Luke 21:5-19
There is a lake in Montana called “Echo lake”. When I was a kid, my dad liked to fish in this lake, while my sister and I amused ourselves by yelling a couple of words and hearing them come back to us not once, but four or five times. I think that’s something that all of us need to guard against -- the echo chamber. I read a lot and when I read something I agree with, I remember it better than if I disagreed with it. And after a while I know where to go to find something I agree with; and I avoid reading what I know I will disagree with. I think that is human nature. And it has something to do with our gospel reading today.
To the people of Jesus' time and place in the world, the temple in Jerusalem was a source of great pride. Not only was it beautiful and adorned with expensive decorations, but for the Jews it was a sign of permanence -- a massive stone structure sitting on an elevated part of the city so that you could see it from miles around. So you can imagine how the people who listened to Jesus’ words today must have felt. Maybe a little bit like seeing the twin towers fall, or the Cathedral of Notre Dame on fire. Jesus predicts that the temple will be destroyed. He then cautions his followers that many events will take place which will seem like the world is ending. False prophets will arise, claiming to be the Messiah, the one who has the answers. But Jesus gives us a little secret. All these things that tell us the world is about to end as they know it won’t happen until they undergo persecution, even death, on account of them being disciples of Jesus. And when they are undergoing persecution, that’s the opportunity to give testimony to their faith. I like Jesus’ promise that we don’t need to worry about defending ourselves; Jesus will see to it that we will be able to do so.
So when we read this passage, what implications are there for us? First, I think, when our world seems to generate catastrophe after catastrophe -- climate change, wars, inflation, scarcity of energy and food -- we have to remember that nothing happens without God’s permitting it, and weaving it into his plan for history. We human beings should do what we can to take care of what God has given us, to help our neighbors, to bring about peace -- but nothing happens without God’s consent, nothing happens that is not part of his plan.
Second, we can expect to be blamed by others when things don’t seem to be going in the right direction. The early Christians were blamed for things that went wrong in the Roman empire -- after all, Christians did not make an attempt to please the gods and goddesses who protected Rome. And Christians have been blamed for many things since then -- even by other Christians. Today, of course, we are persecuted for opposing a woman’s right to choose, among other things. And society tends to paint with a broad brush. If some Christians oppose uncontrolled immigration, then all Christians are somehow racist. IN uncertain times, people look for scapegoats. That’s us.
Third, this is the time for testimony. We human beings like to be safe and secure before sticking our necks out. We would like to promote our faith to the world, but we would like it to be easy. Jesus promises that it won’t. The more we are opposed, the more we are to testify, and we have the promise that Jesus himself will give us what we need. I think about one of the really great testifiers of our age -- Mother Teresa. Her words were always simple and you couldn't really argue with her, partly because of the obvious fact that she lived what she believed. And even though Jesus will give us what we need in order to testify, it’s still important for us to not only know what he teaches, but to live those teachings. That’s the surest way to testify. It’s easy to argue with concepts. It’s hard to argue when someone is living what he or she believes. And that’s where we have to make sure that we are living according to his teachings, not according to the echo chamber we tend to fall back on
Finally Jesus promises division. In another place, he even tells us that he will bring division, even within families. But the ones who stay the course, the ones who keep their eyes on the prize, as it were, those are the ones who will make it to the end.
So here are some questions for this week.
Am I being persecuted? Why not?
Am I living in an echo chamber? Or am I living in the words of Jesus? How well do I know those words?
Are there people in my life who are holding me back in my spiritual growth? What am I doing about that? I think about Elizabeth Leseur, a lady who married an atheist. After she died he found her diary, which revealed her prayers and sacrifices for his conversion. He became a Dominican priest. Sometimes if someone is holding you back you find a way to pull him along with you.
Next week we celebrate the coming of Christ the King, the last Sunday in Ordinary time. How are we preparing for his coming?
