies, most of us find ourselves with, seemingly, less time.  Daniel's prophecy, cited in my study bible, that "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" sounds eerily like the bustle of today's world, that holds for us so many potentials and at the same time magnifies so potently our failures.  It is important that we remember these two greatest commandments that Jesus has taught, because if we really want to live our faith, then we're taught exactly how to do that.  If we wish truly to endure as He has taught, then we do so by living our faith according to His commandments.  To love God and love neighbor is far more powerful in a world where our neighbor may now be across the world, where we are in such close communication with people who live in other countries, and where one thing happening far away has immediate effects across the globe.  The world we live in today is one in which the suffering of neighbor is communicated to us from all around the planet, so we are in a position to ask ourselves the great question from Luke:  "Who is my neighbor?"   Let us consider how we follow His commandments, how we endure, and what love of God and love of neighbor mean for us today. 

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

In current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and teaches daily in the temple.  He has made His Triumphal Entry, cleansed the temple, and faced the challenges of the leadership.  He has also returned a few challenges of His own.  He speaks to the leadership, His disciples, and also the public.  (See readings from  Saturday,  Monday,  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday).  In yesterday's reading,   Luke told us that as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He 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."  My study bible says this is "a prediction of the siege and capture of Jerusalem by Titus, son of the Emperor Vespasian, in A.D. 70.  Damage included the total destruction of the temple."  Of the prediction regarding "all things which are written" that may be fulfilled, my study bible cites Daniel 9:24-27.   Regarding the fulfillment of "the times of the Gentiles" there is also a reference to the prophecy of Daniel (Dan. 9:27; 12:7).  Thus, Christ's mission into the world, and this prophecy regarding what is to come in Jerusalem, is never separate from the history of Jewish spirituality.  On the contrary, it is a fulfillment, as Christ has taught, of the Law and the Prophets.

"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."  Of this, my study bible tells us, "Cosmic as well as historical upheavals will precede the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  The expectation of Christ's return sums up the Christian hope and constitutes an important doctrine of the Church." 

One passage cited in my study bible regarding the end of the earth and the time when Christ returns is from Peter's Second Epistle (2 Peter 3:10).   This is a very interesting passage, because in the Greek what it tells us is that while the elements we know may be dissolved (with great heat or fire) what actually happens is a revelation or discovery of all that truly is, including all the "works" of the world.  In other words, Christ's return assures us of a deeper reality exposed, a true reality that includes hearts and minds, in which time doesn't function the way we understand it now.  This is to be a revelation of what actually is the full state of the world, in Christ's terms.  Prophecy understood in a similar vein tells us of the revelation of works through events that unfold as a result of the failure to acknowledge the full reality of God, and the presence of God's kingdom, even in this world.  Jesus has lamented over Jerusalem, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  And, linking once again with the fullness of the history of Israel, today's lectionary also includes 1 Samuel 4:1-11, a time when another prophecy of destruction was fulfilled because of the failure to know "the things that make for your peace."  If we combine a look at the prophecies and their fulfillment, together with the understanding of the scenarios we're given of the end of the age, what we have is a depth of reality that includes all our "works," our choices -- the things we think are hidden but are not really so.  Our hidden choices work out into our own daily individual lives, just as on a grand cosmic scale beyond our understanding, so all "works" are to be exposed as the fabric of what truly is in this world.  When we consider the Kingdom to be something ephemeral, something we simply can't see and feel and know, and ignore its presence and relationship to our own internal lives, then we fail to include all of reality.  We fail to understand, really, what works for our peace -- and the depth of the meaning of the words "your peace."  Our peace is made up of much more than a mask or bandage covering up wounds or injustice, more than a sword that demands silence.  Our peace, on the contrary, is made up of the things of God, heeding the prophecy that comes from the presence of the Spirit, the words of Christ regarding righteousness and healing.  When we fail to acknowledge the full truth of this reality, we are blind to all that is, we fail to know what truly is.  The true fabric of reality is far more than what we see and feel around us, but requires a depth of understanding and a respect for that spiritual truth.  Let us remember that our inner worlds are as essential to us as the outer; our hearts and minds and souls are the place of this Kingdom and our capacity to bear it into the world -- and that so much depends on our wisdom to do this, and our failure to do so.