Sunday Reflection: Luke 21:5-19 – Be Ready

While they may sound apocalyptic to our ears, the words of Jesus as they appear in this passage from Luke would have fallen on the Gospel’s original hearers not as a prediction but as a reminder. Luke was writing after the Temple had already fallen; he wasn’t prophesying, he was writing to and for a persecuted minority of beleaguered believers under the tyranny of Roman rule. The Temple had in fact been razed to the ground, not one stone left upon another. We must hear this Gospel passage in the context of unimaginable loss. Yet Jesus doesn’t seem to be as concerned about what the end time will look like and when it will be as he is about how his disciples will be in between the already and the not-yet. Neither imminence nor future transcendence is the point here; rather, faithful discipleship and testimony in the here and now. The point is that the present moment is an opportunity for bold testimony, for fortitude even in the face of adversity. Until that ultimate day which will eventually come, Jesus calls those who follow him to be ready, even as they—as we—steadfastly remain and remind.

Where do you find hope in this passage?

How do you or our faith community celebrate what God is doing outside the “beautiful stones” of our church building?

(From Sermons that Work, T.E.C.) 

Vicar’s Corner: 

The Venerable Douglas Fenton, Executive Archdeacon, is visiting the parishes of St. Michael’s and Christ the Redeemer today. A combined worship service will be at 9:30am., followed by a presentation of their mission trip in the EDNP. Lunch will be served in the millennium hall. All are welcome.