Luke 21:5-19
Signs of the End
Every now and then, we have to stop
and admit that there is more to this Christianity business than any of us would
like to acknowledge. There are aspects
which we had just as soon avoid all together.
Within scripture, there are messages we had rather not hear. That's fine, because the only thing more
unpleasant than hearing these "teachings" is having to preach
them. My heart sank as I realized that
so soon after having begun to serve as your interim pastor I would be called to
preach on these verses from Luke 21.
Beware that you are not lead
astray...when you hear of wars and insurrections ...they will arrest you and
persecute you...You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by
relatives and friends; and they will put
some of you to death.
Unpleasant teachings; difficult lessons;
painful writings. Yet they are as much a
part of our Gospel as is the story of Jesus' resurrection. They are written as clearly as is his promise
to bind up the broken hearted and restore the downtrodden. Jesus tells his followers, “You will be
hated by all because of my name.”
These words, spoken by Jesus, come
as he is about to end his earthly ministry.
The time is drawing neigh when he will be delivered into the hands of
the chief priests. He knows that if
there is anything he hasn't told the disciples, he must do it soon, else it
will be too late. And so he begins to
speak to them all sorts of warnings. The
few warnings read this morning are but the beginning. He goes on to tell them that all of Jerusalem
will suffer destruction. He tells them
there will be cosmic signs as the Son of Man makes his return.
And, he tells them, unless they are
prepared, they will not share in his glory.
I can see why Jesus would leave
this part of his teaching off to the very end.
It isn’t exactly the kind of thing that one would put on a recruitment brochure. Jesus waits as long as he possibly can, and
when he can wait no longer, he tells them.
Time is drawing short. They must
ready themselves. Jesus must tell them
now.
We know, from our vantage point, that
the things of which Jesus spoke did happen.
Jerusalem was destroyed. Wars in
Israel began shortly after the death of Jesus and have continued right up to
our day. The disciples were pursued,
imprisoned and even executed because of their faithfulness. Jesus' words rang true in the lives of those
who heard him.
Given our vantage point, we can
read these lessons as some sort of an introductory history lesson. Or, we might look upon these passages as
reinforcement for the notion of Jesus as a prophet, as one who could see into
the future and predict what was going to happen. This section of Luke’s gospel might serve the
purpose of allowing us to deepen our appreciation for Jesus’ ability to read
the times and predict the future. But
reading these words for such reasons alone is not enough. This passage isn’t read in order that we
might know what happened back then. Nor
is it included so that we might think more highly of Jesus. These words were not written solely for the
original twelve disciples - they were written for you and me. Just like the earliest disciples, we need to
hear the warnings and acknowledge that Jesus is also calling us to a journey
that isn’t all roses and comforts. Wars
and pestilence, famine and persecution, betrayal and death - these are ours as
well.
Too often, we suffer from an
illusion. We think that times have
changed and that being a disciple is no longer a dangerous thing. We believe that we can profess our faith and
not fear persecution. But it is an
illusion. Bearing testimony always
results in being threatened. Following the
way of Jesus will put us out of step with the world around us. Being passively out of step is generally tolerated,
but when the disciples of Jesus begin to speak the message of the one to whom
they have given their lives the toleration turns to vilification and rejection
and sometimes death.
I would lift up Martin Luther King,
Jr. Or Pope John XXIII. Or former President Jimmy Carter. If you have not read the life history of Former
Senator Paul Simon I encourage you to do so.
Same needs to be said for the Baptist preacher who brought the world’s
attention to Hell’s Kitchen, NYC – Walter Rausenbusch. I don’t know that his life is seen as one of
undue suffering, but the witness of Greenville native Bishop William Willimon should
be familiar to all of us living in this zip code. Among his writing is “Who Lynched Willie
Earl?”
The Church’s message is firmly rooted
in the simple and unwavering acknowledgement that Jesus loves us. The depth of that love is revealed in Jesus’
willingness to sacrifice his own life rather than allow oppression and self-advancement. The followers of Jesus have the assurance
that God is with us and that God is protecting us. That oversight on the part of God is
particularly important when we see the need to question abuse and exploitation
and neglect. When we faithfully live out
the gospel message – God will protect us.
Look a little further down in this
morning's lesson. Jesus says, “You
will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and
they will put some of you to death. You
will be hated by all because of my name.
BUT NOT A HAIR OF YOUR HEAD WILL PERISH. By your endurance you will gain your
souls."
Bearing witness to Christ is
painful. It is lonely, but it is the
only way we can ever hope to obtain the gift of God which Jesus calls life.
Our call to faith may not be as
dramatic as others, but it will represent an opportunity to be criticized and
condemned. Our call to faithfulness may
lead us to take positions or to articulate arguments that go against the
mainstream of our culture and climate.
Jesus warns those who follow him
that doing so will cost them. They will
not be happy; they cannot be content.
But they will be alive. Not a
hair on their heads will perish.
Premature death comes to many. It happens when one realizes that purpose and
direction and intent are lacking. Premature
death is frightening and produces great worry and anxiety. It happens in far
too many, simply because they have listened to the words of Jesus but never
made them active in their lives.
The words of Luke 21 are difficult
to hear and to preach. But as the twelve say in another location, these are the
words of eternal life. Resurrection begins
the moment we worry less about our standing in society and among our neighbors
and stand firmly for the Word of God. When
this happens, not even the hair on our heads can be threatened.
Amen.
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