Proper 28 / Pentecost 26 / Ordinary Time 33
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
By your endurance you will gain your souls.
-- Luke 21:19
As we near the end of the Christian year, this passage confronts us with the harsh reality of the world. Nothing is so stable that we can cling to it. The crowd was admiring the temple that was built by means of the sacrificial giving of the people. It was the holiest spot on earth and clearly reflected people's devotion to God. Surely, even as God is eternal, this would last until the end of time. Jesus, however, correctly predicted that it would not last. Traumatic change in our world often causes us to wonder if the end is near.
Many Christian groups have tried to use these words of Jesus to predict the end. A close reading of the text shows Jesus was saying just the opposite. He was warning them not to be led astray by these chaotic events. "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Jesus painted the gloomiest pictures of all the disasters and ruptures of relationships that we fear and suggested we must be ready to face them.
This was not a comfortable picture of the progressive expansion of the gospel until the whole world lives in peace and harmony. Rather it was a picture of a return to the wilderness where the secure trappings of civilization have fallen apart. In Deuteronomy 8:2-5, we are told that God led the community of faith through the wilderness so that they might learn to trust God in all circumstances. It is not our cleverness but God's faithfulness that enables us to endure.
Within the framework of cosmic disasters, church members often experience mini-disasters, ruptures of relationships, and crumbling of beloved structures. It is not the time to either despair or retreat to apocalyptic images of the end times. Rather it is a time to learn that God is faithful and will accompany us through all the chaos of our lives.
-- Luke 21:19
As we near the end of the Christian year, this passage confronts us with the harsh reality of the world. Nothing is so stable that we can cling to it. The crowd was admiring the temple that was built by means of the sacrificial giving of the people. It was the holiest spot on earth and clearly reflected people's devotion to God. Surely, even as God is eternal, this would last until the end of time. Jesus, however, correctly predicted that it would not last. Traumatic change in our world often causes us to wonder if the end is near.
Many Christian groups have tried to use these words of Jesus to predict the end. A close reading of the text shows Jesus was saying just the opposite. He was warning them not to be led astray by these chaotic events. "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Jesus painted the gloomiest pictures of all the disasters and ruptures of relationships that we fear and suggested we must be ready to face them.
This was not a comfortable picture of the progressive expansion of the gospel until the whole world lives in peace and harmony. Rather it was a picture of a return to the wilderness where the secure trappings of civilization have fallen apart. In Deuteronomy 8:2-5, we are told that God led the community of faith through the wilderness so that they might learn to trust God in all circumstances. It is not our cleverness but God's faithfulness that enables us to endure.
Within the framework of cosmic disasters, church members often experience mini-disasters, ruptures of relationships, and crumbling of beloved structures. It is not the time to either despair or retreat to apocalyptic images of the end times. Rather it is a time to learn that God is faithful and will accompany us through all the chaos of our lives.
