Reflection on Luke 21:25-36

 

New Testament: Luke 21:25-36

[Jesus said:] 25 “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. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Reflection

Every day, while eating my school lunch, I would stare at the door with the radiation symbol above which read, “Fallout Shelter.”  The janitor once instructed us that if a nuclear missile was launched at us from the USSR, the whole school would need to seek shelter through that door.  I was scared.  I prayed every night that the world would not end in nuclear destruction, but the news during the day seemed to hold little hope as tensions raised between the nations.  I curled in on myself, out of self-preservation.  A lot of us children did in those times.  There seemed little hope. 

If only someone had told us children to “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near,” instead of curling up in fear (Luke 21:28).  Maybe we would have not been so scared if we understood that God knew what God was doing.  Maybe, we would have trusted that the Son of Man was coming, very near even, coming with a saving heart to save scared children such as us.

For three entire years, the woman did almost nothing.  The dishes were out of control.  She bought new clothes rather than washing the old.  The recliner was developing an imprint of her body.  It had been three years since the love of her life was taken away in an automobile accident.  It was terrible.  It was the end of her world.  It was as if a nuclear weapon had gone off and destroyed everything in her home and in her life.  Her friends stopped coming by to check on her.  Now, she sat alone and numb. 

Numb was better than being devastatingly sad; so she thought.  The only problem was that numb also was…numb.  It was not happy.  It was not sad.  It was numb.  It was refusing to live because her loved one could not live.

If only one of her friends had instructed her to stand up and raise her head, because her redemption was drawing near.  If they had, maybe she would have seen the restoration of her life on the horizon rather than fearing the end of it.  She was stuck in the devastation, with no hope, but it did not have to be this way.  Maybe, she would have seen that the Son of Man was coming to restore life to even a woman like her.  Maybe, it could still happen this very day.

Jesus said: “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, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26). 

And, that is our natural human response, to live in fear and anxiety when our worlds are turned up-side-down.  I know that after our house had flooded for the second time, all I could do for an entire day was just stare at the water and the ruined stuff.  I stared at the crumbling books.  I stared at the ruined electronics.  I just stared because the anxiety of even thinking about how to proceed from that moment was too much.  It was all just too much.  The powers of the heavens had shaken.  I had been shaken.

It is so easy to do nothing when fear and anxiety take hold.  It is easy to curl in on ourselves and try to protect ourselves, but Jesus instructs us, saying: “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).  And, I know that is the fourth time those words have come out of my mouth, but I keep repeating them because they are truly incredible words. 

They remind me of the words that Mr. Rogers taught to parents who struggled to help their children through tough times.  In his book, “Mr. Rogers Talks with Parents” he said:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

It was almost as if Mr. Rogers was a pastor.  Wait, he was!  It was almost as if his mother and he had been shaped by Jesus’ words of hope and instruction in bad times.  Wait, they were!

Is the world getting rough?  Have you lost sight of what is right and good?  Do you miss having a sense of hope?  Then lift your head and start looking around because the one who shaped you and formed you in your mother’s womb; the one who made a space for you and your unique gifts in this world; the one who created a purpose for you in this world; the one who died for you on a cross, that you would not be lost in the dark forever, but rather saved in the light forever, never to be forgotten; that one, Jesus Christ, is on his way with a song of salvation ringing from his lips and love for you emblazoned upon his heart. 

When life is tough, do not look down, look up and see the Lord Jesus Christ.  Look for the helpers.  Look for those with Jesus’ love emblazoned upon their hearts.  Look for the Lord, for nothing will get in his way, and nothing will keep him from drawing near to you. 

Jesus tells you to make sure “your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap” (Luke 21:34).  Jesus is on the way.  Do not get trapped in the worries.  Do not get trapped in the self-medication.  Do not miss the day Jesus arrives!  He is near.

Do not miss the day that Jesus comes in the hands and hearts of neighbors who arrive from out of nowhere to help muck out the flood destroyed mess.  “Your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

Do not miss the day when the niece comes bursting into your terribly prepared home, and terrible lived life, and spends time helping you put it all back together…spending time with you when other would not.  “Your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

Do not miss the day that the Berlin wall falls and the USSR is no more.  Do not miss the day that the fear can finally be let go for a trust that the Lord will provide.  “Your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

After-all, nothing can keep down the one who can rise from the dead.  No one can, on the cross, forever destroy the one who now lives and reigns in heaven forever.  As the Apostle Paul declares when he ponders on these things, nothing in all of creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Lift up your heads.  Watch for the Lord.  Death, and fear, and destruction do not have the last word in your lives.  Jesus gets the last word.  And, that word cannot be erased.  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).

As I was sitting and pondering this promise, I remembered an unremarkable experiment that every little kid eventually tries. 

Imagine a three year old, squatting down by some moving water (maybe by a creek or at the ocean).  And now imagine that he or she takes a pile of sand and piles it up on a rock that is partially submerged in the rushing water.  What happens? 

It is a simple experiment, I know, and what happens is obvious: the water rushes by and slowly erodes the sand, bit by bit, until all that is left is the rock.  Little three year olds will do this again and again, confirming the hypothesis that the water will take away the sand bit by bit, but not the rock.  Now, why in the world was I wasting time remembering this simple little experiment?  Because, though it is simple, I am not certain that we always trust the result.

Jesus says this, "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see the storms taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:29-33).

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  “Heaven and earth can be washed away bit by bit, but my words are a boulder,” Jesus teaches.  The more the cloudy mounds of sand are washed away, the clearer you can see the care, love, and grace of Jesus.  When the walls of fear and anxiety that have closed you in, finally wash away, then maybe you will finally be able to see Jesus coming to you.  You, sweet child of God, whose every finger and eyelash were molded and shaped out of love.  “Your redemption is drawing near” to you (Luke 21:28).

The promise of Jesus, to always be our rock of power and love, does not wash away.  So, stand up straight with your head held high and face the storm directly.  Have hope O people of God, and look, Jesus is here!