Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 21:5-28                      

Luke 21:5-28

Luke gives us his take on Jesus' conversation regarding the “end of the world” in our gospel reading for the week. And, like all Jesus’ conversations, it should be read prayerfully and perhaps quietly that we might gain greater understanding of the truth. Note: truth from Jesus is for all his people. It may not apply equally and it may not have direct application to us simply because there were things that Jesus spoke directly to those in his presence in history. All that to say that we must still be attentive readers/listeners simply because Jesus himself IS the Truth.

Jesus here is involved in a Q&A of sorts. And the puzzle he unravels for his disciples includes not just one venue for the answer but two. In vv. 5-24 Jesus is pointing to the events and occurrences that will lead to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. By the way, Jesus got it right. That should make us sit up and take note of what comes next. Then in verse 25 Jesus begins to highlight the signs and events leading to the “end-end.” For Jesus' disciples even the first discussion points to an “end of the world” scenario. Why? Because Jerusalem, “Zion,” was their world. The temple, the covenants, the fathers and the Word of God were all bound up in that great city. And when the walls came tumbling down four decades after Jesus, their world did collapse. But only as a sign of a greater reality. I believe in Jesus’ teaching he desired his disciples then and now to look beyond the destruction of Zion, and then the present age as a precursor to something far greater. A new world. A new world without sin, without temptation, a reality filled with righteousness. Filled with Jesus.

What could be better than that?