Gospel: Luke 21:5-19
Context. Last week, we read of
Jesus having entered Jerusalem and begun teaching in the Temple. It was an attempt to reclaim the Temple for
its true purpose: the revelation of God’s word.
However, the Temple leadership consistenly opposed him. Now, Jesus gives up on the Temple: it is to
be destroyed. This leads into a
discussion of end times. We read about
the first half of the speech: the rest is about the coming of the Son of Man and
the need for readiness. Immediately
after this speech, comes the Last Supper and the beginning of the Passion
narrative.
Interpretation. Much of the debates in the Temple
resolved around the question of who has the authority to interpret God’s
will. Jesus makes it clear: he
does. He is the authoritative prophet and
he will empower his people to be prophetic witnesses. God is sovereign over the course of world
events. This should reassure us that the
crucifixion is not a failure, but part of God’s plan. The end is a long time off, further off than
the destruction of the Temple. War is
not a sign of the end (here, Luke contrasts Jesus with self-proclaimed Messiahs
of the 60s who incited Jews to join them to fight Rome and bring in the Last
Days). Anyone claiming this, or giving a
precise timetable, is not truly speaking in Jesus’ name. He does tell us some of the things that will
happen before the end (much of which happens in Acts). We have seen before in the gospel how the
Prince of Peace brings division even within families as not all accept his
message (12:51). They are ways of
enduring persecution which serve as witness; this is a gift of the Spirit
(again, see Acts). The gift of eternal
life means human punishment will not have the final word. (Recall the 2 Macc reading from last time).
2nd
Reading: 2 Th 3:7-12
Context. Second
Thessalonians is a letter from Paul to the Church as Thessalonica. In it, he is
dealing with a crisis occasioned by some people who are claiming that the Day
of the Lord has arrived (or is just about to).
He tries to calm them by describing some events that must happen
beforehand. Unfortunately, some
evangelicals (called millenarians) have tried to use this, along with some
other Biblical data, to predict precisely when the end of the world will happen
– the exact opposite of Paul’s intent!
Frank Matera summarizes 2 Thess in this way: “Although we do not know
when Christ will come, we are confident that he will return in God’s own time
and in God’s own way. When he does,
God’s salvation will be firmly and fully established. As we wait for that day, we live and work
quietly in the world.”
Interpretation. There are some Christians in
Thessalonica that are so convinced Christ’s return will be imminent that they
have given up normal earthly work and prying into others’ lives. We don’t know the full details but can
imagine – maybe they were running up huge debts that they were sure they
wouldn’t have to pay back. Paul counsels
that the path to sanctification should involve regular, earthly work, not evade
it. Unfortunately, some have taken
Paul’s words to be opposed to charity to those who can’t find work. This is antithetical to the Gospel.
Questions
1.
From our reading of Luke so far, how would
someone truly speaking in Jesus’ name (unlike the false prophets) act? What would be their message?
2.
Have you ever experienced the Spirit giving you
something to say when you had no idea how to respond to a situation?
3.
What could be the danger in preparing in
response? (Note: this does not apply to
homily prep!)
4.
Jesus’ suggestion of how to prepare for the end
times are: give witness through response to suffering; watchfulness (in the
next part of the reading). Paul’s is
work. How can these be combined?
5.
Paul counsels that people follow his
example. Who serves as an example to you
of how to prepare for heaven through their work?
We’ve read a lot of Luke
now and many of his key themes reappear in this reading. What are you left with?
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