Giving God’s Defense (40)
Lectionary, Year C, Proper 28
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 21:5-19
There are many things we could deal with in today’s passage, but let’s get something off the agenda immediately. Matthew’s presentation is clearer than Luke’s, but we find Jesus answering multiple questions. His concern is that the disciples be ready for the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. That was a response to Roman General Titus marching into the Jerusalem Temple with idols of Roman deities and a bust of Cesar to sacrifice a pig on the altar. The Jews revolted, burned the temple, and Jerusalem was wiped off the map. This is the only event for which Jesus gave any sign, the ‘‘abomination of desolation.’’ For the rest, Jesus simply said, ‘‘There is no sign.’’ There are no ‘‘signs of the times.’’ That was apocalyptic language from Jesus’ own day that he deemed bogus. Wars and rumors of wars led up to the destruction of Jerusalem, but they had no intrinsic meaning. They just were, as they have been since.
The biggest clue someone is speaking falsely is claiming to know how to read ‘‘the signs of the times.’’ There is no sign to read! Human history is chock full of wars, rumors of wars, storms, earthquakes, eclipses, volcanic eruptions, asteroid collisions, famines, and pandemic illnesses. They are the course of history, the product of human nature and the world we inhabit. Pick a period of history, and you will find more of the same. You may discover different actors, but this is nothing more than the reality of the human experience. There is no sign-just be ready. Live so as not to be surprised.
Getting that issue off the table, Jesus turns to what really matters to him. When you face persecution, trust God for your defense. No, this is not some apocalyptic persecution on the lines of what John portrayed in Revelation. It is the kind of persecution that we read about in Acts. It is Paul being brought before city councils and governors. It is Peter and John be ...
Lectionary, Year C, Proper 28
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 21:5-19
There are many things we could deal with in today’s passage, but let’s get something off the agenda immediately. Matthew’s presentation is clearer than Luke’s, but we find Jesus answering multiple questions. His concern is that the disciples be ready for the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. That was a response to Roman General Titus marching into the Jerusalem Temple with idols of Roman deities and a bust of Cesar to sacrifice a pig on the altar. The Jews revolted, burned the temple, and Jerusalem was wiped off the map. This is the only event for which Jesus gave any sign, the ‘‘abomination of desolation.’’ For the rest, Jesus simply said, ‘‘There is no sign.’’ There are no ‘‘signs of the times.’’ That was apocalyptic language from Jesus’ own day that he deemed bogus. Wars and rumors of wars led up to the destruction of Jerusalem, but they had no intrinsic meaning. They just were, as they have been since.
The biggest clue someone is speaking falsely is claiming to know how to read ‘‘the signs of the times.’’ There is no sign to read! Human history is chock full of wars, rumors of wars, storms, earthquakes, eclipses, volcanic eruptions, asteroid collisions, famines, and pandemic illnesses. They are the course of history, the product of human nature and the world we inhabit. Pick a period of history, and you will find more of the same. You may discover different actors, but this is nothing more than the reality of the human experience. There is no sign-just be ready. Live so as not to be surprised.
Getting that issue off the table, Jesus turns to what really matters to him. When you face persecution, trust God for your defense. No, this is not some apocalyptic persecution on the lines of what John portrayed in Revelation. It is the kind of persecution that we read about in Acts. It is Paul being brought before city councils and governors. It is Peter and John be ...
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