Loving God, you reveal yourself to us in the Scriptures as the one who loves us and saves us and is worthy of our worship and trust.  Strengthen our faith by the power of your Holy Spirit, empowering us for lives of faith and service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Last week, a “Non Sequitur” cartoon appeared with the title “Agnostic Prophecy.” The usual bearded, prophet-like figure walks the streets with a sign that says, “Something Armageddonish might be near!”  In doing an online search to try and find the cartoon, one of the first things I found was a blog about how agnostic prophecy might actually be more accurate.  For those who don’t use the word “agnostic” all the time, it basically means, “I don’t know.”  And so, the end might be near, but really, we don’t know.

    Of course, there are many people who would argue with me on this point.  After all, aren’t all of the signs there pointing to the end?  Many seem to be fascinated by biblical prophecy, and there are books and seminars a-plenty pointing out how the biblical prophecies are being fulfilled, and how all of the signs are there that the end is near.  This, of course, is in spite of all of the gospel passages that tell us that we will not know the day or the hour.

    In today’s gospel, too, we hear Jesus warning his disciples, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’  Do not go after them” (Lk. 21:8).  Really, there have been many such people throughout the years, which has led to the stereotypical picture of a prophet walking the streets with a sign that says, “The end is near.”

    In today’s readings, we get a glimpse of some of the things that happen when people start to believe that the end is near.  For example, in the reading from 2 Thessalonians, we hear about people in the early church who had stopped doing any work.  They had quit their jobs and were relying on others in the Christian community to feed them.  In fact, they had stopped doing much of anything, because they believed that Jesus would be returning any day.  And so, why bother, when your salvation is assured and soon you will be with Jesus?

    Another possible response is found in today’s Psalm, where there is all kinds of rejoicing happening over God’s coming judgment.  Generally speaking, it is those who have endured long suffering while serving God who rejoice at the idea that God is coming to judge the earth.  Those who feel as though the wicked are getting their way and who feel as though their time serving God has been wasted are comforted by the thought that God’s judgment is near.

    However, with both of the responses just mentioned, it is easy to see why Jesus would have warned his followers about not believing everybody who tells them that the end is near.  For one thing, we discover God’s tenderness and compassion in the Scriptures, and God’s desire that as many people as possible would be saved.  From God’s perspective, God wants all people to come to repentance and is being patient in order for that to happen (2 Pet. 3:9).  It is a pretty self-centred view of the world to want judgment to come so that other people will be punished.

    At the same time, isn’t it also pretty self-centred to stop working or doing anything at all because Jesus is “coming soon” anyway?  It seems to me to be a “me and Jesus” kind of approach where my own salvation is really all that matters and everybody else can simply fend for themselves.  This, too, is not what Jesus taught and not what Jesus wants for his followers.

    And so, what exactly are we called to be doing between now and the time of the end?  Once again, our readings for today point us in the right direction.  For one thing, we are invited to live our lives with an awareness of which things are temporary and which things are eternal.  The gospel mentions earthquakes and wars, as well as the day when the huge stones of the Jerusalem temple would be thrown down (which did happen in 70 AD).  Such things are reminders of the many things in this world that are temporary and not eternal.

    When our lives revolve around material things or our house or our computer or our hobbies or even our families, any of these things can be taken from us or destroyed.  However, when our lives are centred in Jesus Christ and lived out of our faith and hope in him, that can never be taken from us, no matter what our outward circumstances might be.  And so, we need to be aware of which things are temporary and which are eternal.

    At the same time, we need to plan for the long haul, finding ways to grow in faith and love day by day.  Of course, the long haul can be difficult at times, which is evident in all of our readings for today.  We hear about endurance, and “do not be terrified,” and “do not be weary in doing what is right” (Lk. 21:9, 19; 2 Th. 3:13).  Sometimes we do, in fact, get weary, and perhaps do wish that the end would come.  However, we are reminded today that our strength and our wisdom do not come just from ourselves, but from the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us.

    There is such a picture of trust that is presented in our gospel for today!  Imagine being arrested and imprisoned because of your faith in Jesus and looking at it not as a hardship, but as “an opportunity to testify” (Lk. 21:13).  Imagine being taken in before a king or a governor and being asked to give an account of what you believe.  Yet, you do not prepare this ahead of time, but simply trust in the Holy Spirit to give you the words that you need.  Surely this is a picture of perfect trust!

    Of course, there is also trust involved in refusing to succumb to fear as we see what is happening in the world around us.  We hear in today’s readings: “Yes, these things will happen.  Yes, there will be scary things going on around you.  Yes, even the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed.  Yet, God is in charge.  God will ‘judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity’ (Ps. 98:9).  ‘Not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls’ (Lk. 21:18-19).”

    To live with this kind of faith and trust in Jesus is, indeed, a gift that empowers us for every challenge that we might face.  It is a gift that comes initially from the Holy Spirit and then grows as it is nurtured and tested and used.  Let us then continue to grow in our faith and trust throughout all of the circumstances of our lives.  After all, “Something Armageddonish might be near!”  Amen.

Lectionary 33(C)                            Luke 21:5-19
November 14, 2010                        2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church                    Psalm 98
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved