Distress, Fear, and Foreboding? Check, Check, Check.
Luke 21:25-36
Luke 21:25-36
The Lectionary is back to apocalyptic prophecy time, and this week it’s pretty wild. We are in Luke’s gospel, but the story leading into this passage is almost word for word with the passages we have been reading in Mark for the last few weeks. Prior to this was the story of the Widow’s mite and Jesus predicting the destruction of the temple. In this passage Jesus tells his followers,
There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world.
He goes on to say that “The Son of Man” will ride in on a cloud and bring redemption and the kingdom of God. So, essentially things are going to be pretty awful, but have faith because it is a sign Jesus is about to come fix everything. He even says that it will happen in the time of the current generation of people.
There is a lot to get into in this passage, but the purpose of this newsletter is to take a look at each week’s gospel scripture and try to find what it would say to a reader today who lives in a modern capitalist country. Focusing on that, from our vantage point 2000 years later, we can see that none of this literally happened, so let’s look at the bigger picture. The author of this text is most likely aiming for his reader to understand that this time of fear and distress that Jesus is describing is the current day for them, more than 50 years after Jesus’s death.
Things are really terrible for the scattered early christian communities that read this text. In this period very many of the people who followed Jesus may have been, “weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.” The gospel writer wants to remind the reader not to lose hope. Jesus tells people that if they do not keep watch they might just miss out on the revolutionary changes ahead.
I think in our time we can probably relate to a fear that makes us feel faint at the thought of the future. The events of the last few years have strained my ability to be hopeful for the future, and I’m sure many of you are feeling the same. There is a real temptation to sink into, what Unitarian Universalist Minister, Forrest Church called, “the soul-crushing allures of sophisticated resignation and cynical chic.” Meaning that we know enough to know that nothing will change or get better, so why bother. It is surely easier to have a fatalist attitude, than keep working for justice. It’s even more tempting in weeks like this, with the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial having been both inevitable and believable and the possibility of justice so unbelievable.
Much like the people reading the gospel writer’s words, we must not lose hope. The faith that held them steady will hold us too. I don’t know if Jesus is coming down riding a cloud anytime soon, but do I know that we are called to water the seeds of Justice here on Earth, and if we do not “keep watch” for God’s call for us to help, we may just miss it. So keep your eyes and your heart open, even in these troubling times. You are not alone in this. God is with you.
Special Bonus!
I was not able to write a newsletter last week, because all of my kids and I got sick, but I did preach this Sunday on last week’s text. You can take a look at that sermon in the box below.