St Luke 21: 20 – 28
‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfilment of all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ‘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. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’
Reflection
The apocalyptic words of Jesus have not featured greatly in my Christian upbringing or ministry. Discussions of ‘the problem of suffering’ have focussed on ‘why does God allow this?’ rather than on what Jesus had to say.
Jesus spoke a great deal about cataclysmic events and how his disciples should react to them. With the world now helter-skeltering into an age of disasters, due to our selfish misuse of God’s Creation, we need more than ever to take these words seriously.
We used to distinguish between human made disasters (such as war) and ‘natural’ disasters (such as flooding). Our house group in the 1970s were disparaging of one elderly member who suggested that human activity might be contributing to the ‘natural’ disasters. We should have listened – she was absolutely right.
Jesus draws no such false distinctions, but rather points out the human consequences – people made refugees, women giving birth in horrendous circumstances, war and violence (caused by and causes of climate disaster). Above all, “fear and foreboding”. All of us who experience climate anxiety know what Jesus means. His call to us is as surprising as it is (literally and metaphorically) uplifting – “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
This is not to adopt the misinterpretation of some who seek to hasten climate change or war in the Middle East in the mistaken view that Jesus will come sooner and vindicate them. God cannot be coerced – and is unlikely to vindicate those who try. The Jesus we know will rather redeem traumatised nursing mothers and their infants, refugees who flee for their lives, those taken prisoner or hostage, those who faint from fear. Even in our terrifying days, Jesus gives us the strength to stand up and recognise the truth, knowing that redemption is near.
Prayer
Loving God,
we cry out to you in the midst of war and flooding.
Our hearts go out to refugees,
traumatised mothers and infants,
all those consumed by fear and foreboding.
It’s hard to lift up our heads –
we would rather bury them in the sand.
Help us, despite our terror and our guilt,
to hear your call to stand up and be counted
and strengthen our faith that our redemption is sure.
Amen.